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Use your existing number. Note that you may either select 'I want a new number' or 'I want to use my mobile number.' For this step, select the latter, enter your phone number and then click 'Check for available options.' You'll then see a list of the different kinds of Google Voice accounts that can be linked to your number.- Note that you must have a mobile phone in order to select this option. Should you do so, you can access additional Google Voice functionality like having voicemail transcribed online and sent to you via email or text. You can learn more about how to set up Google Voice at How to Set Up Google Voice.[2]
- Though only some account types are available to some customers, there are several varieties available in general. They include: Sprint (which uses your Sprint number), Number Porting and Google Voice Lite. You can learn more about their respective functionality at: https://support.google.com/voice/answer/115073?hl=en&ref_topic=3038506&rd=1.
- Porting your number will incur a one-time $20 fee from Google and may also trigger early cancellation fees from your prior carrier.[3]
In January 2017, Google updated Google Voice on the web, Android, and iOS after years of minimal public changes. The update:
- Embraced Material Design elements on all three platforms, to provide a simpler, more streamlined user experience
- Added group and photo MMS capabilities
- Offered 3D touch support for the iPhone, with options to place a call, send a message, or search within Google Voice
- Included a new app built for the iPad.
The redesign places the emphasis of the app solidly on messages, calls, and voicemail. Those three options feature prominently on the web, Android, and iOS, with a dialing pad also added as a fourth option in the mobile apps.
All the standard features of Google Voice remain, including the ability for an incoming call to ring on multiple phones (or devices), if you choose. The service still provides text transcriptions of voicemails, and lets you receive both the audio recording and text in an email. And, you can still screen calls by requiring a caller to state their name, so you can choose to either take the call or send it to voicemail after you hear what they say.
The new Google Voice app makes some things simpler. Now there's a single 'Filter Spam' setting. Turn it on to help block spam calls, messages, and voicemail. The three-dot menu allows you to block a caller, mark a number as spam, and archive or delete a conversation. In the mobile apps, there's also a 'Do not disturb' option, which sends all calls to voicemail when selected.
But, some features of 'Legacy Google Voice,' as the menu item calls it, aren't yet found in the new apps. Most notably, Wi-Fi calling isn't yet in the app. When I place an outbound call on my Chromebook, I see a prompt that asks me to place the call either via my phone or Hangouts. A similar thing occurs on my iPad: The app rings my phone, rather than just placing the call over Wi-Fi. You also can't yet star a conversation, which some people used to mark and process messages.
If you've been using Google Voice integrated with Hangouts, you have options. You can choose to disconnect the two, which would mean incoming calls now go to the Google Voice app, with Hangouts relegated to handling messages, voice, or video calls to other Hangouts users.
Most Hangouts users who rely on integrated Google Voice should continue to do so. On Chrome OS, you'll need Hangouts (or your phone) to place an outbound call anyway.
On iOS, Hangouts still supports calls placed over Wi-Fi, so you can place a call in Hangouts from your Google Voice number on a WiFi-only iPad. Hangouts also allows you to send your location as long as you're at a Google-recognized place. Google Voice only supports sending a photo.
The refresh does nothing to clarify the direction of Google's messaging strategy. While the company has hinted that the future role of Hangouts is in the enterprise, the current capabilities of apps display overlapping features:
- Hangouts offers messaging, calls, and video calls
- Google Voice offers messaging and calls
- You can configure settings to use Google Voice features within Hangouts
- Google Duo offers video calls
- Google Allo offers messaging, but not SMS or MMS
- On Android, there's Messenger, which offers SMS and MMS
If you want to select an app from Google for voice communications, the best option will depend on your needs. If you make calls mostly from your smartphone—and don't need video-conferencing—then the new Google Voice app will likely work well for you. But, if you already use Hangouts and use multiple devices or make video-calls, stick with Hangouts with integrated Google Voice. And, if you're an enterprise looking for a phone system that integrates with G Suite, look at a third-party solution like Dialpad or RingCentral.
If you've tried the new Google Voice app on Android, iOS, or the web, let me know what you think of it in the comments or on Twitter. And what do you think the app indicates about the future of calling services from Google?
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- Recent Google Voice updates are welcome additions (ZDNet)
- Voice and Hangouts: the opportunity in the enterprise (TechRepublic)
- Take control of your mobile number with Google Voice (TechRepublic)
- How to auto-install Google Hangouts on Android devices in your G Suite domain (TechRepublic)
- Google's messaging mess is desperately in need of consistency (ZDNet)
- Switch.co: A phone system built for Google Apps (TechRepublic) [Note: Switch.co is now Dialpad, and Google Apps is now G Suite]