Just a quick note that Sprint conditional call forwarding is now free of charge. This means that Sprint customers can now forward all busy and unanswered phone calls to Google Voice without incurring the previous $.20/minute for conditional call forwarding – normal minutes usage still applies. Thanks to reader Matt G for the reminder.
If you don’t know what I’m talking about, see last month’s post on Using Google Voice To Enhance Your Cell Phone Voicemail.
I’ve been using it for the last few days, and I must say that I like it a lot. I can have unanswered phone calls to my cell phone number (not GV number) forwarded first to my home phone or office phone. Then, if still nobody picks up the Google Voicemail system kicks in, which records the message online and shoots me a transcribed text message about 30 seconds later. Transcription accuracy isn’t perfect, but for the most part it works well enough to get the point of the message.
Check out my post on Ways To Save Money With Google Voice for several other useful features! They seem to be giving out invites to everyone who asks right now.
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Thanks for the heads up. I’ve been waiting for Sprint to drop the charges so we can forward our calls to the house.
Ironically, I got an invite in less than 24 hours; my husband is still waiting for his after 3 weeks…
So you can use BOTH your GV number and Sprint cell number? Or do you have to use one or the other?
Here is the webpage that explains it:
http://www.google.com/voice/sprint
Just a couple of caveats about GV saving money:
1. Most carriers have unlimited mobile to mobile within the same carrier. You will lose out on this by using GV. If you rely on unlimited M2M minutes to keep your Anytime minutes low (like I do), then this may end up costing you more because GV would use Anytime minutes (during weekday daytime).
2. I heard that GV does not work with AT&T’s A-list. Something about AT&T bills based on the final termination number, not based on caller ID. I cannot verify this myself since I don’t have A-list. But anyways, you should not naively assume that GV will be free under the calling circle plan. Make some test calls, then check your detailed bill or current usage.
Well, this is true… however, if you are intimate enough with a person to know what phone company they use, I would guess that you could give that person your direct cell phone number and thereby not worry about minutes…
Or, pick up the call on a linked non cell phone and again not worry about minutes.
Or… you could let the call go to VM with this GV/Sprint service and then read the text message transcription of the message and decide if you’d like to call them back using your M2M plan.
As for not working with At&T plans. I am not sure why you’d post this on a page that is titled Google VoiceMail Now Works With Sprint. Seems a bit off-topic.
Switching to AT&T in July is something I now regret (sorta). I could have gotten more for about $20 less per month (after corp. discounts). Especially maddening was when they released they unlimited mobiles plan. It’s nice to see them removing fees for forwarding as well.
Off topic, I use Skype unlimited US & Canada ($2.95/mo) with the caller id set to my cell phone number. This way I can place outgoing calls w/o using my minutes (Skype app for iPhone, or on my comp.), but people will always see it as me calling and can call me back directly if they wish.
I haven’t messed with GV much, do have an account though. Until they allow number transfers, I really don’t want a new number just to centralize my communications. However, I have read you can work GV to get free calls using calling circles, which could be a major plus, but then again, most calling circles start above the lowest minute package (~450), so how much are you really saving if you have a low call volume anyways?
Thanks for the information about AT&T. Although the article is about Sprint and GV, there those of us how wonder if the service would work well with our AT&T plans also. It is often quite helpful to provide “off-topic” info.
Seek and ye shall find: according to GV Help some people have used a work around solution for this problem:
http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/voice/thread?tid=095ef8eda5b1462b&hl=en
Forward (All forward or detail forward, [busy, no answer,or out of area etc]) to your HOME #(detailed if you still wish to be able to answer on your cell)
Have your HOME # in your A-list (AT&T)/Fave 5/Calling Circle etc.
Have your HOME # Forward to your Google Voice # then GV Forward back to HOME #. (and cell if you desire).
According to the help page: Although this looks like it will cause a loop and the call will just keep getting forwarded instead of answered, it does not. People have reported sucess and free when a mobile calls a mobile and it is answerable!
Seems like the beef is really with AT&T, not Google Voice. A shame you did not hop on the SERO plan when Jonathan first reported on it.
Seems like AT&T does not want to play nicely with Google Voice and it basically boils down to steamy phone sex and piles of money.
Since Congress deregulated the telecommunications industry in 1996, much of voice traffic that passes from national to local networks traffic is comprised of extremely lucrative sex chat lines, which the national carriers wind up paying for. AT&T has never been happy about that, and it’s now livid that Google Voice can avoid having to connect such calls — thus dodging this twisted fee scheme and being able to provide a service like Google Voice.
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-09-2210A1.pdf
AT&T (a longtime opponent of net neutrality), Lobbyists and lawmakers, including Steve Buyer, an Indiana Republican and John Shimkus, an Illinois Republican — who have received a combined $200,000 from AT&T and Verizon over their careers, have written to the FCC complaining that Google’s refusal to connect expensive rural calls is “ill conceived and unfair to our rural constituents.”
It will be an interesting investigation to watch. Basically when all is said and done, it an interesting question of net neutrality. Is voice data? Even though the FCC does not have jurisdiction over how software applications function, AT&T apparently wants to use the regulatory process to undermine Web-based competition and innovation.
I recently set-up my GV# to my also recently purchased Net10 phone#. I have had one person call me to my GV# but my phone does not ring (my Net10 # is already set-up in GV). I do get the text messages though, that are sent to my GV# to my Net10 phone (but get charged for reading the message). So I placed my hotmail account, but I am not getting the message sent to my Hotmail account even after doing the verification from GV to my Hotmail account (GV send an email to approve). Does anyone know if this does not work with Net10 phones (prepaid)?
I go the GV# to work with my Net10…I get both the calls and the texte messages now. Also, they are forwarded successfully to my Hotmail account. The bad thing is that I am still getting charged for answering and making calls from my Net10 prepaid phone via the GV#. Does anyone know how not to get charged on Net10 prepaid phones while using GV? Plz help