How can I make the switch from Google Voice back to my real number less painful?

Question about

Add tags:

timchoi89 August 31, 2011

How can I make the switch from Google Voice back to my real number less painful?

Google Voice is starting to really annoy me.

Recently, I've been failing to receive calls when people call my Google Voice number, "texts" take forever to send over the Google Voice app despite having a solid data connection (main complaint), and the Google Voice app just sucks UI-wise when compared to other fully featured SMS apps.

I've been thinking about going back to my regular number because of these issues several times in the past 6 months but I've been stuck to Google Voice because of VERY USEFUL features like being able to text from the computer and being able to text over wifi if no cellphone signal exists.

But today, I've finally decided that I'm ready to switch back to regular SMS and I'd like to make that as painless as possible. I know that I won't be able to have the ability to text using wifi anymore but are there any decent programs to use when it comes to sending texts from a computer without having to use a USB cable to connect my phone to the computer for it? Should I even consider leaving Google Voice behind yet? Do you guys think that Google is going to do some major upgrade to Google Voice in the near future?

As you can see, I don't use Google Voice for calling at all so Google Voice's calling features aren't compelling enough for me to keep it.

Lastly, I know that I can use Google Voice's alias numbers for my contacts to send real texts to them, but I don't want to deal with having to use new numbers with all my contacts that may change without notice.

Thanks for your help!

answer this question

top answers

timchoi89's pick

peterto 1 year ago

My brother had this same issue numerous times, he had Sprint. He called them and they made some change and people were able to get calls through to his voicemail again, but shortly after that it started to fail again. He finally got fed up with all the issues and switched to Verizon and gave up on Google Voice. He ported his number back to Verizon with relative ease, so I don't think you'll have any issues porting your number back to your carrier of choice. I'm not exactly sure what happens to your Google voice number after you port back, but I'll check with him tomorrow to see what happened.

mark as good answer

2 people like this answer

| 5 replies

timchoi89 2011-08-31 09:15:54

Thanks. The good thing with my problem is that my real number and Google Voice number are kept separate since I'm on T-Mobile so I won't have to deal with any number porting. Did he have the text problems as well?

groovechicken 2011-08-31 12:46:16

Now that you mention it, I am reminded that, very often, when I call my wife's Google Voice number, she will not hear me, but I hear her, and we have to hang up and try again. She is on T-Mobile. So, maybe it doesn't work as well on T-Mobile. You would need to check with a bigger sample of T-Mobile Google Voice users to confirm or deny.

timchoi89 2011-08-31 13:41:57

Interesting, I'll probably ask around today and see what other T-Mobile users think. Today I got a "missed call" notification via Google Voice 20 minutes after the call happened.

groovechicken 2011-08-31 13:51:29

Are you using wifi calling by any chance? I could see how that would cause problems with the call routing. My wife's Optimus T doesn't support wifi calling, so that's not her issues, but she's not having the same problems you are.

timchoi89 2011-08-31 13:53:02

Nope, no wifi calling at all. I'm using a Nexus S so it doesn't have T-Mobile's wifi calling app.

timchoi89's pick

groovechicken 1 year ago

Just so you're aware, this must not be a universal problem since I haven't experienced these issues on my EVO or on the Photon. I think I am at a point where, if Google Voice was no longer working for me, I'd just quit using SMS and tell people I am only available by email. It's the only thing that makes cell phones tolerable to me.

mark as good answer

1 person likes this answer

| 1 reply

sort by

votes
date

1 more answer

timchoi89 2011-08-31 14:10:21

www.androidcentral.com/google-voice-updated-provid...

Wow! The day that I started telling my friends to delete my Google Voice number, Google issues an update that may potentially fix some of the issues I have with the app...

mark as good answer

0 people like this answer

| add reply