New user and it seems to work great! I am using it in place of a land line with my Google Voice number.
During the setup, I'm instructed to enable Google Chat. I prefer to be invisible in Gmail, but enabling Chat makes me visible.
Can I disable this feature and just lose logging of calls in Chat History? I don't really need it and I don't use the computer to make calls.
HFG
Get another Gmail account and move your GV account there. Make one call from that Gmail, set your OBi to use the new address and password, and you should not have to log into that Gmail again.
QuoteGet another Gmail account and move your GV account there. Make one call from that Gmail, set your OBi to use the new address and password, and you should not have to log into that Gmail again.
Maybe I misunderstand this detail, but doesn't the Obi device 'emulate' a Google chat session? And therefore even if one does as you suggest, the Obi device is, from Google's perspective, doing a google chat session? Which means the visible/invisible feature is coming from the Obi device's emulated chat session, not from a Gmail/Gv session logged in to a browser? That's what I took away from reading on here and in some blogs.
Also, if you read the Google Product forums, transferring your GV number to another Google account is not a clean, cut-and-dried process, there are some hiccups reported. See this link: http://productforums.google.com/forum/#!category-topic/voice/getting-started--tips--tricks/DDo5oNIMiRY
Correct, the Obi is causing the google chat session to be active. That is the reason to move the number to another unused gmail account where the chat status would not matter. The old gmail would not have a google voice number anymore.
I have transferred several google voice numbers to new gmail accounts without a problem. The new process actually takes place immediately.
I even found out that it may be possible to bypass google's voicemail by using the transfer.
Do this from a computer that already has the gmail/chat voice and video plug in installed. Do not have your gmail or google voice open in any browser.
1 - set up a new gmail account
2 - enable chat for the new gmail account
3 - set all mail from the new gmail account to forward to your old gmail account and sign out.
4 - transfer the google voice number to the new gmail account
http://support.google.com/voice/bin/static.py?hl=en&ts=1378507&page=ts.cs&from=1378507&rd=2
5 - DO NOT MAKE A PHONE CALL PHONE FROM THE NEW GMAIL ACCOUNT.
Your google voice number will now be associated with your new gmail account and calling in and out from your Obi should work normally when set up with your new gmail credentials.
***It is possible that calls to your google voice number will ring continuously and not be picked up by your google voicemail. This would allow you to use a home answering machine connected to your Obi, or the voicemail from another forwarding phone. If that happens, and you like it that way, never open the new gmail account again. If you do want google's voicemail to pick up your calls like it is suppose to work, then go back to the new gmail account and make that phone call.
Okay, that answers my question. A Google Voice Chat session has to be open and associated with the number.
Whether or not I take the trouble to move my number is another matter and I probably won't bother.
Thanks for the information.
HFG