Number porting to GV - my experience

[Arizona480]

I have an old non-VoIP landline phone that supports voicemail. At the moment my internet cable company manages my phone access via PacketCable modem and it costs me $50 per month!

Questions:
1. Does ObiTalk with Google Voice send voicemails to the actual phone? I don't want to constantly have to access voicemails in ObiTalk Dashboard or in Google Account. I need voicemails to arrive to the actual phone. Does ObiTalk + Google Voice combination do that?
2. Who should I contact first when I begin number porting process - my current phone provider or the mobile carrier to which my landline phone will be ported?

1.  No, unfortunately there is no signal sent to any attached phones for voice mail notification.   My mom had to get used to this when she moved to GV.  The good news is, the GV app can be installed on any device, so she can keep an old smartphone or two around to get notified of any voicemails or texts.

I'm not sure if there is any device that would give you this signal, but one would be nice.

2.  You work with a mobile carrier, they handle everything with your current landline provider with your permission.

[FrobziKer]

Please tell me ObiTalk devices with Google Voice make attached landline phones ring!

Can ObiTalk device be re-registered? I already have a Google Voice account, but it isn't the one we're going to use for our family phone once the number gets ported. I just want to give it try, but I don't want the ObiTalk device to be permanently registered to my current account.

[drgeoff]

Please tell me ObiTalk devices with Google Voice make attached landline phones ring!

Can ObiTalk device be re-registered? I already have a Google Voice account, but it isn't the one we're going to use for our family phone once the number gets ported. I just want to give it try, but I don't want the ObiTalk device to be permanently registered to my current account.

The answer is yes to both your questions.

[lyric1011]

I had a landline with Comcast, and used Tracfone as the intermediary to make the number a mobile number.  I bought the intro SIM package for Tracfone on Amazon for $1:
(https://www.amazon.com/eGift-Promotion-Tracfone-Phone-Prepaid/dp/B0728N8PT9/ref=pd_lpo_107_t_0/132-2035713-0610811?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B0728N8PT9&pd_rd_r=eecad204-6dbf-4ba3-8167-e96acaf84663&pd_rd_w=hbIR8&pd_rd_wg=XT4n4&pf_rd_p=337be819-13af-4fb9-8b3e-a5291c097ebb&pf_rd_r=MS1RB3V3YHHX2KNDZ4H6&psc=1&refRID=MS1RB3V3YHHX2KNDZ4H6 ). 

It has 3 SIMS- ATT, T-mobile, Verizon.  I put the appropriate SIM (for the company of a cell I had lying around) in and activated the phone on the Tracfone site. 

The Tracfone port was almost instantaneous, but the Google Voice port took 48 hours.  Just a heads up- the Tracfone account number is not your SIM number (many sites say it is)- it is the IMEI of the activated cell phone. I put in the SIM number and got an error message from Google.  The IMEI number worked.

Total cost $86 (~2 months of landline on ATT, 3 months on Xfinity): Obi200 $50, Tracfone Sims $1, Tracfone 1 month cheapest plan $15, Google Voice Port $20.  I also signed up for GV911 to get E911 services for $12 a year. 

So far (2 weeks in),  crystal clear line, no dropped calls, all working as expected!

[Michel28]

I lived in Bay Area, CA and recently ported my land line number to GV successfully. Just want to share my log here, hopefully it can demystify this process a bit.

First, I go to http://www.t-mobile.com/switch/default.aspx to make sure my land line number is eligible to transfer.

Then I started out with a T-mobile prepaid SIM card for $6.99 which I purchased online. Plus tax, it is $7.64 shipped. I got 10 minutes talk time.

Day 1 (evening): Received the package from T-mobile. Follow the instructions and activate that SIM card. Provided a PIN # of my choice and in return I got a new phone number (408-xxx-yyyy). Put that SIM in one of my mobile phone and make sure this number actually works.

Day 2 (morning): Called T-mobile's activation dept (1-800-937-8997) and requested them to port my land line number to my prepaid SIM. I need to provide my AT&T account number to T-mobile for this.

Day 3 (morning): Received a SMS from T-mobile at 7:58am telling me that the porting is done. Called both ways and confirmed it is working.

Day 3 (lunch time): Login to my Google Voice account and request the porting at 12:22pm. Google charges $20 for this, payable via Google Checkout. Also, I need to provide my T-mobile account number and PIN to Google. A T-mobile agent told me that, for prepaid SIM, the account number is usually 1+mobile number. You may want to double check with T-mobile if you're not sure. Therefore, in my case, it is 1-408-xxx-yyyy. PIN is the one I created on Day 1. Part of the Google activation process is for Google to make a call to your mobile number, and you need to enter a 2-digit code that they provided to complete the validation process. This is where your 10-minute talk time becomes useful.

Day 4 (morning): Received an email from Google saying that their porting is done. Just tried calling both ways and it seems to work so far.

This is just my personal experience and for sure, YMMV. Good luck and have fun with Obi110.

[RobertNYC]

I have an old non-VoIP landline phone that supports voicemail. At the moment my internet cable company manages my phone access via PacketCable modem and it costs me $50 per month!

Questions:
1. Does ObiTalk with Google Voice send voicemails to the actual phone? I don't want to constantly have to access voicemails in ObiTalk Dashboard or in Google Account. I need voicemails to arrive to the actual phone. Does ObiTalk + Google Voice combination do that?
2. Who should I contact first when I begin number porting process - my current phone provider or the mobile carrier to which my landline phone will be ported?

1.  No, unfortunately there is no signal sent to any attached phones for voice mail notification.   My mom had to get used to this when she moved to GV.  The good news is, the GV app can be installed on any device, so she can keep an old smartphone or two around to get notified of any voicemails or texts.

I'm not sure if there is any device that would give you this signal, but one would be nice.

2.  You work with a mobile carrier, they handle everything with your current landline provider with your permission.

I may be confused about the original question, but I have a Panasonic land line with two satellite handsets attached to my Obi (Polycom) device. I also have two GV numbers that are set up to ring my landline via the OBI device. As my landline device has a voice mail feature, any calls that connect to the landline trigger the answering machine function if I don't pick up. I can hear the caller over the speaker as he or she leaves the message live, and the phones will blink to indicate a voicemail has been left. They will keep blinking until I retrieve the voicemail(s).

In short, voicemails can be and are sent to my physical landline that is connected to the Obi device.

Is the original question referring to something else?

[SteveInWA]

I have an old non-VoIP landline phone that supports voicemail. At the moment my internet cable company manages my phone access via PacketCable modem and it costs me $50 per month!

Questions:
1. Does ObiTalk with Google Voice send voicemails to the actual phone? I don't want to constantly have to access voicemails in ObiTalk Dashboard or in Google Account. I need voicemails to arrive to the actual phone. Does ObiTalk + Google Voice combination do that?
2. Who should I contact first when I begin number porting process - my current phone provider or the mobile carrier to which my landline phone will be ported?

1.  No, unfortunately there is no signal sent to any attached phones for voice mail notification.   My mom had to get used to this when she moved to GV.  The good news is, the GV app can be installed on any device, so she can keep an old smartphone or two around to get notified of any voicemails or texts.

I'm not sure if there is any device that would give you this signal, but one would be nice.

2.  You work with a mobile carrier, they handle everything with your current landline provider with your permission.

I may be confused about the original question, but I have a Panasonic land line with two satellite handsets attached to my Obi (Polycom) device. I also have two GV numbers that are set up to ring my landline via the OBI device. As my landline device has a voice mail feature, any calls that connect to the landline trigger the answering machine function if I don't pick up. I can hear the caller over the speaker as he or she leaves the message live, and the phones will blink to indicate a voicemail has been left. They will keep blinking until I retrieve the voicemail(s).

In short, voicemails can be and are sent to my physical landline that is connected to the Obi device.

Is the original question referring to something else?

This discussion thread was/is about how to port a phone number into Google Voice.  It is unrelated to your question.

[RobertNYC]

I was actually responding to another person who asked whether Obitalk with GV sent voicemails to the "actual phone," as he/she put it. I know what the larger topic of the discussioni thread is.

[dircom]

Helping my sister port her Spectrum Cable # and I haven't ported a number in many years. What SIM cards (and a couple of weeks of service) are reliable and inexpensive?

[Arizona480]

Helping my sister port her Spectrum Cable # and I haven't ported a number in many years. What SIM cards (and a couple of weeks of service) are reliable and inexpensive?

I did the $15 T-Mobile Connect plan to use with the porting process.  The SIM is usually $10. 

[bigL]

how long should I wait before porting to GV.  I am using TING Mobile, it was just ported this morning.   According to GV it can be ported to Gv now.  How long should I wait to port it?

[dircom]

Wait a week. Also send a text to your new Ting service and make sure that works.

[bigL]

I would not wait.  Ting ported my number on Friday morning.  Saturday morning I did the port to Google and right before mid night I received a notification that the port was complete.

[SteveInWA]

I would not wait.  Ting ported my number on Friday morning.  Saturday morning I did the port to Google and right before mid night I received a notification that the port was complete.

Regardless of your experience, it's best to wait at least a few business days after porting a land line into a mobile carrier, before porting that number into Google Voice.  It can take several days for inbound calling and text messaging to be fully moved over, and for the landline service provider to properly cancel service on that line.  Impatience leads to messes.

[bushman65]

OK, I have been out of the loop for a while, and I apologize. I have skimmed the boards, but I want to know if I may still set up my ObiHai 202? I have finally gotten a cell phone and intend to port landline to it and then to Google Voice and then use ObiHai. Still valid? I know that it may not work after 23Dec, but I can search for a solution in the meantime. I have a new (3 year old house that we have never moved into) which does not have POTS lines and want to take advantage of internet calling. I appreciate and thank you all for answers in advance. SteveInWA, I apologize for my denseness as well. Cheers!