How to get 100% free wifi phone service in the USA, courtesy of Google

[Herbert Derp]

I started using Google Hangouts last week after the upgrade to Lollipop broke Sipdroid on my phone. Boy, was I missing out! Through Google, everyone in the United States can get free wifi phone service that can send and receive free calls and text messages with any other phone in the country. You can also do international calls for a small fee.

With this installed, I don't see a point to paying for phone service considering the availability of free wifi. If you use this and go wifi-only, you'll be more connected than someone who only had a landline back in the days before cellphones. How did those people live back then?

Note that this sort of thing has been possible for several years now, but it involved using a disjoint collection of third-party applications and services that never seemed to work quite right. As I alluded to at the start of this post, I used to use Google Voice + PBXes + Sipdroid + Gmail (for texts), but that was a nightmare to set up compared to this and didn't work as well either. Now you just need to create a Google Voice number, install two first-party applications on your phone, and you're pretty much good to go!

Here is a quick guide to get started.

Requirements:

1. Google account
2. Phone running Android 4.0.3 (Ice Cream Sandwich) or above
3. Wifi connection

Steps:

1. Set up Google Voice and create a phone number

• Go here https://www.google.com/voice/
• If you are viewing this on your phone, check the "Request desktop site" box in your browser, since the Google Voice workflow seems to work differently on phones and demands that you give it a real phone number.
• Click the gear icon for settings, then go to the Phones tab and follow the prompts to create a Google phone number.

2. Install the Hangouts Android application.

• This should come default on your phone, however you need to ensure that you have the latest version installed.
• You can download the application here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.talk&hl=en

3. Install the Hangouts Dialer Android application.

• Get it here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.hangoutsdialer&hl=en

4. Configuration.

• On your phone, go to the Settings menu on the Hangouts application.
• Click your Google account (email address).
• In the Google Voice section, ensure that the "Ring Hangouts for incoming phone calls made to your Google Voice number" is checked.
• Go back to the first page of the Settings menu and click SMS.
• Set the "Send SMS from" option to your Google voice number.

Now you can send and receive free calls and texts through the Hangouts application on your phone! How sweet is that?

More documentation:

Voice calls through Hangouts:
https://support.google.com/hangouts/answer/6079055?hl=en

SMS through Hangouts:
https://support.google.com/hangouts/answer/3441321?hl=en

[Doubleh]

Totally support this recommendation and just wanted to add that it works with iPhones as well as android. For some reason you don't meed a separate dialler app, just google voice and hangouts.

We live in the UK and find it great for calling family in the USA, as well as for making calls to US numbers when visiting. Even calling UK numbers from the USA is not free but at 1 cent per minute is pretty damn useful.

[Herbert Derp]

My guess for why you don't need Hangouts Dialer on iOS is that Hangouts is not a default application on iOS. If Hangouts came with the dialer functionality by default on Android phones, the carriers might object to it and remove Hangouts altogether, which Google doesn't want. So basically Google has to play ball with the carriers when it comes to their default suite of Android applications because the carriers have the final say on which software comes pre-installed on most Android phones.

[lakemom]

This sound intriguing.  How does it work when you are on the road or in very rural locations?  I'm thinking it runs of public wifi signals?  But what about in areas where there are no free wifi's floating around?

[Daley]

As someone who's used Google Voice since it was called Grand Central (and before it was owned by Google), I wouldn't exactly recommend this setup if you actually need mobile phone service. You get exactly what you pay for, and it really isn't worth it even at free, especially when you weigh the price of free against what's available in the sub $20 range. I've tried the service through Hangouts, and though it's simplified setup for this sort of configuration, it's still pretty lousy and unreliable. It's great for stingy cheapskates, but wise frugality tends to skew more towards spending the money on the tools you actually need - that means a provider with a live support department and the ability with mobile phone service to make calls without relying on insecure public internet connections and a service that has latency, call quality and service uptime issues.

That said, I'd still recommend what Herbert's suggesting over Republic Wireless. All the disadvantages without the price. You could even pair GV with Truphone and get AT&T and T-Mobile network coverage pulled in for a minimum additional cost.

[wtjbatman]

This sound intriguing.  How does it work when you are on the road or in very rural locations?  I'm thinking it runs of public wifi signals?  But what about in areas where there are no free wifi's floating around?

Then you're fucked.

Make no mistake, this only works when you are on wifi. This is one of those things that is a lot more urban friendly than mixed/rural friendly.

[Overseas Stache]

Living overseas the free Google voice service is really the best (free) way to call people back in the states. Before I left I even ported my number to google voice so all my friends and family just have to call my old cell phone number and they will get me. Plus it shows my old number when I call out so all my credit card companies "recognize" the number that I'm calling from so this helps when dealing with frozen card issues. Which happens every so often even if I tell them where I will be traveling to, and that I live overseas. If I do have to call another countries the rates a good and I don't have to hassle with a phone card.

[jordanread]

As someone who's used Google Voice since it was called Grand Central (and before it was owned by Google), I wouldn't exactly recommend this setup if you actually need mobile phone service. You get exactly what you pay for, and it really isn't worth it even at free, especially when you weigh the price of free against what's available in the sub $20 range. I've tried the service through Hangouts, and though it's simplified setup for this sort of configuration, it's still pretty lousy and unreliable. It's great for stingy cheapskates, but wise frugality tends to skew more towards spending the money on the tools you actually need - that means a provider with a live support department and the ability with mobile phone service to make calls without relying on insecure public internet connections and a service that has latency, call quality and service uptime issues.

That said, I'd still recommend what Herbert's suggesting over Republic Wireless. All the disadvantages without the price. You could even pair GV with Truphone and get AT&T and T-Mobile network coverage pulled in for a minimum additional cost.

You realize that every time we've spoke it's been through hangouts? Either from my computer or my Republic Wireless phone. :P

I've had Google Voice since it was Grand Central as well, and didn't integrate with hangouts until about 6 months ago. I didn't lose any functionality at all, and actually gained a fair amount. Overall, it is a pretty good solution. I haven't had a single issue with it. Plus I love the fact that there are options to mark as spam (meaning future calls don't ring, just go straight to voicemail), and block a number (they actually get a recording that says the number has been disconnected). Plus I don't even know what my 'actual' phone number is. :-) I also have different voicemail messages setup for different people.

I've yet to see any service, paid or otherwise have a nice interface with which to manage these, or even the features themselves.

Oh, and one additional thing to add: As long as you are connected to wifi, it works everywhere on the planet (that I've tested).

[Jack]

This sound intriguing.  How does it work when you are on the road or in very rural locations?  I'm thinking it runs of public wifi signals?  But what about in areas where there are no free wifi's floating around?

Then you're fucked.

Make no mistake, this only works when you are on wifi. This is one of those things that is a lot more urban friendly than mixed/rural friendly.

It also works just fine over cellular data (3G or better). I have a T-Mobile plan that's $30/month for 5 GB of 4G data / unlimited 3G data and 100 voice minutes. Between using VoIP over cellular data and being able to make an actual voice call as a backup, I've always been able to make a call when I needed to (except when I was somewhere really rural where cellular service was completely unavailable).

Of course, if you pay for cellular service then it isn't "free" anymore. It is, however, cheaper than getting a plan that has that much data and a "normal" amount of voice minutes....

[blub]

I use Google Voice for making and receiving phone calls and text messages, for free, while I'm on my computer (logged into gmail). I also have H2O Wireless for prepaid service for my actual cell phone. I almost never have to use the actual phone. I spend about $3/month for the H2O service.

For what it's worth, I've heard rumors that Google Voice may get killed off eventually.

[Jack]

I'm thinking this is more of a free land line solution rather than a free cell phone solution.  Not to say it can't be done but it would be a very limited "mobile" phone if you are constantly reliant on wifi.

 So if you have an old cell phone laying around and you want to be fancy you can get some of those cordless bluetooth home phone sets (something like this http://www.amazon.com/VTech-LS6425-3-Cordless-Silver-Handsets/dp/B004OA6X6C/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1418659546&sr=8-2&keywords=bluetooth+phones+for+home#customerReviews) and connect those via bluetooth to your free Google Voice connected cell phone and you have a free home phone.    Right?

You could, but an ATA like an ObiTalk would probably work better.

[Daley]

You realize that every time we've spoke it's been through hangouts? Either from my computer or my Republic Wireless phone. :P

Yup, I know. Need I remind you that we have had at least some small spate of call quality issues for at least part of every call we've had as well? :p

[jordanread]

You realize that every time we've spoke it's been through hangouts? Either from my computer or my Republic Wireless phone. :P

Yup, I know. Need I remind you that we have had at least some small spate of call quality issues for at least part of every call we've had as well? :p

That was mostly cause I was drunk. That and I disabled the handover feature...which works great, until I am fully saturating my connection. :-)

[Daley]

You realize that every time we've spoke it's been through hangouts? Either from my computer or my Republic Wireless phone. :P

Yup, I know. Need I remind you that we have had at least some small spate of call quality issues for at least part of every call we've had as well? :p

That was mostly cause I was drunk. That and I disabled the handover feature...which works great, until I am fully saturating my connection. :-)

Excuses, excuses.

[space]

I actually have something like this set up, although not in the exact same way - I have it set up as GV->Callcentric->Sipsorcery->Obitalk ATA or SIP client on inbound and Obitalk ATA or SIP client ->Sipsorcery->Simonics->GV on the outbound. It stems back to an era when GV integration required odd hacks and a bit of familiarity with PBX systems. However, it still works really well, despite what you'd think would be a ton of potential failure points* - and it even works outside of the US for calling numbers in the US.

Connection saturation - you need to have router QoS set so that it prioritizes traffic from your VoIP devices. Note that you don't want the priority set at 1, though - that can negatively affect other connections. Set priority at 64 minimum.

Over cellular data: I've tried this before, although in a pre-LTE environment. It works well in most circumstances if you have your own PBX server connected directly to Google Voice and can control what codecs your phone communicates with. Otherwise, congestion can be a major problem, since G.711 is very sensitive to jitter.

*At one point it did break - before the Simonics stage was added, it relied on Sipsorcery dialback, which broke when I added 2-step authentication to my account. Worked around this, though, with the Simonics stage.

[jordanread]

Connection saturation - you need to have router QoS set so that it prioritizes traffic from your VoIP devices. Note that you don't want the priority set at 1, though - that can negatively affect other connections. Set priority at 64 minimum.

I did that for a while until I realized that talking on the phone wasn't truly the priority for me. I can always throttle a specific host if I'm going to be on a long call (as I usually do with Daley), but other than that, I'd rather have my apis taking the bandwidth than the phone. I just have to remember. :-)

[arebelspy]

This sound intriguing.  How does it work when you are on the road or in very rural locations?  I'm thinking it runs of public wifi signals?  But what about in areas where there are no free wifi's floating around?

Then you're fucked.

Make no mistake, this only works when you are on wifi. This is one of those things that is a lot more urban friendly than mixed/rural friendly.

My wife does it all the time over 3G, free via FreedomPop.

[Zamboni]

I agree, Herbert Derp!  Pretty much we use Google Voice for our home phone here since we have wifi.  People complain sometimes about it not working well, but I've had no problems at all for the past few years.  I still keep the $10/month AirVoice card in my mobile phone, but honestly that is more for convenience than necessity.  Whenever I am on wifi I just use Google instead. 

[cacaoheart]

About 3 or 4 years ago I was giving out my google voice number to everyone and had it set as the default on my nexus s phone through T mobile, but eventually noticed an odd issue when periodically someone calling me would get forwarded to someone else instead. I wouldn't have noticed had it not been my wife trying to call me, and another time a mechanic that I was waiting to hear back from. For my wife it seemed like about 5% of the time that she tried to reach me at night when I was working 3rd shift she'd end up waking someone else up that we didn't know. She wasn't dialing the wrong #, she was just clicking my contact icon and then it'd go to someone else. Hopefully that's been fixed, I just stopped trusting it as a # to give out.

Google voice seems to still work great for texting from my computer though, and neither my wife or I have noticed any issues with that, though maybe it's just harder to pick up on getting the wrong person ;-)

For the past month I've been using the $10 monthly republic wireless plan and am hoping quality remains good enough to stick with it. Most everywhere I spend much time has good wifi so I'm actually getting better reception than when I was calling people over the t mobile network from home/school.

[HawkeyeNFO]

Another user of the old Grand Central here, and I've used Google Voice via an iPod Touch for many years as well, via various apps.  None of them were 100% reliable, including Google Hangouts.  If you can live with the limitations then it may work for you.  It's not good enough for me though, so I'm happy to be on the Republic $10 plan for the past couple of months.

[Shade00]

I don't use it at the moment, but have frequently used the Vintage app on my Android phones to make calls out over WiFi. Quality is good but best of all, it displays your cell number to the receiving party. No minutes used, and the other party is none the wiser.

Hangouts has also been fine for me, but I'm currently on Cricket with unlimited talk so I don't really use it either.