IsleOfMan

For those who link GV to Hangouts, be careful about the SMS settings if you also use Hangouts for SMS on your mobile carrier... I was texting for about 2 days from my GV number without realizing it.

tev9999

I'm SOOO confused, so here goes.

I have a Nexus 5 phone and use T-Mobile prepaid here in the US. I also have a GV number I have had for years that I use as a "junk mail" number that sends notifications to my cell. I will be heading to the UK in a couple weeks and was planning on picking up a local SIM w/ data once I get there (probably Vodafone).

Question 1: My Nexus 5 has a call forwarding setting for "When Unreachable". If I set this to my GV number before I leave the US, will someone that calls my normal cell reach me by GV when a Vodafone SIM is in the Nexus and on their network?

Question 2: If I give contacts my GV number, will it ring through while in the UK on a Vodafone SIM? Do I need to do any special setup?

Question 3: Is there a way to forward SMS sent to my normal cell to my GV number? (Pretty sure this is a no-go).

Thanks.

jplee3

I'll try to answer your questions the best I can:
1) Not sure how this "call forwarding" function is supposed to work but if it's what it really sounds like then I would think it should work. You need to make sure you have Hangouts updated with the latest version (which incorporates a dialer and voice calling), and you also need to make sure you're logged into Hangouts with the account associated with the GV number you want to be reachable at. NOTE: might be best to check with your provider on this one. My provider for instance, Page Plus, allows call forwarding (I haven't used it) but will charge you the standard airtime minutes for the duration of the call. If you're unlimited I guess this doesn't matter, but just make sure there are no hidden fees here from T-mobile

2) Assuming you have a solid connection whether using data or wifi, yes it *should* ring but you need to go into the Hangouts settings as well and check the "Incoming phone calls" checkbox which tells Hangouts to ring on incoming GV calls. My own personal experience with this is that receiving incoming calls on Google Hangouts with the new feature has been relatively spotty. While in South Korea and Taiwan, I would sometimes get the incoming calls but other times for the dialing-end they would go straight to my GV mail. So just be forewarned.

3) Not sure on this one but probably not as you also suspect - it may depend on your provider so might be best to call and check with them. Alternatively, if you have time before you leave and if you really wanted to, you could port your current cellphone number to GV (I think it's like $20 one-time). Then would be able to forward SMSes to any other number associated to your GV account.

Is the Vodafone SIM you're planning to get for data-only or something?

tev9999

Thanks! I plan on spending time in the Scottish Highlands and from my research it seems Vodafone has the best coverage there and in addition to London where I will spend the rest of my time. I will get a combined minutes/text/data package as I specifically want to use navigation and other data features, but also have some minutes if necessary. Just figured I would specify it in case certain carriers did not support.

I have four settings for Call Forwarding - Always, When Busy, When Unanswered and When Unreachable. Always is disabled while the other three are all set to the standard voicemail number. When I try to change any of them to my GV number, I get a "unexpected response from network" error. Will have to keep researching that.

tev9999

Apparently TMO prepaid does not allow call forwarding - hence my issue.

nerd

I have the same setup (Nexus 5 and T-Mobile prepaid). From what I can tell, T-Mobile does not allow you to change the voicemail number, nor to set up call forwarding to a number other than their voicemail.

jplee3

Yea, that looks to be the case: http://support.t-mobile.com/thread/77401


Looks like he might be SOL then on call forwarding.

All this discussion has gotten me thinking again and causing me to more strongly consider porting my cellphone # over to Google Voice. So much more flexibility this way to get SMS or voice calls forwarded to one or more devices.

Craig6z

A bit of a bump from a subject about two months ago. Just returned from using GrooveIP (tied to Ring.To) from five countries in Europe, with almost no problems. All but one call made to the US was originated by me, and quality was more than acceptable. Lost a call a couple of times (convinced this was due to marginal Wi-Fi in the hotel), but was immediately able to dial back and continue the conversation. Three times I talked for over 50 minutes with no drop-outs. Total number of calls was 16-18.

I suggest testing the app before leaving the US, as there are some tweaks you can make to ensure call fidelity and minimize latency in the Ring.To FAQ's. Latency turned out to be essentially non-existent during my calls.

joshwex90

I'm confused. I have the updated Hangouts app. How can I have my phone ring when someone calls my GV number?

nerd

You also need to install the Hangouts Dialer. This adds a separate dialing tab into the Hangouts app.

joshwex90

I downloaded it, but I only see the ability to call out. I tried calling my GV number but it didn't ring. When I installed the dialer, it specifically said that my settings were set to accept incoming calls

TheMadBrewer

There is a checkbox it settings to receive calls to your GV number.

mangosalad

MY GV won't work in canada - Toronto. Anyone have a solution?

jplee3

VPN - something like TunnelBear or VPN Unlimited. There are plenty of options out there.

tentseller

VPN to a US IP. I have VPN with US IP and UK IP for other reason but having GV work in Canada is an additional benefit of the $100/yr for the two services.