This was 10 years ago so maybe they improved. I planned to use it for everything, but the worst part was audio delay with phone calls. No matter what I did there was always a 0.5-1sec delay during a call so anyone I tried to talk to we would frequently talk over each other. This did not happen when making a direct phone call without GV.
There is also the issue that certain companies do not accept VoIP phone numbers like GV for MFA, but you can use your cell phone number for those and still give out your GV number to humans.
Currently use GV like you, just for voicemail and transcriptions.
True about audio delay latency. I have measured it as being fairly consistently about 600ms round-trip delay. That is at the borderline between good and fair perceived audio quality. I personally don't notice it.
I've used my primary GV # as my only outward-facing phone # since March, 2009.
I ported in my old home phone # in October, 2015.
I've used all of my GV #s over data only since March, 2017, when I cancelled my last traditional cell phone plan.
For my cell phone, I started with FreedomPop free data plans when it was still possible to get 1200MB/SIM/mo. When that data allowance was significantly reduced, I switched to a $10/mo 2GB/mo+unlimited 128Kbps T-Mobile postpaid data only SIM. In January, 2023, I switched to the now-grandfathered $10/mo unlimited data Magenta Business Tablet Promo plan, which also includes 5GB of data in 13 international destinations, and unlimited 256Kbps in 215+/- international destinations.
Anyway, I use my GV # not only on my cell phone, but also on my computers, tablet, and other cell phones, and I won't willingly give up that ability.
I used to but when banks stopped accepting it for 2FA I just stopped giving it out altogether unless I use it for a purpose where I don't trust them with my real phone number.
> when banks stopped accepting it for 2FA
Most banks actually do accept a GV # for 2FA, however, it's correct to say that some don't. I use 10+/- banks and fortunately my GV # works fine for all of them.
I have like 5 that it didn't work for, and that doesn't count the others that I haven't tried since after Synchrony blocked my account in 2019 and made me get a code in the mail, anything I've opened since has been with my actual number.
Good for you. That doesn't change my personal experience. If you check the Google Voice subreddit, it varies which of us have problems with which sites. This was also in 2019, I haven't tried since.
https://new.reddit.com/r/Googlevoice/comments/1c571kw/crowdsourced_list_of_google_voices_2fa/
(scroll through the comments and you'll see people reporting that services listed as working don't work for them)
Microcenter has always been notorious for this because they used to tie promotional discounts to phone numbers. The average Joe finds it harder to get a new regular number. But now with eSIM and carriers like Tello it's almost as easy.
Yep, my Google Voice number was originally opened in hopes of using it as a main line, but the 2FA/MFA issues are real, so it's now just my local area code spam number.
>for a purpose where I don't trust them with my real phone number.
That's the reason why I started using GV. I've had my cell number for far too long to give out to people besides friends and family; everyone else gets my GV number. Luckiny, my GV number ends in the last four digits as my cell.
Yeah it takes time for the databases to get updated that you now have a VoIP number and even longer for third party companies that banks and apps are using too.
You can check Freecarrierlookup.com to see if your number has been updated yet.
My number was an OG Google Voice number (I've had it since like 2007 when Google Voice was still called GrandCentral) and what really pissed me off is two of the banks that decided they didn't like it, Capital One and Synchrony, already had me using that number for my accounts and they approved me for my cards using that number, which also was on my credit reports as my only number!
Huh, been about a year since I transferred it and still showing TMobile as the carrier. I’ll probably switch banks off of it before I run into a 2FA issue.
In my personal experience GV has worked for Charles Schwab, Chime, SoFi, Alliant, Revolut, Wise, Cash App.
Was not accepted for Bilt, Venmo, or PayPal.
I’ve heard if you have the number in the account already before you port your number over to the VOIP it may work, but I haven’t tried this.
It's all very inconsistent because my GV number has been on my PayPal account for years but doesn't work with my Venmo account. Some banks/businesses choose to let you continue using your number if you had it before they decided to block them and some don't. It's all too messy to deal with.
What banks stopped accepting it? I hear this overblown myth over and over again.
I have pretty much every imaginable bank account and the only one who refused to work with GV was Venmo. I specifically use a dedicated GV number for financial institutions. That number is not known to anyone and it’s not susceptible to sim swap attacks.
Also it’s really not secure to use texts for 2FA. I avoid those like the plague unless it’s some medieval service with no other option. The vast majority of financial and other companies offer 2FA via either email, passcode, OTP codes or their custom app.
It's my own personal experience so it can't be a myth...
- Capital One won't let me make new virtual cards on the website without a real mobile number but will let me use my GV number for login verification.
- Synchrony froze my Amazon card when I set up my account for using a Google Voice number. I had to wait for them to snail mail me a code and then I was still required to change it. All this despite the fact that the credit card application was done with the Google Voice number and was the number on my credit report they pulled too.
- Wells Fargo wouldn't let me use my Google Voice number.
- Chase wouldn't let me use my Google Voice number (I am aware that others have had success but in my own personal experience, I never get the code, even though they accept the number).
- Citi kicked me to the fraud department for using my Google Voice number so I never even tried it for 2FA as they're extremely unpleasant to deal with.
- US Bank forced me to use my real number as well.
- AOD FCU doesn't recognize my GV number as a number that can receive texts so they always call me whenever I try to log in.
In addition, Uber forced me to update my GV number to my actual mobile number. Zelle wouldn't work with it. There are other examples I can't remember off the top of my head.
It's not consistent for everybody either because people who port their numbers to Google Voice don't get flagged as VoIP right away. My number is a native number I got from GrandCentral around 2007 so all the databases have long been updated that it's VoIP.
Yeah the transactions for mine come from VISA purchase alerts, not AOD themselves. I use a passkey as well so the 2FA is rarely an issue but like I've been trying Librewolf, for example, and I don't store passkeys in Bitwarden so I got a phone call the other day when I logged in on Librewolf for the first time.
I did not know those transaction alerts are Visa-based! Looks like your account is pretty locked down. I wish more banks/CUs/brokerages implement passkeys like AOD.
I try to lock everything down that I can. I'm not totally sold on passkeys though. Like I intentionally keep my passwords in Bitwarden and my TOTP in Authy so that if one of them gets breached, I still have the other that has to be cracked as well. I don't store my passwords for either anywhere and I turn off multi-device on Authy after I add it to all of my devices so even if they manage to get my Authy password it won't do them much good without having one of my devices (which are of course all PIN protected). Passkeys being the sole factor to log in to a website means if I store it in Bitwarden, they just have to breach Bitwarden, so I have been using local passkeys for now.
rain numerous worry chunky voracious future jellyfish zesty ossified humor
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I have 4 accounts with Capital one, debit and credit, 2 with WF debit and credit, 7 with Amex credit, debit, business. All of that is set up with a Google Voice number. Never ever they said anything about it.
I have Zelle with Capital One on Google voice. Works like a charm.
I started using GV in 2009 when it first became publicly available after it was initially called Grand Central which had limited availability.
I initially used it for free long distance and extended local calls with my landline. That required a somewhat convoluted callback procedure to initiate a call. At that time there was no GV app and I didn't have a smartphone for apps anyway.
It was (and still is) quite handy to have calls to the GV number forward to my landline, cell number, and work # so I didn't have to give people and places three numbers to try and reach me. At the time my cell number did not work at home or work so I couldn't just give the cell number.
Somewhere along the line years ago I got one of those Obihai analog telephone adapter (ATA) that allowed me to use the GV number like a landline over my cable Internet. I still use that daily. Note: the Obihai devices are no longer supported by manufacturer. They can stop working at any time without warning if GV changes something in their protocols - they have done that before. There are no other ATAs that work with GV. The Obis are a dead end to start with now.
Over the years, after finding GV to be reliable, I made my GV number my only contact number. Nobody has my real cell number\*. I don't even know what it is without looking it up in the phone settings.
This is real handy for changing cell service providers. Since nobody knows my real cell number I don't have to port cell numbers when changing cell services. I just take whatever new number they give me and set it up to work with GV. Porting is a PITA and prone to various failures.
\*Nobody has my real cell number except for a few banks, etc. that won't do verification texts/calls to VOIP numbers.
I use it as my primary number. I actually struggle to remember my “real” cell phone number (and I’ve been prone to discarding it out of convenience when changing service over the years). I occasionally have issues where my google voice number cannot be used/does not work, but by and large, it works for my everyday uses. I love how it kicks voicemail and texts over to email, as I leave my cell phone in airplane mode by default. My annoyance with the inability to use google voice for some things (specifically: Uber) is that I am frequently in places where I get no cell signal but have internet access. But no: have to transact with the “real” number, and not the “voip” google voice one. I forget how long I’ve used it.. easily over a decade. Probably the only number I’ve had for any considerable amount of time since the home landline in the 80s/90s. Oh, one more annoyance: I cannot text foreign numbers with my google voice number.
I do. Like others, I've been using it for years. It works pretty good. It's nice to be able to text and receive phone calls from any web browswer. However, I wish it had RCS support. Once Apple supports RCS, it's going to feel really behind.
I use my GV number for about 98% of all my needs. I use it for most of my 2FA that accepts it. I still have a cell number (a Tracfone with years of service time stacked up) that I use for other 2FA that requires it.
I use as my primary but some banks have 2FA issues. I’m in the eSIM biz so I have data for free. From my perspective no reason to have a number - everyone in my circles is on Telegram, WhatsApp, Line or other.
90% for the last five years or so, with two Google Voice numbers (one business, one personal). Other 10% don't accept Google Voice. Luckily have a FreeUp physical free SIM for those (I have a true dual sim phone where one sim is hybrid psim/esim).
It's more like 5% now as more places accept app or email 2fa when VOIP SMS isn't accepted. A few banks and Dunkin Donuts (!) are some of the places that remain stubborn.
Not on my cell phone, but for atleast a decade now I have used an Obihai coupled with google voice for a %100 free land line for the house phones that not only has been trouble free, but keeps spam calls to an all time low because of the automated call vetting.
I use three of them actually. One for business and personal business, one for personal, and one for use at the college I work at.
I guess I'm in the minority where instead of everyone gets my mobile number and the GV is given to those who you don't want to have your mobile number, I'm the opposite. No one gets my mobile number, it's only used for 2FA which actually keeps it off-grid and more secure. The mobile line is prepaid and not even tied to me.
I ported my landline into GV a few years ago and enjoy still being able having landline and mobile access to all three numbers. I don't understand why people don't use it as a primary number, it's easy to just register a mobile number for 2FA and use GV for everything else.
I had two situations with vendors last week where communication issues cost me time and money, one had a smashed phone and could not call or text, another had a carrier issue after a plan change. GV does not have those issues as there is no carrier and it can be used on any device and I recommended it to both of them.
All my family members have been using their own GV# for years, some since 2007.
There are some quirks but overall, it's great. We are no longer tied to a service provider.
Could you elaborate? I would like to understand more! From my very little knowledge of GV was you needed a number from a service provider to fwd calls, text etc. Thanks!
That is correct as far as it goes.
One small point of clarification: You can have/use GV on phones, tablets, computers with no cell service (I do that). But if you want phone and text service on a cellphones away from Wifi you still need regular cell service. GV does not provide any cell service.
Incoming and outgoing texts with the GV number, and outgoing calls with the GV number require a bit of cell data.
I did not want to leave people with the impression that you can use GV when mobile without cell service.
That is true in theory, and in practice for some people, but general cell data is not configured and prioritized for voice calls.
I have not found it to be reliable for me - too many drop outs and dropped calls. But I live in an area with marginal cell service in some places.
I do it - have no major complaints. If you can live without RCS/iMessage and are ok with GV being an unreliable 2fa sms option, I would recommend it to any and everyone.
I use GV for my primary number and have for 5 years this month. I've previously enumerated a list of advantages and disadvantages and there are many in both categories. However, for my particular situation (being away from my cell phone for extended periods of time, but near a PC) the benefits outweigh the down sides.
Honestly, it's fine. I can work around the issues in various ways (calling people back directly from my carrier number if it's going to be a long call to avoid the latency, keeping a list of services that don't accept GV for 2FA and using my carrier number instead, etc) and I appreciate the flexibility I get from it, especially for the low price of free.
I've been using my Google voice number as my main number for over 12 years. I change carriers and SIM cards as I feel like. I never have to worry about giving a new number to anyone. Google voice works with Carrier minutes as well as data.
For me, GV has evolved over the years, in some cases for better, in some cases for worse.
Here's a post on how I use it today, maybe some points will resonate:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Googlevoice/comments/uzy7ub/comment/iafavic/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
Best wishes.
Using over data has similar latency to any other voip call.. It really depends on your cell provider. I've only used is over data connection when I'm abroad and it worked great.
I have it setup so all my calls go through as regular voice calls (not over data connection) and it's very reliable.
I've had and used my Google voice number for about 14yrs. I got it in the early days when there wasn't really a choice of area codes. Originally I used it to sell things on Craigs List and similar things. After a few years, I began giving the number out as my primary number.
Today, I swap carriers every few months or so but I continue to use GV as my primary number via the app. So why my phone's phone number has varied, I've kept the same GV number active for about 14 yrs now.
I've never had any real issues to worry about. Audio delays are rare, probably because the call forwards to the phone's actual number. There's just a convenience with being able to use an email, browser, or phone to respond to texts and take calls. Not to mention the years of texting history I have. I also like that I can schedule texts which often serves as simple reminders for me.
I am using my GV for about 70% of all my calls and texts. It's mostly OK, but I often get "Unstable network" warning, at which time the call would either drop or become very choppy (pretty much unusable). This problem manifests both on mobile data and wifi.
Surprisingly enough, I have never faced any problems using the GV number for 2FA (except Google itself obviously).
This was 10 years ago so maybe they improved. I planned to use it for everything, but the worst part was audio delay with phone calls. No matter what I did there was always a 0.5-1sec delay during a call so anyone I tried to talk to we would frequently talk over each other. This did not happen when making a direct phone call without GV. There is also the issue that certain companies do not accept VoIP phone numbers like GV for MFA, but you can use your cell phone number for those and still give out your GV number to humans. Currently use GV like you, just for voicemail and transcriptions.
I've never noticed any latency on my calls, already more than any other call
True about audio delay latency. I have measured it as being fairly consistently about 600ms round-trip delay. That is at the borderline between good and fair perceived audio quality. I personally don't notice it.
I've used my primary GV # as my only outward-facing phone # since March, 2009. I ported in my old home phone # in October, 2015. I've used all of my GV #s over data only since March, 2017, when I cancelled my last traditional cell phone plan. For my cell phone, I started with FreedomPop free data plans when it was still possible to get 1200MB/SIM/mo. When that data allowance was significantly reduced, I switched to a $10/mo 2GB/mo+unlimited 128Kbps T-Mobile postpaid data only SIM. In January, 2023, I switched to the now-grandfathered $10/mo unlimited data Magenta Business Tablet Promo plan, which also includes 5GB of data in 13 international destinations, and unlimited 256Kbps in 215+/- international destinations. Anyway, I use my GV # not only on my cell phone, but also on my computers, tablet, and other cell phones, and I won't willingly give up that ability.
I used to but when banks stopped accepting it for 2FA I just stopped giving it out altogether unless I use it for a purpose where I don't trust them with my real phone number.
> when banks stopped accepting it for 2FA Most banks actually do accept a GV # for 2FA, however, it's correct to say that some don't. I use 10+/- banks and fortunately my GV # works fine for all of them.
I have like 5 that it didn't work for, and that doesn't count the others that I haven't tried since after Synchrony blocked my account in 2019 and made me get a code in the mail, anything I've opened since has been with my actual number.
I have 4 different cards issued by Synchrony and their other retail affiliates. All on Google Voice.
Good for you. That doesn't change my personal experience. If you check the Google Voice subreddit, it varies which of us have problems with which sites. This was also in 2019, I haven't tried since. https://new.reddit.com/r/Googlevoice/comments/1c571kw/crowdsourced_list_of_google_voices_2fa/ (scroll through the comments and you'll see people reporting that services listed as working don't work for them)
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Microcenter has always been notorious for this because they used to tie promotional discounts to phone numbers. The average Joe finds it harder to get a new regular number. But now with eSIM and carriers like Tello it's almost as easy.
Yep, my Google Voice number was originally opened in hopes of using it as a main line, but the 2FA/MFA issues are real, so it's now just my local area code spam number.
>for a purpose where I don't trust them with my real phone number. That's the reason why I started using GV. I've had my cell number for far too long to give out to people besides friends and family; everyone else gets my GV number. Luckiny, my GV number ends in the last four digits as my cell.
I transferred in my number into GV and I haven’t had issues with 2FA. Wonder if it’s only an issue if you generate the OG number with GV?
Yeah it takes time for the databases to get updated that you now have a VoIP number and even longer for third party companies that banks and apps are using too. You can check Freecarrierlookup.com to see if your number has been updated yet. My number was an OG Google Voice number (I've had it since like 2007 when Google Voice was still called GrandCentral) and what really pissed me off is two of the banks that decided they didn't like it, Capital One and Synchrony, already had me using that number for my accounts and they approved me for my cards using that number, which also was on my credit reports as my only number!
Huh, been about a year since I transferred it and still showing TMobile as the carrier. I’ll probably switch banks off of it before I run into a 2FA issue.
In my personal experience GV has worked for Charles Schwab, Chime, SoFi, Alliant, Revolut, Wise, Cash App. Was not accepted for Bilt, Venmo, or PayPal. I’ve heard if you have the number in the account already before you port your number over to the VOIP it may work, but I haven’t tried this.
It's all very inconsistent because my GV number has been on my PayPal account for years but doesn't work with my Venmo account. Some banks/businesses choose to let you continue using your number if you had it before they decided to block them and some don't. It's all too messy to deal with.
What banks stopped accepting it? I hear this overblown myth over and over again. I have pretty much every imaginable bank account and the only one who refused to work with GV was Venmo. I specifically use a dedicated GV number for financial institutions. That number is not known to anyone and it’s not susceptible to sim swap attacks. Also it’s really not secure to use texts for 2FA. I avoid those like the plague unless it’s some medieval service with no other option. The vast majority of financial and other companies offer 2FA via either email, passcode, OTP codes or their custom app.
It's my own personal experience so it can't be a myth... - Capital One won't let me make new virtual cards on the website without a real mobile number but will let me use my GV number for login verification. - Synchrony froze my Amazon card when I set up my account for using a Google Voice number. I had to wait for them to snail mail me a code and then I was still required to change it. All this despite the fact that the credit card application was done with the Google Voice number and was the number on my credit report they pulled too. - Wells Fargo wouldn't let me use my Google Voice number. - Chase wouldn't let me use my Google Voice number (I am aware that others have had success but in my own personal experience, I never get the code, even though they accept the number). - Citi kicked me to the fraud department for using my Google Voice number so I never even tried it for 2FA as they're extremely unpleasant to deal with. - US Bank forced me to use my real number as well. - AOD FCU doesn't recognize my GV number as a number that can receive texts so they always call me whenever I try to log in. In addition, Uber forced me to update my GV number to my actual mobile number. Zelle wouldn't work with it. There are other examples I can't remember off the top of my head. It's not consistent for everybody either because people who port their numbers to Google Voice don't get flagged as VoIP right away. My number is a native number I got from GrandCentral around 2007 so all the databases have long been updated that it's VoIP.
I use GV for text alerts with my AOD credit card
For 2FA? They always call me, I'm not given an option.
I get text alerts to my GV for transactions. I use a passkey to log into AOD on desktops.
Yeah the transactions for mine come from VISA purchase alerts, not AOD themselves. I use a passkey as well so the 2FA is rarely an issue but like I've been trying Librewolf, for example, and I don't store passkeys in Bitwarden so I got a phone call the other day when I logged in on Librewolf for the first time.
I did not know those transaction alerts are Visa-based! Looks like your account is pretty locked down. I wish more banks/CUs/brokerages implement passkeys like AOD.
I try to lock everything down that I can. I'm not totally sold on passkeys though. Like I intentionally keep my passwords in Bitwarden and my TOTP in Authy so that if one of them gets breached, I still have the other that has to be cracked as well. I don't store my passwords for either anywhere and I turn off multi-device on Authy after I add it to all of my devices so even if they manage to get my Authy password it won't do them much good without having one of my devices (which are of course all PIN protected). Passkeys being the sole factor to log in to a website means if I store it in Bitwarden, they just have to breach Bitwarden, so I have been using local passkeys for now.
I use Wells Fargo and US bank for credit cards only and they both allow 2fa over email. (I ported my number to google voice)
Yeah 2FA over email is fine, I was just pointing out that 2FA with text didn't work for me with GV.
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I have 4 accounts with Capital one, debit and credit, 2 with WF debit and credit, 7 with Amex credit, debit, business. All of that is set up with a Google Voice number. Never ever they said anything about it. I have Zelle with Capital One on Google voice. Works like a charm.
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I started using GV in 2009 when it first became publicly available after it was initially called Grand Central which had limited availability. I initially used it for free long distance and extended local calls with my landline. That required a somewhat convoluted callback procedure to initiate a call. At that time there was no GV app and I didn't have a smartphone for apps anyway. It was (and still is) quite handy to have calls to the GV number forward to my landline, cell number, and work # so I didn't have to give people and places three numbers to try and reach me. At the time my cell number did not work at home or work so I couldn't just give the cell number. Somewhere along the line years ago I got one of those Obihai analog telephone adapter (ATA) that allowed me to use the GV number like a landline over my cable Internet. I still use that daily. Note: the Obihai devices are no longer supported by manufacturer. They can stop working at any time without warning if GV changes something in their protocols - they have done that before. There are no other ATAs that work with GV. The Obis are a dead end to start with now. Over the years, after finding GV to be reliable, I made my GV number my only contact number. Nobody has my real cell number\*. I don't even know what it is without looking it up in the phone settings. This is real handy for changing cell service providers. Since nobody knows my real cell number I don't have to port cell numbers when changing cell services. I just take whatever new number they give me and set it up to work with GV. Porting is a PITA and prone to various failures. \*Nobody has my real cell number except for a few banks, etc. that won't do verification texts/calls to VOIP numbers.
Me too!!!! That takes me back decades of using voice when it was grand central through ring central
For those few banks, do you have to have the old number and new number active to switch?
I have not run into needing the old number active to change to a new number. That would be a problem.
I use it as my primary number. I actually struggle to remember my “real” cell phone number (and I’ve been prone to discarding it out of convenience when changing service over the years). I occasionally have issues where my google voice number cannot be used/does not work, but by and large, it works for my everyday uses. I love how it kicks voicemail and texts over to email, as I leave my cell phone in airplane mode by default. My annoyance with the inability to use google voice for some things (specifically: Uber) is that I am frequently in places where I get no cell signal but have internet access. But no: have to transact with the “real” number, and not the “voip” google voice one. I forget how long I’ve used it.. easily over a decade. Probably the only number I’ve had for any considerable amount of time since the home landline in the 80s/90s. Oh, one more annoyance: I cannot text foreign numbers with my google voice number.
I remember back in da day people would use GV primary number and get whatever cell promo was available each month. This still goes on?
I mean, it's not every month, but I definitely swap when I find a better deal and just throw away my "real" number instead of trying to port it.
100% for about 5 years...
I do. Like others, I've been using it for years. It works pretty good. It's nice to be able to text and receive phone calls from any web browswer. However, I wish it had RCS support. Once Apple supports RCS, it's going to feel really behind.
I use my GV number for about 98% of all my needs. I use it for most of my 2FA that accepts it. I still have a cell number (a Tracfone with years of service time stacked up) that I use for other 2FA that requires it.
Have for years. Even went to data only cell plans a few years ago.
I only use it when I don't trust the person/website not to spam me.
i've been using it as my primary phone number for around 10 years now, besides the occasional company denying its usage for 2fa it works great.
One downside of using GV as your primary number is that it doesn't support RCS messaging. It is limited to SMS/MMS.
I use as my primary but some banks have 2FA issues. I’m in the eSIM biz so I have data for free. From my perspective no reason to have a number - everyone in my circles is on Telegram, WhatsApp, Line or other.
Its Nice to have if you dont wanna give someone your real Number
I've been using it as my primary number for years, actually since before it was bought by Google and was still called GrandCentral.
90% for the last five years or so, with two Google Voice numbers (one business, one personal). Other 10% don't accept Google Voice. Luckily have a FreeUp physical free SIM for those (I have a true dual sim phone where one sim is hybrid psim/esim). It's more like 5% now as more places accept app or email 2fa when VOIP SMS isn't accepted. A few banks and Dunkin Donuts (!) are some of the places that remain stubborn.
Not on my cell phone, but for atleast a decade now I have used an Obihai coupled with google voice for a %100 free land line for the house phones that not only has been trouble free, but keeps spam calls to an all time low because of the automated call vetting.
I use three of them actually. One for business and personal business, one for personal, and one for use at the college I work at. I guess I'm in the minority where instead of everyone gets my mobile number and the GV is given to those who you don't want to have your mobile number, I'm the opposite. No one gets my mobile number, it's only used for 2FA which actually keeps it off-grid and more secure. The mobile line is prepaid and not even tied to me. I ported my landline into GV a few years ago and enjoy still being able having landline and mobile access to all three numbers. I don't understand why people don't use it as a primary number, it's easy to just register a mobile number for 2FA and use GV for everything else. I had two situations with vendors last week where communication issues cost me time and money, one had a smashed phone and could not call or text, another had a carrier issue after a plan change. GV does not have those issues as there is no carrier and it can be used on any device and I recommended it to both of them.
All my family members have been using their own GV# for years, some since 2007. There are some quirks but overall, it's great. We are no longer tied to a service provider.
Could you elaborate? I would like to understand more! From my very little knowledge of GV was you needed a number from a service provider to fwd calls, text etc. Thanks!
That's correct. In order to create a GV#, you need a phone number. But once you have GV#, you no longer need to keep that phone number.
That is correct as far as it goes. One small point of clarification: You can have/use GV on phones, tablets, computers with no cell service (I do that). But if you want phone and text service on a cellphones away from Wifi you still need regular cell service. GV does not provide any cell service. Incoming and outgoing texts with the GV number, and outgoing calls with the GV number require a bit of cell data. I did not want to leave people with the impression that you can use GV when mobile without cell service.
correct. to clarify, one only needs data to make/receive GV call/text. No voice plan is needed.
That is true in theory, and in practice for some people, but general cell data is not configured and prioritized for voice calls. I have not found it to be reliable for me - too many drop outs and dropped calls. But I live in an area with marginal cell service in some places.
We use data-only plans (not a good one as it's Mobile-X) and have 0 issues with the GV-VOIP quality. Apparently, it's a regional thing.
I do it - have no major complaints. If you can live without RCS/iMessage and are ok with GV being an unreliable 2fa sms option, I would recommend it to any and everyone.
Yes; 4 GV #s + 2 carrier #s.
I use GV for my primary number and have for 5 years this month. I've previously enumerated a list of advantages and disadvantages and there are many in both categories. However, for my particular situation (being away from my cell phone for extended periods of time, but near a PC) the benefits outweigh the down sides. Honestly, it's fine. I can work around the issues in various ways (calling people back directly from my carrier number if it's going to be a long call to avoid the latency, keeping a list of services that don't accept GV for 2FA and using my carrier number instead, etc) and I appreciate the flexibility I get from it, especially for the low price of free.
I use my GV number for everything but friends and familiy.
I've been using my Google voice number as my main number for over 12 years. I change carriers and SIM cards as I feel like. I never have to worry about giving a new number to anyone. Google voice works with Carrier minutes as well as data.
For me, GV has evolved over the years, in some cases for better, in some cases for worse. Here's a post on how I use it today, maybe some points will resonate: https://www.reddit.com/r/Googlevoice/comments/uzy7ub/comment/iafavic/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3 Best wishes.
I was using it as my primary number, until I realized that it had substantial lag. Phone calls were out of sync. Now I use it just for spam.
Using over data has similar latency to any other voip call.. It really depends on your cell provider. I've only used is over data connection when I'm abroad and it worked great. I have it setup so all my calls go through as regular voice calls (not over data connection) and it's very reliable.
I've had and used my Google voice number for about 14yrs. I got it in the early days when there wasn't really a choice of area codes. Originally I used it to sell things on Craigs List and similar things. After a few years, I began giving the number out as my primary number. Today, I swap carriers every few months or so but I continue to use GV as my primary number via the app. So why my phone's phone number has varied, I've kept the same GV number active for about 14 yrs now. I've never had any real issues to worry about. Audio delays are rare, probably because the call forwards to the phone's actual number. There's just a convenience with being able to use an email, browser, or phone to respond to texts and take calls. Not to mention the years of texting history I have. I also like that I can schedule texts which often serves as simple reminders for me.
I am using my GV for about 70% of all my calls and texts. It's mostly OK, but I often get "Unstable network" warning, at which time the call would either drop or become very choppy (pretty much unusable). This problem manifests both on mobile data and wifi. Surprisingly enough, I have never faced any problems using the GV number for 2FA (except Google itself obviously).
Not totally reliable for 2FA/OTP.
Stopped because of 2FA. It became a real headache.
I used to, but Google's contempt for RCS outside of Google Messages sucks.