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So Obi and GV won't play together in 6 months

Started by Milton, November 04, 2013, 10:16:24 PM

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Milton

So I got my landline ported to GV and my Obi100 working 2 weeks ago and now this. Oh well I'll not cry, just need to use the next 6 months to find an alternative.  My needs are simple and presently filled by GV+Obi:
- very little outbound calls, wife just calls the United Kingdom for an hour every couple of weeks
- all outbound calls should look like they are coming from my GV number
- all inbound calls to my GV are routed to voice mail unless they are on a "white list" that routes them to some combo of the Obi and 2 cell phones

So as I understand it, I'll need to sign up with a VoIP provider like CallCentric that will give me a phone number "assigned" to my Obi100, also called a DID.  I can then configure that DID# into my GV and all calls to my GV number are handled as before.  Also as I understand it, if the VoIP provider allows caller ID spoofing my outbound calls will appear to be from my GV number.

So if the above is correct, then no big deal, EXCEPT I now have the DID number that rings my Obi and every jerk telemarketer will be calling!!!  Is there a way for all inbound calls directly to the DID number, NOT inbound calls forwarded by GV, to go to a non GV voice mail where I can just ignore them? Even better would be a recording saying no one is available and then hanging up?


jimates

If you make very few outgoing calls you can use click to call for outgoing calls. google will call you on your free incoming callcentric number, and then complete the call. So even your outgoing calls are incoming as far as your provider is concerned, and therefor all click to call calls will carry your google caller id.

I have been using a callcentric free DID for all my incoming calls for over a year. If I have received any calls direct to it and not through GV I don't recall.

sdb-

Quote from: Milton on November 04, 2013, 10:16:24 PMEXCEPT I now have the DID number that rings my Obi and every jerk telemarketer will be calling!!!  Is there a way for all inbound calls directly to the DID number, NOT inbound calls forwarded by GV, to go to a non GV voice mail where I can just ignore them? Even better would be a recording saying no one is available and then hanging up?

That's a really good question.

The DID number won't be published unless you give it out.  So the obscurity will help but isn't really a solution with the bulk dialers used today.  Nobody will have a "relationship" with that DID unless you give them that number, so nobody will be authorized to call it.  I wonder how well the DNC list will work with an unpublished number?  You can probably block or send thru a screen any anonymous calls (I know you can with Anveo) but none of that will help with a bulk dialer election campaign or charity drive.   >:(

About the best I can think of is to change that DID if it starts getting too many calls.  Since nobody you care about knows that number, the collateral damage is limited to changing your GV forward.

I can't think of anything else.  I don't know of any way for the DID to know the call is forwarded from google voice unless you change the caller ID to your GV number (a GV setting) but that's no fun.

I hope someone answers that has more experience.

gderf

For a CallCentric DID you can investigate what they call "Call Treatments." See this link for a start:

https://my.callcentric.com/help.php?id=44
Help me OBiHai PhoneOBi. You're my only hope.

Lavarock7

Voip.Ms has very cheap UK calling (my Sister calls Scotland every week). Value calling is 7/10's of a cent per minute.

They also have call treatments and caller-ID spoofing.

You  might also want to get a free inbound UK number. UK people can call a local number and it comes into your Voip account hear for free. www.UKDDI.Com.
My websites: Kona Coffee: http://itskona.com and Web Hosting: http://planetaloha.info<br />A simplified Voip explanation: http://voip.planet-aloha.com

Milton

Ok, so I became a hero to wife today, her mom called from Northern Ireland and GV forwarded the call to the Obi100 using the GV connection configured in SP1 AND to her cell phone.  The wife was out, but answered her cell phone so no missed call from mom.

I went to CallCentric, signed up for a free DID, configured it as SP2 and it worked.  I even configured it into GV and the call forwarding worked!  You get a different ring pattern depending on if the call is coming in on SP1 or SP2.

I guess I can sit on it for a while and see if spam calls on the DID are an issue.

gderf

I haven't gotten any SPAM calls yet on my CallCentric free DID. I have one call treatment on it so far, "Send Anonymous Caller to Error message: Number disconnected."
Help me OBiHai PhoneOBi. You're my only hope.

Milton

I have received one anonymous call on the DID, it was from GV verifying that it's my number.  So remove the blocks for anonymous calling when you are going to get GV verified.

gderf

#8
I had the number verified and working before I added call treatments to it.

But just for grins I deleted my DID from GV and added it back with the anonymous call blocking still in place. Google called and asked me to verify the number. That call wasn't blocked and it wasn't anonymous either - it came from (202) 455-8888. An anonymous call would have come in with no phone number at all for identification.

Help me OBiHai PhoneOBi. You're my only hope.

Milton

So I just checked by history on callcentric, the call from GV was indeed anonymous, no phone number.  I guess it's variable.

Milton

Ok so I think I've got this figured out.  My goal is if you are not one of about 10 people, I want your call to go to GV voice mail with out ringing my landline. Easy enough with the Obi100 connected to GV via XXMP.  But when GV stops supporting XXMP, I'll need something like a CallCentric DID for the Obi100 and have GV forward calls to the CallCentric DID.  But what stops unwanted callers from calling the CallCentric DID number?  Well here are the CallCentric "Call Treatments" that take care of that:
- Anyone that I want to be able to ring the home phone goes into a GV "white list" that will forward them to the CallCentric DID.  They also go into the CallCentric "my Phone Book"
- CallCentric Call Treatment #1: If calling number is in the CallCentric Phone Book, forward the call to the default CallCentric extension.
- CallCentric Call Treatment #2: Send all inbound calls to "Error message: number has been disconnected"

This will work since I have a small number of people on my white list.  It would be nice if CallCentric could identify calls forwarded from GV, but I have not been able identify how.

giqcass

I'm pretty sure the originally called number remains in the CID header even after it goes through Callcentric. Someone that understands the "OLEG Method" might need to comment on this but I think the Obi can tell whether the initial call was placed to your Google Voice number or to the Callcentric number.  It can then make direct Callcentric calls not ring your phones.  That way all calls can be managed through Google Voice. 


Long live our new ObiLords!