Changing Google Voice Numbers

[restamp]

I realize this is marginally off-topic for this forum, but I suspect there are people here who will know the answers and can assist me.  I would like to change a Google Voice number.  I understand Google charges $10 to do this and I'd like to understand what payment options I have at my disposal.  I've spent the last hour trying to understand the difference between Google Payments, Google Wallet, Google Accounts, Google Play Account, G-suite, etc., all to little avail.

When I get to the end of the "Change your number" scripts, can I (1) use Google Play Account money to pay the $10 fee?  (2) Use a purchased Google gift card?  (3) use my PayPal account?  Or (4) do I have to give them a credit card?  (I'd rather not do the latter since I don't intend to use Google's money services regularly and I prefer to have my CC info spinning on as few disks out on the greater Internet as possible.)

Also, when must I decide I want to keep my old number (an additional $20 outlay, if I do)?  Must I make this decision when I purchase a new number or can I revisit this any time in the 90-day transition window before the old number disappears?

Finally, if I do go through with this, how difficult is it to change the Simonics Gateway to accept the new number and will the old number continue to accepted by the Gateway until I do update the credentials?

Thanks in advance for any details you can provide, especially from personal experience.

[SteveInWA]

Hi:

Yes, Google has lots of confusingly-similar service names, and, to make matters worse, the function of "Google Wallet" changed completely.

Google Wallet:  was an app to store various credit/debit cards and use your phone to pay, similar to "Samsung Pay", and whatever Apple calls their service.  Google moved that function over to a newer app called "Android Pay".  Google Wallet is now only used as a peer-to-peer money transfer tool.  For example, you and I go out to lunch, you pay the bill, and then I use Google Wallet to send you my portion of the bill.  It's like "Paypal Me".

Google Payments:  this is Google's overall system used to pay Google for things, like music or movies or whatever.  It can store multiple credit or debit cards, and you can select which one you want to use for a purchase.  When you pay the $10 number change fee, this is how you will pay for it.

G-Suite is the new name for "Google Apps", which is Google's cloud-hosted suite of productivity applications, including word processing, spreadsheet and graphics.  Think of it as Google's competition to MS Office.

If you don't want Google to store your credit card number, just delete it after you make the payment.  Paypal is not an option.

With regard to the "keep your old number" option, you have 90 days from the date you change your number.  The intent of that time interval is for people who plan to abandon the old number, to give them time to let all their contacts know that they've changed their number.  If you don't pay that second fee, your number will disappear on day 91.

With regard to Simonics, all you need to do is to click the "deauthorize..." and then "reauthorize" links on his web site.

[restamp]

Wow, I don't know how you manage to keep all the wealth of information you do about such diverse subjects in your head, Steve, but thanks for the tutorial.  It all unfolded as you described it, and I managed to switch numbers without any hiccups at all.  For the benefit of someone reading this thread at a later date, the following URL might prove useful for altering or deleting your CC info after the fact:

https://support.google.com/googleplay/answer/4646404?co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop&hl=en&oco=0

Thanks again!

[SteveInWA]

Wow, I don't know how you manage to keep all the wealth of information you do about such diverse subjects in your head, Steve, but thanks for the tutorial.

Heh heh.  My father used to call me the "Vast compendium of useless knowledge."

I'm glad that helped, and it worked out as described.