Preface
This guide only deals with VoIP calling over wifi. You can experiment with calling over a data connection as well; just make sure to use only the speex or GSM codecs. I have had pretty good success with VoHSPA calls with T-Mobile. However, this would require manually switching call forwarding to the cell number on and off. I am looking into creating an app to automate this (as well as combine features of all the accessory apps used in this guide). However, I have limited programming experience and no Android experience yet, so it's a long term project.
Apps
Sipdroid
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.sipdroid.sipua
Google Voice
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.googlevoice
Y5 - Battery Saver
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=pl.polidea.y5
Plane Mode Tweaker
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wordpress.chislonchow.airplanemodetweak
AutoAir
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=Com.YangSoft.AutoAir
GV SMS Integration Free
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mdrtools.apps.gvintegration.free
Guide
Free VoIP is a great addition to plans with low airtime minutes, such as T-Mobile's contract-free $30 100 minute, 5GB 4G plan. An activation kit can be purchased for $0.99 shipped from http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/prepaid-phone/T-Mobile-Prepaid-SIM-Activation-Kit.
This guide assumes that your primary number is with Google Voice, http://www.google.com/voice. You can port your number from one of the major carriers (Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint) to Google Voice for $20. Do note that porting your number will terminate service with your provider, and you will be responsible for any ETF. If your number is currently with an MVNO or other carrier, you should be able to use a prepaid T-Mobile account as the middleman. Simply pick up an extra kit (if you will be using the T-Mobile $30 plan) to use for the number porting. Kits come with an initial value of $3.34, more than enough for the process.
If you are not attached to your current number enough to spend the $20 port fee, you can pick a new number when signing up for Google Voice. You can specify desired characters or numbers, and it will attempt to find a match.
Once you have created an account, add your cell number and enable call forwarding from your Google Voice number. Most prepaid accounts, including the $30 T-Mobile one, do not allow call forwarding, so you will not be able to "Activate Google voicemail on this phone." However, this shouldn't be an issue since people shouldn't be calling your cell number directly anyway.
Also enable call forwarding to Google chat. This is critical for receiving VoIP calls. It may be necessary to first place a call within GMail to ensure that Google chat calling works as it should.
Now it's time to download and setup the apps listed above.
Sipdroid
When first starting Sipdroid, you will find a button on the bottom of the screen to create a new account with PBXes.com linked to your Google Voice account. Use the same password as used with your Google Voice account. After signing up with Sipdroid, you have a week or so to login to the pbxes.com website and fill out some personal information. This must be completed, or your account will be deleted.
As far as configuring Sipdroid itself, you may want to go into Audio/Video and adjust Earpiece Gain to Highest. Adjust as necessary if echo is a problem.
Under Audio Codecs, set G722, PCMA, PCMU, GSM, and BV16 to Never. Speex is the only codec we want to use due to its ability to compensate for packet loss and jitter and its low bandwidth consumption. However, it can be quite CPU intensive, and if you have a slower phone, GSM may be a better option. Experiment with the two and find what works best for you. Snapdragon and faster CPUs will have no problems with speex.
Under Wireless, you can experiment with the Control Wi-Fi Power option. It may save you some battery life, but disable it if it cause otherwise slow wifi or disconnects. If not using this setting, you will need to set Android to keep the wireless connection on all the time. You can access this from Android's Wi-Fi settings page, where it lists the wireless connections. Hit the menu button and choose Advanced. Change Keep Wi-Fi on during sleep to Always.
Enable Bluetooh (experimental) if you will be using a bluetooth headset to make VoIP calls.
Finally, in PBXes Features, enable Improve Audio. In the event packet loss / jitter is detected, all data will be transmitted/received twice, effectively decreasing packet loss considerably (ideally).
Google Voice
Setup should be fairly straight forward. You may run into issues setting up call forwarding for voicemail, but this shouldn't be an issue. Set it to Use Google Voice to make all calls. This way, all non-VoIP outgoing calls will still have your Google Voice caller id.
This will also be the app you use for text messaging. Unfortunately, Google Voice is still working on implementing MMS. As of now, receiving MMS messages from certain providers is functional, although they will be sent to your email.
Y5 - Battery Saver
This app remembers wifi APs that you have associated with and switches wifi on when you are in the area. When out of area, it will be disable wifi. It requires both the cell radio and wireless to be connected to determine location. Therefore, airplane mode must not be enabled during this step.
The only setup required is to enable the app. It will then run in the background automatically.
Plane Mode Tweaker
Enabling airplane mode on most phones will disable the cell radio, wifi, and bluetooth. While in Airplane Mode, wifi is allowed to be re-enabled, while bluetooth usually is not. Make the appropriate changes with this app to prevent wifi/bt from turning off when entering airplane mode, and to allow wifi/bt.
AutoAir
AutoAir polls the wireless state in the background. When connected, it enables airplane mode; when the connection is lost, it disables airplane mode. Hit the power button in the app to enable initially. Set it to Start Service on system up and Start Service on application start up. To disable the icon in the notification bar, uncheck Show message on status bar. This serves to save battery by disabling the cell radio and to prevent double ringing, since Google Voice is forwarding to both your cell number and Sipdroid.
GV SMS Integration Free
While not related to VoIP, a lot of users would prefer the native SMS client over the GV app for text messages. Google Voice can forward texts, but it will obviously be encapsulated in a forwarded message from a shortcode instead of the actual sender's number. Not exactly clean by any means, but it is the only solution when in an area without data (i.e. roaming). Otherwise, this app will work alongside the GV app to offer seamless integration with the native SMS app (or GoSMS). You must enter your credentials in the app again for it to be able to send messages. Upon enabling integration, the phone will reboot. There looks to be three types of integration: standard, root user, and airplane mode. I've only used root user, which seems to work just fine in airplane mode.
Since I never use my cell number for texting, I have it set to send all text messages via Google Voice account. It does have the option to allow replying to texts from the number it was received from, which can be useful. There's some warning about hiding the notification bar, but I haven't had any issues yet.
Going after strictly GV SMS integration, and nothing else, I've disabled the send/receive text signatures, turning the screen on when there's a new notification, and showing popups when there's a new text.
Be sure to disable text notifications in the Google Voice app.
Do note the warning when you first enable integration-- if you decide to uninstall the app, DISABLE INTEGRATION FIRST.
That should be it! When you are home, the phone should automatically switch wifi on, connect to Google Voice (PBXes to be accurate), and enable airplane mode to disable the cell radio. Incoming calls should ring through Sipdroid. Outgoing calls are made through the native dialer as usual, and will be intercepted by Sipdroid.
When you leave home and lose wifi, airplane mode will be disabled, re-enabling the cell radio, and wifi should be disabled (saving battery by not constantly searching for APs). Inbound calls will be forward to your cell number, ringing through the native dialer. Calls made with the native dialer will dial through Google Voice (still uses airtime) and allow your Google Voice caller id to be shown.
Messaging is not a problem in airplane mode since you will be using the Google Voice app (and GV SMS Integration). The only downside is that a data connection is required for messaging while on the go. You can enable forwarding messages to your cell number if this is an issue.
Notes
It would have been nice to use the native SIP client, but it simply lacks too many features. Even over a strong wifi connection, a high(er) bandwidth codec like PCMA/PCMU may not be feasible, because of the lack of packet loss/jitter compensation. Many people prefer CSIPSimple over Sipdroid, but it does not play nicely with the Google Voice app, and does not support PBXes' proprietary features.
The main advantage of using the Sipdroid/PBXes combo over GrooVeIP is the ability to use speex/GSM codecs. GrooVeIP connects directly to Google Voice, which only supports PCMA/PCMU.
If you want to experiment with other SIP clients, do make sure to connect using TCP. UDP is a battery pig.
I've experimented with a few Android phones and have to say that some of the lower end ones are simply plagued with call quality issues, especially with regards to echo. Other issues may involve wifi quality with the screen off, so play with those settings as necessary.
Some phones have issues maintaining a wifi connection. Check for any ROMs that may address this issue. The plus side is that AutoAir will disable airplane mode if the wifi connection is lost, so there shouldn't be any missed calls. Specific to HTC Sense, there is a bug (feature) that causes the wifi connection to be dropped between midnight and 7am. The app SmartSync Disabler attempts to address this issue: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.j4n87.smartsyncdisabler.
I am using this setup with good success on an HTC Sensation running ICS. I'm at the end of my current billing period and haven't even used half of my allotted minutes. In comparison, I've clocked over 500 minutes over VoIP.
I hope this guide saves you some minutes and battery life.
How overall is the voice quality?
It's fine for the most part. Speex has good provisions to handle mild packet loss and jitter. Over wireless, you should have no issues. I make a decent amount of calls over T-Mobile's HSPA as well, and I've found that as long as you aren't moving too quickly (in a car for example), call clarify / delay is completely fine.
Just tried setting it up. Everytime I try to dial from sipdroid, I get "unfortunately sipdroid has stopped" message. Any suggestions?
What phone are you using? Have you tried using the native dialer? I only use Sipdroid itself to make SIP calls.
Just wanted to chime in and say thank you! I followed the instructions as they pertain to my situation (SGS3, Sprint, unlimited data plan) and I've tested VOIP calling and it works great. Called my brother, and we were both immediately shocked by how good the call quality was. Only thing I did different was not install Y5 battery saver. The SGS3 (or maybe all Sprint smartphones?) has a built in function (Settings--under Wireless and networks, More Settings -- Mobile Networks -- Automatic Connections -- enable Sprint automatic connection) that seems to serve this feature.
Anyway, thanks!
Anyone else have trouble sliding up the box to answer an incoming call? Sometimes I slide it up, but it doesn't stay up, it slides back down so I can't answer. Or it has trouble sliding to begin with.
Awesome guide by the way! Thanks for sharing.
EDIT: Happens on Galaxy Nexus GSM running AOKP JELLY BEAN BUILD 5 and Galaxy S I9000 running Slim Bean 2.9
sk8erfrombham said:
Anyone else have trouble sliding up the box to answer an incoming call? Sometimes I slide it up, but it doesn't stay up, it slides back down so I can't answer. Or it has trouble sliding to begin with.
Awesome guide by the way! Thanks for sharing.
EDIT: Happens on Galaxy Nexus GSM running AOKP JELLY BEAN BUILD 5 and Galaxy S I9000 running Slim Bean 2.9
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I've had this problem in the past. Not sure exactly what the deal was with it. I haven't really had that problem too much lately though, and don't think it's caused me to miss a call. I think I've been giving it an extra second before I swipe it up and it seems to be fine.
I might explore other SIP apps again. Everyone likes csipsimple, but it seems to go into a loop when dialing out if used with the Google Voice app. I believe it does support speex and ilbc though, which would be nice.
Sipdroid supposedly has some proprietary support with pbxes in that it can initialize a redundant stream for purposes of mitigating packet loss / jitter.
Hey ziddey, I've heard that Google has removed the ability for third party apps to toggle airplane mode in Jelly Bean 4.2. Will this cause double ringing if AutoAir won't work? Do you know of any workarounds?
Thanks for posting this incredibly helpful tutorial. I've been using tmo's $30 plan with a GNex for awhile now. First I used GrooveIP, then pbxes+sipdroid. But, I never played around with the codecs, and speex is so much better than the default. I'm having a much better calling experience now. Thank you very much for sharing.
sk8erfrombham said:
Hey ziddey, I've heard that Google has removed the ability for third party apps to toggle airplane mode in Jelly Bean 4.2. Will this cause double ringing if AutoAir won't work? Do you know of any workarounds?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If Airplane mode can't be triggered, then double ringing will occur . I've stalled out on my project to make an AIO app a while ago, and am not sure what's possible now-- if there's something that can toggle the radio itself instead of triggering airplane mode.
Back in the day, I emailed Talkatone requesting that they add automatic toggling of the cell number on Google Voice when connected to Talkatone's server. In response, they added the feature, but made it available only for the premium subscription tier. But it does work. My research into GV hasn't gotten me far enough to see if there's an API I can call, or if they're manipulating the website/URL directly (imagine it's the former..). Once Talkatone sees that the client has disconnected / timed out, it will again re-enable forwarding to the cell number.
quarksurfer said:
Thanks for posting this incredibly helpful tutorial. I've been using tmo's $30 plan with a GNex for awhile now. First I used GrooveIP, then pbxes+sipdroid. But, I never played around with the codecs, and speex is so much better than the default. I'm having a much better calling experience now. Thank you very much for sharing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are very welcome! I hope it works out for you. I've been logging a lot of pbxes minutes recently and have found call quality to be inconsistent. Of course, a lot of that may have to do with wireless signal issues on my end. I would be running my own pbx server full time for personal use, but given the costs of electricity in my area, I don't have a 24/7 box anymore Maybe a Raspberry Pi is in my future.. I need something with low power consumption.
If you are ever looking to experiment, there are other sip clients available, and ilbc is another good codec to try. I believe pbxes.com supports it as well.
Does anyone know the phone number you can call to test echo? I think it plays your voice back on a delay or something...
I've seen it in the forums here but I can't find it after searching for a while.
Google for sip echo test
Use sipdroid or whatever sip client you're using to dial it.
[email protected] should work.
Trying this
I'll be trying this configuration out in the next week. I'm very curious to hear from others about how well it does for them. I'm new to the android platform, but have wanted to save the minutes and use voip as much as possible. It took a lot of searching to find this thread, and then a couple of days getting used to my new phone to have it set up.
I did note a strange loop (flashing screen) because in seeking out this guide I had had csipsimple installed (and grooveip) and Voice+ (Google Voice callback) and that caused trouble with outgoing calls. I've got it sorted out now, and it looks like it's all working.
Thanks for the well written guide!
---------- Post added at 03:51 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:23 AM ----------
It does look like this guide might not work completely well with the airplane mode API change in 4.2. There's another thread that suggests the secure settings plugin for Tasker (paid) or running Llama - Location Profiles on a rooted phone.
Tomcat23 said:
It does look like this guide might not work completely well with the airplane mode API change in 4.2. There's another thread that suggests the secure settings plugin for Tasker (paid) or running Llama - Location Profiles on a rooted phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bummmmmer. I'll be on the N4 boat soon enough and depend on this solution to keep under 100 minutes of actual airtime a month.
I'm switching nexus phones from the galaxy nexus to the nexus 4. Sipdroid is working great on the galaxy nexus thanks in part to this tutorial. When I boot up the N4 I sign into google voice, then I open sipdroid and put in my username and password, but I get a red dot and a "registration failed (401 Unauthorized)" error. I'm still able to open sipdroid on the gNex and it works fine.
I'm thinking of deleting my pbxes account, and then uninstalling/reinstalling sipdroid on the N4 and just setting up a brand new account.
Anyone have any thoughts? Thanks for any ideas,
k
---------- Post added at 07:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:17 PM ----------
Dang. So I deleted my pbxes account, but when I try to create a new account with sipdroid, it says 'myname' trunk is already in use. I guess I should have deleted that trunk, then deleted my account. But, I can't log in to pbxes.org anymore. So, I feel stuck.
to answer my own question, in case anyone searches. You just have to wait a few hours (3-4) for me, and then you can create a new account because that old trunk gets deleted.
GV SMS Integration Free
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mdrtools.apps.gvintegration.free
GV SMS Integration Free
While not related to VoIP, a lot of users would prefer the native SMS client over the GV app for text messages. Google Voice can forward texts, but it will obviously be encapsulated in a forwarded message from a shortcode instead of the actual sender's number. Not exactly clean by any means, but it is the only solution when in an area without data (i.e. roaming). Otherwise, this app will work alongside the GV app to offer seamless integration with the native SMS app (or GoSMS). You must enter your credentials in the app again for it to be able to send messages. Upon enabling integration, the phone will reboot. There looks to be three types of integration: standard, root user, and airplane mode. I've only used root user, which seems to work just fine in airplane mode.
Since I never use my cell number for texting, I have it set to send all text messages via Google Voice account. It does have the option to allow replying to texts from the number it was received from, which can be useful. There's some warning about hiding the notification bar, but I haven't had any issues yet.
Going after strictly GV SMS integration, and nothing else, I've disabled the send/receive text signatures, turning the screen on when there's a new notification, and showing popups when there's a new text.
Be sure to disable text notifications in the Google Voice app.
Do note the warning when you first enable integration-- if you decide to uninstall the app, DISABLE INTEGRATION FIRST.
ziddey said:
GV SMS Integration Free
Going after strictly GV SMS integration, and nothing else, I've disabled the send/receive text signatures, turning the screen on when there's a new notification, and showing popups when there's a new text.
Be sure to disable text notifications in the Google Voice app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok
errorcod3 said:
I'm using the same exact setup as you -- I don't even know my phone number with my carrier... But, I am having a problem with GV SMS Integration. I'm a recent iPhone transplant and I switched to a Google Nexus 4 running 4.2.1.
Again, my setup is exactly the same, but I'm not getting notified for new text messages. When I open the native text message app I have new messages, I'm just not getting notified. I have turn screen on and show popups -- and I get nothing. I also have text notifications disabled in the GV app. Any ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you get notified of new messages that are sent to your cell number?
Since GV SMS Integration essentially backdoors the native app, it sounds like something changed in the code with JB. Seeing how the app hasn't been updated in a while and the website is non-existent, let's hope for an update soon.
In the meantime, I'm imagining that it might work fine with GoSMS on JB if that app is okay by your standards..
Have you found an automated airplane mode toggler that works with JB? I understand AutoAir is not compatible.
I recently bought a tablet and I want to be able to place calls through my phone by dialing on my tablet. I can access the dialer by creating a shortcut to the activity using ADW, but it says voice calling is not supported. I know cars can place calls remotely using their voice recognition, so it is definitely possible on the phone's end. Does anyone here know if there is a way to remotely trigger a phone call?
Good question, I have not seen away yet. I do know you can send text and check you Google voice mail through Google Voice...
Try Tablet Talk. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.apdroid.tabtalk
Sent from my GT-P3113 using xda premium
I've been a Tablet Talk fan but it requires that you be on same WiFi SSID or Bluetooth. The bluetooth is very portable, needs no data connection.
Talkatone https://play.google.com/store/search?q=talkatonetakes about 10 minutes to setup and works beautifully.
Cloud SMS is new and works wonderfully for text https://play.google.com/store/apps/...51bGwsMSwyLDEsImNvbS5iZWNoYXJkLmNsb3Vkc21zIl0. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1951631 I think with your phone on and connected to internet via DATA or WiFi, you can text with the tablet anywhere you can get an internet connection.
If you want to do some work and use true SIP dialing, I use this:
[Mod] Make/Receive Free Phone Calls! {V3} [Now Easier!] http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1823701
I am a customer of them, for my home phone, and I just found out they make an app. Not only for the android, but for ipad to as well.
Bit pricy, but I am already registerd with them for a two year contract for only $20.00..., all it offers is a either a "free" phone number or I can use the one I have setup for my home phone.
If this is not for you you can search for VOIP in the app market.
MagicJack App
This idea was great, thanks for the thought...!!!
Sincerely,
MagicJack Customer
Anyone else seen this yet... simonics.com/gvgw
You need a Google voice number... (free)
NO im not spamming this.. i found it ON MY OWN and found it to be really useful since it works. Don't be haters... try it or not... its free and up to you.
I use this with my phone. There are places at my work where the only connection i have is WiFi... this solves the problem and i don't need stupid software to use it... just go to the site, set it up, and put the settings into your phone settings for internet calling.
Ive been using this for a few months now... and no, my Google account has not been hijacked and is a secure encrypted connection through a asterisk server and secure ports.
Read the FAQ on the site... its really simple and works.
our certyles
I've been testing it out a bit, it seems to work pretty well. I plan to drop my phone plan soon actually and just use a Verizon LTE hotspot.
I want to make sure I've got a method fairly reliable in place to make calls/texts with GV, and so far I've had success with the callback method, grooveIP (though the audio still sounds a bit funky), and using simonics and csip simple.
simonics + csip seemed to be the most reliable, though I've hit a snag: It's not allowing me to register my simonics account when I'm connected to my LTE hotspot. Works fine on any other wifi though.
silverwater25 said:
I've been testing it out a bit, it seems to work pretty well. I plan to drop my phone plan soon actually and just use a Verizon LTE hotspot.
I want to make sure I've got a method fairly reliable in place to make calls/texts with GV, and so far I've had success with the callback method, grooveIP (though the audio still sounds a bit funky), and using simonics and csip simple.
simonics + csip seemed to be the most reliable, though I've hit a snag: It's not allowing me to register my simonics account when I'm connected to my LTE hotspot. Works fine on any other wifi though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How does this work? Doesn't a Google Voice number have to forward to a real number and be attached to one? Do you have another number that the GV is attached to?
I don't use a single app for this.
*Setup a Google voice (free)
- set your ringback as Google chat.
*Setup a pbxes.org account (free)
- set a trunk that points to your gchat
If you're on an AOSP ROM, open dialer, go to settings, scroll to bottom, internet call settings, accounts, point to your pbxes account.
Done!
Now you have free incoming + outgoing calls over WiFi or 4G. Even 3G as well.
If you use the sipdroid app (by pbxes.org ppl) instead of the built-in AOSP SIP stack you get more audio encoding options and the ability to pass your calls thru a VPN. Pretty sweet
kennyglass123 said:
How does this work? Doesn't a Google Voice number have to forward to a real number and be attached to one? Do you have another number that the GV is attached to?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm still learning about all this, it's been pretty confusing as it's all new stuff for me. I'll try to explain what I know (or what I think I know)
Internet calls (VOIP) are typically free when connecting to another internet connection (ex. Skype, Kakao, Seed, etc). PSTN (regular phone numbers) cost money to connnect. Google Talk, which is VOIP,. lets you call a PTSN for free from your desktop. This seems pretty unique and likely will not last forever I'm guessing.
Install a softphone on your device, and you're bypassing your carrier's calling network.
Calls coming in:
Now, it's possible to setup a free VOIP account and attach a "real" number to it as a way to connect to the outside world. This service called IPkall can give you a recycled Wash. state number and let you get calls on iit for free. I attached one of these to a Callcentric VOIP account..When someone rings my google voice number, it will ring my IDKall/Callcentric number, which oh yeah doesn't cost me anything.
Calling out:
Callback method: Using apps like the Google Voice Callback, you can do the same thing as you can from your desktop, which is have Google Voice ring one of your numbers while simultaneously calling the number you want to call. Google Voice is acting like the bridge between your phone and the one you're calling. Like you said you need a "real" number to make calls like this with google voice, but if your VOIP account is attached to a "real" number then it doesn't know the difference.Typically your carrier would charge you money/minutes to call your google voice number, but since you're connecting for free with a softphone/VOIP then you're only be charged for whatever data you use.
GrooveIP/Simonics Google Voice Gateway: I really don't know how these work, but my best guess is they're just simplifying the process for you, setting up the second VOIP account automatically.
So I'm annoyed that Csip Simple/simonics isn't working for me when I connect to my verizon sch-lc11 jetpack I picked up a few days ago (the verizon guys were pretty confused when I turned down a free iphone 4s, heh). Groove IP seems to be working all right now, if that fails then I can go back to the callback method, or maybe try setting up a pbx.
Setting the phone up so that it can receive SIP calls tends to chew through battery a little quicker.
Having said that...if you want to do your own thing and have an old pc (or even Raspberry Pi) laying around, check out PBX in a Flash (sorry I can't post links, just Google it). I've been running this setup for about two years to replace my land line with a google voice number and it works great. I've expanded my setup to have a home office number as well. All free. You can also set up your cell as a SIP or IAX extension and have the satisfaction of doing it yourself.
You can also purchase an obi100, and use the ObiTalk app.
My fiancée and I got ourselves a pair of Nexus 5's a couple of weeks ago, switched from Verizon to the T-Mo $30 100/Unlimited/5GB(Unlimited) plan and are now happily saving over $100 a month in the process. Yay us!
However, I've been struggling with VOIP with varying degrees of success. I've spent a considerable amount of time researching and configuring and tweaking, and I'd like to share my findings, as well as get some feedback on some things I may have missed.
One of the first things I tried was the Google Voice/PBXes/CSipSimple method, which produced terrible call quality. Everything from echo to background noise. No matter what I did (and believe me, I tried everything I could find) the call quality was just terrible. Changing the mic source, enabling mode audio API, changing the SIP audio mode, changing codecs, nothing really helped. Battery life was great, but the call quality was pretty much unusable. I could hear myself echoing, the other party could hear their own voice echoing, and/or there'd be too much background noise, or I'd be too quiet, etc.
Next, I tried Talkatone (paid for premium). Connection problems galore! I'd have several "lag fests" over WiFi (never tried it on LTE) even when I was sitting right at the router. Everything would cut out for about 30-45 seconds and then resume as if nothing happened, and this occurred 2-3 times over the course of a 10-15 minute call. Yes, I ruled out a connection/router issue. Battery life was "OK" but it wasn't as good as it was with CSipSimple.
I then tried GrooveIP (paid). Lots of echo here. Again, no setting or combination of settings really seemed to get rid of it. Tried as I might, the echo was always there. Battery life was on par with Talkatone.
Next, I decided I'd go a different direction and tried Skype. The voice quality was much improved, with no echo, but complaints of background noise, especially while on speakerphone. This has been passable, though not "ideal" (I know, VOIP isn't perfect). The big issue with Skype has been the absurd battery drain. A 30 minute call drained my battery by almost 20% and Skype was topping the charts by a long shot on the battery usage.
I know there are other options out there such as Viber, but I've not seen a whole lot out of them in terms of reviews, etc. I may just end up trying Viber and seeing how it pans out, but the options are starting to run out.
I know part of the problem is the same one the Nexus 4 had with the microphone(s) but, I'd like to think I just might be overlooking something. If anyone feels they've "solved the problem" please share your settings, as I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels as though they're banging their head against a wall here.
Fenuxx said:
I know there are other options out there such as Viber, but I've not seen a whole lot out of them in terms of reviews, etc. I may just end up trying Viber and seeing how it pans out, but the options are starting to run out.
I know part of the problem is the same one the Nexus 4 had with the microphone(s) but, I'd like to think I just might be overlooking something. If anyone feels they've "solved the problem" please share your settings, as I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels as though they're banging their head against a wall here.
Click to expand...
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Viber works well for me and I only hear a slight echo if I'm talking with Nexus 4 users. Give it a shot. Tango might be worth a try, too. Good luck.
Well, I believe Csipsimple is the best voip client available. So, you'll most likely want to go back to your first solution, but replace pbxes with Callcentric, voip.ms or another voip provider. I've tried everything you did as well (plus a few more options) and with the exception of Skype, found the quality to be unacceptable. What I'm suggesting won't be free, but the cost is extremely low. Actually, voip.ms could be a very good solution for you. You would establish and fund one "account", but set up separate "sub-accounts" for yourself and your fiance. If you wanted to use GV exclusively, you could then purchase a couple of DIDs and set up GV to forward to them. I use an app on my phone called Groove Forwarder that changes my GV forwarding settings based on my data connection. If I'm on LTE, etc..., it forwards to my T-Mobile number. When I'm connected to Wi-Fi though, it switches to my Flowroute (another voip provider) number. Also fwiw, you can use voip over LTE if you want. Being in a moving vehicle set up that way will cause issues however.
adrman said:
Well, I believe Csipsimple is the best voip client available. So, you'll most likely want to go back to your first solution, but replace pbxes with Callcentric, voip.ms or another voip provider. I've tried everything you did as well (plus a few more options) and with the exception of Skype, found the quality to be unacceptable. What I'm suggesting won't be free, but the cost is extremely low. Actually, voip.ms could be a very good solution for you. You would establish and fund one "account", but set up separate "sub-accounts" for yourself and your fiance. If you wanted to use GV exclusively, you could then purchase a couple of DIDs and set up GV to forward to them. I use an app on my phone called Groove Forwarder that changes my GV forwarding settings based on my data connection. If I'm on LTE, etc..., it forwards to my T-Mobile number. When I'm connected to Wi-Fi though, it switches to my Flowroute (another voip provider) number. Also fwiw, you can use voip over LTE if you want. Being in a moving vehicle set up that way will cause issues however.
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Yeah, I also tried the Callcentric+PBXes route for the iLBC codec, which didn't seem to help. I'm not entirely convinced it's the PBX provider that's at fault, as I don't have these weird audio issues with CSipSimple+PBXes/Callcentric on my "home phone" (separate Google Voice account) which is an old DROID Incredible 2. Voice quality there is fine.
I did look into voip.ms, but when I signed up (late at night), they forced a "manual authentication" on me (why, I don't know) and I needed to contact support. I tried logging in the following morning, only to be greeted with a message about my IP address not being whiteflagged and not being authorized to access the account. Being that my IP address is dynamic, I don't think I want to constantly fight that battle about "approving" my IP address whenever it changes.
Create a ticket with voip.ms support to inquire. I've only good things to say about their response times and help.
Does anyone have bluetooth headsets working with csipsimple? On my nexus 5 I've yet to find a sip phone that works correctly with a headset.
Fenuxx said:
I then tried GrooveIP (paid). Lots of echo here. Again, no setting or combination of settings really seemed to get rid of it. Tried as I might, the echo was always there. Battery life was on par with Talkatone.
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groove and google voice gave me no echo when calling a landline from my wifi connection. i think this has to be your internet access that would be messing this up. . .or maybe it's just bad for voip to voip calls
I can personally attest to voip.ms + csipsimple + g729 codec ($10 dollars in the playstore) reliability as a voip setup for my Nexus 5. My set up is basically that GV forwards to my voip.ms DID which rings directly to my Nexus 5's csipsimple app. In the event that im not registered in csipsimple (e.g. lose connection, servers go down, etc) I have failover set up w/ voip.ms to ring to my real tmobile phone number. I have zero issues with call quality or echo and I have had full conversations with people on the phone even while driving. I also used this guys tip when first setting up, these may or may not change a thing but Ive had my csipsimple configured with these settings since day 1 also.
1. Go to settings
2. Click the menu button -> Expert Mode
3. Go to “media” -> select echo mode and choose WebRTC (probably already chosen)
4. In “media” go to “Audio troubleshooting” -> “Mic source” -> Voice call
5. in “Audio troubleshooting” -> “Audio implementation” -> Java
I use flowroute + csimpsimple (G729). Call quality is excellent and low latency on WiFi and LTE, and not bad over HSPA/HSPA+.
My main issue at the moment is bluetooth. I cannot get it to work with the bluetooth in my car (only bluetooth I have). I can get incoming audio OK, but it appears to be using the phone microphone for outgoing audio instead of the car microphone and it's very garbled and noisy.
There was a software issue in 4.2 regarding inline mic gain, 4.2.2 fixed it. GroovIP free worked fine for me after the update. There is only a few months left of google voice as they are shutting it down on May 15, 2014.
I have been using Viber for over two years. Works perfectly fine. Try it.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk