This post discusses porting a landline telephone number to Google Voice (“GV”) and setting it up as a home phone using an OBi VoIP adapter. My configuration adds some extra features that aren’t included in the usual setup.
I have been using Google Voice to unify my cell phone and my work line since before Google acquired it, and have recently been using my GV number as a landline in a home office with an OBi100. The quality of calls is excellent, and I’ve encountered zero problems.
I liked the idea of a VoIP home phone line, and initially explored the Ooma service. Ooma offers a high level of features at a very low-cost when compared to traditional telco service and established VoIP providers like Vonage.
But, it is difficult to compete with free, and GV does some things that Ooma doesn’t. So, GV ultimately won out. That said, a Google Voice-based solution entails a greater degree of technical implementation than Ooma, and Google provides limited support, which may be an impediment for some.
Google Voice offers some great features for a home phone service, above and beyond the free US/Canada calling. These include iOS and Android apps (so you can get a push notification when you have VM on your home phone), voicemail-to-email transcription, and call blocking and spam filtering that crush dinner-time telemarketers.
Probably the best feature of GV, particularly for a shared home phone, is the way Google implements call screening, which verbally announces the caller and gives whomever answers the following options:
- Accept the call (press 1)
- Send it to voicemail (press 2)
- ListenIn(TM) on the voicemail (press 2 and stay on the line)
- Accept and record the call (press 1 then 4)
ListenIn is my favorite GV feature. It’s like listening to the caller leave a message on an old-school answering machine and having the option to pick up. This is great for a shared line, or for a household with kids, who might otherwise end up on the phone with someone they or their parents would prefer they not talk to. The problem is that GV’s call screening feature is typically lost when using an OBi, due to the way that the OBi connects with the Google Voice service. Another issue with Google Voice is that it only provides incoming caller ID numbers, not names (because CNAM lookups costs money). The good news is that there is a free workaround to both of these issues that I’ll cover below.
Another issue of using Google Voice for a home phone is that currently, only wireless numbers can be ported to GV. This means that any landline number needs to be first be ported to a wireless carrier, and then to GV. While this additional step can be accomplished for $10, it does create one more hurdle to clear.
The system I utilize was designed to meet the following requirements:
- Retain our landline home phone number
- Utilize the Google Voice service for calls and voicemail
- Retain the call screening features of Google Voice (which are typically lost when using an OBi adapter)
- Provide incoming caller ID support for both numbers and names (the latter of which Google Voice does not have)
- Provide for E911 service (which Google Voice does not have)
The components used to implement the system are:
- Google Voice account ($20 to port in my number, free thereafter for calling in the US and Canada)
- Prepaid AT&T wireless SIM card (free from a corporate AT&T store) with $10 of calling credit, used to port my landline number away from our telco
- Disused GSM phone (free, since I already owned it), used with the SIM card during the number porting process
- OBi VoIP adapter (approx. $40 to $80 depending on model)
- Callcentric.com incoming VoIP line (free)
- E911 service (80 cents to $1.50 per month, depending on provider)
Step one – Sign up for a Google Voice account:
You can sign up for an account here. If you’re NOT going to port in a number you already have, you may want to get a new GV number in your local area code (which can be hard to come by), otherwise it doesn’t matter.
Step two – Port your landline number to AT&T Wireless:
Get an AT&T SIM card for free at any corporate AT&T store (if anyone tries to charge you for this, you’re probably at a reseller, not a corporate store). Put $10 of credit on it using a pay as you go plan.
Put your SIM card into an old GSM phone and call 611. Navigate to a human being and ask for your account number (which is not your phone number) and set an easy to remember PIN. If possible, try to get your account number and set your PIN at the time you buy the SIM card.
Now call (866) 895-1097 to initiate the port of your old landline number to your new AT&T prepaid account. You will need your landline’s full account number and its PIN (if applicable).
While you’re waiting for the port, go ahead an order an OBi adapter. I recommend the OBi202 since it has the most flexibility.
The process to port my Centurylink landline number to AT&T took approximately 7 days, and I received a text message from AT&T once it was done.
Step three – Port your new AT&T wireless number (a.k.a. your old landline number) to Google Voice:
This part was easy and took exactly 24 hours, to the minute. Once you receive confirmation that your landline number has been ported to AT&T, login to Google Voice, click on Settings and in the Phones tab click on Change / Port to port your number to GV.
Follow the prompts to verify your AT&T wireless number and account, and pay your $20 to Google. You will receive an email from Google when the port is complete.
Step four – setup a free Callcentric.com incoming DID number and E911 service:
If you want to use call screening, you’ll need an additional VoIP line above and beyond your Google Voice account. This VoIP line will be where you route your incoming calls. Outgoing calls will be made using your GV account. Callcentric.com will give you a free incoming line. An added benefit of this setup is that the Callcentric line will also pass through incoming caller ID names, not just numbers. So, even if you don’t want to use call screening, there is some benefit to routing calls through Callcentric. If you don’t care about either call screening or caller ID name, there is no need to sign up for a Callcentric account.
If you want to add E911 service, Callcentric will provide this as an add on to a free account for $1.50 per month. You can get a less expensive E911 service through Anveo.com at 80 cents per month, which can be used alongside your GV and Callcentric accounts. But, having three VoIP services on your OBi will require you to have an OBi200 or 202 model, since the OBi100 is limited to only two VoIP services. Unless you really want to save the $8.40 per year, I’d suggest adding E911 service to your Callcentric account, just for simplicity’s sake. I signed up for Anveo before I discovered Callcentric, so I have an additional account hanging off of my OBi, along with my $8.40 of annual savings. When you sign up, you will provide your E911 service provider with your physical address. Once your OBi is setup you’ll be able to place a test call to ensure E911 is working properly.
Step five – setup up your OBi adapter:
If you are likely to want to add additional Google Voice lines, I recommend you purchase an OBi202 which can handle four VoIP services. If this is unlikely, the OBi100, which can handle two VoIP services will work great at a little more than half the cost of the 202.
The OBi setup is very simple. Follow the provided and on-screen instructions. First supply your Google Voice login credentials, then your Callcentric.com and Anveo.com (if applicable) credentials. Check the box for outgoing E911 calls on the appropriate service (either Callcentric or Anveo). Now is a good time to test your E911 service by dialing 933.
Step six – configure Google Voice:
To use the call screening and caller ID features discussed above, you will need to configure your Callcentric.com number within Google Voice (go to Setup, Phones, Add another phone). This is done by inputting the number into GV, and answering a call to provide a verification code. Once the Callcentric number is verified, check the box next to it and then uncheck the box next to Google Talk (the service the OBi typically uses for incoming calls). This will route your incoming calls through Callcentric, providing both full caller ID and call screening. Outgoing calls will go through Google Voice.
If you’ve followed these instructions, you will have associated your landline number with your Google Voice account, enabled E911 and full caller ID support, and retained Google’s advanced call screening features. From here, you can explore different GV features like custom voicemail greetings or the ability to bypass call screening for certain caller groups.
If you’ve gotten to this point in the post, it’s time to go make some phone calls.
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