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New User - Call from Desk phone number (Obi1062) away from desk?

Started by Cyberdemon, March 05, 2019, 12:39:09 PM

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Cyberdemon

Hey everyone,

Quick question, can i call thru my Obi phone when I'm not at my desk?  Whether it's thru an app on my cellphone or thru something else?

Thanks in advance!

azrobert

You need a softphone app on your cell that can call without registration. I use CSipSimple on my Android. Do you have an iPhone or Android? Are you using Google Voice? Do you know how to use OBi Expert?

Cyberdemon

I have both an iPhone and Android, I have like my own personal google voice.  I'm a banker and was thinking if I could always use my office phone number even outside of work for clients that would be awesome....

I have no clue how to export it lol

azrobert

I didn't understand your requirements. I thought you wanted to use GV via WiFi from the same local network as OBi1062.

There is a Google app that will connect your phone directly to GV without using your OBi1062. Google recently made some major changes and I have never used the new app, so I'm not going to try to help you. Maybe someone else will help or you can just download the app and try it yourself.

Cyberdemon

Sorry I'm sure I explained it wrong, you are right I would like to use my desk phone when calling a customer back so it is always the same phone number.  I was just saying that I have a GV phone number that i've had for some time now, i didn't know I could use my deskphone (Obi1062) phone number thru GV that would be awesome!

SteveInWA

You're not understanding the basic concept of VoIP:  The physical telephone sitting on your desk is not the source of your telephone service.  It's useless without some form of telephone service.  It is merely a "client", which is signing into a VoIP server.  You are using the telephone service provided by an Internet Telephone Service Provider (ITSP).  There are many ITSPs that simply offer telephone service, which can be "provisioned" or set up on a wide variety of clients (IP phones, ATAs, or software clients).

Google Voice is a unique service that is much more than a bare-bones telephone service.   Its design is that you obtain a telephone number from Google (first one's free), or you port in a mobile phone number.  This now becomes your single point of contact for inbound telephone calls and texts.  It's a "virtual" number, in that it lives in the VoIP cloud, and it can be used via several different clients.  When someone calls that Google Voice phone number, it can simultaneously ring:

  • Up to six different 10-digit US phone numbers, known as "linked" or "forwarding" numbers
  • Any Google Chrome Browser or Firefox browser that is signed into your Google account, on a computer with a microphone and speaker or a headset
  • Android or iPhones running the official Google Voice mobile apps
  • As many Polycom OBiTALK hardware products as you wish

Outbound calls can also be made from any of the clients listed above.  Text messages can also be sent and received (US only).  So, in practice, you can have a Google Voice number that works on a OBiTALK desk phone, your Android or iPhone, and your web browser, wherever you are.

The standard disclaimer applies:  this is the (mostly free) consumer version of Google Voice.  It is neither recommended nor intended for business use, although such use is not forbidden.  Keep in mind that it has no direct customer support, things do break occasionally, and may take days or weeks to resolve.  Any small cost savings you gain may be offset by loss of business or reputation if clients can't reach you.  Also of note:  if your job requires call logging and/or recording for financial industry regulations, don't use Google Voice.

That said, you can certainly give it a try, or you can instead use a paid ITSP, such as Callcentric, voip.ms, Phonepower, etc.

Learn more about Google Voice in the help center:  https://support.google.com/voice/#topic=1707989

You can also find me over on the Google Voice help forum.

drgeoff

Quote from: Cyberdemon on March 05, 2019, 02:02:39 PM
I have both an iPhone and Android, I have like my own personal google voice.  I'm a banker and was thinking if I could always use my office phone number even outside of work for clients that would be awesome....

I have no clue how to export it lol
Did you misread "Expert" as "export"?