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Google Voice is now Officially Supported on OBi VoIP devices

Started by Taoman, September 11, 2014, 09:22:16 AM

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Taoman

QuoteObihai is excited to announce official support for Google Voice. With a Google Voice account and a companion OBi device you can make and receive VoIP calls on a regular telephone. To get started, just login to the OBiTALK website, add your OBi device and select Google Voice as your service. You'll then confirm your account with Google, and within minutes, you will be making and receiving calls from the comfort and convenience of your home phone. "With a Google Voice account configured on an OBi device, users will not only get all the great collaboration tools and app integration with Google Voice, they will also be able to enjoy many premium calling features, free calling within the U.S. and Canada and super-low cost international calling – all from the comfort of their home phone," said Jan Fandrianto, President and CEO of Obihai.

http://blog.obihai.com/2014/09/google-voice-and-obihai-update.html?m=1

malahal


nlurker


C6silver

Very annoying to have scrambled to find and pay for a new provider earlier in the year to now find out that it was never going away.  Geez.

GnatGoSplat

Just curious what does official support mean?  I know it means our Obi devices will keep working with Google Voice, but just curious what's happening behind the scenes: Google is officially endorsing the Obi devices and will keep XMPP running?  Or Obi devices are/will be upgraded to work with the new Hangouts protocol?  My Obi doesn't seem to be asking for a firmware update.

rocketben

A win for the procrastinators!

I'm wondering, will I need to re-configure my google voice account in my obi, or can I leave the configuration (which has been untouched for probably a couple of years) as is? I don't see a firmware update either.

RFC3261

Quote from: C6silver on September 11, 2014, 12:49:01 PM
Very annoying to have scrambled to find and pay for a new provider earlier in the year to now find out that it was never going away.  Geez.
From all the information that is publically available, Obihai (and other solution providers) were telling the truth, in that Google had informed them (and the dog, and the world) of the intent to end the ability for them to be able to route calls via GV.  Things (and schedules) changed.  But until those changes were finalized, it still could have gone differently.  Note that for some, a VoIP provider will be a better choice than GV, even if it may not be for you.  I use both (GV and a VoIP provider), and each has demonstrated advantages in certain cases.  Options are good.  I am glad to see I will have the option to continue to use GV.

RFC3261

Quote from: rocketben on September 11, 2014, 01:11:53 PM
A win for the procrastinators!

I'm wondering, will I need to re-configure my google voice account in my obi, or can I leave the configuration (which has been untouched for probably a couple of years) as is? I don't see a firmware update either.

Right now, if you try to add a new GV SP (or change your GV password) via the Obitalk portal you are apparently forced to do a firmware upgrade to utilize the new oauth authentication mechanism.  But there is nothing forcing you to do anything right now.  It is my *guess* (and only a guess) that at some point all GV users that have not already done so will be forced to re-authenticate their GV account via the portal to force it to utilize oauth.  And that will require a firmware upgrade.  As long as you use the obitalk portal, it is mostly auto-magical (it is not like starting from scratch).  And, I expect, there will continue to be additional firmware updates with "various bug fixes" in the release notes.

thinker

Does this mean we'll see (or already supports?) HD Voice with Google Voice on the OBi1000-series?

ceg3

Quote from: nlurker on September 11, 2014, 12:39:50 PM
Official Support confirmed by Google Vice President of Engineering:  https://plus.google.com/+CheeChew/posts/DRi3GxJ5hWK

Now, that's impressive. I'm more impressed that Google now supports OBi than I am with Obihai's announcement.

I'll have to consider at renewal if I want to stay with the premium ITSP I signed up with in January in response to the announced end date of GV or just go back to using only GV, but without the number I ported out from GV in January to the premium service.  Having to change all my contacts over to my GV number will be a pain, but free is why I started with OBi about three years ago.  I suspect a lot of the services will start shedding subscribers next year.

sogood

I just add back GV into my second line.  That trigger a firmware update (there wasn't any prompt for accepting the update or not)   After the firmware update and a few minutes, I can add the GV account.  The process is different as it is actually done through Google 's  and authorize the connection of the device with your GV account.  So there is not password store inside Obihai.  I haven't really tried the line yet as I was done everything remotely through obinet




C6silver

Quote from: RFC3261 on September 11, 2014, 01:13:49 PM
From all the information that is publically available, Obihai (and other solution providers) were telling the truth, in that Google had informed them (and the dog, and the world) of the intent to end the ability for them to be able to route calls via GV.  Things (and schedules) changed.  But until those changes were finalized, it still could have gone differently.  Note that for some, a VoIP provider will be a better choice than GV, even if it may not be for you.  I use both (GV and a VoIP provider), and each has demonstrated advantages in certain cases.  Options are good.  I am glad to see I will have the option to continue to use GV.

I wasn't inferring that they weren't.  In fact I saw the release from Google themselves so certainly there was no reason for anyone to not believe they were pulling the plug.  However, there was never any indication I saw from Google that this was not anything but a 100% firm decision.  They were very clear and even provided a specific date.  I am certainly glad they reversed course and wonder what the reason for the change of heart was.  I just wish they came to that decision before I spent a bunch of time and money to find and setup a new provider.

C6silver

Quote from: ceg3 on September 11, 2014, 04:56:38 PM
I suspect a lot of the services will start shedding subscribers next year.

100% agree.  They should also be thanking Google profusely for the opportunity to score so many deals for the year they got. 

ramjet73

Quote from: C6silver on September 11, 2014, 04:58:51 PM
I wasn't inferring that they weren't.  In fact I saw the release from Google themselves so certainly there was no reason for anyone to not believe they were pulling the plug.  However, there was never any indication I saw from Google that this was not anything but a 100% firm decision.  They were very clear and even provided a specific date.  I am certainly glad they reversed course and wonder what the reason for the change of heart was.  I just wish they came to that decision before I spent a bunch of time and money to find and setup a new provider.
There is a lesson to be learned here and that is things change quickly in the telecommunications industry, especially with all the corporate buyouts, mergers and restructuring. It's best not to have all your eggs in one basket and to work out different scenarios in advance depending on what actually happens.

I've had Google Voice as my primary provider since I bought my OBI110 three years ago, but have pay-as-you-go accounts with both voip.ms and Callcentric, the latter of whom provides free inbound calls to a free DID number (or at least did when I signed up). My worst case scenario was to use Callcentric for inbound calls and both voip.ms and Callcentric for outbound calls. Most people want a fixed cost for unlimited inbound and outbound, but I've found that's not the most cost effective option, especially as a fallback strategy.

Another benefit of having accounts with multiple VoIP providers is that they both work quite well with Android's integrated Internet calling, so I have backup for Google Voice over LTE there as well.

The bottom line is that it is always best to have a plan, preferably with alternatives, worked out in advance of when you need it. Even though it now looks like Google Voice will be supported with the Obihai devices for the foreseeable future there is no guarantee that it will stay free.

SteveInWA

Quote from: RFC3261 on September 11, 2014, 01:13:49 PM
Quote from: C6silver on September 11, 2014, 12:49:01 PM
Very annoying to have scrambled to find and pay for a new provider earlier in the year to now find out that it was never going away.  Geez.
From all the information that is publically available, Obihai (and other solution providers) were telling the truth, in that Google had informed them (and the dog, and the world) of the intent to end the ability for them to be able to route calls via GV.  Things (and schedules) changed.  But until those changes were finalized, it still could have gone differently.  Note that for some, a VoIP provider will be a better choice than GV, even if it may not be for you.  I use both (GV and a VoIP provider), and each has demonstrated advantages in certain cases.  Options are good.  I am glad to see I will have the option to continue to use GV.

Very well said.

This stuff was all worked out after Obihai was on the GV "death row clock".  When Google took its position with the third parties, Obihai had to scramble to come up with a survival strategy, as there was no indication that any alternative could be worked out to continue GV support.  Obihai wasn't trying to con anyone; they were doing the right thing for their company and their customers by encouraging users to seek out alternative providers.  It's really an example of "don't be evil", that Google recognized the opportunity to help solve the issue, and so now we have a technically sound, more secure solution.  Having Chee Chew, VP of engineering at Google, openly comment on the solution should convince the conspiracy theorists that this was a real threat, that has now been worked out to everyone's benefit.

Google Voice is, by no means, perfect, and having another ITSP as a backup or alternative service provider is an ideal approach.  Like RFC3261 said, options are good.

giqcass

A question for those that have updated.
QuoteWhat's more, OBi users get premium features like Caller ID, telemarketer (spam) call blocking, call waiting, 3-way calling, and voicemail that acts like email – including voice message alerts by text and email with speech to text transcription.

Are you receiving Caller ID on your Obi connected handsets without using and extra service like Callcentric?
Long live our new ObiLords!

LeoKing

Quote from: giqcass on September 11, 2014, 06:22:55 PM
A question for those that have updated.
QuoteWhat's more, OBi users get premium features like Caller ID, telemarketer (spam) call blocking, call waiting, 3-way calling, and voicemail that acts like email – including voice message alerts by text and email with speech to text transcription.

Are you receiving Caller ID on your Obi connected handsets without using and extra service like Callcentric?

Yep, I have 4 GV lines set up on two OBi110's. Incoming & outgoing CID's have worked very well with the 2 cordless DECT 6.0 phones connected to the OBi110's.

ramjet73

Quote from: LeoKing on September 11, 2014, 06:30:18 PM
Quote from: giqcass on September 11, 2014, 06:22:55 PM
A question for those that have updated.
Are you receiving Caller ID on your Obi connected handsets without using and extra service like Callcentric?

Yep, I have 4 GV lines set up on two OBi110's. Incoming & outgoing CID's have worked very well with the 2 cordless DECT 6.0 phones connected to the OBi110's.
What doesn't always work well is the hand-off between Google Voice (GV) and VoIP providers that are routed calls via GV. I've opened support tickets with Callcentric on this issue and they claim the CID data and flags they receive from GV are not always valid, and that may be the fault of the networks that Google uses to forward those calls. I've never had a problem with the CID information passed through GV to T-Mobile or Sprint, but Google may have direct trunks to those carriers.

Bottom line is that CID works fine for GV connections via Google Talk (Obihai's primary method), but there may be issues forwarding to other providers via GV and getting the correct information from them at the Obihai device. 

LeoKing

I've never had a problem with the CID info passed through GV to TMo, AT&T, Sprint & Verizon either. Those are the mobile carriers my family members are using.