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Is it necessary to transfer GV number to Vestalink before May 14

Started by cleith, April 14, 2014, 09:15:15 AM

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cleith

I have a question regarding the need or requirement to transfer my GV number over to Vestalink. 

First let me describe what my setup is.  I received an email over the weekend about GV shutting down support for OBi110 device.  So I came to this forum and read up on what I needed to do.

I use the Obi110 device for home phone purposes with a coordless phone attached to it. I have a very good internet connection 50 mgbs and this provides for a stable landline type of phone.

I did the following:

1. I selected Vestalink as my Service Provider and created the 1 month free account. I will purchase a subscription once I fully test the quality and stability of the service.

2. I cleared the configuration of my OBi110 and then created Vestalink as my SP1 and defined as Primary Line for Outgoing Calls. (Status in ObiTalk = Registered)

3. I created SP2 as my previous GV account info. (Status in ObiTalk = Connected)

No problems with these first 3 steps.  Everything configured correctly and everything is working.

4. I spoofed my Vestalink outbound number to be my Cell Phone Number.

5. I forwarded GV calls to Vestalink by adding my Vestalink (new number) to my existing GV account as new "another phone".

I performed the following tests:

6. I called my GV number and it rings on my home phone via OBi110. (Status = Working)

7. I called my Vestalink number and it rings on my on my home phone via OBi110. (Status = Working)

8. Performed E911 service and echo test.  (Status = Correct number and Working)

9. I downloaded Google Hangouts on my PC, Tablet, and Smartphone.

Everything seems to be connected and working. So, I beleive that everything is working as it should.  My questions are related to the Google Voice Service. 

10. When GV disconinues support for the OBi110, does this mean that my GV number will go away, or will I continue to own the GV number as part of the Google Hangouts product?

11. If I want to keep my GV number, does this mean I have to transfer the GV number over to Vestalink before May 14th?

12. Once GV disconinues support for the OBi110, will I still receive calls on my GV number based on the above configuration, or do I need to transfer my GV number as defined in step 11?

I hope this message is clear and thanks in advance for your response.

cleith


MikeHObi

Quote from: cleith on April 14, 2014, 09:15:15 AM
Everything seems to be connected and working. So, I beleive that everything is working as it should.  My questions are related to the Google Voice Service. 

10. When GV disconinues support for the OBi110, does this mean that my GV number will go away, or will I continue to own the GV number as part of the Google Hangouts product?

11. If I want to keep my GV number, does this mean I have to transfer the GV number over to Vestalink before May 14th?

12. Once GV disconinues support for the OBi110, will I still receive calls on my GV number based on the above configuration, or do I need to transfer my GV number as defined in step 11?

I hope this message is clear and thanks in advance for your response.


The obi is leveraging federated chat services from Google to work with Google Voice.  Google is shutting down the ability to have federated services outside their network.  Thus Google voice will continue to work, you will continue to have the number, only the method Obi uses to talk with google will no longer function.

As long as forwarding your GV number to Vestalink is working there is no need to port your number.  I ported because I was having problems with forwarding of my GV number.  Some numbers have problems, others don't.

If you end up wanting to port your number (you do not have to) you may want to do so sooner rather than later as there is an expected rush for port requests to Google which could mean it takes longer than normal for the port to complete.
Obi202 user & Obi100 using Anveo and Callcentric.

cleith

MikeHObi,

Thanks for your fast response.  You answer helps to clarify that its not necessary to trasfer my GV number.

But it also caused me to think about needing to make sure to test that the GV is definitely forwarding to Vestalink.  So, I just performed one more test. 

I deleted SP2 defined as GV and then called my GV number.  It rang to my home phone OBi110 as it should confirming that forwarding is correctly working through GV as "forwarding" and was not occuring through the SP2 configuration.

When I originally tested my GV and Vestalink numbers I had both SP1 and SP2 configured, so it was not clear whether dialing my GV number was occuring because of the "forwarding" configuration or as a result of GV being defined as SP2 which would be using the federated services interface.

Does this test make sense and would you agree that this test confirms GV forwarding is working properly?

Thanks,
cleith



cleith

Also, now that I think about this. Based on this last test, at this time it looks like I dont even need to configure SP2 as GV.  Everything works as it should just using Vestalink as SP1 with GV forwarding to Vestalink.

Thanks,
cleith

Usetheforceobiwan

I think it wise not to port out a GV number to another provider unless you have at least a 6 month track record with the other provider.   You need that time to assess their call quality, how often there are outages, their tech support and also interaction with that provider with your own setup (i.e. ISP, router, Obi and other network devices).   

Actually with the ability for caller ID spoofing which most SIP phone companies provide, there is no real reason to port your Google Voice number out period. 

MikeHObi

I would suggest that your test should include asking the people who contact you the most often to also try and call your GV number and verify that call completion occurs quickly.

My experience of problems was that I could call home on my cell or my office phone and get my home quickly.  But other friends and family calling my GV number would result in extremely slow call completion.  So long that the calls would often end up in google voice mail never ringing my obi.  As this was a google problem, there was no way to resolve other than to get a new DID or port to a different provider.  I ported to a different provider, someone I had been using for E911 for almost 2 years.

So if you can, have a few people call your GV number to verify things work.

And no, you do not need a GV SP configuration any longer since GV will not be directly connected to your device.  The only reason to keep it up right now would be if a failure in who you pick occurs, you can disable the forward and still get calls from GV, at least until May 15th.
Obi202 user & Obi100 using Anveo and Callcentric.

cleith


Usetheforceobiwan

You bring up a good point.  Makes sense not to port the GV otherwise you sort of get locked into the provider or must pay to port your number to another. It looks like my setup is the correct approach.

MikeHObi,

Thanks for this advice. I will make sure to do this. 

cleith


AlanB

I agree with Usetheforceobiwan with one possible exception. If you have call quality issues on incoming calls you won't know whether it is related to VL or GV. So, if this situation occurs you may need to have some test calls made directly to you VL number.

Usetheforceobiwan

One other factor, when you port you impact GV SMS.  As it is now, GV SMS is tied into your email which means you can send and receive SMS without using a phone.  So you lose the ability to send SMS from your phone number when you port out unless you port your number to a cell phone carrier.

murtazao

I agree with the "Do not port" advice. Something else to consider, is that Google has not mentioned anything about stopping GV forwarding on May 15. Assuming that is the case, the current set up of forwarding to Vestalink + Spoofing on outbound calling should continue to work after that date.

The advantage of that, is that you continue to use the other GV features. Hangouts integration, GV SMS -(hopefully it will work for international SMS), voicemail and transcription etc.

If you don't need a lot of outbound calling or E911, you could even use a combination of GV --> Callcentric + Localphone/CircleNet for outbound

Taoman

Quote from: murtazao on April 14, 2014, 03:38:57 PM
I agree with the "Do not port" advice. Something else to consider, is that Google has not mentioned anything about stopping GV forwarding on May 15. Assuming that is the case, the current set up of forwarding to Vestalink + Spoofing on outbound calling should continue to work after that date.

The advantage of that, is that you continue to use the other GV features. Hangouts integration, GV SMS -(hopefully it will work for international SMS), voicemail and transcription etc.

If you don't need a lot of outbound calling or E911, you could even use a combination of GV --> Callcentric + Localphone/CircleNet for outbound

Agreed. No point in porting out from GV that I can see. GV has too many great features that I don't want to give up.

Yep, a free Callcentric DID plus Localphone/CircleNet for outgoing would be a great combination. VERY cheap plus you get you get incoming CNAM. For someone looking for cheapest solution possible while maintaining full functionality you can't do much better than this.

aopisa

I am curious if the advantages of not porting outweigh porting. It seems like adding one more thing to the chain by the call going to GV and then being forwarded to the new provider introduce the chance for longer delays and diminished call quality.

I would suggest that you follow the advice from a previous poster that you test out how well the forwarding feature is working for people who call you often. For me it was causing enough issues of going right to Google voice mail or taking a long time to connect that I needed to port.

cleith

Okay, so I performed the additional testing and there are some latency issues.  

I tested the GV forwarding and there was about a 2 second delay.  I also tested a direct call to the Vestalink number and there was about a 1 second delay.  I then reconfigured SP2 with GV and disconnected the GV forwarding for the Vestalink number and there was about a 1 second delay using the federated services.  

The 1 second delay is workable, since I apparently have been making calls with GV for 2 years without noticing it. The 2 second delay is more noticable and does create some communication problems.

Has anyone else performed any latency test with the other services to determine which service provides the best performance?

I am thinking that I might need to look at some of the other SP's.

Thanks,
cleith

KAura

BUT, as some peeps here have discovered,
it is not wise to transfer your GV# away from
G until you have an ITSP that you are happy
with -- and that can take a while (or not).

MikeHObi

Quote from: aopisa on April 15, 2014, 08:00:31 AM
It seems like adding one more thing to the chain by the call going to GV and then being forwarded to the new provider introduce the chance for longer delays and diminished call quality.

I used GV forwarded to Callcentric and Anveo for 2 years with no problems.  Any additional lag was minimal to the phone ringing and voice quality was great.  No problems.  Then around November Google started having problems completing calls to my callcentric DID.  I switched to using Anveo, and then that DID started having call completion problems.  I ported off google because I just don't trust the reliability of service and didn't want to play did roulette trying to find one that would work knowing it could just eventually stop working again.

I still use Google voice on a different account and can reliably forward it to my office and home number since google aquired the product.
Obi202 user & Obi100 using Anveo and Callcentric.

SteveInWA

Quote from: Taoman on April 14, 2014, 03:56:45 PM
Quote from: murtazao on April 14, 2014, 03:38:57 PM
I agree with the "Do not port" advice. Something else to consider, is that Google has not mentioned anything about stopping GV forwarding on May 15. Assuming that is the case, the current set up of forwarding to Vestalink + Spoofing on outbound calling should continue to work after that date.

The advantage of that, is that you continue to use the other GV features. Hangouts integration, GV SMS -(hopefully it will work for international SMS), voicemail and transcription etc.

If you don't need a lot of outbound calling or E911, you could even use a combination of GV --> Callcentric + Localphone/CircleNet for outbound

Agreed. No point in porting out from GV that I can see. GV has too many great features that I don't want to give up.

Yep, a free Callcentric DID plus Localphone/CircleNet for outgoing would be a great combination. VERY cheap plus you get you get incoming CNAM. For someone looking for cheapest solution possible while maintaining full functionality you can't do much better than this.

I agree, Taoman.  However, one important point I want to emphasize:

Make the "stay with GV or leave" decision now.  Don't wait until May 15th.  It is going to be freaking nightmare to support thousands of people trying to port on or near that date.  Remember:  GV numbers are landlines, and porting landlines is more complex than porting mobile to mobile.  Third-party carriers are involved, you can't talk to the carriers directly, and things do go wrong.  So...don't delay your decision.

Instructions:  https://support.google.com/voice/answer/1316844

Help:  https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!categories/voice/porting-a-number-to-google-voice

justme

Google voice number doesn't disappear, it's actually designed to work with mobile numbers.  There is no reason to port it to another provider.  Anyhow, thanks to it I got the best deal on cell.  Republic wireless has plans for $5 a month on WiFi, so this can be a nice home phone and it stays the same when u travel internationally.  I am thinking to move also my cells to them, their best plan is cheaper than one I have.  Their support is within the USA with a friendly soft.

nitzan

Quote from: justme on April 16, 2014, 12:37:29 AMThere is no reason to port it to another provider.
Sure there is - GV adds latency to the calls, not to mention reliability issues and an extra point of failure. If you choose a VOIP provider I'd recommend porting the number to it if quality is important for you.

QuoteRepublic wireless has plans for $5 a month on WiFi, so this can be a nice home phone and it stays the same when u travel internationally.
$5 a month... after you buy a $300 phone, lol. You already own an Obi - you can get VOIP service for $5/mo without the $300 upfront fee. And it'll work internationally too.
Nitzan Kon, CEO
Future Nine Corporation
http://www.future-nine.com/

kmiller

Wife and daughter both have cell with Republic Wireless and we have an obi100.  My wife uses her cell more when at home than the home phone because people call her cell number that works everywhere.  My daughter just uses her cell.  I am thinking of trying Vestalink with the obi for the convenience of the cordless phone and to avoid using tracfone minutes.  But if I decided to go with the $149 Moto G from Republic when my minutes are gone I would have to evaluate if obi home phone provided any significant value.  Most people have cell phones these days whether they have a land line or not.  And if anyone is using an Obihai device with GV, they already have Internet, and can use Republic Wireless if are are or can set up for wireless.  RW is not for everyone, but if it meets ones needs it is a good value.  I agree that the $5/month plan for home use makes little sense.  I spend less than $5 a month on my tracfone and with a Vestalink lite plan I could still beat the $10/month + taxes RW plan, but I would consider it a big phone upgrade and would have the freedom of unlimited minutes.

aopisa

Quote from: kmiller on April 16, 2014, 10:59:18 AM
Wife and daughter both have cell with Republic Wireless and we have an obi100.  My wife uses her cell more when at home than the home phone because people call her cell number that works everywhere.  My daughter just uses her cell.  I am thinking of trying Vestalink with the obi for the convenience of the cordless phone and to avoid using tracfone minutes.  But if I decided to go with the $149 Moto G from Republic when my minutes are gone I would have to evaluate if obi home phone provided any significant value.  Most people have cell phones these days whether they have a land line or not.  And if anyone is using an Obihai device with GV, they already have Internet, and can use Republic Wireless if are are or can set up for wireless.  RW is not for everyone, but if it meets ones needs it is a good value.  I agree that the $5/month plan for home use makes little sense.  I spend less than $5 a month on my tracfone and with a Vestalink lite plan I could still beat the $10/month + taxes RW plan, but I would consider it a big phone upgrade and would have the freedom of unlimited minutes.

Really the only true reason I keep some kind of land/voip line is for e911. A cell phone cannot give emergency response your exact address automatically. Also, I want a non-mobile phone so anyone can just grab the house phone and dial 911 without knowing the physical address or in case the caller is unable to speak.

I pay a few extra bucks to get 500 minutes so I have the convenience of another phone around the house.

But really it's there for peace of mind in the event of a true emergency.