No incoming calls with google voice - non-gmail CHAT address

[phonebob]

I have an OBi100 that I want to use with google voice.  I have two GV acconts.  It works (mostly) with one account.  But with the account I want to use (the phone number that many people have) it only works for outgoing calls.

The problem with the GV account that wouldn't work could be that I originally created it with a non-gmail email address.  In order to configure it with OBi, I added a gmail address to the account, and this became the primary email address for the account.  However, I see under Settings->Phones that google chat is listed with my non-gmail address.  Is there any way to convert that google chat to my gmail address?  Can anyone confirm that this either is or is not the problem?

Note:

• 
  My GV is set to forward calls to Google Chat.  I have tried un-checking and re-checking that forwarding setting.
• 
  I can forward my GV calls to other numbers with no problem.
• 
  I have made a test chat call with gmail on this account.
• 
  I do not have to be logged in to gmail for the problem to occur.
• 
  I have done several factory resets and the behavior persists.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[Shale]

Sorry... my mistake.

[phonebob]

You have posted that what-- 5 times? Do you think somebody knows the answer and is holding out on you?

I posted it one other time.  That was a reply to a thread that began with a different problem.  All of the discussion in that thread relates to the other problem.  I thought someone who knows the answer might not notice it.

[SteveInWA]

Phonebob:

What's happening, is that as you noticed, your Google Chat destination is still referencing the old address.  To fix this, temporarily unplug your OBi, then log into your Google account, here:

https://www.google.com/settings/account

Make sure that (as you said) your Gmail account is listed on top, as primary.  If you have other email addresses, you can set them as your alternate or recovery email addresses.


Then, go back to your GV account, and go to Settings, on the Phones tab.

https://www.google.com/voice#phones

Un-check and delete the "Google Chat" forwarding destination.  Don't worry, we'll get it back.  Log out.  Log into Gmail this time.  Assuming you have the current version of the web browser plugin installed and configured properly, make an outbound call from Gmail.  This will restore the Chat forwarding destination to GV, with your Gmail address.  Go back to the GV Phones settings page, and put a check mark next to the Chat destination.  Plug your OBi back in.  That should do it.

If you can't get the calling from Gmail function to work, then do this:

Close all web browsers.  Go to Windows Control Panel, Programs and Features.  Find and click to uninstall the "Google Talk" entry (yes, it's nuts, but Google Talk is the same plugin as Google Chat).  Then, go here to download and install the new plugin, which even more confusingly, is now called the Hangouts plugin.

https://www.google.com/tools/dlpage/hangoutplugin

Log back into Gmail, go to Gmail settings, click the "Chat" tab, and configure and test your audio devices (headset or mic and speakers).  Now, make the call.  If Google asks you to "Try the new Hangouts", do not agree!  This breaks calling from Gmail.

[phonebob]

Thanks, SteveInWA!  That worked perfectly (the first, simpler process).

Not only that, I no longer have a problem I had with the other google account - the stutter dial tone and message waiting light turn off properly after I delete a voice mail (or mark it as "read").  With the other account they stayed on forever, no matter what I did (short of reconfiguring the OBi to turn of VM notification).  That problem's still a mystery, but hopefully now irrelevant.