Obi200 Moving from VOIPO to Google Voice

[mobilelawyer]

I have been using the Obi200 successfully for several years and I am quite happy with it. VOIPO has been my provider, and I have no complaints with VOIPO, but I have decided to switch to Google Voice.

I am porting my VOIPO number to Google Voice, and, when the process is complete, will need to re-configure my Obi200 to accommodate the change in provider.

1. Has anyone else done this successfully who can advise of any pitfalls?
2. Once I have successfully ported my number to Google Voice, is the best course of action to wipe the Obi200 and configure Google Voice from scratch?
3. Can I configure without wiping the device?

I hope someone has been through this and can advise me. Thanks in advance.

[SteveInWA]

Yes, hundreds of thousands of people have ported numbers into Google Voice and used the numbers on OBiTALK devices.

However, Google Voice does not port in from landline service providers; only from mobile carriers.  You'd have to first port your number to a mobile carrier, wait a week for everything to successfully start working on that carrier, and then port the now-mobile number to Google Voice.  If you want to do this, I recommend porting into either T-Mobile Prepaid or AT&T Prepaid.  Do NOT use one of the cheapo third party providers like H20, Lycamobile, Consumer Cellular, etc.

You won't have to reset your device, unless you want to, just for OCD completeness.  You can simply delete the Service Provider (SP1--SP4) on your device, and then configure that SP for Google Voice.

Reminder:  Google voice cannot make emergency 911 calls.  You must subscribe to 911 service from a VoIP service provider like Callcentric.

[mobilelawyer]

Thanks much for the reply. I have already made the porting request from VOIPO to my T-Mobile Prepaid phone. I was aware of that requirement. I am hoping to get the text soon that the port is complete. Then I will port the T-Mobile number to Google.

VOIPO is now entered as the SP1 service provider on the Obi. In looking at the Obi200 dashboard, the entry is now "VOIPO Account" which shows up as "Registered". How would one delete it when the time comes? If I click the SP1 entry, it appears that the populated fields are editable, but I don't find an option to delete the entire SP1 entry.

Thanks in advance for your assistance!

[SteveInWA]

Hmm.  Was the VOIPO account set up (provisioned on your device) by them?  Or, did you manually enter the SIP credentials yourself?

If you manually set it up yourself, you should see a trash can icon to the right of the SP.  Assuming nothing, I should point out that you will do this on the OBiTALK web portal (your device dashboard), not on the device's local web page.  See the screenshot below.

If it was provisioned by VOIPO, then other steps may need to be taken, if they remotely locked the configuration.

[mobilelawyer]

I can't, quite frankly, remember how the device was provisioned. I did not get it from VOIPO. VOIPO gave me a Grandstream device, but I bought the Obi200 when it became available. I did not ask them to provision it. I used whatever set up the Obi200 offered, and it just worked.

But there is no trashcan icon shown on my Obitalk dashboard

[SteveInWA]

WTF!?

That's odd.  Maybe someone else here has seen that behavior, but to me, it "smells like" a service-provider-configured device.

After the number ports into T-Mobile, you can try doing a full restore to factory defaults.  There are two ways to accomplish the same thing.  The easiest way is to delete the entire device off of your dashboard, wait a few minutes, then unplug it from Ethernet and power.  Plug just the power cord back in.  Pick up the attached phone and key in ***8 then 1 to restore it to defaults.  Wait long enough for it to reset and reboot.  Then, use the **5 procedure to add it back to your dashboard.

[mobilelawyer]

I remembered that I posted to this support forum about a technical issue I had when setting up the Obi for VOIPO.

Judging from what I wrote, I manually set up the device:

http://www.obitalk.com/forum/index.php?topic=10774.msg70946#msg70946

[SteveInWA]

I'd suggest following the instructions in my post above, after your number ports to T-Mobile.  And, to emphasize again, do not try to "churn" your port immediately to Google Voice. Wait at least several days.  A week is best.  If you don't wait, you're asking for trouble, with a screwed-up port.

[mobilelawyer]

Your advisory about waiting is appreciated and noted!

And I think i found the answer to the trashcan issue. I was not drilling into the menu properly. I was clicking on SP1. I should have clicked on the grey square next to Obi200 under the device list. When I clicked it, the VOIPO Account showed up with the trashcan next to it!



So I think I can avoid the hassle of starting completely over.

[SteveInWA]

Well, there you go!

Good luck, and, if you have a problem with porting into Google Voice, post a question over on the Google Voice help forum (link is below my signature line here), and we'll assist you over there.