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Obihai Google Voice XMPP Solutions

Started by simpleAnswers, January 12, 2014, 08:18:17 AM

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simpleAnswers

I have been reading all the opinions on this issue on how to overcome the gv xmpp support ending and so far I have to say they have all been practically useless or just not useful answers. The solutions proposed sound so convoluted that I can't see them working very well.

Everyone knows, when you start chaining different service providers, the likelihood of things getting messed up goes up, and if one of them fail I can't troubleshoot all these. For me GV is pretty reliable and simply just works. Best of all it has been easy and local calls are free.

I have a simple question for which I am seeking a simple answer.
The only reason I bought the Obihai was because I wanted to easily use GV for both out/in bound calls without needing a computer. I don't want to use some [insert some other clunky SIP] here. I like what GV offers, none offer at the same price point. I don't want to be drawn into per minute billing, add on service billing for things that GV does, this is the reason we cut the cord in the first place.

So my question is simple and I know there is an answer.
I have an Obi110 which is setup with my GV and I simply pickup a phone and dial. When I get a call my Obi rings and I answer, it is not plugged into a computer or connected via bluetooth etc.

Post May 2014, is there anyway I can still do this, using my GV and just a phone without having a computer always on? And No, I don't think having a bluetooth blah, connected to the phone is a solution. I don't care if the answer does not involve an Obi device. If they can't/won't fix their device, then maybe someone knows something else that does what we all paid for.


From everything I've read, the closest thing to a real solution appears to be SipSorcery, for which I'm still unclear about. If I pay the SipSorcery 69$, does that mean that I can still pickup my phone and dial and it will route outbound calls through GV. I would rather just pay that and be done with it, instead of fiddling with a DID from X, a SIP from Y, a CID from Z and then juggling all in Obi.

gderf

The answer is no. GV will not talk directly to your OBi once XMPP is shut off.
Help me OBiHai PhoneOBi. You're my only hope.

lhm.

#2
Sipsorcery is not plug n play. A DID from X, a SIP from Y, and a CID from Z are requirements in Sipsorcery.

You will also make a new friend, named Ruby.  ;D

simpleAnswers

Quote from: lhm. on January 12, 2014, 08:44:07 AM
Sipsorcery is not plug n play. A DID from X, a SIP from Y, and a CID from Z are requirements in Sipsorcery.

You will also make a new friend, named Ruby.  ;D

From the looks of it, there really is no alternative to what was available and would most likely kill the Obi product for most general users.

Might explain why I never received an email of the impending change. I was looking at buying an Obi202 as an upgrade which was surprisingly cheap, so I checked the Obi website and BAM, a blog link on their website. Practically every Obi user registered an email with them, yet no email.


gderf

If you are going to insist on using a provider that charges zero for their services, then you are going to be at the mercy of the market when that provider defeats the mechanism third parties used to obtain that free service.

GV's decision isn't going to kill the OBi product for most general users. If they want to keep going with an OBi (or any other ATA), they are going to have to throw some money at it or use the identified workarounds to keep using it for free. Those are the choices; pick one.

The only thing GV's decision changes is that the new bottom price for services is no longer zero if you don't want to use any of the identified workarounds.

Speaking for myself, if I can't afford less than $4.00/month for unlimited VoIP calling, how can I afford the internet connection to run it on in the first place?
Help me OBiHai PhoneOBi. You're my only hope.

simpleAnswers

#5
Quote from: gderf on January 12, 2014, 09:39:16 AM
Speaking for myself, if I can't afford less than $4.00/month for unlimited VoIP calling, how can I afford the internet connection to run it on in the first place?


I think you misunderstood. I like what GV offers. The call history, the text messaging from the number, the email transcribing of voicemails. The multiple numbers I can have it connect to along with the a schedule for when to try each number. The google integration...the list goes on.

All I'm trying to do is still be able to make and receive GV calls without needing a computer and I don't mind paying for it.
My understanding through reading everything I can find so far on the blog is a mix of various half baked answers which will work for techies but not for most users who actually decided on the obi in the first place.

Here is how I see it. Post May 2014

  • The Obi will still receive inbound GV calls as it does today and ring the phone attached to the OBI
  • Outbound calls will no longer work with GV as-is so we need an alternative.

My sought alternative is like most users to still be able to make calls that present my GV number as my CID.
Ideally I would prefer to make the calls using GV so all my call records are in GV which is a big plus for me ( I tend to look up when I last contacted/emailed/texted my contacts from the GV history)

The best solutions I've seen here
Using Sipsorcery with some DID from X, CID from Y and paying 69$ to Sipsorcery which I don't mind. However it appears that this doesn't use GV for outbound calls and instead relys on some other SIP service.
This is not much different from simply signing up for localphone.com, setting it up as SP2 on Obi, and making all calls from it while also setting localphone.com to spoof my GV number. This hits almost all points for me.

Another solution which I just seen is to use GVMate. yes I know GVMate needs a computer on to work, but I have a Home Server that is always on so it could be hooked up to the GVMate which then means I don't use the Obi but I can have in/out bound calls via GV all the time.

drgeoff

#6
Quote from: simpleAnswers on January 12, 2014, 10:16:36 AM
Here is how I see it. Post May 2014

  • The Obi will still receive inbound GV calls as it does today and ring the phone attached to the OBI

.......

Using Sipsorcery with some DID from X, CID from Y and paying 69$ to Sipsorcery which I don't mind. However it appears that this doesn't use GV for outbound calls and instead relys on some other SIP service.
1. My understanding is that incoming GV calls to OBi devices will also not work after 14 May.

2. Sipsorcery does use GV for outbound calls.  The method is the same as Google's call back method where you enter the number you want to call and select/enter the number of the callback phone on the web page.  Sipsorcery does exactly that.  It accesses that same web page with your GV login details and gives it the two phone numbers.  GV calls back to the number which reaches your Sipsorcery account (via the DID from X).  GV then dials the number you want to call and bridges the two.

lhm.

Drgeoff is correct. A diagrammatic representation of the SIP Sorcery GoogleVoiceCall dialplan application is linked below.

http://sipsorcery.codeplex.com/wikipage?title=Google%20Voice%20Call%20Dialplan%20Application

simpleAnswers

#8
Damn this just gets worse and worse.

SipSorcery appears to be the only option that is being posted that will use your GV for in/out bound calls using some magic.

Obivoice appears to tout themselves as the next best thing. From what I see, they can port the number over and have some GV like features (voicemail transcript, voicemail email, unlimited calls (fee based), call log, and even E911). But I really would like to not rely on unproven companies that may be down for days on end. This is the reason I would like to stay GV as much as possible. Google's stuff works. I've read issues on this board with pretty much all the alternates listed either having issues which result in long downtimes, CLID issues etc.

My Solution options for now will be either
GVMate on my homeserver or

Obitalk Solution : GV out via [SIP] which can spoof my gv number. GV inbound forwarding to my [SIP Provider] number.  The choice of [SIP Provider] could be localphone, betamax or obivoice. I might try all 3 out and see how they hold up.

Thanks for clarifying that GV inbound won't work on Obi also. The information put out has been confusing or little. My guess is there is a rush to ship as many of the Obi devices before all consumers catch on.




giqcass

You can also run an Asterisk server that does the same thing as Sipsorcery.  I have been looking into an Asterisk appliance.  I'm waiting to make sure they update their firmware to work with Hangouts fully but I expect them to.

Here is an option noone has talked about.  For $10 you can add a device to your Obi that will do what you want.  I'll have one in a few days to verify it works.  The device is called an auto dialer.  It will call your Google Voice number then log in and dial out Via Google Voice.  You would need to pay for outgoing calls to your Google Voice number but all of the Google Voice features you are accustomed to would remain intact. 

Long live our new ObiLords!

gderf

Quote from: simpleAnswers on January 12, 2014, 02:37:26 PM
My guess is there is a rush to ship as many of the Obi devices before all consumers catch on.


All the big sellers including Amazon and Newegg clearly state that Google Voice is not supported past May 15 2014. TigerDirect's adds don't even mention usability with Google Voice anymore. But if you buy stuff without doing any research or don't bother reading the adds, then you are likely to be disappointed.

As to the information about transitions from GV being "confusing or little" I suggest you read more and get a basic understanding of the device, the associated protocols, VoIP services in general, and try looking around some more. This topic has been beaten to death beginning the day someone associated with Google hinted at the end of XMPP.


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

drgeoff

#11
Quote from: giqcass on January 12, 2014, 04:31:16 PM
You can also run an Asterisk server that does the same thing as Sipsorcery.
I have experimented with GV on both an Asterisk PBX (Raspbx on RaspberryPi) and Sipsorcery and had both working successfully.

I am 99% sure that the current Asterisk GV implementation uses XMPP.  https://wiki.asterisk.org/wiki/display/AST/Calling+using+Google contains the following sentence:

"Asterisk communicates with Google Voice and Google Talk using the chan_motif Channel Driver and the res_xmpp Resource module."

If correct, it will cease to work after 14 May.

swh2

I have been using GV since before it was GV (grand Central) I have been using the Obi for at least 2.5 yrs. I guess the stupid and obvious question is why does Obi not work with google to come to a solution before May 1 or figure out what std gv is using after May 1 (not XMPP; not sure what the new std will be) and come out with a new obi box that supports the new service with similar functionality. Is that not a way to sell a lot of new boxes and keep obi going? I heard that Obi was a company run by a bunch of engineers not marketing people. If that the case well act like engineers and solve the problem.  Dont make us solve it for you. Thats why I bought your device.

People always say well dont rely on free services to stay free and do what you want. Well Obi was not free and I give my data to google to sift thru and put up with their ads so they can make money off me. Also if google offered a paid work around to use Obi at a decent cost I would use it. But google is keeping everything hush hush as usual and offering customers no options. Everything with google is sort of a take it or leave it option.

I know this might be another thread but here is another issue: "Additionally, judges selected Daniel Klein and Dean Jackson from Google for the Robocall Challenge Technology Achievement Award." Google emp get an award for software that stops robo calling. No implementation of this in GV or Hangouts? Amazing. Of course the "phone" (land and mobile) cos are no better as they are not implementing nomorobo.com as I guess they can see naked phone service to robo collers and make a few bucks. Come on t mobile act like the "un carrier" you claim to be and fix spam calls

giqcass

Quote from: drgeoff on January 13, 2014, 03:40:14 AM
I have experimented with GV on both an Asterisk PBX (Raspbx on RaspberryPi) and Sipsorcery and had both working successfully.

I am 99% sure that the current Asterisk GV implementation uses XMPP.  https://wiki.asterisk.org/wiki/display/AST/Calling+using+Google contains the following sentence:

"Asterisk communicates with Google Voice and Google Talk using the chan_motif Channel Driver and the res_xmpp Resource module."

If correct, it will cease to work after 14 May.

You are correct about the current method Asterisk uses but there was an old method that is similar to what Sipsorcery uses.  You could run an old version of Asterisk before XMPP support was introduced or wait for the new version to switch to the old method. PBX in a flash may not do future GV support but other Asterisk implementations are sure to add it. 


Quote from: swh2 on January 13, 2014, 09:23:11 AM
I guess the stupid and obvious question is why does Obi not work with google to come to a solution before May 1

Short answer Google was never working with Obi.  They made it clear they don't want their service to be used this way.  Obi has a legitimate business beyond Google Voice integration to protect.

Quote from: swh2 on January 13, 2014, 09:23:11 AM
I know this might be another thread but here is another issue: "Additionally, judges selected Daniel Klein and Dean Jackson from Google for the Robocall Challenge Technology Achievement Award." Google emp get an award for software that stops robo calling. No implementation of this in GV or Hangouts?
That is the question killing me as well. Callcentric is offering their own version free of charge and almost no carrier supports nomorobo.  Fios is one of the few I know that supports it.
Long live our new ObiLords!

swh2

Quote from: giqcass on January 13, 2014, 10:51:47 AM

Short answer Google was never working with Obi.  They made it clear they don't want their service to be used this way.  Obi has a legitimate business beyond Google Voice integration to protect.

ok I get that but why doesn't Obi try to work with them now on a gv specific box. Again Obi is run by engineers like google. I think there is a engineering solution but I think google does not want to play with others, sort of like Apple and MS. I think google wants to force everyone onto the "Hangouts platform" (on all devices) and not offer an Obi off platform solution as they cant force ads and other things on you that way. Google is still obsessed with facebook which is now dying for the under 20 crowd. Next I expect google to make up some sort of an NSA excuse to rid their world of Obi

sdb-

Quote from: gderf on January 12, 2014, 04:47:16 PM
All the big sellers including Amazon and Newegg clearly state that Google Voice is not supported past May 15 2014. TigerDirect's adds don't even mention usability with Google Voice anymore.

And the GV claim has been footnoted for years as being subject to the whim of google.

Services come and go all the time. It's been a normal part of life for all my life and the Internet for the last 2-3 decades does not increase permanence.  If anything, it makes it easier and faster for services to come and go.

sdb-

#16
Quote from: simpleAnswers on January 12, 2014, 10:16:36 AM
I think you misunderstood. I like what GV offers. The call history, the text messaging from the number, the email transcribing of voicemails. The multiple numbers I can have it connect to along with the a schedule for when to try each number. The google integration...the list goes on.

All I'm trying to do is still be able to make and receive GV calls without needing a computer and I don't mind paying for it.

Assuming that GV and those services continue to exist, you just need some kind of phone service and you can do all that via your phone.

That phone service can be a cell phone, telco land line, bundled VoIP solution such as offered by cable internet providers or magic jack or others, or a "bring your own device" (BYOD) VoIP solution.

Pick your poison.

With a BYOD service you can continue to use your OBi.  If as you mentioned before you also want simplicity and do not mind paying for it, then simply sign up for Anveo.  Buy a phone number from them ($2/month for personal unlimited incoming) and E911 from them ($0.80/month). You will pay $0.01/minute for calls to anywhere in the U.S. including your GV number. Now you forward your GV number to your Anveo number. Follow Google's instructions for how to use their service with a phone number.

But remember, GV can change their service at any time.  Anveo can change their service at any time.  That's life.  You get what you get and you don't throw a fit.

edit: Remember than Obihai has announced a $40/yr plan. That may be simpler and cheaper than Anveo for your usage.  As long as it lasts.  We don't know yet all the details.

lhm.

(cross post)

One persons perspective,
"What's really happening with Google Voice?"
http://tech.iprock.com/?p=10372

burris

this really is not all that complicated people...

Callcentric, pay per minute calling...very inexpensive, higher quality, actual support, more features, done

as already noted too, the Obihai is simply an ATA that had the added feature of the GV setup...it is in fact from I can tell a better ATA across the board then the ones I had used prior with Callentric & Viatalk

i've had mine setup for both GV and Callcentric for some time (both inbound, outbound GV only)...will just go back to using Callcentric if there is not an easy GV solution

i'm not sweating this

giqcass

Quote from: swh2 on January 13, 2014, 11:02:42 AM
Quote from: giqcass on January 13, 2014, 10:51:47 AM

Short answer Google was never working with Obi.  They made it clear they don't want their service to be used this way.  Obi has a legitimate business beyond Google Voice integration to protect.

ok I get that but why doesn't Obi try to work with them now on a gv specific box. Again Obi is run by engineers like google. I think there is a engineering solution but I think google does not want to play with others, sort of like Apple and MS. I think google wants to force everyone onto the "Hangouts platform" (on all devices) and not offer an Obi off platform solution as they cant force ads and other things on you that way. Google is still obsessed with facebook which is now dying for the under 20 crowd. Next I expect google to make up some sort of an NSA excuse to rid their world of Obi

Google doesn't want to be labeled as a telephone provider.  If they were they would be subject to new federal and State regulations.  There have been lawsuits trying to hold them to the standards of telephone providers and their lawyers vigorously defended them on the grounds that Google is not a telephone provider.  If someone hacks your system to allow people to use your service as a telephone replacement it's one thing but if you help make a box that turns your service into a telephone replacement it's clear you are a telephone provider.
Long live our new ObiLords!