Phone Calls Over WiFi
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@scottalanmiller said
Over the Internet, you mean. From what I can tell, GV is US only. Skype is paid, so works anywhere but isn't very important as it doesn't solve any real issue that a new SIM card would not fix in a more standard way.
Perhaps this is another American myth, but isn't cell/data service while travelling abroad expensive?
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@JaredBusch said
It can do that also, but that is not the core implementation of GV. GV has always been a forwarding service.
That's why I was wondering if you just turned off your cell service, would GV just use WiFi?
I don't see how they could block that, but I have read this does not work.
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@BRRABill said in Phone Calls Over WiFi:
@scottalanmiller said
Over the Internet, you mean. From what I can tell, GV is US only. Skype is paid, so works anywhere but isn't very important as it doesn't solve any real issue that a new SIM card would not fix in a more standard way.
Perhaps this is another American myth, but isn't cell/data service while travelling abroad expensive?
Well, there isn't one single answer to that. If you have Verizon, for example, then yes, roaming fees tend to be high (I could easily pay $100 extra per month while traveling outside of the US/Canada.)
But if you are on T-Mobile like I am now, now only is my monthly fee low, but I have zero data fees when outside of the US (with a few exceptions, but 140+ countries are 100% free for data and texting and both are unlimited.) Cell phone calls are expensive, but I can always get a local SIM for cheap calls if I want. Outside of the US, switching SIMs is an extremely typical and routine way to get cheap calling wherever you are.
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@BRRABill said in Phone Calls Over WiFi:
I was thinking about a service such as Google Voice. I know Google Voice can be set up (MAGIC!) to basically do what I am asking about, but I do not know if that process would work outside the US.
I assume you could just turn off your cell data, and it would work, but not being out of the country for a while, I was just wondering.
Has anyone used Google Voice in such a way? Can it be used JUST with WiFI?
I know Skype can also magically make phone calls, but there is a cost to that. (I don't care so much about the cost at this point, just seeing what is out there.) I also don't know if there are non-US issues with Skype.
I can't imagine there would be any issues with either of these since they are over WiFi. But I've learned it's better not to assume.
For wifi calling you use hangouts dialer. It uses your GV number but will call over wifi or data only.
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So, for example, while in Bulgaria yesterday, I had unlimited 3G data service with nearly perfect coverage all on my standard US cell phone. I didn't have to do anything, it just "worked" when I entered the country. The speed is good and the limit is simply... unlimited.
If I wanted to buy local data service, which is just a SIM card away, I last priced it out in Moldova just because I was interested. And 4G monthly service there is $8/mo to buy a SIM card charged up to pop into your existing device.
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@BRRABill said in Phone Calls Over WiFi:
@JaredBusch said
It can do that also, but that is not the core implementation of GV. GV has always been a forwarding service.
That's why I was wondering if you just turned off your cell service, would GV just use WiFi?
I don't see how they could block that, but I have read this does not work.
I have no idea what they do with existing accounts, but the GV web page is entirely blocked in the EU. I can't even look at it for information.
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@scottalanmiller said in Phone Calls Over WiFi:
@BRRABill said in Phone Calls Over WiFi:
@JaredBusch said
It can do that also, but that is not the core implementation of GV. GV has always been a forwarding service.
That's why I was wondering if you just turned off your cell service, would GV just use WiFi?
I don't see how they could block that, but I have read this does not work.
I have no idea what they do with existing accounts, but the GV web page is entirely blocked in the EU. I can't even look at it for information.
Seems to be available here in Germany: www.google.com/voice
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@scottalanmiller said
I have no idea what they do with existing accounts, but the GV web page is entirely blocked in the EU. I can't even look at it for information.
But once you have a working account, is there any reason it wouldn't work?
I read an article aimed at travelers. It basically said to "borrow" a number to get it set up, then just remove the number.
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@BRRABill said in Phone Calls Over WiFi:
@scottalanmiller said
I have no idea what they do with existing accounts, but the GV web page is entirely blocked in the EU. I can't even look at it for information.
But once you have a working account, is there any reason it wouldn't work?
I read an article aimed at travelers. It basically said to "borrow" a number to get it set up, then just remove the number.
No reason to assume that it would work. Could it? Certainly. But there is no reason to make that assumption. It's blocked in much of the world. Is it likely to work where it is blocked?
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@scottalanmiller said
No reason to assume that it would work. Could it? Certainly. But there is no reason to make that assumption. It's blocked in much of the world. Is it likely to work where it is blocked?
But it's blocked for non-US users.
I would be a US user, just using WiFi in a non-US place.
But, I make no assumptions, and that is the reason I started this thread.
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@BRRABill said in Phone Calls Over WiFi:
But it's blocked for non-US users.
That's not what I said. It is blocked for non-US locations. I'm a US user and I am blocked.
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@BRRABill said in Phone Calls Over WiFi:
I would be a US user, just using WiFi in a non-US place.
Right, just like me.
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@scottalanmiller said
That's not what I said. It is blocked for non-US locations. I'm a US user and I am blocked.
Are you saying you already have an account, and just cannot access it?
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@BRRABill said in Phone Calls Over WiFi:
@scottalanmiller said
That's not what I said. It is blocked for non-US locations. I'm a US user and I am blocked.
Are you saying you already have an account, and just cannot access it?
I already have a US Google account and with it I cannot set up a GV account. So I can't say for sure if GV is blocked or not. But what I know for sure is that your assumptions are incorrect - that the location of the account does not grant automatic service. It is the location of the service in question at the time of service that grants access.
The question is... does a service activated in the US continue to work where service activation is blocked? No one seems to know.
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@scottalanmiller said
The question is... does a service activated in the US continue to work where service activation is blocked? No one seems to know.
Yeah, that is my question, I guess.
Figured this forum of non-US livers and travelers would know.
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@BRRABill said in Phone Calls Over WiFi:
@scottalanmiller said
The question is... does a service activated in the US continue to work where service activation is blocked? No one seems to know.
Yeah, that is my question, I guess.
Figured this forum of non-US livers and travelers would know.
It came up a few months ago and we tested and discovered that in Greece the site was blocked completely and it said "for US users only", even though I was already a US account holder. So the assumption, based on that, leans towards that it is blocked completely outside of the US. But it's not definite. But you should assume that it does not work or will not work reliably.
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@scottalanmiller said
It came up a few months ago and we tested and discovered that in Greece the site was blocked completely and it said "for US users only", even though I was already a US account holder. So the assumption, based on that, leans towards that it is blocked completely outside of the US. But it's not definite. But you should assume that it does not work or will not work reliably.
OK, big black "X" on GV, then.
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@BRRABill said in Phone Calls Over WiFi:
@scottalanmiller said
It came up a few months ago and we tested and discovered that in Greece the site was blocked completely and it said "for US users only", even though I was already a US account holder. So the assumption, based on that, leans towards that it is blocked completely outside of the US. But it's not definite. But you should assume that it does not work or will not work reliably.
OK, big black "X" on GV, then.
At least until someone tests it in several unlikely locations. I'd give it no better than a 40% chance of being a reasonable option.
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This is where something like Voip.ms to a US PBX turns into nearly magic. You are just an extension and no service but your own personal PBX will ever know that you are not in the US. The PBX completely isolates you from detection so you get to use US only services exactly as if you were in the US, 100% reliable (as long as you have a data connection.)
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I've used Google Voice in Canada before... although I could have still been pinging US towers. I was in Niagara.
