Google Voice - still working - and its 16 May 2014

[smossoo]

I just deleted PP from the Obi and reset it to activate Google Voice and, knock on wood, it is working just like before.  I can call out and the phone rings when someone calls me ....  Which it never did with PP.  After reading a lot of these posts, I, too, became skeptical of this whole, May 15th thing.....  I am happy there is this forum on OBI ... ,thank you.    PS. I also called PP to cancel their service and they were very nice about refunding my payment.

[aopisa]

I wonder if anyone at Obi ever actually confirmed May 15 with Google?  I have searched and not found any evidence of Google ever saying they were going to shut anything down on that date. They did state unauthorized use by app developers needs to terminate on May 15, 2014 and users need to be transitioned. Obi may have misled their customers to stay out of trouble with Google by saying that "Unfortunately, you will no longer be able to use the Google Voice communication service to make calls using the phone connected to your OBi device.  Also, the ability to receive calls to your Google Voice number, directly from Google's service, will not be possible."

If this is the case, I am not happy for being expected to read between the lines. I never had a problem with GV and I am not entirely happy with Vestalink. Who knows how long they will be around? I ported my number because I was having forwarding problems.

[Ken1908]

It's 2 PM PST and my 2 obi 100 and GV still working.  I've started the port of one of the numbers over to Phone Power just in case.

[superdesi]

I was one of those who jumped on the "wait and see" bandwagon regarding GV use on my OBi product rather than start porting to another provider and alas, looks like my patience paid off! My GV number is still working thru OBi, I can make and receive calls with no problems.  On a side note, my GVoice Callback android app has been working great on my smartphone all day, which I believe also uses XMPP.  

Hopefully I can continue with my free lunch like this...................forever

[Lavarock7]

I envision it as...

The ship is sinking and the Captain said "everyone to the lifeboats in the next 20 minutes".

At the end of 20 minutes, people are still filling lifeboats, so he waits to pull the plug on the bottom of the boat (to let it finally sink) because people are abandoning ship as he asked.

Just give it time.

[MikePA]

Google is waiting until 100 more newbies register here and each start a thread on this same topic because they fail to read all the other threads about this.

[Crow550]

Google has yet to roll out the Hangouts update for Android that has VOIP calling. iOS got VOIP calling first Months ago.

So my guess is that a snag in the update of Hangouts for Android has happened which is why XMPP is still on.

They are also merging the Google Voice app into Hangouts app as well. So Google Voice will be a feature of Hangouts. Which should be easier for them to add updates and such.

Hopefully it's better as G-Voice does have some annoying things right now.

- Like not being able to record new Greetings over it's own VOIP. it will beep to record a message but the greeting doesn't record.

- Setting custom Greetings for contacts only works when they call then you can click on there name and set it up. You cannot simply set this in Contacts as G-voice and Contacts aren't fully merged.

- Also being able to set Call Screening per phone number would be nice.

- Setting number of rings before going to Voicemail.

Some examples.... Maybe this will be handled once G-Voice merges with Hangouts.... Well see....

[vtsnaab]

The only failures which seem to be visible here may just be=>

Google is waiting until 100 more newbies register here and each start a thread on this same topic because they fail to read all the other threads about this.

1. The user seems to disregard diversity in that people DO think & express things differently;
2. Failing to see that snarky, hyper-critical & unhelpful replies serve zero purposes;
3. And finally, a failure to see that pointing out other's failures is a waste of bandwidth (if that matters...)
((Which is what this reply just did in an almost equally useless fashion - so, what good is silliness after all ?!?))

Of course it may also ALL merely be attempts at good humour - which does serve a purpose when done kindly.
(But sometimes that is hard to know...)

[justgrant]

I'm using more than one GV number with Obi202 and thus far, as of 6:30 AM ET U.S., all lines continue to work - both inbound and outbound calls.

Any others using GV with lines still working (inbound and outbound calls)?

Just curious.

justgrant

UPDATED

...with Obi202 and as of 8:50 AM ET U.S., all lines continue to work - both inbound and outbound calls.

justgrant

[Richierich]

Same here. Still working fine.  I ported my Time Warner Cable # to Anveo in preparation for May 15th, but GV still working with OBI 202 just fine on May 17th !

[Crow550]

Until Hangouts gets updated for Android then XMPP calling will get disabled is my guess?

iOS has native VOIP calling with Hangouts but not Android users.

For those looking for official word from Google: https://plus.google.com/+NikhylSinghal/posts/MjyncJEbzxK

There is also a new Telephone API from Hangouts too: https://developers.google.com/+/hangouts/telephone-oauth

[Rulo]

There is also a new Telephone API from Hangouts too: https://developers.google.com/+/hangouts/telephone-oauth

I don't understand why Obi can't release a new firmware to adopt this new API. Is it even possible? Any technical barriers? Can you Obi??

[Crow550]

It kinda just came out of nowhere. I found it while reading the comments on the G+ post that I posted. Looks like it was added on the 15th. Even some of the commentors are pointing out that it's new.

So my guess is 3rd Parties don't yet know of it. I did make a separate thread on this too.

So feel free to contact Obihai, GrooveIP and Talkatone and such directly on this subject to let them know.

[vadr]

I suspect that the whole thing was because of GV not having 911. The keyword that leads me to that conclusion is "unsafe" used in the google blog post. Nanny state strikes again.

[Crow550]

I suspect that the whole thing was because of GV not having 911. The keyword that leads me to that conclusion is "unsafe" used in the google blog post. Nanny state strikes again.

No. VOIP is not legally required to have E911. I don't think Skype even offers it.

What was unsafe was that 3rd Parties were using the XMPP method as a hack which made VOIP calling beyond G-Chat possible.

Now Google is offering real official 3rd Party support.

They could offer E911? It's too soon to tell what exactly is going on. There are services that do offer E911 too.

All we can assume is that Google will have some updates soon on what all updates is coming to G-Voice.

[vadr]

> No. VOIP is not legally required to have E911

It already does not matter that much what is legal. See this story for comparison:

http://www.dailybell.com/editorials/35306/Wendy-McElroy-First-They-Came-For-The-Porn-Stars/

"The DOJ is targeting banks and payment companies, such as PayPal, with a tsunami of subpoenas and other expensive legal demands. The demands go away if the institutions refuse to do business with people whose activities are deemed "objectionable" although they are legal. The DOJ is imposing its own moral criteria on who can participate in the market place."

[AlanB]

The only failures which seem to be visible here may just be=>

Google is waiting until 100 more newbies register here and each start a thread on this same topic because they fail to read all the other threads about this.

1. The user seems to disregard diversity in that people DO think & express things differently;

Of course it may also ALL merely be attempts at good humour - which does serve a purpose when done kindly.
(But sometimes that is hard to know...)

MikePA didn't say anything about making new posts. He commented on making new threads with essentially the same subject. I would think there was some humor in it as well.

[giqcass]

No. VOIP is not legally required to have E911. I don't think Skype even offers it.

According to the FCC they do if they are Interconnected Voip services in the US and users may not opt out.  Services like Google Voice are hiding behind the guise of being a forwarding service so they don't have to comply.  They spent quite a bit of $$$ defending that position.  Skype seems to be taking the stance that they don't actually replace a telphone because their service was not designed to connect to a telephone.  Other companies are outside the US.  Callcentric allows you to say you will be using the service from outside the US.  Ring.to seems to plan to force the user to get their own 911 when using an Obi.  MagicJack is giving 911 to all customers and attempting to collect recovery fees.  They warn that customers that don't pay the recovery fees may be liable for those fees at a later date.  They also make it sound as if additional fees may come down the line if they don't pay up before they use 911.  
http://www.fcc.gov/guides/voip-and-911-service

All interconnected VoIP providers must automatically provide 911 service to all their customers as a standard, mandatory feature without customers having to specifically request this service. VoIP providers may not allow their customers to "opt-out" of 911 service.

What is the Interconnected VoIP Service?

Interconnected VoIP service allows you to make and receive calls to and from traditional phone numbers using an Internet connection, possibly a high-speed (broadband) Internet connection, such as Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), cable modem, or wireless broadband. It can be used in place of traditional phone service. Typically, interconnected VoIP technology works by either placing an adapter between a traditional phone and Internet connection, or by using a special VoIP phone that connects directly to your computer or Internet connection. While you may choose to use interconnected VoIP service from a single location, like a residence, some interconnected VoIP services can be used wherever you travel, as long as a broadband Internet connection is available. Companies offering interconnected VoIP service call it by a number of different brand names. To find out more about VoIP service, see the FCC's VoIP consumer guide.

[justgrant]

UPDATED 18 MAY 2014

...with Obi202 and as of 7:05 AM ET U.S., all lines continue to work - both inbound and outbound calls.

justgrant

[justgrant]

I don't understand why Obi can't release a new firmware to adopt this new API. Is it even possible? Any technical barriers? Can you Obi??

I am equally curious, Rulo.  GREAT QUESTION!!

Doubt we will get an answer here, however, and because we may get more perspective with its' own thread, I will create a new one for us both.

justgrant