Reply With QuoteThe way to get both is to have most of your incoming callers already in your Contacts list, and that list associated with your Google account. This may be sufficient for many.
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Phone fan
I'm new to Google Voice. Right now incoming calls only show the caller's number but not their name. My understanding is that that's normal for GV and there's no way to get both. Is there an add on service that will show incoming call names?
I've got more phones than fingers
The way to get both is to have most of your incoming callers already in your Contacts list, and that list associated with your Google account. This may be sufficient for many.
I've got more phones than fingers
IIRC, Caller name (CNAM) does not work with GV. Caller ID and CNAM are actually two separate things that come from different sources in the phone systems.Originally Posted by krawfo
I've got more phones than fingers
I have a convoluted solution to this. Callcentric provides free CNAM lookup (along with some very nice spam filtering).
Forward gv calls to a free callcentric NY DID.
Setup a voip client on the phone and register it as an extension on callcentric.
When a call comes in, it will do so on the voip client along with full cnam.
Other options may be to install a callerid app if you can find one that's not riddled with ads and spam and selling your contact data.
You don't say what phone you're using gv with. Google's native dialer has an option for caller id lookup.
Personally, we use the first option above with gv/obi box for a home landline. Outbound calls through gv directly, inbound through CC for cnam cid and spam filtering. Used to get multiple spam calls a day, now down to a few a month.
Phone fan
Thanks Bob and GP for the info.
RE: Callcentric - do I want the option that says Incoming Calls - Free Phone Number - Most of NY State .... ?
How hard is this to set up on an Obi 200?
I've got more phones than fingers
That sounds right for the Callcentric free thing. It's no problem with being a NY number. No one needs to ever see it. It is just used to route the GV call through to pick up the CNAM. You do have to use it to complete an incoming call of at least one minute a month to keep the number. I don't know if this routing GV through it counts for that minimum use.
GV also does not do 911. You can add 911 to the Callcentric number for $1.50 a month.
If you can follow step-by-step instructions, setting up GV on an Obi, adding a Callcentric number, and setting up Callcentric to provide CNAM for GV calls is not hard. The Obi 200 is about $35. They periodically go on sale for $30, typically at Newegg.
GV-Callcentric CNAM instructions at:
http://www.obitalk.com/forum/index.php?topic=3640.0
You have to get the other bits set up first.
I have been using an Obi and Callcentric for a couple of years for all of my home calling. It all works pretty well. I have not personally tried the Callcentric CNAM for GV.
The Obi is an analog telephone adapter. It works basically the same way as Magic Jack, Vonage, Ooma. With GV the service is free. Those others are not. In case it is not obvious, the Obi requires broadband Internet, like cable. The basic Obi units connect to your Internet with an Ethernet cable. They have a Wifi module for a few dollars, but I have never tried it. On your telephone side any analog telephone will work. It plugs in the Obi unit. I use a cordless set. The Obi 200 is smaller than a deck of cards.
All highly recommended
I've got more phones than fingers
It's not rocket science, but there is a learning curve to it.
There's two venues of setup.
1) Using obiportal
2) fully manually
The first simplifies things but also removes you from the driver seat. Second method is fully manual (you get to create and provide your own gv oauth2 credentials) which eliminates the obi portal. Most _enthusiasts_ prefer #2. Look at the obi thread on https://www.dslreports.com/forum/voip, there's a modded firmware which needs to be applied before #2 can be done (http://obifirmware.com). Do NOT connect the device to the internet until you've flashed it with the modded firmware. As it's difficult to go back.
https://www.callcentric.com/dids/free_phone_number
This is the option you want. Actual DID doesn't really matter because only gv will see it.
Phone fan
Thanks again Bob and GP. I really appreciate you taking time to respond.
I ended up going the Callcentric route and it seems to be working fine. I can’t determine if the $3 charge is an ongoing monthly fee or a one time event. Unless I missed something, I was forced to sign up for E911. I assume that’s what the $3 is for.
I've got more phones than fingers
That does not sound like the free Callcentric. Did you sign up for a plan that allows outgoing calls. Unless things have changed the Callcentric with just inbound calls with the NY number is free and adding 911 is optional and costs $1.50 a month. The $1.50 a month for 911 is all I pay. I only added it because my copper landline has failed and I haven't had it switched over to FIOS.
I've got more phones than fingers
There is a $1.50 set up fee. It's $1.50 recurring after that (or $1.95 in our case as we got the 120 min package for times when gv goes down).
Post Machine
,How much have you experienced GV going down? I haven't ever experienced that. The worst I've experienced was when I couldn't call Canadian numbers intermittently in late 2014 to early 2015, but that was fixed, and seems to have been a one time problem.
I've got more phones than fingers
I have been using GV on an Obi for 2-3 years for all home calls. It is pretty good, but has had a few infrequent irregularities. There is occasional echo and audio dropouts. A few days ago I was unable to call a number. That was a first.
There is more to the system than GV and the Obi. There is also my router, my cable modem, and my cable ISP. I have no idea where the failures are occurring.
Overall it is good enough and the problems rare enough that I don't worry about it.
I've got more phones than fingers
Ok, thanks. I set mine up a couple of years ago and had forgotten about the one time $1.50 setup fee.
I've got more phones than fingers
We may call Canada a handful times a year. Don't recall having any issues.
I'm referring to actual outages when no calling is possible. In the last year, maybe 2-3x. Longest time it was out was maybe 1 or 2 days.
I'd say it's no worse than most other providers. We have no less than 3 cell phones here. I also have an account with callwithus as another backup. Credit never expires so long as a call is placed every 3 months ($0.01/min).
@bobdevnul
I've had more challenges with google voice on the (asterisk) pbx in recent months than any time before. Google keeps fůcking things up every few weeks lately. Look at the last page of this thread - https://www.dslreports.com/forum/r32...cal-discussion .
Post Machine
I agree that backups are good.
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