Google Voice Voicemails are not activating the message waiting light on my phone

[twood]

With ooma and really any provider whenever I had a voicemail the message waiting light on my phone would activate.  I don't know how to make this work with the obi200 I just bought. 

I just want the light to flash on my phone whenever I have a voicemail like it does with all other providers. 

I probably just didn't check some box somewhere.  Any help would be appreciated. 

[SteveInWA]

Google Voice does not support either message waiting indication (the stutter tone and the light).  It's assumed you have a smartphone signed into your Google account, that will receive notifications of missed calls and voicemails.

[twood]

It can't relay through the obi200 since it shows up as a device in google voice?  I figured they would have some kind of agreement with polycom to do that since it's the only officially supported device.  I'd think the obi200 could handle doing that.  Is this incorrect?

Long story short, this simply won't work? 

Thanks

[SteveInWA]

It simply won't work.

[twood]

Ugh...ok.  Thanks.  

Google should work on this if they are going to say Obis are officially supported.  Obi should be required to say it's limited support.

Right now, it's a lie that they are supported.  This is a standard feature for any voice device.  It would have influenced my decision to buy the Obi.  There is definitely a bait and switch component to this.  

[SteveInWA]

Ugh...ok.  Thanks.  

Google should work on this if they are going to say Obis are officially supported.  Obi should be required to say it's limited support.

Right now, it's a lie that they are supported.  This is a standard feature for any voice device.  It would have influenced my decision to buy the Obi.  There is definitely a bait and switch component to this.  

Oh Puhleeze.  You missed the entire point.  Google Voice notifies users of voicemail messages waiting by sending you, the user, a text message, or a push notification, and/or an email transcript of the message.  That's how the Google Voice service works.  It's not caused by a design problem with the OBiTALK devices.  If you don't like this, then use some other service provider.  For example, MWI and VMWI work perfectly with Callcentric provisioned on OBiTALK devices.

[twood]

It's a misrepresentation, plain and simple.  You endorse bait and switch that's fine.  I don't. 

If any friends ask me about it, I'll tell them this up front.  It may influence their decision, it may not.  Obi should say it on the box.  Most people are buying the box for the free service.   

I'll definitely be sure to write some reviews about it now though.  I probably wouldn't have but I don't like jerks. 

[twood]

Google Voice notifies users of voicemail messages waiting by sending you, the user, a text message, or a push notification, and/or an email transcript of the message.  That's how the Google Voice service works.  

Obi/Google uses a crippled sip connection to communicate.  Google intentionally destroyed their old XMPP offerings that worked with asterisk, etc.  just so they could partner with Obi on this.  

It appears the result of that partnership is NOT a fully functioning sip protocol that will simply give you a mwi.  I mean how hard is that for the two companies to work out?  They're going to destroy an entire ecosystem that was built up to make this?!  Lol.  

[twood]

Easy workaround for Obi.  

Create a gmail add-on offered in Google's GSuite MarketPlace like Dropbox and a bunch of others have.  Have users forward either their voicemail or a transcript to their gmail.  When this comes in, phone home to obi that the user has a voicemail and then send the sip signal to the Obi200 so it can light up my phone.  


Hmm, I bet this won't work unless your email client is open.  Dang.  
 
Anyhow, it's just silly if Google won't cooperate to get something this simple done.

Maybe just a filter/forward rule.  I bet that would work.

[Lavarock7]

In my opinion, "supported" and "officially supported" are not the same as "fully compatible".

You are looking/hoping for compatibility and I don't see that mentioned. What I believe Polycom is saying is they will fix or attempt to fix what is broken (that is what support is). That does not mean that they have to incorporate features that Google doesn't offer.

Free GoogleVoice service is great, until it isn't. The lack of ability to turn off their automatic forward to voicemail is a feature many people want also that isn't going to happen.

I have both GV numbers, Voip.MS numbers and CallCentric numbers. The last two because GV doesn't do what I want and I am willing to pay some other company for the feature.

[azrobert]

Switch your VM to Callcentric.

Get a free Callcentric IP Freedom account
Add the Dollar Unlimited DID ($1/month)
Add the Callcentric DID as a GV forwarding number
Turn off the OBi device as a forwarding number
Register you Callcentric account on your OBi
Configure your Callcentric VM to pick up before GV

[twood]

Turn off the OBi device as a forwarding number

It doesn't work like that.  The only thing for obi you can do in google voice is turn it off as a device I want to answer calls on.  That would defeat the whole purpose. 

The solution form Polycom's end if Google won't accommodate them is to have the user enable voicemail transcripts.  When a transcript comes in have it filter/forward from their gmail to some polycom email server.  When this server gets these messages, it notifies some service they have for the obis and the obi sends a sip mwi signal. 

There won't be any privacy concerns since Obi could already listen to every call if they wanted to anyhow since at the very least, the boxes are centrally configured. 

[zsak23]

OBi cannot listen to the calls since the connection from Google is direct and does not go thru OBi servers.  Only configuration relies on OBi servers.

These devices work with all sorts of providers and are not limited to Google Voice.  Unhappy with a provider, switch to another.

[drgeoff]

Turn off the OBi device as a forwarding number

It doesn't work like that.  The only thing for obi you can do in google voice is turn it off as a device I want to answer calls on.  That would defeat the whole purpose. 

It DOES work like that.  GV forwards the call to your Callcentric number.  Callcentric rings your OBi and you answer the call.

[twood]

Turn off the OBi device as a forwarding number

IT DOES NOT WORK LIKE THIS!!!!  You cannot turn off the OBI as a forwarding number.  Even if you could that would defeat the whole purpose of Google Voice.  Why am I going to buy an Obi where I can't be reached on it from my Google Voice number?   Anyhow you CANNOT EVEN DO THIS ON VOICE.GOOGLE.COM.  It is not even an option. 

[twood]

OBi cannot listen to the calls since the connection from Google is direct and does not go thru OBi servers.

The point is they COULD if they wanted to as it is centrally configured.  So it's the same if they get a transcript on their email servers.  Sure they COULD read them but they don't have to.  

Obi can make this work for it's customers.  That's the point.  It would be opt in anyhow so customers would make that privacy choice themselves.  

[twood]

Turn off the OBi device as a forwarding number

I think you mean remove Google voice as a SP from the Obi.  If I do that, then I'm getting charged by callcentric which is not what I want. 

Anyhow, it's good enough for me without the mwi.  I can just check.  It's just silly though that between the two companies, they can't get this working--or don't want to.

[Taoman]

Turn off the OBi device as a forwarding number

IT DOES NOT WORK LIKE THIS!!!!  You cannot turn off the OBI as a forwarding number. 

It works EXACTLY like that!!! Gotta love it when a noob with 10 posts tells someone with over 3500 posts how an OBi device works. 

[azrobert]

I think you mean remove Google voice as a SP from the Obi.  If I do that, then I'm getting charged by callcentric which is not what I want. 

No! Where did I say that. GV remains your outbound provider. Inbound is switched to Callcentric which supports MWI. In addition, you will get CallerID name, all for $1 per month. A lot cheaper than switching to another provider.

[twood]

It works EXACTLY like that!!! Gotta love it when a noob with 10 posts tells someone with over 3500 posts how an OBi device works.

NO IT DOES NOT.  Screenshots!  Show the screenshots.  IT IS NOT EVEN AN OPTION IN GOOGLE VOICE.  Noob or not, it simply does not work like that.

You go find a screenshot in Google Voice where you can turn off forwarding to the Obi device.  You either delete it where it's not a device or you don't.