Google Voice Not Supported on OBi Devices After May 15 2014

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555
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Google Voice Not Supported on OBi Devices After May 15 2014

Post by 555 »

"Google Voice Not Supported on OBi Devices After May 15 2014"

I just got this news in an email from info@obihai.com

So after finally getting this alternative to my landline, the plug is to be pulled on almost no notice, and I have little time to stop my phone going dead.

Apparently they've known about this for some time, but have suppressed the news (maybe to trick more people into buying their product). What absolute jerks.

I'm just absorbing this, and gathering info.

Any thoughts/ideas?
TheGreyingDuke
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Re: Google Voice Not Supported on OBi Devices After May 15 2

Post by TheGreyingDuke »

This is rather old news, I saw this back in October and have had time to make alternatives.There are some options mentioned below. HTH

http://blog.obihai.com/2013/10/importan ... voice.html
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TX_TURTLE
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Re: Google Voice Not Supported on OBi Devices After May 15 2

Post by TX_TURTLE »

You are not the only one asking this question. See here http://www.zdnet.com/voip-to-landline-s ... 000028549/ and here https://productforums.google.com/forum/ ... 25-true%5D. Bottom line: you can sign up for a service that is compatible with your Obi device (cheap, but not free) and forward your existing number to the new service.

As an alternative, you could buy another VoIP device, such as the Ooma Telo http://www.ooma.com/products. Their basic service is free, but you need to pay a few dollars every month for taxes (Ooma just collects on behalf of the government). This is what I use and its quality and reliability are pretty good.
TheGreyingDuke
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Re: Google Voice Not Supported on OBi Devices After May 15 2

Post by TheGreyingDuke »

TX_TURTLE wrote: Their basic service is free, but you need to pay a few dollars every month for taxes (Ooma just collects on behalf of the government). This is what I use and its quality and reliability are pretty good.
This is partly true, some of this monthly assessment is for taxes, but some/most of it (no way to tell as they are not broken down) are for cost of Ooma's doing business, not taxes to any government.
Regulatory Compliance Fee (what's this?)
Ooma uses this fee to recover certain of Ooma’s costs associated with compliance with regulatory, legal and tax requirements including: (1) fees Ooma is required to pay to support the TRS fund, which supports facilities and services used to provide telecommunications services for individuals with hearing or speech disabilities; (2) annual regulatory fees assessed on Ooma by the Federal Communications Commission; (3) costs Ooma incurs administering, billing, collecting and making required tax and regulatory filings and complying with other regulations; (4) regulatory surcharges Ooma pays to the providers of telecommunications that Ooma uses to provide its services.
http://www.ooma.com/products/taxes-fees
"Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race." H.G. Wells
German Expat
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Re: Google Voice Not Supported on OBi Devices After May 15 2

Post by German Expat »

I added voip.ms as a 2nd provider and will ride google voice to its end on my obi. Afterwards will still keep my main number on GV and just forward it to the new number on voip.ms

It is not free but cheap enough. We are not using our land line too much so per minute costs don't play a huge role. We have quite some international calls though and the rates are about the same for GV vs. voip.ms

The news came out a while ago though.
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runner9
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Re: Google Voice Not Supported on OBi Devices After May 15 2

Post by runner9 »

This has been known for quite a while, but it's not the end of the world. (it's been on the amazon page for each item for at least 5 months)

We purchased an Obi100 in January and have been using http://www.voip.ms/ It costs 99 cents a month for the phone number and 1 cent per minute for non-toll free numbers, billed in 6 seconds=1/10 of a cent increments. It's also $1.50 a month for e911 which is optional.

There were some issues with porting our number, I don't know if it was At&T or voip.ms's fault but it did get figured out. Otherwise we've been very happy with it.

We have caller Id which we didn't have before, it e-mails me a file every time there's a voicemail.

Since setting up the account in mid January and porting the number on February 11 it's cost us a total of $4.20.
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555
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Re: Google Voice Not Supported on OBi Devices After May 15 2

Post by 555 »

This is not old news to me. This is absolutely brand spanking new news to me.

I've been totally blindsided by this. The obi people clearly chose to keep its customers in the dark until the last minute, except those who happen to stumble across some obscure blog post. It reminds me of this:
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy wrote:"But Mr Dent, the plans have been available in the local planning office for the last nine months."

"Oh yes, well as soon as I heard I went straight round to see them, yesterday afternoon. You hadn't exactly gone out of your way to call attention to them, had you? I mean, like actually telling anybody or anything."

"But the plans were on display ..."

"On display? I eventually had to go down to the cellar to find them."

"That's the display department."

"With a flashlight."

"Ah, well the lights had probably gone."

"So had the stairs."

"But look, you found the notice didn't you?"

"Yes," said Arthur, "yes I did. It was on display in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying 'Beware of the Leopard'."
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runner9
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Re: Google Voice Not Supported on OBi Devices After May 15 2

Post by runner9 »

http://blog.obihai.com/2013/10/importan ... voice.html

A link to this article has been and currently is on the home page in the bottom right in red.
Last edited by runner9 on Thu Apr 17, 2014 9:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Retired1809
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Re: Google Voice Not Supported on OBi Devices After May 15 2

Post by Retired1809 »

What dos OBi stand for?

Will this change affect ALL Google voice users? Whenever my customers call my toll-free "800" number, these incoming calls automatically are forwarded ("terminated") to my free Google phone number. I've been pleased because I can either listen to voice messages or read the message in text form. I use my laptop or desktop computer to do all this.

Does this change mean that I won't be able to use google voice to receive incoming calls or make outgoing calls???
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runner9
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Re: Google Voice Not Supported on OBi Devices After May 15 2

Post by runner9 »

Obi is a device to use voice over internet protocol (VOIP). Google will still exist, but won't support XMPP based calling. So, you can use Google Voice with something else, or Obi with something else, but not Obi with Google Voice.

Link to Obi100 on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/OBi100-Telephone- ... 004LO098O/
(the May 15 notice seems missing, it was there very clearly)
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555
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Re: Google Voice Not Supported on OBi Devices After May 15 2

Post by 555 »

runner9 wrote:http://blog.obihai.com/2013/10/importan ... voice.html

A link to this article has been and currently is on the home page in the bottom right in red.
What "home page"?

The internet is vast. Why would everyone be expected to have seen this particular page?

info@obihai.com chose to email me today. They could have done it 6 months ago but chose not to. I think the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy quote above captures what has been done here.
wander
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Re: Google Voice Not Supported on OBi Devices After May 15 2

Post by wander »

German Expat wrote:I added voip.ms as a 2nd provider and will ride google voice to its end on my obi. Afterwards will still keep my main number on GV and just forward it to the new number on voip.ms
+1. I did the same.
persimmon_tree
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Re: Google Voice Not Supported on OBi Devices After May 15 2

Post by persimmon_tree »

Try logon to obitalk.com, it lists their two approved service providers so far,
Anveo and Phone Power, several annual plans to choose from.
mervinj7
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Re: Google Voice Not Supported on OBi Devices After May 15 2

Post by mervinj7 »

I signed up for Phonepower.com directly from the obitalk website. They are listed as one of the approved service providers for ObiHai. $59.99/year for unlimited phone calls. So far, it's been working reasonably well. I forward my GV number to my phonepower number. Outgoing calls spoof my GV, so the people I call still "see" my original GV number on their caller ID.
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Re: Google Voice Not Supported on OBi Devices After May 15 2

Post by niceguy7376 »

I use one GV number to forward to Ooma (first generation where I paid for device and no taxes even). What are the options to transfer this GV to another provider where I can get the following:
US & Canada calling through cordless phones at home.
also ring one or two other devices (mobile phones)
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Re: Google Voice Not Supported on OBi Devices After May 15 2

Post by 555 »

Okay I've been trying to read up on this but it's confusing. It seems it will take a while for the dust to settle (e.g. what's to become of Google Voice?) and we can't expect companies to be forthcoming about what's going to happen, so it's a bit like the wild west for now. Whatever solution I come up with next could also become obsolete with little or no warning.

I finally ditched my landline last year and settled on this Google Voice and OBi gadget combination. I didn't expect it should be free, but it should be a tiny fraction of the $40/mo I had been paying to AT&T. The landline number I had had for many years is now with Google Voice (a rigmarole to get it there, but it's there now). I'd rather keep that number there for now. I like how Google Voice cut out almost all the nuisance calls, and I like that I can log in and see calling history, and can send-to-spam or block unwanted numbers. They also have pretty good 2c/min rates to call many foreign countries.

The OBi device is just a bit of hardware, and it's purchase price is a sunk cost. I can use it or not, but I can see I need something to connect my traditional home phone to my router, and I'm reluctant (though not totally unwilling) to get another bit of hardware that could be obsolete in a year.

We use our "landline" a few times per week. We use our cell phone a few times per year, so cell phones are out of the picture here.

Cliff Notes: We want to keep our number (that was our landline number for many years) in Google Voice for now, and not port it elsewhere, and want it to be the number people call us with. We want to have a "landline"-type phone, as we had with GV+OBi, whether it uses the OBi hardware or something else, but are wary of hardware that could soon be obsolete. We are basically looking for a patch/bandaid, that will join Google Voice to the OBi device, to make it continue like it works now, and a small cost is okay.
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BrandonBogle
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Re: Google Voice Not Supported on OBi Devices After May 15 2

Post by BrandonBogle »

555, You can go with Ooma discussed above. $110 for the device and then about $4/mo for fees. They have been around for a while, but who knows. If it lasts a year (which I personally feel it will), then you've still come out ahead. If you want to continue using your Obi device, you can. You need to get a different provider to service Obi. Another poster shortly above yours is doing that and has the new service receiving forwarded calls from GV.

Basically, GV is getting out of 'integration' with other devices and going back to their original model -- Your GV phone number must forward to some other number, be it a cell or landline. What you need is to have your Obi device (or any other replacement device) connect to a provider that gives you a number and then tell GV that is the destination phone number for your GV #. Some providers, like discussed shortly before yours by other providers, can "spoof" your GV # so that even when you are calling out with their phone service, the phone number delivered to whomever you are calling is your GV #.
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Re: Google Voice Not Supported on OBi Devices After May 15 2

Post by tecmage »

I hardly use my voip phone except for calling into teleconferences for work, so I went with localphone.com on my OBi as they offer free calls to toll free numbers and the per minute cost is reasonable for other calls.

All in all I spend about $1.74 a month, 99 cents for my number and $.75 for my local 250 account. I think the initial setup ran me about $5.00

I've been using it for about 4 months now and I'm very happy with it.
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mmmodem
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Re: Google Voice Not Supported on OBi Devices After May 15 2

Post by mmmodem »

OBI sent the email and made the blog post in October. They did not wait until the last minute. It's more like you're the whale falling. You've been falling for a while. You just didn't look down until now. It does OBI no good not to tell you. The earlier sooner they tell you, the sooner you sign up to their paid service.
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555
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Re: Google Voice Not Supported on OBi Devices After May 15 2

Post by 555 »

It's puzzling that some people pretend to believe obihai.com took reasonable steps to inform their customers. Of course, it's just an act.
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Don_Qua
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Re: Google Voice Not Supported on OBi Devices After May 15 2

Post by Don_Qua »

555 wrote:It's puzzling that some people pretend to believe obihai.com took reasonable steps to inform their customers. Of course, it's just an act.
Obihai had it out there, dated 10/31/2013 http://blog.obihai.com/2013/10/importan ... voice.html But they didn't trumpet the fact that free calling via GV through their devices was going away, I recall stumbling on this after Thanksgiving. It wasn't on their home page but nested below. Like it or not (and I don't like it) free calling through your Obi is going away. You can still use your Obi if you set up an account with a VOIP provider and you don't have to use one that Obihai approves of or links to from their home page. Now I have 911 access and still have nearly free calls to Canada and my Google Voice number just forwards to my new local number and my new provider lets me spoof my GV number for outgoing calls. I can live with this and it beats Magicjack or Ooma for me.
Jack27
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Re: Google Voice Not Supported on OBi Devices After May 15 2

Post by Jack27 »

555 wrote: We use our "landline" a few times per week. We use our cell phone a few times per year, so cell phones are out of the picture here.
One important thing it seems like most posting in this thread aren't aware of is that any solution that works to provide service to your OBi / "landline" can also be used with your smartphone. All you need is an app for your phone that does the same thing (i.e., connect to a VoIP service) that the OBi hardware does. You would then simply use that app (instead of the standard dialer app) to make phone calls, and said calls would use your plan's data instead of voice minutes. It can also be used over Wi-Fi and be "free" (from your cellphone service provider's perspective, but not your VoIP provider's).

I currently use an Google Voice with an Obi device and an Android cellphone running the Talkatone app. In May, I will either switch to Google Hangouts (if it has VoIP call functionality by then...) and abandon the OBi, or sign up for a separate VoIP service, point my Google Voice number at it, reprogram the Obi and switch to the Sipdroid app.

(Note: I've been pleased with the way the OBi people have been handling the situation. I'm significantly less pleased with the way Google has been handling it. The problem is not that they're discontinuing a free service, which is reasonable, the problem is that a) the stated reason is not the real reason (allegedly, it's due to "security issues" with linking to XMPP, but it's really because Google wants to be more proprietary) and b) there's no firm confirmation that Google's designated replacement, Hangouts, will actually have the necessary functionality on May 15 (at least for Android devices, which is what matters most to me).)
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Re: Google Voice Not Supported on OBi Devices After May 15 2

Post by indexfundfan »

Wouldn't a month be sufficient time to find a new provider?
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555
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Re: Google Voice Not Supported on OBi Devices After May 15 2

Post by 555 »

indexfundfan wrote:Wouldn't a month be sufficient time to find a new provider?
It depends. I have plans that mean that if I don't figure it out in the next few days (and I've got other stuff to get done), then I'll have to wait til I get back which will be after it cuts off.

They could have emailed me 6 months ago to let me know, and I'd have time to make plans.

It's not really a question of how much time is sufficient. They should have directly informed their customers ASAP and kept them fully informed at all times.

They clearly made a decision to supress information, so as not to hurt sales, but their decision hurts their own customers.
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Re: Google Voice Not Supported on OBi Devices After May 15 2

Post by Don_Qua »

Jack27 wrote:One important thing it seems like most posting in this thread aren't aware of is that any solution that works to provide service to your OBi / "landline" can also be used with your smartphone. All you need is an app for your phone that does the same thing (i.e., connect to a VoIP service) that the OBi hardware does. You would then simply use that app (instead of the standard dialer app) to make phone calls, and said calls would use your plan's data instead of voice minutes. It can also be used over Wi-Fi and be "free" (from your cellphone service provider's perspective, but not your VoIP provider's).
Thank you for reminding me of this feature that I've never tried. I just walked into a Starbucks, put the phone into airplane mode, enabled WiFi, connected to Starbucks free WiFi, brought up the softphone app on my Android phone and placed a call with great results. This is something that Google Voice couldn't do for me so I'll be using this feature the next time I go overseas. Thanks again :beer
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Re: Google Voice Not Supported on OBi Devices After May 15 2

Post by magellan »

Jack27 wrote:One important thing it seems like most posting in this thread aren't aware of is that any solution that works to provide service to your OBi / "landline" can also be used with your smartphone. All you need is an app for your phone that does the same thing (i.e., connect to a VoIP service) that the OBi hardware does. You would then simply use that app (instead of the standard dialer app) to make phone calls, and said calls would use your plan's data instead of voice minutes. It can also be used over Wi-Fi and be "free"
Back in January, I switched my Obi from GV to CallWithUs for outbound calling. Being able to use my CallWithUs balance on my smartphone over wifi was a nice bonus.

My rooted prepaid Android phone runs a custom CyanogenMod based rom and its default dialer has built in SIP support. I didn't even need a new app. I plugged in my CallWithUs account info and now anytime I place call and have wifi available, I get a prompt asking which service to use.

Jim
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runner9
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Re: Google Voice Not Supported on OBi Devices After May 15 2

Post by runner9 »

I'll again suggest looking through the other providers you can use with an Obi. OBiTALK Compatible Service Providers:

Anveo
Broadvoice
Callcentric
CallWithUs
Localphone
OneSuite
Phone Power
Vitelity
VoIP.ms
VOIPo

If you already have an Obi my opinion would be to switch to one above. We use voip.ms, are happy with it, and pay 99 cents a month plus 1 cent per minute.
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magellan
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Re: Google Voice Not Supported on OBi Devices After May 15 2

Post by magellan »

There are several low cost VOIP options that offer voicemail as part of their calling bundle. There are even some that let you forward all voicemail to email as an attachment.

But does anyone know of a service that matches the Vonage or Google Voice approach of voicemail forwarding to email with both an attachment and with automatic speech-to-text transcription?

Jim
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Don_Qua
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Re: Google Voice Not Supported on OBi Devices After May 15 2

Post by Don_Qua »

runner9 wrote:I'll again suggest looking through the other providers you can use with an Obi. OBiTALK Compatible Service Providers:
Anveo
Broadvoice
Callcentric
CallWithUs
Localphone
OneSuite
Phone Power
Vitelity
VoIP.ms
VOIPo
If you already have an Obi my opinion would be to switch to one above. We use voip.ms, are happy with it, and pay 99 cents a month plus 1 cent per minute.
I signed up for landline service through my Obi 100 with a company called Vestalink, they seem to be working out OK for me so far. I'm thinking of PhonePower for our second line. I've done business with Onesuite with very bad results and poor customer service, I will never give them another penny.
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555
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Re: Google Voice Not Supported on OBi Devices After May 15 2

Post by 555 »

Thanks for the suggestions and info, everyone. I'm trying to get up to speed on this.
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555
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Re: Google Voice Not Supported on OBi Devices After May 15 2

Post by 555 »

German Expat wrote:We have quite some international calls though and the rates are about the same for GV vs. voip.ms
So it will become impossible to make outgoing calls through GV, is that right? So I won't be able to use GV for outgoing international calls, right? I'll have to get a refund of my GV balance.

Is there going to be some other way to make outgoing calls through GV?

-------------------------------

For incoming calls the new thing I need is a voip server as a newly needed "link in the chain" from GV to the OBi device, is that right? Then the outcoming calls wouldn't touch GV at all, right?

In this setup, it seems GV becomes just a parking place for my long-term home phone number, while I decide what to do longer term.

Am I getting it so far?
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Re: Google Voice Not Supported on OBi Devices After May 15 2

Post by German Expat »

555 wrote:
German Expat wrote:We have quite some international calls though and the rates are about the same for GV vs. voip.ms
So it will become impossible to make outgoing calls through GV, is that right? So I won't be able to use GV for outgoing international calls, right? I'll have to get a refund of my GV balance.

Is there going to be some other way to make outgoing calls through GV?

-------------------------------

For incoming calls the new thing I need is a voip server as a newly needed "link in the chain" from GV to the OBi device, is that right? Then the outcoming calls wouldn't touch GV at all, right?

In this setup, it seems GV becomes just a parking place for my long-term home phone number, while I decide what to do longer term.

Am I getting it so far?
You can still use up your GV balance with 2 different methods:

a) call via your laptop (hangouts) to any landline
b) use your cell phone to call international. I have unlimited minutes on my cell and my wife has a huge balance on her roll over minutes so we can just use the google voice app on the iphone and call our families international. Works like a charm, it is basically a dial back service that connects you and will use up (US) mobile minutes but those are 'free' for us anyway

To your 2nd statement, this is correct, GV can be forwarded to any number or even ring parallel (e.g. your cell and your new voip.ms number). GV is a (free) parking place for your phone number but also has additional functionality (e.g. ringing multiple phones at the same time). At this time I plan to leave my number with google because I want the flexibility to kick the actual provider to the curb if I find something cheaper or with better international voice quality. No foul no harm to try multiple ones if you keep your number at GV. Most of those services allow you to spoof your GV number as the outgoing phone number.

voip.ms is quite inexpensive if you don't make a lot of calls and it also has E911 (if you desire to pay for it) unlike GV which does not. A lot will depend on your call patters though. We have a lot of international calls and not many domestic (from the home phone, most of our domestic calls are on our cell's) calls so unlimited domestic is not that useful. If you talk a lot domestic ooma might be better for you but you have another gadget to buy.

Why don't you just try voip.ms or a similar service, worst case you loose 25$ for the initial credits you load (it is not a setup fee, this is just 50 cents for the setup of a new phone number, its just a credit on your account similar to GV).
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555
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Re: Google Voice Not Supported on OBi Devices After May 15 2

Post by 555 »

German Expat wrote:a) call via your laptop (hangouts) to any landline
Wait, what? If I can do this, I don't need OBi or a VoIP service at all.

If I can simply use my laptop or desktop as a phone, then that's exactly what I want to do.

Assuming I just have my laptop or desktop, with its speakers and microphone, a broadband internet connection, my Google Voice account with my phone number (or something in its place): How do I turn my computer into a phone?
German Expat
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Re: Google Voice Not Supported on OBi Devices After May 15 2

Post by German Expat »

Just login to GV and then go to settings (the gear box on the right upper side) then go to phones and turn google chat on with your hangout (email) id. It will ring then on your obi and on your laptop (assuming you have hangouts running).

Personally I still prefer a phone to a laptop or pc that has to be always on (higher power consumption as well).
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555
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Re: Google Voice Not Supported on OBi Devices After May 15 2

Post by 555 »

German Expat wrote:Just login to GV and then go to settings (the gear box on the right upper side) then go to phones and turn google chat on with your hangout (email) id. It will ring then on your obi and on your laptop (assuming you have hangouts running).

Personally I still prefer a phone to a laptop or pc that has to be always on (higher power consumption as well).
Okay I downloaded software here
http://www.google.com/chat/voice/
and was able to make outgoing calls from my computer.
However, I don't see how to receive incoming calls on my computer.
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NORDO
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Re: Google Voice Not Supported on OBi Devices After May 15 2

Post by NORDO »

A common/popular solution at the moment (which you may be familiar with if you read Slickdeals with any regularity) is Callcentric.

Sign up for a "non-US" account (to avoid being forced into E911 service/surcharges) and it's completely free for incoming calls. Tie that into your Obi device / GV account and all calls to you GV number ring in for free.

You can then either use a pay-per-minute approach for outgoing calls, or initiate via the web (the standard "GV calls your [Callcentric] number and the call is free" method) for free outgoing - albeit with a bit more hassle than how things are today.
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Re: Google Voice Not Supported on OBi Devices After May 15 2

Post by Ricola »

German Expat wrote:I added voip.ms as a 2nd provider and will ride google voice to its end on my obi. Afterwards will still keep my main number on GV and just forward it to the new number on voip.ms

It is not free but cheap enough. We are not using our land line too much so per minute costs don't play a huge role. We have quite some international calls though and the rates are about the same for GV vs. voip.ms

The news came out a while ago though.
Are there any tutorials available to do what you are doing? Looked a voip.ms site and it does not appear very user friendly for novices. Also, how will your voicemail work after GV goes down?
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runner9
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Re: Google Voice Not Supported on OBi Devices After May 15 2

Post by runner9 »

Lots of voip.ms help on their wiki:

http://wiki.voip.ms/article/Welcome

I did several chat sessions with them from the voip.ms page and they were very helpful and with very limited wait times.
Hiker-Biker
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Re: Google Voice Not Supported on OBi Devices After May 15 2

Post by Hiker-Biker »

German Expat wrote:
555 wrote:[quote="German Expat"

voip.ms is quite inexpensive if you don't make a lot of calls and it also has E911 (if you desire to pay for it) unlike GV which does not. A lot will depend on your call patters though. We have a lot of international calls and not many domestic (from the home phone, most of our domestic calls are on our cell's) calls so unlimited domestic is not that useful. If you talk a lot domestic ooma might be better for you but you have another gadget to buy.

Why don't you just try voip.ms or a similar service, worst case you loose 25$ for the initial credits you load (it is not a setup fee, this is just 50 cents for the setup of a new phone number, its just a credit on your account similar to GV).
I recommend VOIP.ms also. It is very inexpensive and you don't even need the e-911 service if you keep a cell phone on at all times. There is some risk in doing this if a storm knocks out power region wide to the cell providers that you won't be able to call 911. The best part is the service is it is not taxed as are regular landline providers. They have servers handling calls set up in the U.K. so I've been able to make calls back to the U.S. while traveling as long as you have a good wi-fi signal for your phone. I would pair VOIP.ms with a good VOIP application (i.e. for your cell phone or laptop) that is not provider specific. I use Media Phone 5. Although I still have an analog phone system at home, I really don't need one as I could route calls through my cell phone.
Browser
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Re: Google Voice Not Supported on OBi Devices After May 15 2

Post by Browser »

I guess if you live in a cave, I guess you didn't know about this. I knew about it last summer sometime when I was shopping for a Voip device for my mother. Went ahead and got the Obi to use with GV, planning on converting over to a paid service after GV support ended. Actually went with Callcentric instead because it provided a lot of phone features that I needed for my mother's phone service. Callcentric has been quite good and they've provided a lot of good tech support I needed for setting up some non-standard stuff on the phone.
We don't know where we are, or where we're going -- but we're making good time.
Ricola
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Re: Google Voice Not Supported on OBi Devices After May 15 2

Post by Ricola »

runner9 wrote:Lots of voip.ms help on their wiki:

http://wiki.voip.ms/article/Welcome

I did several chat sessions with them from the voip.ms page and they were very helpful and with very limited wait times.
Is this the setup guide you used? http://wiki.voip.ms/article/OBi_100/110 :oops:
Ricola
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Re: Google Voice Not Supported on OBi Devices After May 15 2

Post by Ricola »

runner9 wrote:I'll again suggest looking through the other providers you can use with an Obi. OBiTALK Compatible Service Providers:

Anveo
Broadvoice
Callcentric
CallWithUs
Localphone
OneSuite
Phone Power
Vitelity
VoIP.ms
VOIPo

If you already have an Obi my opinion would be to switch to one above. We use voip.ms, are happy with it, and pay 99 cents a month plus 1 cent per minute.
What's the difference between OBI Approved Service Providers vs Compatible Service providers?
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Don_Qua
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Re: Google Voice Not Supported on OBi Devices After May 15 2

Post by Don_Qua »

Ricola wrote:What's the difference between OBI Approved Service Providers vs Compatible Service providers?
If you follow the link on the Obihai page to one of the approved providers it will automagically configure your Obi box for you. My guess is that Obihai will also get a commission for a sale that goes through them.
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runner9
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Re: Google Voice Not Supported on OBi Devices After May 15 2

Post by runner9 »

Don_Qua wrote:
Ricola wrote:What's the difference between OBI Approved Service Providers vs Compatible Service providers?
If you follow the link on the Obihai page to one of the approved providers it will automagically configure your Obi box for you. My guess is that Obihai will also get a commission for a sale that goes through them.
I don't know, I copied that list from the bottom of the Obi announcement about GV ending 5/15/14.
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runner9
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Re: Google Voice Not Supported on OBi Devices After May 15 2

Post by runner9 »

Ricola wrote:
runner9 wrote:Lots of voip.ms help on their wiki:

http://wiki.voip.ms/article/Welcome

I did several chat sessions with them from the voip.ms page and they were very helpful and with very limited wait times.
Is this the setup guide you used? http://wiki.voip.ms/article/OBi_100/110 :oops:
I believe it is. Actually they talked me though it a lot with chat sessions and directed me to wiki links as needed. It took a few sessions to get everything set up as we wanted and the number ported over but they were always helpful with chat sessions and had quick responses as well.
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555
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Re: Google Voice Not Supported on OBi Devices After May 15 2

Post by 555 »

Okay, I've looked through the voips. Seems like voip.ms would be okay, but I'm going to wait.

In the interests of scientific curiosity (and because I've got little time, a few days not a month), I'm just going to do nothing and just let this phone setup die and see what happens.

The world won't end. I hardly use the phone. I can still make outbound calls with google voice chat directly on my computer. Attempted incoming calls will at least appear in the google voice account with caller id and a message if they leave it, so I can follow up legitimate calls. Of course google voice itself might die, but it's possibilities like that that make me want to change as little as possible and wait and see.

What I still need to figure out is how to receive incoming calls on my computer (just using google voice/chat, without voip).
Earlier discussion:
555 wrote:
German Expat wrote:a) call via your laptop (hangouts) to any landline
Wait, what? If I can do this, I don't need OBi or a VoIP service at all.

If I can simply use my laptop or desktop as a phone, then that's exactly what I want to do.

Assuming I just have my laptop or desktop, with its speakers and microphone, a broadband internet connection, my Google Voice account with my phone number (or something in its place): How do I turn my computer into a phone?
German Expat wrote:Just login to GV and then go to settings (the gear box on the right upper side) then go to phones and turn google chat on with your hangout (email) id. It will ring then on your obi and on your laptop (assuming you have hangouts running).

Personally I still prefer a phone to a laptop or pc that has to be always on (higher power consumption as well).
555 wrote:Okay I downloaded software here
http://www.google.com/chat/voice/
and was able to make outgoing calls from my computer.
However, I don't see how to receive incoming calls on my computer.
Anyone know how to receive incoming calls on my computer (just using google voice/chat, without voip)?
wesgreen
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Re: Google Voice Not Supported on OBi Devices After May 15 2

Post by wesgreen »

google voice
Topic Author
555
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Re: Google Voice Not Supported on OBi Devices After May 15 2

Post by 555 »

wesgreen wrote:google voice
details...
German Expat
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Re: Google Voice Not Supported on OBi Devices After May 15 2

Post by German Expat »

Just install google hangouts and make sure the chat option is turned on in GV. Here is the hangouts plugin:

https://www.google.com/tools/dlpage/hangoutplugin

Or just read here:

https://support.google.com/hangouts/ans ... 4495?hl=en

http://www.google.com/+/learnmore/hangouts/
smackboy1
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Re: Google Voice Not Supported on OBi Devices After May 15 2

Post by smackboy1 »

I have an OBi202 and use both Callcentric and Google Voice. GV sucks. The call quality is unreliable. Sometimes the call is 5x5, other times it's like talking to myself with my head in a bucket - and this is all during one call. If it wasn't free I would never recommend GV as a service. Whenever I have to place a call where it's critical that both parties can hear and understand each other, I use the Callcentric line. When GOOG shuts down XMPP I'm not going to miss GV too much.
Disclaimer: nothing written here should be taken as legal advice, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.
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