OBi100 + Google voice questions.

[amaylin]

Since I don't want to have calls forwarded to my cellphone number.

I bought a ATT gophone sim card and was able to add this gophone number to my google voice account. So OBi100 was set up to use GV associated with that gophone moblie number. it's working well at the moment. What will happen when then gophone minutes expired? I will eventually lose that gophone number.  Do I get to keep using this GV service with my OBi100? 

[ateo]

I believe there should be no negative action from Google Voice but to be safe you could get a free DID from CallCentric ( http://www.callcentric.com ) and configure Google Voice and your OBi to use the free DID.
You have to use the free DID at least one (1) completed minute of use every three (3) months to keep it.

[hwittenb]

What will happen when then gophone minutes expired? I will eventually lose that gophone number.  Do I get to keep using this GV service with my OBi100? 

If you stop forwarding calls to your cell number you will still be forwarding calls to Google Chat which is your OBi100.

[RFord]

Since I don't want to have calls forwarded to my cellphone number.

I bought a ATT gophone sim card and was able to add this gophone number to my google voice account. So OBi100 was set up to use GV associated with that gophone moblie number. it's working well at the moment. What will happen when then gophone minutes expired? I will eventually lose that gophone number.  Do I get to keep using this GV service with my OBi100? 

You make it sound as if you need to have a cell phone attached to your Google Voice account in order to have incoming and outgoing calls on your OBi100.  You DO NOT need the Gophone at all for the OBi100 to work.  

BTW, do you plan on porting a number (PSTN, VOIP, etc.) to GV?  Maybe you can use the Gophone to do that.

[amaylin]

What will happen when then gophone minutes expired? I will eventually lose that gophone number.  Do I get to keep using this GV service with my OBi100? 

If you stop forwarding calls to your cell number you will still be forwarding calls to Google Chat which is your OBi100.

So I should be able keep using OBi100 making/receiving calls even the gophone number is expired?  Good, I threw that sim card away.

[amaylin]

Sorry,
In the setting, under the "phone" tab.  It says,

1) my google number
2) forward calls to: i)google chat ii)my ATT gophone number.



does this mean I ported/or own a google voice number from now on?  They did not ask my for $20 dollars.  I just added a google voice number and when I did it, I verified with the gophone.

If this is not the case, how do I do it? I don't like my gophone number, how do I keep my current google number if I need to redo everything again? 

[amaylin]

Since I don't want to have calls forwarded to my cellphone number.

I bought a ATT gophone sim card and was able to add this gophone number to my google voice account. So OBi100 was set up to use GV associated with that gophone moblie number. it's working well at the moment. What will happen when then gophone minutes expired? I will eventually lose that gophone number.  Do I get to keep using this GV service with my OBi100? 

You make it sound as if you need to have a cell phone attached to your Google Voice account in order to have incoming and outgoing calls on your OBi100.  You DO NOT need the Gophone at all for the OBi100 to work.  

BTW, do you plan on porting a number (PSTN, VOIP, etc.) to GV?  Maybe you can use the Gophone to do that.

Oh.  I don't have any number to port to GV. I don't have a landline number currently.

[SteveInWA]

Since I don't want to have calls forwarded to my cellphone number.

I bought a ATT gophone sim card and was able to add this gophone number to my google voice account. So OBi100 was set up to use GV associated with that gophone moblie number. it's working well at the moment. What will happen when then gophone minutes expired? I will eventually lose that gophone number.  Do I get to keep using this GV service with my OBi100? 

You make it sound as if you need to have a cell phone attached to your Google Voice account in order to have incoming and outgoing calls on your OBi100.  You DO NOT need the Gophone at all for the OBi100 to work.  

BTW, do you plan on porting a number (PSTN, VOIP, etc.) to GV?  Maybe you can use the Gophone to do that.

While this statement "You make it sound as if you need to have a cell phone attached to your Google Voice account in order to have incoming and outgoing calls on your OBi100.  You DO NOT need the Gophone at all for the OBi100 to work." is technically correct for a limited time period, leaving the account in this state will cause two problems long-term:

Google Voice is intended to be an inbound call management system, not a free phone service, despite Obihai's marketing-speak.  If you do not actually answer GV calls on a forwarded telephone number, Google will reclaim (take back) your GV telephone number after some period of time (typically 9 months, but they've stretched it out longer once in the past).  One of the most common problems we see on the GV forum is from members saying "My GV number stopped working!!! *%#$@&! Google, I want it back!!!"  Generally, Google will send the user a warning about number reclamation, but the process isn't 100% reliable, and many people ignore the notes.

So, do not leave your GV account without a valid, operational forwarding phone number, that is actually used once in a while to receive a call forwarded from your GV number.

Another classic problem we see on the GV forum is from members saying "someone else has the same phone number as me!!!" or "my calls/texts are being forwarded to someone else!!!".  This is caused when the GV user leaves an abandoned forwarding phone number listed on their account, just as the user in this thread is being instructed to do.  Eventually, the carrier (i.e. AT&T WS in this case) will re-issue that number to somebody else, who will then get calls forwarded from this user's number. 

So, do NOT leave dead/abandoned phone numbers on your GV account.

[Jackson]

Good info, thanks Steve.