GOOGLE VOICE Tips, Tricks and other Things

[llamabreath]

Please share your GOOGLE VOICE experiences, problems and advice here.

Thank you all.




I think signatures are stupid.

(⊙.⊙)

 

[zedorda]

My current tip is to jump ship before it gets shut down.

Merging Of Google Voice And Hangouts Will Result Shutting Down All 3rd-Party Voice Apps In May 2014

 

[llamabreath]

My current tip is to jump ship before it gets shut down.

Merging Of Google Voice And Hangouts Will Result Shutting Down All 3rd-Party Voice Apps In May 2014

Thanks, but I don't see it saying anything about our GV numbers.

Will they still work for voice to voice calls and will there still be blocks of new numbers available every once in awhile?




I think signatures are stupid.

(⊙.⊙)

 

[jdbii]

If you use multiple phones one very good trick is to enable call screening if you don't mind having to press 1 to accept each call. That way forwarding phones don't accidentally pick up the voice mail. All your voice mails will always go to GV voice mail since you have to push "1" to accept the calls. (They will pick up the request that you press 1 but they get forwarded to GV voice mail).

I think Google Voice is going to work exactly the same as it does now. The only difference is 3rd parties will no longer be able to access and use it like GrooveIP or Obihai. But I think all the call forwarding, using different cell and landlines, voice mail, and free long distance will continue unchanged for the time being.

If somebody knows more about this, please share.

 

[llamabreath]

If you use multiple phones one very good trick is to enable call screening if you don't mind having to press 1 to accept each call. That way forwarding phones don't accidentally pick up the voice mail. All your voice mails will always go to GV voice mail since you have to push "1" to accept the calls. (They will pick up the request that you press 1 but they get forwarded to GV voice mail).

I think Google Voice is going to work exactly the same as it does now. The only difference is 3rd parties will no longer be able to access and use it like GrooveIP or Obihai. But I think all the call forwarding, using different cell and landlines, voice mail, and free long distance will continue unchanged for the time being.

If somebody knows more about this, please share.

Good info, thank you.




I think signatures are stupid.

(⊙.⊙)

 

[zedorda]

Google is getting out of the phone number end of Google Voice. This will not stop the voice service it will just stop voice being connect by phone numbers. They are moving to connection by name or email.

 

[jdbii]

Google is getting out of the phone number end of Google Voice. This will not stop the voice service it will just stop voice being connect by phone numbers. They are moving to connection by name or email.

Have you seen anything that indicates when we will stop being able to connect phone numbers to Google Voice? My understanding is the changes coming this May will only impact interfacing GV with 3rd party apps, but I have yet to see any indication when connecting with phone numbers or free long distance will end.

 

[zedorda]

In May the Google Voice app will be gone. The Google Hangouts will take over all the Google Voice functions except the current dialer it will change and there hasn't been clear indication of the removal of the numbers just the release of Google's intentions of using email and names to connect Google Hangouts.

 

[jdbii]

In May the Google Voice app will be gone. The Google Hangouts will take over all the Google Voice functions except the current dialer it will change and there hasn't been clear indication of the removal of the numbers just the release of Google's intentions of using email and names to connect Google Hangouts.

My understanding is/was Google Talk is ending and being rolled into Hangouts. This is the first reference I've seen anywhere that the Google Voice app is going away.

 

[llamabreath]

My understanding is/was Google Talk is ending and being rolled into Hangouts. This is the first reference I've seen anywhere that the Google Voice app is going away.

But will the actual SERVICE change?




>>> Sent from Hotlanta

 

[gabbott]

But will the actual SERVICE change?


>>> Sent from Hotlanta

From what I've read, I don't believe so. It's some backend changes for the integration into hangouts that will end up breaking some 3rd party apps that have been using an undocumented API to work. Google hasn't announced anything is going away other than that is happening and they wanted to give these third-party app developers notice that it'll break their apps NOT the Google Voice service itself.

I don't see any reason to think that Google Voice itself is actually going away other than it might have tighter integration with hangouts.

 

[llamabreath]

From what I've read, I don't believe so. It's some backend changes for the integration into hangouts that will end up breaking some 3rd party apps that have been using an undocumented API to work. Google hasn't announced anything is going away other than that is happening and they wanted to give these third-party app developers notice that it'll break their apps NOT the Google Voice service itself.

I don't see any reason to think that Google Voice itself is actually going away other than it might have tighter integration with hangouts.

Good, thank you. :thumbup:




>>> Sent from Hotlanta

 

[jdbii]

But will the actual SERVICE change?

I've scoured Google Voice Forums in Google Groups https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!forum/voice/categories and there is nothing to suggest Google Voice is going away or the service as we know it is changing come May. When people suggest otherwise in that forum they get pretty strong push back not to spread rumors.

Its not that service isn't going away someday, and quite frankly Google could end it anytime unannounced, its just that the only official thing we know for certain at this time come May third-party apps will no longer have access to Google Voice and Google Talk is being rolled into Hangouts. I can't believe that Google would end the service without giving us some kind of heads up, and so far as I can tell there hasn't been any indication, and there certainly hasn't been anything official put out by Google, that Google Voice (or the service) is ending or changing in any meaningful way.

And I don't mean to suggest @zerdorda is wrong -- I'm just arm-chair quarterbacking here -- so I'm most certainly could be wrong and most times I am wrong. I just don't think I am on this topic.

 

[Google_Superuser]

I tried using Google Voice and grooveip eventually the lack of mms and just general flakey nature of grooveip (Sometimes it would do things like send all calls to voicemail until I rebooted the app) made me switch back to using my regular number. I switched to a plan that has unlimited text and talk anyway. I still use the GV number with hangouts on my desktop when I want to make calls from home but it forwards calls to my cell number as well. So it's my "home" number.

 

[llamabreath]

I've scoured Google Voice Forums in Google Groups https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!forum/voice/categories and there is nothing to suggest Google Voice is going away or the service as we know it is changing come May. When people suggest otherwise in that forum they get pretty strong push back not to spread rumors.

Its not that service isn't going away someday, and quite frankly Google could end it anytime unannounced, its just that the only official thing we know for certain at this time come May third-party apps will no longer have access to Google Voice and Google Talk is being rolled into Hangouts. I can't believe that Google would end the service without giving us some kind of heads up, and so far as I can tell there hasn't been any indication, and there certainly hasn't been anything official put out by Google, that Google Voice (or the service) is ending or changing in any meaningful way.

And I don't mean to suggest @zerdorda is wrong -- I'm just arm-chair quarterbacking here -- so I'm most certainly could be wrong and most times I am wrong. I just don't think I am on this topic.

LOL, thanks




>>> Sent from Hotlanta

 

[llamabreath]

I tried using Google Voice and grooveip eventually the lack of mms and just general flakey nature of grooveip (Sometimes it would do things like send all calls to voicemail until I rebooted the app) made me switch back to using my regular number. I switched to a plan that has unlimited text and talk anyway. I still use the GV number with hangouts on my desktop when I want to make calls from home but it forwards calls to my cell number as well. So it's my "home" number.

Thank you too




>>> Sent from Hotlanta

 

[zedorda]

Merging Of Google Voice And Hangouts Will Result Shutting Down All 3rd-Party Voice Apps In May 2014

That was posted shortly after the press release by Google announcing the merging of Google Voice with Google Hangout not the discontinuation of any services. Now unless merge has changed meaning recently this means the Google Voice APP will no longer exist after this action but all services will continue except the XMPP interface.

The rumor is the money being spent by Google to gain access to the numbers being used by Google voice service is looking to be saved by switching to names/emails. This will avoid having to pay the access fees without stopping voice services. This doesn't mean Google Hangouts won't be able to call regular numbers. Just no one is sure how regular callers will reach Hangout/Voice service users but Google will figure something out.

I, like most of you, don't see Google Voices present functionality going away at all. This change is just to address the 3rd party API and the merging into Hangouts.

P.S. Google Hangouts replaced Google Talk upon release.

 

[zedorda]

I tried using Google Voice and grooveip eventually the lack of mms and just general flakey nature of grooveip (Sometimes it would do things like send all calls to voicemail until I rebooted the app) made me switch back to using my regular number. I switched to a plan that has unlimited text and talk anyway. I still use the GV number with hangouts on my desktop when I want to make calls from home but it forwards calls to my cell number as well. So it's my "home" number.

GrooveIP sadly hasn't worked too well for about a 6-months now. You should try "Spare Phone" It works great with wonderful voice quality over GrooveIP. I used GrooveIP for over 2 years now Spare Phone is the goto app for my Home WiFi Phone(Verizon Galaxy Nexus)and it doesn't use the XMPP interface.