Calling Directly from Computer with Google Voice?

[GoCubsGo]

I guess the only reason I have Ring Central is for my 800 number I have had for 10+ years but could I port it to Google+ and eliminate Ring Central? I have Magic Jack which I'm letting expire this fall and NetTalk which I recently added because it doesn't need the computer and they have three way calling. I'd love to get rid of the Ring Central bill.
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Thanks for the thorough explanation Dan.

I have the NetTalk Duo but have not been able to get it to work long term. Something about my ISP having a rolling ip address that is incompatible with NTD... (I think this is the reason, but wouldn't bank on it). My ISP is also the very small rural local phone co, so they try to eliminate any competition by doing this... (again, I think).

Was wondering if there would be a way to use NTD with GoogVoice to accomplish the same thing you are doing with the OBi device...? I guess it doesn't matter that much since I can't use NTD for any length of time, apparently. There may be some techie solution to my issue with rolling ip address and NTD, but I just don't get the whole landscape of the phone and voip devices.

Thanks again for the explan.

Have you talked to NetTalk tech? I haven't had any problems with my NTD but when I got Magic Jack two years ago I had problems and they had me make some adjustments and download an update which fixed everything.

 

[SportsNut]

I guess the only reason I have Ring Central is for my 800 number I have had for 10+ years but could I port it to Google+ and eliminate Ring Central? - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I believe that you can port the 800# just like any other number. Not sure if RC has any more protection over that number than your typical phone co... Maybe I shouldn't be addressing this since I don't know for certain... so I'll answer the other one below, which I have first hand knowlede in.

Have you talked to NetTalk tech? I haven't had any problems with my NTD but when I got Magic Jack two years ago I had problems and they had me make some adjustments and download an update which fixed everything.

I've talked to NTD plenty of times. They are stumped. Every time that I speak to them (of the 6 or 7 times) they can get the device working, and it will work for a day, less than a day, etc., and the ip rolls so the device stops working. (again, not exactly sure of what it does, but the local phone co is also the ISP and from what I understand they do this to eliminate this type of device as competition).

If I had another choice for ISP then I could get away from phone co all together. Could port my number to NTD device and be done with them, but the choice just doesn't exist w/o going to a dish of some sort. All the above is beyond the scope of my expertise, as well.

 

[GoCubsGo]

I have a local area code number and an 800 number both sit with RC. Looks like I could only post one to Google. Guess I could have two Google Voice accounts, one for the local number and one for the 800 number and have one of the Google accounts forward to the other which would have the OBI so I could use my regular phone. Sounds like a bit much but if it works and saves me $40 bucks a month maybe worth it.

 

[Crabcake Johnny]

Just as a fyi, telemarketing is a TOS violation for Google Voice:

Prohibited Actions

:In addition to (and/or as some examples of) the violations described in the Google Terms of Service, users may not:

Generate or facilitate unsolicited commercial telemarketing activities"

I don't know how strict they are about enforcing it, but...

 

[SportsNut]

I have a local area code number and an 800 number both sit with RC. Looks like I could only post one to Google. Guess I could have two Google Voice accounts, one for the local number and one for the 800 number and have one of the Google accounts forward to the other which would have the OBI so I could use my regular phone. Sounds like a bit much but if it works and saves me $40 bucks a month maybe worth it.

Just so I am clear... all the talk about using a device on a regular phone... I used my Nettalk duo and magic jack previously, for that matter, on a regular phone. In my case, regular phone is a 4 line device, and I just had the NTD and/or mj ported or hard wired into the std phone jack on the back of the phone device. Is this hardware set-up creating any problem for me or is it supposed to work this way...? (Full dislcosure: I have a 4th grade understanding of the subject matter)

 

[GoCubsGo]

Just so I am clear... all the talk about using a device on a regular phone... I used my Nettalk duo and magic jack previously, for that matter, on a regular phone. In my case, regular phone is a 4 line device, and I just had the NTD and/or mj ported or hard wired into the std phone jack on the back of the phone device. Is this hardware set-up creating any problem for me or is it supposed to work this way...? (Full dislcosure: I have a 4th grade understanding of the subject matter)

Suppose to work that way, NTD and MJ connect directly to a regular phone. For Ring Central and Google Voice you need a router between your computer and the regular phone if you want to use a regular phone. OBI is the router you use for Google Voice.

 

[djs]

Yep, that's the way it works.

Again, the big difference between the obi device with google voice vs nettalk duo or magicjack+ for me is the ability to multi-ring several phones and have a decent, consolidated, remote voicemail.

Of course, you can use google voice as voicemail for either magicjack or ntd, so its just more of a preference thing when you boil it down.

Dan

 

[SportsNut]

This might be a silly question but, could you run a NT duo into the router that you use and then into Goog Voice...? I suppose the cost for NTD annually sort of defeats some of your objective... Also, I wonder what the quality differential between NTD and Good Voice is...?

Personally, the features of ringing all the phones at once is not a choice for me... so just wondering about the other things asked above..?

 

[djs]

You could defintely use NTD with google voice, just set google voice to ring your ntd number.

The issue is outbound calls. If you use NTD, then the caller id number is from your ntd, no way to override this if you go direct. You can use google voice to make the outbound call to use your google voice caller id number, but that just defeated some of my purpose. This is one area where ringcentral was a bit better, their control panel made it pretty simple to make outbound calls via their system. Google voice seems easy till you are on about the 10th dial somewhere.

Dan

 

[GoCubsGo]

You could defintely use NTD with google voice, just set google voice to ring your ntd number.

The issue is outbound calls. If you use NTD, then the caller id number is from your ntd, no way to override this if you go direct. You can use google voice to make the outbound call to use your google voice caller id number, but that just defeated some of my purpose. This is one area where ringcentral was a bit better, their control panel made it pretty simple to make outbound calls via their system. Google voice seems easy till you are on about the 10th dial somewhere.

Dan

Do you have a local number and a toll free number? If so how do you have it set up?