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SOLVED: My Google Voice caller ID don't show up on receiving phone

Started by AndyA, February 16, 2011, 04:05:46 PM

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AndyA

When I dial out from a phone connected to the phone port of OBI110 the Google Voice caller ID do not show up on the receiver's phone.  It says UNKNOWN.  Is this a consequence of OBI dialing through Google Chat or did I miss a setting somewhere?

Loughary

I'm having the same problem...my understanding is it is not the OBi...it's a problem with Google Voice...hopefully it gets fixed if not it's going to be a deal breaker for me.   Try using the google voice plugin and see if it works then.  If I use the plugin to negotiate the call through google voice then the caller ID works.

See example attached...

AndyA

I did more tests and found that when I dial through the Google Voice interface, where you go to the Google Voice web page and click call and select the phone to call with, it does show my GV caller ID.  But when I dial through Google Chat on the Gmail web page, it does not show the caller ID.  This seems to point to direct calls made through Google Chat (which is what OBi is simulating) not showing the caller ID.

This has a major implication.  If you get rid of of your land line to convert to OBI and Google Voice combination, your calls will always show UNKNOWN on the caller ID.  You could end up with the hassle of your calls being ignored. I hope the Obihai people will look into this right away 'coz it's a major downer if there is no fix or if it happens intermittently.

jimates

I don't think it is something that Obihai can fix.

No one has even mentioned the possibility that maybe it is Google's intention for this to happen.

if they can't stop you from using it maybe they can just discourage you.

or, maybe this is just something that Google can blame on the Obi for the possibility of stopping it.

Can anyone from Obihai comment on that last statement.

AndyA

#4
I seem to recall that the Google Talk originated calls used to show the caller ID on the receiving phone. I  called my brother often with Google Voice using both methods and mostly lately using the Google Talk method.  I thought all the time he could tell that it was me using my Google Voice to call him. The question of not having caller ID never came up until yesterday when it stopped showing.

So the question is whether it used to not work before and OBI not telling us before we buy the product or is Google having problems or they purposely stopped it.  Is someone doing some "evil" here ;) :-\ .

I put out a service request about this and will post updates here.

Anyways, if you already own an OBI110 - do not get rid of your land line yet or if you planning to buy one to use it with Google Voice to replace your land line - you might want to hold off until this problem is resolved.

DaveSwartz

I am not having this problem.  I have an obi110 with the current firmware configured through ObiTalk to use GV.  When I call, the receiving phone sees my GV number in their caller ID.

RonR

Quote from: AndyA on February 16, 2011, 11:05:40 PM
I did more tests and found that when I dial through the Google Voice interface, where you go to the Google Voice web page and click call and select the phone to call with, it does show my GV caller ID.  But when I dial through Google Chat on the Gmail web page, it does not show the caller ID.  This seems to point to direct calls made through Google Chat (which is what OBi is simulating) not showing the caller ID.

This has a major implication.  If you get rid of of your land line to convert to OBI and Google Voice combination, your calls will always show UNKNOWN on the caller ID.  You could end up with the hassle of your calls being ignored. I hope the Obihai people will look into this right away 'coz it's a major downer if there is no fix or if it happens intermittently.
This pretty much proves that it's a Google problem and there is likely nothing Obihai can do in the OBi110 to correct it.  The OBi110 simply emulates a Google Chat client.  If Google Chat is broken, it's Google you should be expressing your concerns to.  Once Google fixes Google Chat, the OBi110 should work as desired.

ipaksolutions

google must be testing or doing something.  i am having the same issue with any incoming or outgoing calls that are through gchat showing up as unknown caller-id's.  knowing google, this should be restored and back to normal once they are done "playing".

MichiganTelephone

If they insist on "playing" with it, I hope they fix the bug in their system where when you set Google Voice to disable call screening it doesn't work for Google Chat calls (which is what necessitates having to include the X_SkipCallScreening option in the Obi device).

That's what gives me pause about Google Voice - if they have any plans to start charging for their service after 2011 (which of course we all hope they don't) they had better get their act together and find a better way to deal with issues as they arise, and not two weeks or a month later.  People tend to get REAL cranky when they're paying real money for a service and it doesn't work as expected.  As long as it's free, you sort of have to take what they give you.
Inactive, no longer posting or responding to messages.  Goodbye and good luck.  Some of my old Obihai-related blog posts have been moved to http://tech.iprock.com - note this in NOT my blog; I have simply given the owner permission to repost some of my old stuff.

MichiganTelephone

#9
I'm going to throw one other thought out there - just call this "wishful thinking out loud."

Of course my real hope is that Google Voice acknowledges that they have a problem and fixes it.  As I say, the last time I saw an issue like this that affected a large number of users, it took them over two weeks to fix it.

It would be SO much easier to interface with Google Voice if they would allow direct SIP connections to their service (or even just SIP forwarding, which would be half a loaf, so to speak).  However, at this point, the only such connection they allow are to Gizmo5 users.  And the problem there is that Google bought Gizmo5 and then immediately shut it down for new accounts.  It's obvious that they wanted it for some reason, but apparently NOT to run it as it had originally been run.

My thought is this:  If the OBi folks could actually figure out how to get in touch with someone at Google, maybe they could figure out a way to get a similar type of peering into the OBiTALK network.  I don't know how "approachable" Google is (I suspect "not very") but still, the Gizmo5 folks made it happen somehow, back before the big G swallowed them up like a shark eating a minnow.  If an agreement could be worked out, what you could then do is make an OBiTALK number a Google Voice destination.

Or there is thought #2.  See if anyone can find out why Google bought Gizmo5 and whether they really want it.  Maybe they've mined it for all the technology they can get out of it, and now it's a service that they are just keeping on life support, as it were.  Maybe they'd be willing to sell the existing subscriber base and platform, and maybe Obihai could buy it and offer it as a service to Obi device buyers.  They would have to make sure that the purchase agreement included a clause that maintains the existing ability of Google Voice users to pick Gizmo5 as a destination.  Obviously from Obihai's standpoint this would not be as desirable as the ability to just pick an OBiTALK number as a destination, but if Google Voice would really like to unload Gizmo5 (and I have no idea why they are keeping it since they obviously don't want to start adding any new accounts) it might be a way in.

The goal here is to get a genuine SIP connection or SIP forward from Google Voice.  Of course if Google actually fixes the issues with the Caller ID then we'll all be happy, but as I say, the last time this sort of thing happened it took them over two weeks.  I do suggest that anyone who's experiencing this issue be sure to leave a post in this thread, and encourage anyone else you know that's having this problem to do the same.  If they thought it was affecting many users, it might get higher priority.
Inactive, no longer posting or responding to messages.  Goodbye and good luck.  Some of my old Obihai-related blog posts have been moved to http://tech.iprock.com - note this in NOT my blog; I have simply given the owner permission to repost some of my old stuff.

AndyA

Even if the current problem gets fixed, this incident triggers other questions:

- Will the Obi/GV replacement to land line remain or become a reliable solution?
- Can OBi and Google cooperate to make this a reliable alternative to land line?
- Might Google pull the rug from OBi and later render their solution useless or lower value?
- Does Google have other product plans that conflict with OBi?

RonR

I have to wonder if Google really wants the outside world interfacing with Google Voice, especially when it totally relieves the user of any need to access Google's web sites when using it.  The user gets totally free telephone service without ever seeing the Google name or anything Google related, all at Google's expense.  As a user, I love it, but if I were Google, I'd be asking "What's in this arrangement for me?".  Using the SIP software kludges that've been around for a while now have been mostly limited to the tech savvy crowd, but Obihai is now opening the door to anyone who can plug in a phone cord.  It's hard to see how Google could be happy about this or go out of its way to facilitate Obihai's efforts.

RonR

Quote from: AndyA on February 17, 2011, 11:14:54 AM- Will the Obi/GV replacement to land line remain or become a reliable solution?
- Can OBi and Google cooperate to make this a reliable alternative to land line?
- Might Google pull the rug from OBi and later render their solution useless or lower value?
- Does Google have other product plans that conflict with OBi?
I was one of the early participants in GrandCentral, which was the original service purchased by Google and renamed to Google Voice.  Google has never placed any priority on problems or customer service issues with Google Voice.  That's not meant to be a complaint as Google doesn't charge for what they provide.  Google also purchased Gizmo5 and appears to have put it on the back burner.  Unless and until it's obvious that Google has a game plan that places an obvious benefit to them on the future of Google Voice, I wouldn't put many eggs in that basket.  As noted in my previous post, I can't see any incentive for Google to help Obihai in any way.

The great thing about the OBi110 is, you're not limited to or at the mercy of Google Voice's future.  There are numerous VoIP providers out there that that can be plugged into the OBi for a small fraction of the cost one pays for landline service, so it's a phenomenal product regardless of what happens with Google Voice.  Don't fall into thinking the OBi is all about Google Voice.

AndyA

There is apparently a discussion already going on about this problem on Google Voice forum:

http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/voice/thread?tid=49c21d292e80ff65&hl=en

AndyA

Quote from: RonR on February 17, 2011, 12:02:29 PM
There are numerous VoIP providers out that that can be plugged into the OBi for a small fraction of the cost one pays for landline service, so it's a phenomenal product regardless of what happens with Google Voice.  Don't fall into thinking the OBi is all about Google Voice.

I think the recent surge in demand for OBi110 is because of the news about it able to interface with Google Voice. That's what got me interested.  Like others I'd like to keep the call management features of GV and toss my land line expense.  Even if Google charges some later for the service, it would hopefully be more competitive with other offerings.  Otherwise they will face stiff reprisals.  So everyone seeing this new development should start following what Google is doing.  If they seem to be derailing efforts to add value to their products for their own user's benefits, then it's playing foul.  It's time to call them on their "No Evil" promise.

OBi should be worried about this and start figuring how things can be mitigated or smoothed out with GV.  The recent surge they got because of GV could vaporize.

MichiganTelephone

Okay, it's now official — this is NOT just an OBi device issue:

http://pbxinaflash.com/forum/showthread.php?p=59975

For those that don't know, "PBX in a Flash" is one of several "install it yourself" PBX distributions that include the CentOS (Linux) operating system, the Asterisk PBX software, and the FreePBX web-based GUI and configuration file writer for Asterisk.  If those guys are having this issue, then it means it's a Google Voice problem (or a problem with one of the CLEC's they are using to provide service) beyond the shadow of a doubt, and NOT something that Obihai can do anything about.
Inactive, no longer posting or responding to messages.  Goodbye and good luck.  Some of my old Obihai-related blog posts have been moved to http://tech.iprock.com - note this in NOT my blog; I have simply given the owner permission to repost some of my old stuff.

jimates

Google bought Gizmo5 and immediately shut it down for new users. Perhaps that was the easiest way to keep people from intefacing with Googl Voice than trying to keep them out another way.

Maybe Google didn't want Gizmo5, they just didn't want what was happening between Gizmo5 and GV to continue.

The Obi unit was not originally designed for use with GV so it's continued life will likely not be affected if GV use was lost. Except of course for sales. but then many GV users will have already purchased anyways.

I have been using GV exclusively since Grand Central first came on the scene,. I haven't had a land line in about a year, and the addition of voip with google chat advanced it greatly. The implimention of the Obi unit has given GV the possibility of being the best overal calling service to ever come along.

I would gladly pay competitive prices for Google Voice if the current services did not change.

collins

I have NOT experienced this issue since the latest firmware update.  Might want to check and make sure you have the latest update.

Loughary

It has nothing to do with the OBi110 or firmware...this is a GV problem.  As mentioned in many other threads hopefully Google fixes it.

MichiganTelephone

Quote from: Loughary on February 23, 2011, 10:45:04 AM
It has nothing to do with the OBi110 or firmware...this is a GV problem.  As mentioned in many other threads hopefully Google fixes it.

Agreed 100%.  collins has been posting this same erroneous information all over these forums (you can read my response here) but I think the bottom line is that if his Caller ID started working after an update, my bet is that either it was a coincidence in timing OR the fact that his device rebooted after the update and then re-registered with Google Voice.
Inactive, no longer posting or responding to messages.  Goodbye and good luck.  Some of my old Obihai-related blog posts have been moved to http://tech.iprock.com - note this in NOT my blog; I have simply given the owner permission to repost some of my old stuff.