GVSip has been spamming this forum the last day and the forum moderators have been taking down the shameless advertising throughout the day.
I don't care to promote the product, even if it is "free." I have not even tried it--mainly due to the reputation of the promoter--causing skeptical reservations--because nothing is truly free.
As a new VoIP service, I would like to hear users' experiences about how GVSip works with GV...particularly the perceived call quality thus far when compared to the OBi202 device.
I purchased the OBi202 not just to use it with GV for calling but also for the voice quality and ability to do basic faxing with a GV number--which has been pretty good so far (though not perfect).
I welcome any critical reviews of this new service--both good and bad.
GVsip is not intended to be a competitor to OBi devices, its goal is to enhance Google Voice by adding features like voice dialing, basic caller ID, e911, message waiting indicator, and much more.
There is nothing special about interfacing with Google Voice to make phone calls, anyone can do it with any device.
I think its getting removed because Obihai has leveraged Google Voice as a key selling point, and GVsip approaches on this with the ability to use any device including inexpensive voip ATA's like the Grandstream ht701.
But really GVsip's purpose is to enhance the free calling of Google Voice.
Ryan,
The CNAM displayed on my phone was only city and state.
When I looked at the call log it showed my name, address, city, state and zip, so I don't think you are parsing the information correctly.
__________________________________
GVsip requires a device being registered before you can setup GV.
After you setup GV, you can unregister your device.
Now if all your OBi SP trunks are used, you can define GVsip as an outbound only GV line on a Voice Gateway.
Thanks for the input, I will see what is going on with that and get it fixed asap.
Is this a rebranding of Vestalink? Nobody really gives anything away for the cost of, free.
There has to be a bill at some point, maybe after a free trial.
GVsip is a new company. It does share a lot of the same features as Vestalink.
There is a free tier of 1,000 minutes a month and you can upgrade to unlimited for a one time payment of $20.
The setup page says free Caller ID but I also fields to fill from a free OpenCNAM account. Is that account required for CNAM? Does the CNAM apply for outgoing calls too?
For basic Caller ID you don't need to fill in the OpenCNAM account details.
CNAM only applies to incoming calls, outgoing caller ID is set by Google.
Disclaimer:
I am a delighted Obi110 user.
I never heard of GVSip until today.
When all the hoopla happened a while back I did look into Vestalink and decided that it was not up to my standards.
As such, I have no account there and no desire to ever get one.
Now=>
Having said all that - colour me baffled...??:
Quote from: Ryan_Tilton on April 28, 2015, 03:26:54 PMGVsip is a new company. It does share a lot of the same features as Vestalink.
There is a free tier of 1,000 minutes a month and you can upgrade to unlimited for a one time payment of $20.
Being a curious soul, I searched and found this new service, and looked at their forum.
The only thread in that forum shows: 'rtilton Site Admin"
It also so happens that the R Tilton THERE uses the very same image as HERE - this one:
http://www.obitalk.com/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;attach=1061;type=avatar
Link to that thread:
http://www.gvsip.org/ip-phone-error-message-with-working-gv-account-t2.html
Also - the site itself prominently makes it clear that GVSip is intended to compete with AND improve upon the Obi devices at once, and offers a low-cost product which directly competes.
I suspect that this is why the Obihai folks have been pruning threads about it and I hope they will allow this thread to remain up as a sort of warning.
The promo offer with GVSip ended a while ago and it costs more now for the 'unlimited'.
There is another, much lower priced offering that has a one-time setup that includes what is shown here: https://simonics.com/services
I have been wanting to use GV via SIP on an Android phone I just got & I imagine that this would enable it.
You can use the Hangouts app on your Android for GV. The Android version has a separate Hangouts dialer.
GVsip did not receive inbound calls when the same GV account was defined on Raspbx. I don't know what will happen if the same account is defined on an OBi.
Thank Azrobert - you are always wonderfully helpful here !!
I really prefer to avoid Hangouts altogether - I've a pet peeve with the world being squished into 'social networking' garbage and all that stuff just presses my Big Red Button.
That is why I wonder about using GV via SIP.
In the past there was a GV Full Integration app that worked very well - but I got a newer $20 toy phone with Android 4 and it won't work with that.
Thanks !!
Have you used the Android hangouts app? Like I said above, the Android version has a separate dialer and it looks similar to any other softphone. I think you need the main Hangouts app installed, but you don't have to look at it.
If you use less than 1,000 minutes a month (Which most residential customers do) GVsip is the cheaper alternative because its free. Also the main purpose of GVsip is to enhance Google Voice. GVsip + OBi's enables speech recognition voice dialing from your address book, inbound caller ID, e911, MWI support, and much more.
I am looking for some feedback to improve the service, has anyone tried the service yet?
Thanks Again Azrobert:
Quote from: azrobert on April 29, 2015, 04:57:01 PM
Have you used the Android hangouts app? Like I said above, the Android version has a separate dialer and it looks similar to any other softphone. I think you need the main Hangouts app installed, but you don't have to look at it.
I know it is silly and perhaps some might even say petty of me - but I feel very strongly that too many folks are becoming addicted to 'social media' in place of genuine human contact - and for me, any usage of ANYTHING labeled 'social media' seems to be supportive of communication via proxy.
As a result, I have avoided anything a'tall to do with any part of 'hangouts' the same as I've never been, nor will ever be part of the FB (fecesbook) phenomena.
I do thank you sincerely for being so very helpful.
Ryan you use verbiage sometimes which can be seen as misleading, as quoted previously:
Quote from: Ryan_Tilton on April 28, 2015, 03:26:54 PM
GVsip is a new company. It does share a lot of the same features as Vestalink.
There is a free tier of 1,000 minutes a month and you can upgrade to unlimited for a one time payment of $20.
You very neatly avoided saying that GVSip -is- your product and therefore is not really separate from Vestalink.
Your very time-limited promo for $5 is long gone, your nearest competitor (with more features included) did a promo for $3 with an everyday total price of $5.99 - and there is already some feedback in this thread such as my previous replies.
As an Obi user your posts here all look like very careful self-promotion, and given how many users had severe problems for so long with your original service, this happy Obi user has already stated that it will be difficult to ever trust any of your offerings, BUT:
Especially when it is a lesser offering than another's which costs under 1/3 of your pricing every day.And as previously mentioned - I have no connection with any of these offerings or companies; I've merely become very careful after wasting $$$ a while back on various services which were not all that good.
vtsnaab,
Here is my last attempt to help you with your Android.
There is an easier setup if you are only using the Android on your local network.
This config will route calls to your OBi and then to GV.
Create a free Sip2Sip account here:
https://mdns.sipthor.net/register_sip_account.phtml
Install CSipSimple on your Android.
In CsipSimple:
Select Add Account
Select the Basic Wizard. It's near the end of the list.
Account Name: Anything
User: Sip2Sip_ID
Server: sip2sip.info
Password: Sip2Sip_PW
Save
Select Menu on phone
Select Settings
Select Filters
Select your newly created Account
Select add filter
Select 1st entry (Can't call) and change it to Rewrite.
Select 2nd entry (Starts with) and change it to All.
Select 3rd entry (Replace...) and change it to Suffix With.
4th entry: @xx.xx.xx.xx:5061
save
Sip2Sip_ID and Sip2Sip_PW are the name and password you selected when you created your account.
xx.xx.xx.xx is your public IP address assigned to your modem by your ISP.
5061 is the UserAgentPort of SP2.
If you're not using SP2 then change 5061 to the corresponding SP port#.
You MUST dial from the Android Dialer and not the CSipSimple Dialer.
Filters won't work from the CSipSimple dialer.
Configure OBi
Voice Services -> SP1 Service
X_InboundCallRoute: {ph,sp2(Sip2Sip_ID@sip2sip.info;ui=$1)}
Voice Services -> SP2 Service
X_InboundCallRoute: {Sip2Sip_ID>0:ph},{Sip2Sip_ID>(1xxxxxxxxxx):sp1},{ph}
This assumes your service provider is defined on SP1 and SP2 is defined as SIP.
You need to port forward 5061 in your router to the OBi's IP address.
IF you have audio problems you will also have to port forward RTP ports 16800 thru 16998.
That's 199 ports.
See: Service Providers -> ITSP Profile A -> RTP -> LocalPortMin/Max
Use Port Range Forwarding to avoid having 199 entries in you router.
Dialing 14805551212 will be routed out SP1.
You can change "(1xxxxxxxxxx)" in the inbound route to anything you want including "(Msp1)" to point to the ITSP A DigitMap.
Dialing 0 will ring the OBi phone port.
Inbound calls will ring the OBi phone port and your Android.
If SP2 is not defined, setup a dummy SIP definition like this:
Service Providers -> ITSP Profile B -> SIP -> ProxyServer : 127.0.0.1
Voice Services -> SP2 Service -> AuthUserName : (any userid)
Voice Services -> SP2 Service -> X_RegisterEnable : (unchecked)
Voice Services -> SP2 Service -> X_ServProvProfile : B
QuoteRyan you use verbiage sometimes which can be seen as misleading, as quoted previously:
Quote from: Ryan_Tilton on April 28, 2015, 03:26:54 pm
GVsip is a new company. It does share a lot of the same features as Vestalink.
There is a free tier of 1,000 minutes a month and you can upgrade to unlimited for a one time payment of $20.
You very neatly avoided saying that GVSip -is- your product and therefore is not really separate from Vestalink.
The companies are actually very separate because GVsip and Vestalink run on entirely different business models. Although they may share similar software and features the difference is GVsip is free (1,000 minutes a month) and entirely dependant on Google Voice XMPP access similar to OBi devices. While the other company Vestalink is subscription based and is not dependant on Google Voice XMPP access. Hope that helps clarify things. Thanks
Quote from: Ryan_Tilton on April 30, 2015, 03:23:36 PM
QuoteRyan you use verbiage sometimes which can be seen as misleading, as quoted previously:
Quote from: Ryan_Tilton on April 28, 2015, 03:26:54 pm
GVsip is a new company. It does share a lot of the same features as Vestalink.
There is a free tier of 1,000 minutes a month and you can upgrade to unlimited for a one time payment of $20.
You very neatly avoided saying that GVSip -is- your product and therefore is not really separate from Vestalink.
The companies are actually very separate because GVsip and Vestalink run on entirely different business models. Although they may share similar software and features the difference is GVsip is free (1,000 minutes a month) and entirely dependant on Google Voice XMPP access similar to OBi devices. While the other company Vestalink is subscription based and is not dependant on Google Voice XMPP access. Hope that helps clarify things. Thanks
If GVSip is free, Why are you limiting it to 1000 free minutes. (probably a combination of inbound/outbound)? Google Voice is unlimited. Is there any setup fees? If so, how much?
The service is free if you use less than 1,000 minutes a month (inbound/outbound). If you want to upgrade to unlimited there is a one time payment of $20. Most residential users will fall under the free tier.
Has no one tried testing the call quality of GVSip as compared to the call quality of the OBi?--or, have very few people cared to tried the service due to the history of the promoter and associated service? If the latter...it is a sign of an eventual death knell to those services.
Quote from: LTN1 on May 04, 2015, 07:11:39 AM
Has no one tried testing the call quality of GVSip as compared to the call quality of the OBi?--or, have very few people cared to tried the service due to the history of the promoter and associated service? If the latter...it is a sign of an eventual death knell to those services.
From what I've gathered, the call quality is fine... just a touch more unnoticeable latency introduced by the additional gateway hop to/from GV.
If you are satisfied with your GV/OBi combo, you don't need these GV gateways.
If you need some feature that GV/OBi can't provide like voicemail with indication, 911, etc, or have a non-OBi/GV SIP device, then the GV SIP gateways can offer access to GV plus any add-on features offered.
Take it or leave it... that's about as muddy as it gets, imo.
OE
Quote from: OzarkEdge on May 04, 2015, 08:36:43 AM
From what I've gathered, the call quality is fine... just a touch more unnoticeable latency introduced by the additional gateway hop to/from GV.
OE
Is this from your own use of GVSip? And if so, have you the chance to test if it can be used to fax like the OBi200s?
I only use GV for outbound failover and do not need an additional gateway for this.
Other users seem to have no significant complaints with the GV gateways. However, they are an additional point of potential failure. POTS was never as fragmented as are so many DIY VoIP implementations.
As for faxing through a GV gateway, it should be no better than faxing through GV, which as you noted in your original post is not perfect. I believe GV is for voice calls only, so I would not rely on GV for fax/data comms, gateway or no gateway.
OE