5 ms·

Google Voice Is A Hot Mess Right Now

35 points by px 16y ago

sandipagr 16y ago
I completely agree. The service has been horrible. I tried to make few international calls and none of them went through. It just worked flawlessly with Skype. Comn Google, you seriously needs to get this right! I don't want to pay twice the fee to Skype
- rudyfink 16y ago
  Are your problems just on the international side? I've been having some issue where my mobile rings forever before going to voicemail and then occasionally doesn't capture whatever message is left.
  - sandipagr 16y ago
    I haven't really tried calling US phone numbers. I called maybe twice and it went fine. I don't have the problem you are having. With me, I never hear the mobile ring when calling and worse it charged me.
  - drivebyacct2 16y ago
    You have to configure your phone number to direct your VM to GV or else it goes to your carrier's VM box or limbo.
mtr 16y ago
Installing the Google Voice extension caused kernel panics on my machine every time I loaded Gmail. What a pain as it took several hours to figure out the root cause.
- drivebyacct2 16y ago
  If an extension in your web browser, triggered by a webpage causes a kernel panic, you have something far more concerning going on. A browser extension is not at fault here, even if it's helping trigger.
  - mtr 16y ago
    I would tend to agree but I have no idea what it may be. My system has been super stable since I got it 18 months ago. When I started having the problem I did a clean install of SL and as soon as I reinstalled Google Voice and navigated to Gmail, kernel panic. I swapped back the original HD and memory sticks and same problem. What else could it be??
houseabsolute 16y ago
Yeah, I've been having problems, but I doubt that Google is going to give up on this service, and fortunately I do not use it as my primary number (yet).
drivebyacct2 16y ago
"Hot Mess"? Maybe if you're Arrington testing (and bragging about) a super beta feature (number porting). I've used Google Voice for over a year now. I haven't had call or text sync problems for probably 6 months. It's actually remarkably stable for what I imagine is at work.
- fossuser 16y ago
  I didn't realize the muted caller issue was google voice related. I thought it was a hardware problem with my N1. Although it had happened repeatedly even after a factory reset. I ended up getting a new phone by warranty swap and the day the new phone came my N1 started working again. Haven't had any issues with the new one though so who knows.
  - jsz0 16y ago
    It's not strictly a Google Voice issue. It has to do with the way background applications handle sound on Android. Other apps can cause the problem too. It's also the same root cause of random music playback bug. For example if an audio app is paused in the background plugging in a USB cable, which would normally generate a sound, also causes playback to restart. I believe it's a bug that needs to be fixed in the applications and not really an OS problem. Hopefully by now most apps have fixed it. http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=8038 http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=8038
- akshayubhat 16y ago
  I agree, I have been using it to call to india, and its better than most of the competitors, also I made few calls within US and they were much better than AT & T.
- DannoHung 16y ago
  NUMBER PORTING IS COMING?! HOT DIGGITY!
patrickgzill 16y ago
I tried to make a call to my cell phone, it rang for 60 seconds but my cell never rang. Then I made a call to my Vonage phone, it rang right away. Then I made another call to my cell, it rang right away. Not sure what this means, perhaps they have some kind of special SIP routing setup?
jsz0 16y ago
This is partly why I've stayed away from GV. It seems like it could be useful but it also feels too good to be true. I've been waiting for the other shoe to drop. I'm sure they'll fix the reliability problems but I'm still paranoid about security/privacy. I decided to let other people handle the post-beta beta period this time around.
- AgentConundrum 16y ago
  This never felt "too good to be true" for me, because this isn't the first time I've been through it. When I first moved away from home in 2006, I spent a few weeks paying a ton for long distance phone cards just to keep in touch with my family back home. I soon discovered that Skype was offering this same "computer-to-landline" service for free until the end of the year. I realize that it's not 100% the same as what Google is doing now, but it's close, and Skype seemed a lot more stable to me then than this post would have me believe Google is doing now (I haven't tested the new service yet).
sahaj 16y ago
it works pretty well for me. i've recently made a lot of lengthy calls to australia and india, and within the US.
chopsueyar 16y ago
I demand my money back.
jeebusroxors 16y ago
"From what I’m hearing this isn’t a short term surge issue, either." I'd love to see/hear who the author heard this from, when and where.
nanairo 16y ago
Oh gosh! What's wrong with Google lately? They don't seem to be capable of making one really stable system. I don't know if it's all FUD, or Google has lost its ways... but I want the old Google back!!! :)

35 points by px 16y ago

I completely agree. The service has been horrible. I tried to make few international calls and none of them went through. It just worked flawlessly with Skype. Comn Google, you seriously needs to get this right! I don't want to pay twice the fee to Skype

rudyfink 16y ago
Are your problems just on the international side? I've been having some issue where my mobile rings forever before going to voicemail and then occasionally doesn't capture whatever message is left.
- sandipagr 16y ago
  I haven't really tried calling US phone numbers. I called maybe twice and it went fine. I don't have the problem you are having. With me, I never hear the mobile ring when calling and worse it charged me.
- drivebyacct2 16y ago
  You have to configure your phone number to direct your VM to GV or else it goes to your carrier's VM box or limbo.

mtr 16y ago

Installing the Google Voice extension caused kernel panics on my machine every time I loaded Gmail. What a pain as it took several hours to figure out the root cause.

drivebyacct2 16y ago
If an extension in your web browser, triggered by a webpage causes a kernel panic, you have something far more concerning going on. A browser extension is not at fault here, even if it's helping trigger.
- mtr 16y ago
  I would tend to agree but I have no idea what it may be. My system has been super stable since I got it 18 months ago. When I started having the problem I did a clean install of SL and as soon as I reinstalled Google Voice and navigated to Gmail, kernel panic. I swapped back the original HD and memory sticks and same problem. What else could it be??

houseabsolute 16y ago

Yeah, I've been having problems, but I doubt that Google is going to give up on this service, and fortunately I do not use it as my primary number (yet).

drivebyacct2 16y ago

"Hot Mess"? Maybe if you're Arrington testing (and bragging about) a super beta feature (number porting). I've used Google Voice for over a year now. I haven't had call or text sync problems for probably 6 months. It's actually remarkably stable for what I imagine is at work.

fossuser 16y ago
I didn't realize the muted caller issue was google voice related. I thought it was a hardware problem with my N1. Although it had happened repeatedly even after a factory reset. I ended up getting a new phone by warranty swap and the day the new phone came my N1 started working again. Haven't had any issues with the new one though so who knows.
- jsz0 16y ago
  It's not strictly a Google Voice issue. It has to do with the way background applications handle sound on Android. Other apps can cause the problem too. It's also the same root cause of random music playback bug. For example if an audio app is paused in the background plugging in a USB cable, which would normally generate a sound, also causes playback to restart. I believe it's a bug that needs to be fixed in the applications and not really an OS problem. Hopefully by now most apps have fixed it. http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=8038 http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=8038
akshayubhat 16y ago
I agree, I have been using it to call to india, and its better than most of the competitors, also I made few calls within US and they were much better than AT & T.
DannoHung 16y ago
NUMBER PORTING IS COMING?! HOT DIGGITY!

patrickgzill 16y ago

I tried to make a call to my cell phone, it rang for 60 seconds but my cell never rang. Then I made a call to my Vonage phone, it rang right away. Then I made another call to my cell, it rang right away. Not sure what this means, perhaps they have some kind of special SIP routing setup?

jsz0 16y ago

This is partly why I've stayed away from GV. It seems like it could be useful but it also feels too good to be true. I've been waiting for the other shoe to drop. I'm sure they'll fix the reliability problems but I'm still paranoid about security/privacy. I decided to let other people handle the post-beta beta period this time around.

AgentConundrum 16y ago
This never felt "too good to be true" for me, because this isn't the first time I've been through it. When I first moved away from home in 2006, I spent a few weeks paying a ton for long distance phone cards just to keep in touch with my family back home. I soon discovered that Skype was offering this same "computer-to-landline" service for free until the end of the year. I realize that it's not 100% the same as what Google is doing now, but it's close, and Skype seemed a lot more stable to me then than this post would have me believe Google is doing now (I haven't tested the new service yet).

sahaj 16y ago

it works pretty well for me. i've recently made a lot of lengthy calls to australia and india, and within the US.

chopsueyar 16y ago

I demand my money back.

jeebusroxors 16y ago

"From what I’m hearing this isn’t a short term surge issue, either." I'd love to see/hear who the author heard this from, when and where.

nanairo 16y ago

Oh gosh! What's wrong with Google lately? They don't seem to be capable of making one really stable system. I don't know if it's all FUD, or Google has lost its ways... but I want the old Google back!!! :)