I am trying to consolidate all of my calling and texting into one app with one phone number that i can use on any device, I.E. android, windows, and hopefully, IOS in case i need it in the future using only an internet connection. Here is what i have right now, how i use it.
I have a Google voice account with one phone number. The problem with this is that i can't receive or make phone calls, i can only send and receive texts, and limited texts at that. Just to try to increase my text limits, I signed up for a Google business account, but really that just gives me a bunch of extra crap i don't need, I.E. a webpage.
When i first signed up for this account i had Verizon as my carrier so i linked my current number to the Verizon account. I have since canceled my service with Verizon, but i don't want to delete my current Google number because i am being told, once i click on delete, that i have to wait 90 days to get a new one. I would also prefer to not get a new number, but as long as i can gain full functionality for voice and text, i really don't care.
To make phone calls I use Skype. This works good enough for outgoing calls, but it shows my Skype number on caller ID, and i can't receive calls with it. So these two apps combined allow me to send limited texts, receive texts, make calls, but i don't have a way of receiving calls.
I am already paying more than enough for my twelve gigs of data through sprint every month, and I refuse to pay fifty bucks a month to only be able to receive phone calls, but paying a little more every month for an outside service wouldn't bother me too much. Any help with this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance
Tell Sprint to go have sexual intercourse with itself, and switch to T-Mobile. Unlimited high-speed data, text, and minutes for $80/mo.
Planterz said:
Tell Sprint to go have sexual intercourse with itself, and switch to T-Mobile. Unlimited high-speed data, text, and minutes for $80/mo.
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Wow i wish that i could immigrate to America...
[email protected] said:
I am trying to consolidate all of my calling and texting into one app with one phone number that i can use on any device, I.E. android, windows, and hopefully, IOS in case i need it in the future using only an internet connection. Here is what i have right now, how i use it.
I have a Google voice account with one phone number. The problem with this is that i can't receive or make phone calls, i can only send and receive texts, and limited texts at that. Just to try to increase my text limits, I signed up for a Google business account, but really that just gives me a bunch of extra crap i don't need, I.E. a webpage.
When i first signed up for this account i had Verizon as my carrier so i linked my current number to the Verizon account. I have since canceled my service with Verizon, but i don't want to delete my current Google number because i am being told, once i click on delete, that i have to wait 90 days to get a new one. I would also prefer to not get a new number, but as long as i can gain full functionality for voice and text, i really don't care.
To make phone calls I use Skype. This works good enough for outgoing calls, but it shows my Skype number on caller ID, and i can't receive calls with it. So these two apps combined allow me to send limited texts, receive texts, make calls, but i don't have a way of receiving calls.
I am already paying more than enough for my twelve gigs of data through sprint every month, and I refuse to pay fifty bucks a month to only be able to receive phone calls, but paying a little more every month for an outside service wouldn't bother me too much. Any help with this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance
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i dont know about calling, but google hangouts consoilidates all your sms in one place.
I got the hangouts desktop extension for chrome, and I can make calls from it, and I'm pretty sure i can send texts, but i still cant receive calls. One problem I'm having with it is that when i try to just type in a contact's name, it brings up a bunch of people i don't know instead of at least bringing up my google contacts first. Does anyone know how to fix this. I can't remember where, but I've also read that google is on a path to eliminate google voice, and consolidate everything to hangouts, so this might be future proof as a stable phone solution for at least the life of a cell phone contract.
Related
Now I've come to realize that it's possible for me to get a 1 GB data only plan for my cell phone for $15 a month.
In light of this, I've decided to try and find a way to conduct all my phone stuff over the internet, which is waaay cheaper than a standard phone + data plan. I'm also out of reception both at home and work, so what I have now is pretty useless since nobody can ever get a hold of me. On top of that, I'm a pretty lazy guy - so being able to receive phone calls directly on my computer would be nice.
So far the most viable solution I've discovered is Skype. I can dial out anywhere for $3.00 a month, and I can receive calls with a phone number that forwards to my Skype account for ~$6.00 a month.
The only thing that kills it for me though is SMS. Skype cannot receive SMS messages under any circumstances (since Skype lines are actually land lines, or something) - and it's expensive as hell to send them (~10 cents each).
So now I'm looking for a plan that has basically all that, but also SMS (preferably at least 50 to unlimited a month). The most viable option I've seen so far for this is Google Voice, but it isn't really available in the way I want in my country (Canada), and all the ways to get around it seem to be obsolete.
So at this point, I'm pretty close to just saying 'screw it' and forgoing SMS.
Before I do that though, does anyone know if this is really the best solution? I want to make sure there isn't some super awesome smaller VoIP service I don't know of out there with much better rates .
Thanks!
EDIT: Nevermind...
Alex_32571 said:
EDIT: Nevermind...
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So has anyone figured it out? App to make & receive calls & SMS??
If ur located in USA u can get free VOIP calls and sms by GOOGLE
srajelli said:
If ur located in USA u can get free VOIP calls and sms by GOOGLE
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Screw sms lol. whatsapp group texts are miles out in front!
By the way jicjoc we are taking here about VOIP calls , so ur reply is uncertain and NoOby
So, I have been a frequent user of the google voice app, I was toying around with the settings and noticed that there is an option to use the messaging app.
By using the messaging app does it count against the messaging plan?
I am not having voice send me SMS notifications (The option available on the website).
Google Voice messages do not count against the phone's AT&T SMS messaging count.
Google Voice introduces a whole new number with unlimited voice calling minutes (with no long-distance charges) from anywhere in the US to anywhere in the US or Canada, (plus unlimited text messages to/from both those places, as well); along with its own voicemail (which you may or may not want to actually use if you prefer to have all voicemail land in one place... specifically the phone's AT&T voicemail; or you could use it instead of AT&T-provided voicemail; or both... your call).
Google Voice is true VoIP, so any phone calls, SMS messages, etc., all happen using the phone's AT&T data (3G/4G) plan, not the phone's normal AT&T telephony (voice calls, text messaging) plan. Regarding texts, though -- and this is partly why I think some people with certain Samsung phones get confused -- you can set things on the phone so that incoming texts to the Google Voice number either make their own noise on the phone, and may be seen/replied-to only in the Google Voice app, or you can have them integrate with your normal text messages as far as how they appear on the phone. In neither case do they count against the phone's AT&T messaging limit.
Parenthetically, if text messages -- and by that, I mean the normal SMS/MMS to your AT&T phone number, and not Google Voice SMS -- is a concern, I've found that the AT&T unlimited texts with combination unlimited voice calls to cell phones (regardless of provider) is pretty useful. I forget what it costs for individuals, but on a family plan it's only $30 for all phones on the plan; and the first thing I noticed after three phone bills is that our number of regular voice calling minutes, through the AT&T (not the Google Voice) phone number, is seriously reduced because my wife, at least, pretty much mostly only calls other cell phones. I make a lot of business calls to business landline numbers, so I still use a lot of minutes; but with her minutes so seriously reduced because she calls (and receives calls from) so many cell phones, and because we've got the unlimited voice call minutes to other cells with combination unlimited texts plan, I'm toying with reducing the number of regular calling minutes on the family plan. But I want to have a few more months of bills to see if we ever get close to our current voice minutes before I do that. Still, the unlimited-texts-with-unlimited-voice-minutes-to-other-cells-(regardless-of-carrier) plan is way cool... for whatever that's worth.
The bottom line, though, regarding your question, is that nothing you do on Google Voice counts against either AT&T voice calling minutes, or AT&T text (SMS or MMS) messaging; however, both voice calling and texting via Google Voice uses the AT&T 3G/4G data plan. Fortunately, voice calls via Google Voice are fairly low bandwidth; and text messages, at a maximum of only 140 bytes per message, barely use any of your data plan at all, to speak of. Just, if you use Google Voice for voice calls, pay attention to how much bandwidth a typical 10 minute call makes, and then adjust your overall use accordingly. The 64-thousand-dollar-question has always been whether a typical month's worth of voice calls via Google Voice would actually be cheaper, in real dollars paid to AT&T for 3G/4G data, than would that same month's worth of calls had they been made via regular AT&T Wireless voice calling.
Another FYI: Google Voice, for most users, is SMS-only (no MMS); though, that said, it appears that Google's slowly rolling MMS out to all Google Voice users.
SEE: http : // bit . ly / x9BH3m (remove spaces to make the link work)
Hope that helps!
___________________________________
Gregg L. DesElms
Napa, California USA
gregg at greggdeselms dot com
DesElms said:
SEE: http : // bit . ly / x9BH3m (remove spaces to make the link work)
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Thanks for that bit of info! I somehow missed that in my various news feeds.
FlyingIsFun1217
The google voice app has never worked on my phone, always giving me some message about it being for US only.
But today i tried it from my phone and it actually allowed me to set up an account. It stopped at the screen where i was setting up my voicemail pin and said "We have a problem. Your phone number could not be verified. Please try again.". So far i havent been able to get past that screen.
I was able to make google voice calls on my laptop today so it seems like they are allowing use in Canada finally. Does anyone know if its possible to use google voice on mobilicity or wind?
I am curious because mobilicity has a new plan with unlimited calls texts and data for 25 a month, but no voicemail. If i can use google voice as my voicemail then obviously that wont be a problem.
don't know if you checked this out already, but read the post below...I think it should explain what you're looking for....
http://community.windmobile.ca/windmobile/topics/using_google_voice_on_your_phone?from_gsfn=true
Thanks, its too bad that the workarounds discussed in that post still dont offer a solution for voicemail, but that will probably be useful information for future reference.
I did find a solution to this problem without using google voice if anyone is interested. I may as well share it.
To those who are interested in this plan but wont sign up without voicemail:
- You can get a free phone number and a customizable answering machine from http://www.freephoneline.ca/ (if you cant get a toronto number you can use thornhill, richmond hill, etc to avoid forwarding to a long distance number)
- Then set your phone to forward your unanswered, busy, and unavailable incoming calls to your freephoneline number.
- Then set your voicemail access number to the corresponding number on this list http://www.freephoneline.ca/vmAccessNumbers
- Also make sure to set your freephoneline to only ring once before going to voicemail, you can do this by logging into your account on their website and going to your settings
- You now have $25 BTS + Voicemail! When people call your regular phone number and you dont answer, it will forward them to your voicemail on your freephoneline number, and you can check your voicemail from your cell phone the same way you always would.
I believe they also provide the option to automatically transcribe your voicemails and email them to you in text form.
EDIT: Apparantly call forwarding is $5 more, if thats true this wouldnt work. Another option would be using Dell Voice on the android market.
Its an app gives you a canadian number with the area code of your choice and can be used to make and receive calls anywhere in canada and US for free, and customizable voicemail. It uses your carrier data to do this, but since this plan has unlimited data that shouldnt be a problem. The only problem is you would have to get used to making and receiving all your calls through an app, and using your dell voice number as your primary number.
Might be worth the extra $5 to get call features and add the freephoneline voicemail via the method above, the $5 call features addon on the mobilicity website includes Call Waiting, Call Forwarding and 3-Way Calling, (plus voicemail via fpl). Thats basically $30 for the $29 plan i currently have with wind except that it doesnt expire in a year and go up to $45 =/
Quick version: Is it possible; if so, how?
Longer version: I see that I can port my number to Google Voice, but since I just signed a contract with Verizon 2 months ago, won't this A) royally tick them off or more likely B) trigger an ETF like I signed up with another provider? Porting my number to Verizon is how I left my last carrier. Though, Google isn't a carrier.
Like my last carrier, the Google Voice app cannot configure voicemail automatically. It has to be done via the number porting thing.
I suppose the best thing is to go ask Verizon, but I won't have time to do that until Monday afternoon, and I'm here now, among people who know Verizon better than I do, so I figured I'd cast a line here and hope somebody knows what's what.
Dark Reality said:
Quick version: Is it possible; if so, how?
Longer version: I see that I can port my number to Google Voice, but since I just signed a contract with Verizon 2 months ago, won't this A) royally tick them off or more likely B) trigger an ETF like I signed up with another provider? Porting my number to Verizon is how I left my last carrier. Though, Google isn't a carrier.
Like my last carrier, the Google Voice app cannot configure voicemail automatically. It has to be done via the number porting thing.
I suppose the best thing is to go ask Verizon, but I won't have time to do that until Monday afternoon, and I'm here now, among people who know Verizon better than I do, so I figured I'd cast a line here and hope somebody knows what's what.
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Yes you can but yes it will close your verizon account and they will bill you the etf. The google voice is a good choice though its $20 to port your number but you will never lose your number then and google wont charge anything more than the $20 port fee. You can then receive free calls and texts over wifi. And when you get new service with a new number you can forward your calls and texts from your google voice number to your new number or just use the google voice app to receive your calls and texts from your google voice number. This is good quality calls too and both calls and texts over wifi. Getting texts over wifi is a big deal as most texting apps you cannot receive texts over wifi so if you have no cell signal but have wifi you can still make and receive calls and texts. I use it myself.
Yes, it's possible. I'm in the process of writing a tutorial to do it. Check back in the new threads to see it soon!
You don't have to port your number to use Google Voice for voicemail - just go through the automatic setup steps and when you get to the step that it says it can't automatically configure, go to Voicemail->Service->Google Voice (from My Carrier) and you're set. I'm currently on a CM rom so the exact settings options might be named slightly differently.
I seem to remember there being an extra step somewhere the first time you ever set it up but I don't remember since I did it many years ago. Bottom line is that using Google Voice for voicemail is very possible and doesn't require any porting of numbers.
There is a number u have to dial to get your voicemail set up as google. Its in the directions in the voice app.
Hi guys, after the Hangouts Google Voice merge, I've been highly tempted to port my number over to Google Voice. The main thing that attracts my attention is how all my texts will be stored on the cloud so I won't have to constantly backup and restore when flashing different ROMs (approx. once a week). What do you guys think on this? I'm hesitating right now due to the $20 fee and that if I send an MMS picture, it shows up as a link on the other side. Also, I tried calling using my current GVoice number, and my mom said its not as clear. Do you guys think it'll be worth it?
ryukiri said:
Hi guys, after the Hangouts Google Voice merge, I've been highly tempted to port my number over to Google Voice. The main thing that attracts my attention is how all my texts will be stored on the cloud so I won't have to constantly backup and restore when flashing different ROMs (approx. once a week). What do you guys think on this? I'm hesitating right now due to the $20 fee and that if I send an MMS picture, it shows up as a link on the other side. Also, I tried calling using my current GVoice number, and my mom said its not as clear. Do you guys think it'll be worth it?
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As far as the call quality of using the Hangouts Dialer/your Google Voice number vs. regular calls- at least over WiFi I noticed a difference, but not so much that it interfered with the call or understanding the person on the other end, for me. Haven't tried it over normal LTE data at this point.
I've used Google Voice for a long time (since my Evo 4G days, even a little before that) and having all my texts backed up was one of the big draws. I don't use Google+ Hangouts, so I also can't speak to text backups there but if your experience is that your texts are there and waiting for you right now, I can't imagine that would change.
So, in my estimation, it kind of depends on what you want more: backups vs. call quality. I don't make a lot of calls, so I'm more on the side of texting and having a single number that I can then use for multiple lines, but that's just me. Hope some of this helped!
I find the call quality to be good, the big issue is you don't get HD Voice. So if your mom is on T-Mobile with an HD Voice capable phone you will get HD Voice when making a regular T-Mobile call with your Nexus 5, while the Hangouts calling is just a standard voice quality level. I had no issue using it over LTE, but I haven't tried 3G. I would think an Edge area would definitely give you a problem.
Keep in mind that you can always continue to use the call forwarding feature rather than the VOIP functionality. This won't solve the issue of no HD voice, but it will work in Edge areas without issue.
Joshmccullough said:
As far as the call quality of using the Hangouts Dialer/your Google Voice number vs. regular calls- at least over WiFi I noticed a difference, but not so much that it interfered with the call or understanding the person on the other end, for me. Haven't tried it over normal LTE data at this point.
I've used Google Voice for a long time (since my Evo 4G days, even a little before that) and having all my texts backed up was one of the big draws. I don't use Google+ Hangouts, so I also can't speak to text backups there but if your experience is that your texts are there and waiting for you right now, I can't imagine that would change.
So, in my estimation, it kind of depends on what you want more: backups vs. call quality. I don't make a lot of calls, so I'm more on the side of texting and having a single number that I can then use for multiple lines, but that's just me. Hope some of this helped!
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raptir said:
I find the call quality to be good, the big issue is you don't get HD Voice. So if your mom is on T-Mobile with an HD Voice capable phone you will get HD Voice when making a regular T-Mobile call with your Nexus 5, while the Hangouts calling is just a standard voice quality level. I had no issue using it over LTE, but I haven't tried 3G. I would think an Edge area would definitely give you a problem.
Keep in mind that you can always continue to use the call forwarding feature rather than the VOIP functionality. This won't solve the issue of no HD voice, but it will work in Edge areas without issue.
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Thanks for the replies! Is HD voice a big difference compared to normal? My mom had a Moto X FYI. Can you explain more on call forwarding? I don't know how it works or what it is. Does it forward a call from your GVoice number to your regular Sim card number? If that's the case, will there be a delay?
ryukiri said:
I'm hesitating right now due to the $20 fee ...
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You can avoid $20 fee by porting to Ring.to then have Ring.to forward to Google Voice totally free of charge. :highfive:
ryukiri said:
Thanks for the replies! Is HD voice a big difference compared to normal? My mom had a Moto X FYI. Can you explain more on call forwarding? I don't know how it works or what it is. Does it forward a call from your GVoice number to your regular Sim card number? If that's the case, will there be a delay?
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Yeah, you can set it up to forward calls to your SIM number instead of using VoIP. I imagine there is a slight delay for the call to forward but there's no delay while speaking. The call gets forwarded so it is actually handed off from Google Voice to your carrier, just like when your phone forwards to voicemail.
ryukiri said:
Hi guys, after the Hangouts Google Voice merge, I've been highly tempted to port my number over to Google Voice. The main thing that attracts my attention is how all my texts will be stored on the cloud so I won't have to constantly backup and restore when flashing different ROMs (approx. once a week). What do you guys think on this? I'm hesitating right now due to the $20 fee and that if I send an MMS picture, it shows up as a link on the other side. Also, I tried calling using my current GVoice number, and my mom said its not as clear. Do you guys think it'll be worth it?
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I would like to add a few things.
First off, remember that if you opt in for the Hangouts and Google Voice integration, the text messages will be stored in the Hangouts application, and not Google Voice. It is a plus to have the messages backed up, but I wouldn't say that was the winner for me.
The winner for me is being able to send SMS messages from the Hangouts extension for Chrome Browser on my work PC, or any other PC/Laptop for that matter. Everything is consolidated now in one app. Whereas before I would use the Google Voice extension to text, Hangouts is just nicer to use. More functional. Better user interface.
I ported my number a while back from Sprint, and I'm a Tmo subscriber as well. A few words of caution: the biggest drawback is MMS, or lack thereof. For me, I don't really use it. I send all pics and MMS content through Hangouts already. What bugs me is when people send me MMS content to my Google Voice number, and I'm never aware of it, since I can't receive it. (I can get MMS from other Tmo subscribers though).
Since I travel a lot internationally, it's nice being able to use your same number for texting and calling over data. If you make your Google Voice number your primary number, that's another perk.
I use Skype as my main calling app. (I have a yearly subscription with them to make unlimited calls to landlines and mobile in the U.S.). When I need to, I make calls through Tmo. As stated before, don't expect to be able to make calls over data if you're on EDGE. Even 3G might be skeptical. If you've got 1Mbps down/up speeds, you'll be all right. Use speedtest to check out your data speeds where you plan on making calls over data.
Overall I would recommend it. I didn't mind the $20 bucks. If you're on a budget, look into alternative means of porting, as stated above. Any other questions, ask away.
jnbanda said:
I would like to add a few things.
First off, remember that if you opt in for the Hangouts and Google Voice integration, the text messages will be stored in the Hangouts application, and not Google Voice. It is a plus to have the messages backed up, but I wouldn't say that was the winner for me.
The winner for me is being able to send SMS messages from the Hangouts extension for Chrome Browser on my work PC, or any other PC/Laptop for that matter. Everything is consolidated now in one app. Whereas before I would use the Google Voice extension to text, Hangouts is just nicer to use. More functional. Better user interface.
I ported my number a while back from Sprint, and I'm a Tmo subscriber as well. A few words of caution: the biggest drawback is MMS, or lack thereof. For me, I don't really use it. I send all pics and MMS content through Hangouts already. What bugs me is when people send me MMS content to my Google Voice number, and I'm never aware of it, since I can't receive it. (I can get MMS from other Tmo subscribers though).
Since I travel a lot internationally, it's nice being able to use your same number for texting and calling over data. If you make your Google Voice number your primary number, that's another perk.
I use Skype as my main calling app. (I have a yearly subscription with them to make unlimited calls to landlines and mobile in the U.S.). When I need to, I make calls through Tmo. As stated before, don't expect to be able to make calls over data if you're on EDGE. Even 3G might be skeptical. If you've got 1Mbps down/up speeds, you'll be all right. Use speedtest to check out your data speeds where you plan on making calls over data.
Overall I would recommend it. I didn't mind the $20 bucks. If you're on a budget, look into alternative means of porting, as stated above. Any other questions, ask away.
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OK thanks! So one question regarding SMS, I already opted in for them to show up on hangouts. I'm pretty sure that even after I factory reset my phone, my texts will still be I'm hangouts after I log in and everything. Is that correct? My texts won't disappear after a full wipe or anything? (Texts are stored on the cloud rather than physically on the device right?)
Yeah I love that feature of being able to text from a computer also. Its very convenient.
Hopefully MMS gets fixed soon, I don't use it much but every once in a while, my friend sends me pictures.
ryukiri said:
OK thanks! So one question regarding SMS, I already opted in for them to show up on hangouts. I'm pretty sure that even after I factory reset my phone, my texts will still be I'm hangouts after I log in and everything. Is that correct? My texts won't disappear after a full wipe or anything? (Texts are stored on the cloud rather than physically on the device right?)
Yeah I love that feature of being able to text from a computer also. Its very convenient.
Hopefully MMS gets fixed soon, I don't use it much but every once in a while, my friend sends me pictures.
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I believe, but I am not sure, that SMS are only stored in cloud storage if they are from/to your Google Voice number. I think that texts that are sent to your carrier number are not backed up.
If you port your current telephone # to GV, T-Mobile will automatically cancel your current account. It does not automatically reassign a random number to your account once you port your mobile # out.
PaisanNYC said:
If you port your current telephone # to GV, T-Mobile will automatically cancel your current account. It does not automatically reassign a random number to your account once you port your mobile # out.
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Can we just go to a store and do it there? Like port the # to GV, and then have them assign another one to my phone?