Pros and Cons of Google voice as Primary Provider?

[CallMeAl]

Hello,
New owner of an OBi 100, and quite impressed so far. I've had my device for about a week, and to date, have been flawlessly using it with Google Voice. I am considering porting my primary number away from my former provider, and am wondering if Google voice is really all I need. Curious as to what pros and cons people can share? So far, for me the pros have been free, and excellent call quality. In terms of cons, I guess the biggest would be lack of 911 service. I've also noticed that incoming caller ID only displays phone numbers and not names. I can't seem to find a way to block outgoing caller ID on a per call basis, so I assume that is also a feature that is unavailable with GV. I could easily live with, or work around  any of these issues, so I guess my main concern is reliability. How is the uptime of GV? I won't be doing anything mission critical with this line, so I don't necessarily expect 100% uptime, but something over 90% would be nice.  In case of an outage, I have a cell phone for outgoing calls, but before I give my GV number out to all my friends, I would like to be reasonably certain that their calls will be forwarded to my cell, or they will at least be able to leave a message, even during most issues at Google's end.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts,

Al

[Rick]

You've hit on all the issues.  I've had it for 14 months as our primary line and it's been up over 99%.  You CANNOT block outgoing callerid, not per call or at all.  I call on my cell which has it blocked all the time IF I need it blocked. 

[carl]

One more thing to keep in mind :   http://www.obitalk.com/forum/index.php?topic=5250.0

[RFord]

I too think you capture he issues quite well!  My only suggestion is to set up on SP2 e911 with a provider such as Anveo ($0.80 per month), which will also serve as a backup in case there is a momentary problem with GV on SP1.  This account could also be used for those calls that you wish to temporarily block outgoing caller id.  I think Anveo allows this.

Would also suggest you route ALL your 800/855/866/877 calls through one of the free toll free providers that does not require registration for outgoing calls (e.g, sip.tollfreegateway.com) on one of your Gate Way accounts.  This requires that SP2 is set up with a SIP provider or "fake" SIP account (127.0.0.1).  GV has problems with a number of toll free numbers.

You can get Free incoming Caller name by getting a Free DID from Callcentric and use that number to route all your incoming calls.  You could use Callcentric (instead of Anveo) on SP2 for e911 and all incoming calls.  Search the forum for discussion on how to set this up (either way).

[CheapPhone]

Per my understanding, any cell phone (even one that is no longer in service) has the emergency call available. So you can just get such a phone (old phone too but not too old as this feature is only by law enabled within last 10 years or so? cannot remember the exact date) that is not in service and use for emergency from home if you must.

This is free.....

Best regards,

Eugen

[lhm.]

Primary home phone for 6+years. Very satisfied. Cause da price be right. 

[Rick]

Per my understanding, any cell phone (even one that is no longer in service) has the emergency call available. So you can just get such a phone (old phone too but not too old as this feature is only by law enabled within last 10 years or so? cannot remember the exact date) that is not in service and use for emergency from home if you must.

This is free.....

Best regards,

Eugen

You're not understanding the issue.  Cell phones actually have the exact same issue as Google Voice in that E911 (enhanced 911) isn't available.  In other words, the emergency dispatch center operator has no idea what physical address you are calling from.  

So, whether you use GV or your cell phone, if you can't tell them where you live (a child, a visitor to your house, or if you were incapacitated but could dial the phone) then they can't help you.

[CheapPhone]

You're not understanding the issue.  Cell phones actually have the exact same issue as Google Voice in that E911 (enhanced 911) isn't available.  In other words, the emergency dispatch center operator has no idea what physical address you are calling from.  

So, whether you use GV or your cell phone, if you can't tell them where you live (a child, a visitor to your house, or if you were incapacitated but could dial the phone) then they can't help you.

Pardon me but you are not correct. E911 can locate you, and there are many ways it can do that. If your smartphone has a GPS feature and you are in a place that the GPS works, it will find you (even if you disable location services in Android for example, the E911 cannot be disabled).

For more info find here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enhanced_9-1-1

So if you have a cordless phone linked to your smartphone at home (one or more) with Link to Cell, you have emergency calling and such can be used with one or more of the smartphones.

Even if GPS is not able to work, there are ways to triangulate you and find your place quite well... read above Wikipedia for more info.

Anyway, for me, E911 is fine.

By the way, when Sandy visited us, guess what was the first thing that did not work? Yes, the Verizon landline! So much for a stable, reliable landline and 911... After 1/2 hour the landline died. The Smartphone was working all the time (had generator power.... we had no power here in NJ). So guess what I did? I dropped the landline. Waste of money for "safety" that failed in an emergency. Thank God I did not need use 911...

But if you wish to pay for a "service" and feel safer, that is your choice of course. I do not see how a service can do more than what E911 does... based on what other infrastructure that "service" has in place ?? They will connect you to the E911 system which you already have if you have a smartphone....!

[/quote]

[RFord]

FYI

Here is an illustration of mobile e911 deficiency:


http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/sunrise/fl-misdirected-911-call-sunrise-20130220,0,2578763.story

[giqcass]

Google Voice had some reliability issues way back.  I haven't seen any problems recently.  Your primary points of failure will be your internet connection or loss of power.  In either case your cell phone will still ring.  I have not had any complaints about people not getting through.

There are a number of ways to handle 911 calls.  Do a quick search for 911 on the forum and you will find plenty of info on that.  It comes down to either cheapskate 911 or premium 911 which is still pretty cheap.

[Felix]

I can't seem to find a way to block outgoing caller ID on a per call basis, so I assume that is also a feature that is unavailable with GV.

While technically true, there is an easy workaround for that. Set up another gmail account, and don't get a google voice number associated with this account. Now, if you set it up as your SP2, calls from this line will show outgoing caller ID as 760-705-8888 (generic GV number). For one of my friends, it's as good as blocked caller ID.

The downside is that it takes one of OBi lines; and for OBi100 you won't be able to use voice gateway, since both SP are taken by GV - and VG requires SIP provider to work.

[Johnny]

One "pro" that I really liked was the ability to choose from a wide variety of numbers to use for my GV account.

At least in my area code, there were tons of numbers to choose from and some were quite easy to remember.

I know some other Voip providers give you the ability to do this but GV had much more of a selection than any of the others.  Much more!

Plus, you could have two or more GV accounts and they would all be free.  Add another DID to another Voip provider and you usually pay extra for that other number.

My only real "con" would be the 911 issue, but an easy work around.

Just my take.......

[OZOi]

Cons: - uncertainty.

You don't know what will happen to your GV number, when Google will change its policy. And it could happen at any time. It's the main reason why I hesitate to move my primary phone line to GV.

[Rick]

Cons: - uncertainty.

You don't know what will happen to your GV number, when Google will change its policy. And it could happen at any time. It's the main reason why I hesitate to move my primary phone line to GV.

You could use that same criteria to never buy a computer, because tomorrow there will be a better one.

You can always port your GV number away from Google to another provider.

[CallMeAl]

Wow! Haven't looked at this forum for a few days and this thread got a ton of replies. Thanks to everyone for all your input. I did find one relatively major con for me. For whatever reason, Google Voice can't port in my primary number as of yet. So for now, I'm going to use GV as my primary means of making outgoing calls, but will port my primary number to Callcentric, an drop a few bucks into their pay as you go plan every so often. That will give me the best of both worlds, free unlimited outgoing calls, a 911 service, and people will still be able to reach me on the number they already know. I have some separate questions related to getting all this set up properly, but think they'll fit better in another thread so will start one soon.
Thanks again,

Al

[CoalMinerRetired]

Cons: - uncertainty.

You don't know what will happen to your GV number, when Google will change its policy. And it could happen at any time. It's the main reason why I hesitate to move my primary phone line to GV.

I'll also jump in here to say while this is a risk, it's very remote and far-fetched IMO.

There are lots of people, let's make a reasonable guess and say millions, who use GV as their primary number. On top of that there was a small but thriving business named GrandCentral that GV bought out that had many small businesses -- I personally know of three -- signed up and having their primary number through GC and then GV.  

And, of last resort if GV does get out of the VoIP business, let's assume they'll not just let everyone's phone number go dark, they will give you an opportunity to port somewhere else, such as the low cost VoIP providers always mentioned on here, to a cell provider, or in the worst case back to a landline provider.

...I did find one relatively major con for me. For whatever reason, Google Voice can't port in my primary number as of yet. So for now, I'm going to use GV as my primary means of making outgoing calls, but will port my primary number to Callcentric, an drop a few bucks into their pay as you go plan every so often. That will give me the best of both worlds, free unlimited outgoing calls, a 911 service, and people will still be able to reach me on the number they already know.

You have four posts thus a new user and it bears asking because it's a point of confusion for new folks: GV cannot port your number because a) they do not port from your current provider, or b) they do not support porting from your exact area of service.

For b), note where it says note where it says "Example carriers are AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint, and Alltel." This is not an official list from GV, but such a list exists somewhere. 

I also found this very useful GV porting availability tool, that I had not seen mentioned on here before: https://www.google.com/voice/b/0/porting

[CallMeAl]

The exact error message I get is:
Ooops! This number appears to be from an area we don't currently support.

That does seem to make sense, when I try to get a new Google number, there are no numbers from my calling center listed as available.
--Al

[CoalMinerRetired]

The exact error message I get is:
Ooops! This number appears to be from an area we don't currently support.

That does seem to make sense, when I try to get a new Google number, there are no numbers from my calling center listed as available.
--Al

I'm still not clear if you are trying to port a landline or a cell phone number?

The point of what I was asking above is are you fully aware landlines do not port into GV? At least not directly, you have to do a two-step process landline > mobile > GV.

[CallMeAl]

The interesting thing is I was actually trying to port in an Ooma number. I originally got the number  7 or 8 years ago when I signed up with VoicePulse. Ported it to Ooma in around 2010. Now for whatever reason, GV can't touch it, but Callcentric can.
--Al

[RFord]

You are not reading/comprehending properly.  When you did the porting test, the number is still with Ooma, which is not a mobile number and as such, the GV site will 100% say that the number is not portable.  GV can ONLY port from a Mobile carrier.  YOU will have to first port the number to a mobile carrier (most people use T-Mobile) and then do the test.  Not all mobile numbers are portable to GV.  If you past the test, you can port from mobile to GV.  I repeating information that is contain a separate thread on this forum.

CallMeAl, base on a number of questions you have posed on the forum, you SHOULD take the time out to read and search the forum, since 90% of the questions can be easily answered just by reading/searching the forum.  CoalMinerRetired just explain things to you, yet it totally went over your head....hmmmmm