Do you know what Google Voice is? Have you ever used it? Let's see what it is and how it works. Google Voice is a unified platform to communicate across the globe. Google has developed it as a voicemail service that facilitates several free benefits, including making phone calls, sending text messages, customizing & reading voicemails, and much more. Most importantly, Google Voice allows you to call on several phone numbers at a time using a single number.
If you think Google Voice is VoIP or Voice over Internet Protocol service, you are wrong as it is not a complete VoIP service. It only uses VoIP technology to provide some advanced features to users, including making international calls at an affordable rate, making domestic calls for free, and doing some more things.
You get a different
phone number when you use Google Voice. You can use this number to forward
incoming calls to a smartphone or any other phone. There is also a different
way to use Google Voice by porting your mobile number on Google Voice Service.
This way, you can make that number a Google number. But while using this
facility, you have to be cautious.
How Google Voice works
Google Voice uses cell
phone networks and landline telephone networks to make phone calls. In short,
it uses PSTN or Public Switched Telephone Network. All the Google Voice calls
go through the PSTN, but the PSTN can't handle the whole work. So, after
passing the PSTN call, they are carried forward on the Google servers for the
next job.
Moreover, Google Voice
aims to reduce the consumers' calling costs while using the existing phone
number or without porting to the other carriers. With it, you can ring multiple
numbers of any carrier at once.
How to get started with Google Voice
To get started with
Google Voice, you will need to download its mobile application. You can
download the application on both iOS and Android devices.
●
Go to the official site of Google Voice and log in to your
Google account when asked.
●
After signing in, click on
GET GOOGLE VOICE and select the platform from Android, iOS, and Web.
●
Now you will see a welcome screen.
●
If you see Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, provide the
required permission and click on Continue.
●
Now you will see a page named Choose a Google Voice number. On this page, fill in the details
such as city and area code to create a phone number.
●
Pick the one number from the available options. If you have to
see more numbers, hit on Load More.
●
Then click on the Verify button
to verify your current phone number.
●
Type the number on which you may receive incoming calls in the
given box and click on Send Code.
●
Use your mobile phone and find the text message from Google and
fill the code like G-5860 in the
box. Now click on Verify.
●
Then select Claim to
ensure call forwarding to your mobile number.
●
Please note that you
have already forwarded phone calls to that number, and when you will set a new
Google voice number on that number, then, in that case, the existing Google
number will be removed. In short, if you use the same phone number for two
Google numbers, the previous one will be removed.
●
Click on the Finish
button to complete the process and click again on the Finish button to access your Google Voice account.
How to ring multiple phones
It is an excellent
feature from Google Voice that enables users to set a number to ring when an
individual calls your Google number. Six numbers can be added to get phone
calls. For instance, you can add your mobile number, landline phone, and
official contact.
●
Go to your Google Voice
setting. You can find this option by clicking on the three-dot icon located
on the website screen's left side.
●
Choose the Phone numbers tab
and find the Linked numbers tab.
●
Now hit on the New linked
number under your existing phone.
●
Provide the number you want to receive Google calls and choose Send Code or click on Call.
●
Take the code from your mobile and fill it in the given box.
●
Now you have to go back to the Google Voice settings page and
access the Calls tab.
●
Don't forget to tick the blank boxes next to all the numbers you
want to ring.
Wilder Zayn is a .NET developer and
independent indie game designer. He likes to write about his favorite
technologies like norton.com/setup for
major online magazines and websites. wilder has 10+ years of programming
experience, and he has worked with major tech companies in the US, UK, and
Australia.