OBiTALK Community

General Support => Day-to-Day Use => Topic started by: 915855 on September 08, 2021, 12:36:11 PM

Title: Google Screen Call option is on but calls still ring once-How do I stop it from
Post by: 915855 on September 08, 2021, 12:36:11 PM
I have the Google Voice Screen Call option on and it does a great job at screening calls. My problem is that even though this option is selected, my phone will still rings once even if the caller does not leave a name. I only want my phone to ring when an unknown caller leaves their name and goes through the process of recording their name so that I know that the caller is not a spam caller. So this is what happens when an unknown caller calls me
1) They dial my number
2) Google Voice screens the call and the caller does not state their name (right here google should end the call and not ring my phone)
3) Instead Google will still ring my phone once when the caller does not leave their name

Every time that my phone rings once, I know that it is a spam caller. The problem with that is that these spammers call me sometimes very early in the morning and wake me up with that one ring that google voice does. Is there a way that I can totally turn off the rings when I have screen calls on? Thank you in advance.
Title: Re: Google Screen Call option is on but calls still ring once-How do I stop it from
Post by: SteveInWA on September 08, 2021, 02:47:24 PM
That is not, at all, how Google Voice call screening works.  I have no idea where you got that idea.  It has nothing to do with anonymous callers, and it never rings your linked devices and numbers just one time, nor does it care if the caller speaks their name.

Call screening will always screen calls, regardless of the type of caller or their phone number or whether or not they are in Google Contacts.

If the caller's name and phone number are in your Google Contacts, then it will ring the linked device (Your OBiTALK device in this case), and a voice will speak the contact's name, and ask you to press 1 to accept or to press 2 to send to voicemail.

If the caller's number is not in your Google Contacts, it will ask the caller to speak their name, then it will ring your linked device, play back the recorded voice (or silence if they didn't say anything), and ask you to press 1 to accept or to press 2 to send to voicemail.
Title: Re: Google Screen Call option is on but calls still ring once-How do I stop it from
Post by: SteveInWA on September 08, 2021, 02:48:30 PM
Perhaps you are confusing Google Voice call screening with the ability to block calls from anonymous callers, or Nomorobo.
Title: Re: Google Screen Call option is on but calls still ring once-How do I stop it from
Post by: 915855 on September 08, 2021, 04:18:57 PM
I think that you are the one confused on how Google Screen call works. If the person who is calling me is in my contacts, Google Voice will automatically transfer the call to my home phone without asking them to state their name. If the person calling is not on my contact list, then it will ask to state their name. That is why I am on this board for support, because it is ringing one time when the caller does not state their name and then hangs up. But if the caller states their name, then it will ring until I pick it up. if someone can please tell me, which setting in the configurations to change in order to not have it ring when callers do not state their name, I will greatly appreciate it. Thanks
Title: Re: Google Screen Call option is on but calls still ring once-How do I stop it from
Post by: 915855 on September 08, 2021, 05:18:59 PM
What is up with you HERO MEMBERS, exactly what I just said is what the link that you put for me to read says. Stop wasting peoples time with trying to act like you know everything and then research the internet just to prove people wrong (in this case you proved yourself wrong). Do you become HERO MEMBERS by posting jibberish? You guys sabotaged my post and now people have to read your nonsense in order to see if I was helped. If you do not know how to make google voice not ring when Screen Calls is on and the caller does not leave their name, please do not post. Can anyone please help with this issue. Thank you.
Title: Re: Google Screen Call option is on but calls still ring once-How do I stop it from
Post by: 915855 on September 08, 2021, 05:21:16 PM
If you read the reply above, I wrote that because another HERO MEMBER posted a link to how google voice works to try to contradict me, but his link stated exactly what I was saying. I guess he realized that he was wrong and deleted the post.
Title: Re: Google Screen Call option is on but calls still ring once-How do I stop it from
Post by: drgeoff on September 08, 2021, 05:29:42 PM
Quote from: 915855 on September 08, 2021, 05:21:16 PM
If you read the reply above, I wrote that because another HERO MEMBER posted a link to how google voice works to try to contradict me, but his link stated exactly what I was saying. I guess he realized that he was wrong and deleted the post.
I deleted the post because I saw that it was exposing some personal information.  https://support.google.com/voice/answer/9262934 (https://support.google.com/voice/answer/9262934) is a link which does not do that.  It does contradict you.

No matter if the caller's number is in your contact list or not, GV's Call Screening has no effect on your OBi being rung or not.

When you are in a hole, stop digging.
Title: Re: Google Screen Call option is on but calls still ring once-How do I stop it from
Post by: 915855 on September 08, 2021, 05:41:09 PM
Where does it say in your link that google will call you even if the caller is not in your google contacts and will not state their name? I have been using the screen calls service forever, and within the past 2 month, it started ringing once when the caller does not state their name.In the past, if the caller did not state their name, the phone would not ring. Verizon and AT&T has the same feature as well, and in their service, the phone will not bother the recipient if the caller does not leave their name.
Title: Re: Google Screen Call option is on but calls still ring once-How do I stop it from
Post by: SteveInWA on September 08, 2021, 05:49:45 PM
You're not going to get help here by ranting and whining about the people who are here to help.  If you can't get past that, then go away.

I know precisely how Google Voice works, and I've been supporting the service as one of Google's Product Experts, on the official Google Voice help community, for over a decade.

You posted:

Quote
If the person who is calling me is in my contacts, Google Voice will automatically transfer the call to my home phone without asking them to state their name. If the person calling is not on my contact list, then it will ask to state their name.

That's what I said, except that you left the crucial point:  call screening cannot control ring behavior.  It has nothing to do with that.  It screens your inbound calls, meaning:  it always rings your phone and it always asks you if you want to accept the call.  The only difference between a call from a caller in your Contacts vs. a call from a caller not in your contacts is that, since Google already knows a contact's name, it won't annoy them by asking them to speak it.  Instead, it uses a synth voice to read their name to you.   Otherwise, all screened calls work identically.

You have some other issue causing the single ring.  There are two possibilities I can think of:

Using a laptop or desktop computer's web browser, not a tablet or phone, sign into the correct Google account that holds your Google Voice phone number, and go to Settings:  https://voice.google.com/settings (https://voice.google.com/settings)

Examine the lists of devices and linked numbers.  Delete all devices and numbers except for your "OBiTALK device", your mobile or landline phone number if you have one, and the "Web" device.  Any old, orphaned, dead or otherwise not in use numbers will cause ring problems.

If any active linked phone numbers are forwarded to yet another number, this will also cause problems. All linked numbers must use conditional call forwarding to send busy or unanswered calls back to your Google Voice phone number.  Otherwise, the linked number will grab the Google Voice calls and cancel ringing, and possibly send the caller straight to that number's carrier's own voicemail.

You may have set up the old, "Legacy" Groups feature, to apply special call routing, ringing and voicemail to certain numbers.

For example, if you have configured the "Anonymous callers" group to not ring any of your linked devices or numbers, then that's what will happen when the calling party is blocking their caller ID.  Again, this has nothing to do with callers who do have an unblocked phone number which is simply not in your contacts.

It is up to you to understand how Google Voice works, and to configure it properly.  You should also be testing it by unplugging your OBiTALK device(s), and sign into Google Voice on a web browser, and make and receive calls using the browser.  This will eliminate the OBiTALK device as a possible culprit.
Title: Re: Google Screen Call option is on but calls still ring once-How do I stop it from
Post by: SteveInWA on September 08, 2021, 05:56:07 PM
Quote from: 915855 on September 08, 2021, 05:41:09 PM
Where does it say in your link that google will call you even if the caller is not in your google contacts and will not state their name? I have been using the screen calls service forever, and within the past 2 month, it started ringing once when the caller does not state their name.In the past, if the caller did not state their name, the phone would not ring. Verizon and AT&T has the same feature as well, and in their service, the phone will not bother the recipient if the caller does not leave their name.

The link that drgeoff posted is the official help page, written by Google, explaining how Call Screening works.  It points out:  "When you get calls to your Google Voice number, you can screen your calls to hear the name of the caller before you answer the call".  Think about it:  you can't hear the information if the phone doesn't ring so you can answer it, and then decide to press 1 or 2.

You are getting confused, because Google changed the behavior of Call Screening a few years ago.  This is the current behavior.
Title: Re: Google Screen Call option is on but calls still ring once-How do I stop it from
Post by: 915855 on September 08, 2021, 06:00:34 PM
Quote from: SteveInWA on September 08, 2021, 05:49:45 PM
You're not going to get help here by ranting and whining about the people who are here to help.  If you can't get past that, then go away.

I know precisely how Google Voice works, and I've been supporting the service as one of Google's Product Experts, on the official Google Voice help community, for over a decade.

You posted:

Quote
If the person who is calling me is in my contacts, Google Voice will automatically transfer the call to my home phone without asking them to state their name. If the person calling is not on my contact list, then it will ask to state their name.

That's what I said, except that you left the crucial point:  call screening cannot control ring behavior.  It has nothing to do with that.  It screens your inbound calls, meaning:  it always rings your phone and it always asks you if you want to accept the call.  The only difference between a call from a caller in your Contacts vs. a call from a caller not in your contacts is that, since Google already knows a contact's name, it won't annoy them by asking them to speak it.  Instead, it uses a synth voice to read their name to you.   Otherwise, all screened calls work identically.

You have some other issue causing the single ring.  There are two possibilities I can think of:

Using a laptop or desktop computer's web browser, not a tablet or phone, sign into the correct Google account that holds your Google Voice phone number, and go to Settings:  https://voice.google.com/settings (https://voice.google.com/settings)

Examine the lists of devices and linked numbers.  Delete all devices and numbers except for your "OBiTALK device", your mobile or landline phone number if you have one, and the "Web" device.  Any old, orphaned, dead or otherwise not in use numbers will cause ring problems.

If any active linked phone numbers are forwarded to yet another number, this will also cause problems. All linked numbers must use conditional call forwarding to send busy or unanswered calls back to your Google Voice phone number.  Otherwise, the linked number will grab the Google Voice calls and cancel ringing, and possibly send the caller straight to that number's carrier's own voicemail.

You may have set up the old, "Legacy" Groups feature, to apply special call routing, ringing and voicemail to certain numbers.

For example, if you have configured the "Anonymous callers" group to not ring any of your linked devices or numbers, then that's what will happen when the calling party is blocking their caller ID.  Again, this has nothing to do with callers who do have an unblocked phone number which is simply not in your contacts.

It is up to you to understand how Google Voice works, and to configure it properly.  You should also be testing it by unplugging your OBiTALK device(s), and sign into Google Voice on a web browser, and make and receive calls using the browser.  This will eliminate the OBiTALK device as a possible culprit.

I am here to find a solution and not rant like you said. I will try your suggestions. Thank you so much for taking the time to read my post and helping me out. Thanks again.