Main Area and Open Discussion > Living Room
All data services on Android off, still got charged roaming in Italy! Bastards!
Deozaan:
Up until a few days ago you could make calls using Google Voice through data using an app (such as GrooVe IP). But Google just changed it so you can't hook into the service anymore. So now I need to figure out how to make calls again, because I've been using a phone with only WiFi service (no plan with a cellular carrier) to make calls since I'm almost always connected to a WiFi AP.
Maybe I'll have to start using Skype again.
superboyac:
I made a few calls using Google Voice while connected to the Hotel's free wifi. I even checked the wifi statusbar symbol to see that the data was going through there and not the cell service. Well, I come back home and all those calls were charged. How do you figure?
-superboyac (May 17, 2014, 05:19 PM)
--- End quote ---
Did you get charged for data or for voice? Google Voice sets up the call through TCP/IP (whether WiFi or mobile data), but the call is connected through the cellular carrier. It's not VOIP.
I assume that Google Voice does this specifically to avoid a conflict with the phone companies. Or it might be because VOIP over whatever data network a phone might have available is still pretty iffy.
-mwb1100 (May 18, 2014, 12:47 AM)
--- End quote ---
oh really?! I got charged for voice. I was always under the impression that google voice would allow you to make calls thru wifi, as in the data gets charged through wifi. You're saying it just places the call, but the rest is using the cell service? Big deal! I'm so underwhelmed now, I always thought gv was amazing.
mwb1100:
You're saying it just places the call, but the rest is using the cell service?
-superboyac (May 19, 2014, 03:49 PM)
--- End quote ---
Yup.
As Deozaan mentioned there were other apps that provided a VOIP integration with GV (in my limited tests, they didn't work all that well), but it seems Google cut them off recently.
What I use GV for is to have a single phone number that gets forwarded to several different phones (my home phone land line, a cell phone at work that I keep at my desk, and my actual cell phone). I get rings to all those phones when someone dials my GV number. Also, when I dial out of my cell phones, I can have things set up to dial out as my GV number (or not - you can configure it to ask on each call).
This works OK, but I'm not entirely convinced that the complexity is worth the small value I get out of it.
The thing I do like about GV is that I have a phone number that I can use with whatever cell phone and whatever plan - I can change phones or SIMs on a whim and never have to worry about making sure the porting process will go smoothly.
superboyac:
You're saying it just places the call, but the rest is using the cell service?
-superboyac (May 19, 2014, 03:49 PM)
--- End quote ---
Yup.
As Deozaan mentioned there were other apps that provided a VOIP integration with GV (in my limited tests, they didn't work all that well), but it seems Google cut them off recently.
What I use GV for is to have a single phone number that gets forwarded to several different phones (my home phone land line, a cell phone at work that I keep at my desk, and my actual cell phone). I get rings to all those phones when someone dials my GV number. Also, when I dial out of my cell phones, I can have things set up to dial out as my GV number (or not - you can configure it to ask on each call).
This works OK, but I'm not entirely convinced that the complexity is worth the small value I get out of it.
The thing I do like about GV is that I have a phone number that I can use with whatever cell phone and whatever plan - I can change phones or SIMs on a whim and never have to worry about making sure the porting process will go smoothly.
-mwb1100 (May 19, 2014, 04:11 PM)
--- End quote ---
All this time I've been thinking it's possible to make calls using wifi. Now I find out it's practically impossible!
SKype doesn't really count, but it's ok I guess.
I'm still pissed about this.
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[*] Previous page
Go to full version