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New Greeting Not Setting

Started by meadowlark55, November 04, 2018, 05:29:20 PM

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meadowlark55

Hello, while it was a bit of a rough start, my Obi202 has been working without a glitch for quite some time except that I finally created a custom greeting that is not setting. That is, I went to https://voice.google.com/settings and recorded a greeting. When I called that google voice number from another number, I heard what seemed like a standard default greeting in a deep male voice: "Hello, we are not available now. Please leave your name and phone number after the beep. We will return your call." This is not the one I recorded.  :(

Thanks in advance for the help.

Also. when I posted this message to the forum, I received an error message, "Couldn't get mail server response codes." I had copied the text, so I tried to repost it multiple times, and each time I got the same error message. When I checked the forum, I saw it had posted multiple times, so no biggy other than that it was confusing

SteveInWA

You don't have an OBiTALK problem, nor a Google Voice problem.  You have a PEBKAC problem.

Google Voice will play whatever greeting you recorded.  Somebody recorded the greeting you described; it's not a system-generated greeting.  It sounds like you have more than one Google account; you recorded your desired greeting on Google account "A", but your OBiTALK device is authorized to Google account "B".

Use a laptop or desktop computer, not a tablet or smartphone, and open a web browser.  If you're using Google Chrome Browser or Safari, press Ctrl-Shift-N to open an incognito browsing window, or, if you're using Firefox, press Ctrl-Shift-P to open a private browsing window.

In that window, sign into the one and only one Google / Gmail account that holds your Google Voice number, and go here:  https://voice.google.com/settings

Look at the top of the settings.  Do you see your correct inbound Google Voice number?  If not, this is the wrong account.  Close the window, open a new one, and sign into your other account(s), one at a time, until you find the correct one.  Then, record the greeting from that page on that account.

You need to determine which account you authorized your OBiTALK device to use for Google Voice.

meadowlark55

Thanks Steve. You're right. I have 1) a personal google voice number that I use with Obi202 - my original landline converted to google voice, and 2) my original google voice that I use for business. It is the Obi/Personal/Used-to-be-landline one I am trying to change the greeting of. Unfortunately, I don't have a microphone or sound input capability on my desktop; only sound output. I do have a chromebook which I was able to put into incognito as you suggested. I recorded the greeting there incognito, but again it didn't take, so I bet my chromebook doesn't qualify as a laptop.

SteveInWA

It works fine with a Chromebook; you just have to enable using your Chromebook's microphone on that page.  I don't know what you're doing wrong.

meadowlark55

I dunno. The actual greeting that I hear when I call this personal Obi-associated number is listed as the Google Voice Default greeting in my Google Voice Settings, and so there is no option to delete it. As I described, it's a different Google Voice Default greeting than on my other Google Voice number. Your understanding is that it is not a Google-related greeting.  My newly recorded greeting is shown as Active.

SteveInWA

I don't understand.

Forget OBi stuff for the moment; in fact; unplug your OBi from power.

Call the Google Voice number from some other phone number and let it ring until the voicemail greeting plays.  Is it the desired greeting?  If so, you fixed it, but you set up your OBi's Service Provider(s) to the wrong account(s).  If it is not the desired greeting, then you made some sort of mistake on the Google Voice settings page. 

meadowlark55

Yes, when I unplug the Obi, the greeting I changed it to today plays. When I plug the Obi back in, the wrong, default message plays when I call it.

On the ObiDashboard at ObiTalk, SP1 shows the personal number I've been typing about, not the other Google Voice business number that immediately and without incident, correctly played the greeting I set for it. The Google Voice business number is listed in my ObiDashboard as a trusted caller. I do not have any other Google Voice numbers.

SteveInWA

#7
I can't make any sense out of what you are doing.  You proved that Google Voice is working properly.  That's how it works.  Any behavior to the contrary when using your OBi is a configuration error on your part.

The most basic way it should work would be this:

  • You have two different Google/Gmail accounts.  Each account has one inbound Google Voice number, and each account may or may not also have one or more mobile or traditional 10-digit land line telephone numbers linked.
  • Let's call the two Google Voice accounts "A" and "B".
  • You configure account A on SP1, and you configure account B on SP2.
  • You point SP1's inbound calls to the PHONE 1 port (the modular phone jack on the back).
  • You point SP2's inbound calls to the PHONE 2 port (the second modular phone jack on the back).
  • When someone calls A, then the phone line plugged into PHONE 1 will ring; when someone calls B, the phone line plugged into PHONE 2 will ring.
  • When someone calls either A or B, and that number doesn't answer, then that caller is sent to the voicemail box of A or B, depending on which of those two numbers they call.

If your setup doesn't do this, and you want it to work as I described it above, then tomorrow, not tonight, delete the 202 off of your OBiTALK dashboard, wait a few minutes, then unplug the 202 from power and from Ethernet.  Plug the 202 back into just the power plug and the telephone jack.  Wait for it to boot up.  Pick up the phone and you should hear a dial tone.  Press ***9 then 1 to restore it to factory defaults.  Wait plenty of time for the device to restore, reset and reboot.  After this is done, then unplug the OBi again, plug in the Ethernet cord and plug the power cord back in, wait for it to boot up, and then follow the **5 procedure to add it back to the OBiTALK portal.

Now, configure only account A on SP1, and set it to ring PHONE 1.  Test it.  It should correctly ring the telephone plugged into the PHONE 1 jack, and you should be able to answer the call.  Test it again, but don't answer.  The caller should hear the voicemail greeting you recorded for A.  If it doesn't stop here and explain clearly what is happening.

If that worked, then configure account B on SP2, set it to ring PHONE 2, and test calling that number.

This assumes:  you have either a two-line analog telephone, or two one-line analog phones.  If, and only if, you have a two-line phone, then you must ensure the following:  your phone may have a toggle switch on the side or bottom, that controls the operation of its two phone jacks.  Use the jack labeled Line 1 + Line 2, or similar wording, and don't use the other jack.  Set the toggle switch to use that jack for both lines.  Plug a four-conductor/four gold pin phone cord between the L1 + L2 jack on the phone, and the Phone 1 jack on the OBi.

If you have two separate telephones, or you don't have a four-conductor, four-pin modular phone cord, then use two two-conductor phone cords, plugged into the two corresponding phone jacks on the phone and on the OBi.  Set the toggle switch on your telephone to use the first jack for line 1 and the second jack for line 2.

meadowlark55

I only have one telephone with one modular jack in use, and that's all I need. That phone is only connected to the personal google voice number that is associated with the Obi202 that is being discussed here with the unwanted greeting.

The business google voice is never connected to the phone with the modular jack, and I don't need for it to be. I just use Google Hangouts for that business google voice number, and the greeting I created for that number works perfectly.

SteveInWA

Well then, ignore the instructions I provided for account B.

The important thing to understand:  the voicemail function is supplied by Google Voice, and it has absolutely nothing to do with your OBi device.  If you hear the correct greeting and you can successfully record a message when calling that number, then it will work exactly the same way if an OBi device is connected.  Google Voice doesn't care if an OBi device is connected or not.  It is simply ringing all of the following destinations for approximately 25 seconds, and whichever destination answers first wins the race and gets the call. If one of those destinations answers first, and it has its own voicemail service, then the call will end up on that destination's voicemail box, unless that destination has conditional call forwarding enabled, to send busy/unanswered calls back to your Google Voice phone number.

  • Up to six, 10-digit USA telephone numbers
  • All Google Hangouts clients signed into this account, with "ring on inbound calls" toggled on in that/those client(s).
  • All Google Voice web clients if you are enrolled in the Google Voice WiFi/VoIP calling beta.
  • All OBiTALK devices properly configured to receive inbound calls for that Google account.

meadowlark55

I wasn't able to process all of your points yet, but I'm getting the impression this has to do with my modular phone forwarding a preset default greeting to Google Voice (I did not set the modular phone up with a greeting).

SteveInWA

If your telephone has a built-in answering machine function, then turn it off.

meadowlark55

Duh. Yes, that worked. So simple. I feel stupid. I hope this helps someone else.