How to set up Google Voice

While the FreedomPop messaging app is in its infancy (taking up too much battery), one option is to use Google Voice in the meantime. Note, 3rd party VoIP apps using Google Voice will no longer work after May 15, 2014.

Pros:
Improved battery life (using talkatone and disabling FP messaging app)
Excellent call quality, SMS included
Unlimited calls/texts on wifi
Data used for calls, not minutes (~.75 Mb/min says FP, so be sure to get the friends bonus)
Keep your old number ($20 to port to google voice)
Free voicemail, with transcripts
Computer access to all texts/calls/voicemail

Cons:
Works until May (It is assumed Google Hangouts app will have the functionality by then)
Another new phone number (if you don't port)
FP minutes and texts go unused (shouldn't really matter though)
VoIP apps aren't quite as pretty
A little bit of work to get it all set up as you like.


1) Go to the Google Voice website, and either create a new phone number or port your existing number (don't port your FreedomPop number though). The number will be linked to your Gmail/google account.
2) Download a VoIP app on your FreedomPop phone, such as Talkatone or GrooVeIP.
3) Closely follow the directions outlined by your app to link your VoIP app and Google Voice account. They are step by step and quite thorough.
4) To enjoy better battery life, use an app (like AntTek App Manager) to disable/freeze the FreedomPop messaging, setup, and voicemail apps. You can always unfreeze them to turn them on if needed.

Good luck!

Believe it or not, voiceip uses very lil bandwidth. 5 min conversation consumes ~ 650KB. FP lies once again. Don't believe me, put a sniffer and calculate the data yourself. Any techies or CS folks can DYI and figure this out.

tfjeldsted wrote:While the FreedomPop messaging app is in its infancy (taking up too much battery), one option is to use Google Voice in the meantime. Note, 3rd party VoIP apps using Google Voice will no longer work after May 15, 2014.

Pros:
Improved battery life (using talkatone and disabling FP messaging app)
Excellent call quality, SMS included
Unlimited calls/texts on wifi
Data used for calls, not minutes (~.75 Mb/min says FP, so be sure to get the friends bonus)
Keep your old number ($20 to port to google voice)
Free voicemail, with transcripts
Computer access to all texts/calls/voicemail

Cons:
Works until May (It is assumed Google Hangouts app will have the functionality by then)
Another new phone number (if you don't port)
FP minutes and texts go unused (shouldn't really matter though)
VoIP apps aren't quite as pretty
A little bit of work to get it all set up as you like.


1) Go to the Google Voice website, and either create a new phone number or port your existing number (don't port your FreedomPop number though). The number will be linked to your Gmail/google account.
2) Download a VoIP app on your FreedomPop phone, such as Talkatone or GrooVeIP.
3) Closely follow the directions outlined by your app to link your VoIP app and Google Voice account. They are step by step and quite thorough.
4) To enjoy better battery life, use an app (like AntTek App Manager) to disable/freeze the FreedomPop messaging, setup, and voicemail apps. You can always unfreeze them to turn them on if needed.

Good luck!

Dino, GrooVeIP says they use 1.2 MB per minute. Talkatone must be similar. Google Voice's leanest codec is about .5MB/min, and richest is 1.2MB/min. My own experience with the phone agrees with these numbers.

I am assuming you're a smart person. Care for friendly wager? say the lo.Ozer will have to donate $500 to charity. would you like to put your "experience" to the test?  

tfjeldsted wrote:Dino, GrooVeIP says they use 1.2 MB per minute. Talkatone must be similar.  Google Voice's leanest codec is about .5MB/min, and richest is 1.2MB/min.  My own experience with the phone agrees with these numbers.

No, I don't care about a wager.  I care about helping people set up Google Voice as this thread suggests.  It really doesn't matter to me how much data VoIP uses.

I use Groovp IP, I can send txt out to another phone, but not able to receive, any idea?

2kmy477 wrote:I use Groovp IP, I can send txt out to another phone, but not able to receive, any idea?

Do you have the google voice setting enabled to send texts messages to your email? They also say you can use a filter in your gmail for those emails, but don't set them to be deleted, only moved elsewhere (like the social tab).

tfjeldsted wrote:

2kmy477 wrote:I use Groovp IP, I can send txt out to another phone, but not able to receive, any idea?

Do you have the google voice setting enabled to send texts messages to your email? They also say you can use a filter in your gmail for those emails, but don't set them to be deleted, only moved elsewhere (like the social tab).

No issue to send out txt on my Freddompop Phone (of course, Freedompop messaging app uninstalled) through Groove IP, but I do not receive txt on the phone sent to my Google Voice number, however, I can see the txt's if I login to my google voice account on my laptop, it just did not reached to my phone.

You need the Google Voice app to send and receive texts for now.

Good write up tfjeldsted!

adolfo.galvan wrote:You need the Google Voice app to send and receive texts for now.

Good write up tfjeldsted!

It's already setup that way, otherwise, I won't be able to send txt out.

adolfo.galvan wrote:You need the Google Voice app to send and receive texts for now.

Good write up tfjeldsted!

Thanks. I only have the talkatone app and it works beautifully with texts and calls.

2kmy477 wrote:
It's already setup that way, otherwise, I won't be able to send txt out.

I'm not sure 2kmy...I tried out GrooVe and couldn't get texting to work either, that's why I went back to talkatone. Not as pretty but at least it works for me. I just got my original number ported over to GV and I'm really enjoying the setup!

Good instructions. Another small con is that google voice doesn't let you call all numbers (see newsok.com/google-voice-service-blocks-fewer-than-100-numbers/article/feed/99268). I had a conference call last week and was unable to call the number with GV, I had to use the FP app instead and consume some minutes. The call was over Wifi and the quality was quite good.

Google voice app doesn't seem to work as it should. Which option are we supposed to choose? Always use Google voice to make calls, or never use Google voice to make calls? Choosing first option makes my phone not be able to make a call at all with google voice app or even the regular phone app. Any help please

After trying all options I conclude the google voice app does not work at all to make a call with freedompop phone. I can receive calls since I forwarded my number in google voice settings on their website, but I can not make calls with my google voice number unless I use talkatone that uses data plan instead of phone minutes plan. Talkatone can also send/receive google voice text messages and voicemail so I give up on using google voice app at all!

ocakavy wrote:I conclude the google voice app does not work at all to make a call with freedompop phone.

Unfortunately I've come to the same conclusion.  It almost works, allowing you to select the phone to make a call and select google voice to complete it, but apparently that action crashes the calling ability of the freedompop messaging app.

Has anyone had any success with this?  Maybe this is a good bug to forward to FP for fixing. I reinstalled the messaging app and now i get the error "Process com.android.phone is not responding"

Is Google Voice not working properly because of FP's software? I was counting on getting Google Voice to work since FP doesn't let you port your number. I really hope they find a way to fix this.

cosmic_blaze wrote:Is Google Voice not working properly because of FP's software? I was counting on getting Google Voice to work since FP doesn't let you port your number. I really hope they find a way to fix this.  

Google Voice can't make a call because it uses the phone's cellular voice calling features, which are not enabled on Freedom Phone. Your connection to Sprint is a data only account, so any attempts to use the voice network will fail. Unless Google Voice can be configured to use a VOIP calling app (such as the Freedom Phone messaging app) rather than the cell phone voice network, it will just not work on a Freedom Phone.

Google Talk does it this way so they reduce the loading on their VOIP/SIP servers and their respective backhauls by putting a large portion of the load onto the cellar providers. As well, it's cheaper for them as incoming calls cost less to route than outgoing calls. It's smart business on their part and until Freedom Phone came along, it worked for the vast majority of Google Talk users (virtually all Google Talk users, that is).

James

Ah, that makes more sense. I guess I'll just have use Talkatone or something and hope google fixes things when everything gets moved to google hangouts.

I just got the FreedomPhone a couple of weeks ago and followed everybody's advice here and on Facebook and it's working great so far! Here was my setup:
Calls: Talkatone
Text: Google Voice App (could not receive texts on Talkatone for some reason, only send)
Battery Saver: Greenify App for everything that I don't use widgets with and froze the FreedomPop native Apps.

I was getting around 4-6 hours of battery life originally regardless of use. On a full charge right before bed time, my phone wouldn't even make it to the morning. Greenify and I think especially freezing the FreedomPop apps (maybe Sense too because I froze that as well) made a huge difference. Now my phone will go through the night and a full work day of limited use without needing a charge. I'm a light user but it gets me through a whole weekend day of moderate (for me anyway) use as well. Great tips from everyone on the thread. Thanks!

what i did
I disable (quarantine) the freedom pop application while on home wifi . I use the add sip option on the phone.
now my phone can dial out + received goggle voice with no voice minutes use

to get sip for google voice https://simonics.com/gvgw/

I tried talk a tone a tone it was so terrible sounding sometimes.
i also replace my rom and lost the default rom
so i now use csip to get me my sip to google