Google voice tech issue: huge delay on ring for incoming call

[roboclimber]

I've been doing the Airvoice Wireless + Google Voice combo for my phone for a couple of years now, and it has mostly worked OK - a few glitches here and there but nothing I couldn't live with.

However, ever since Google Voice integrated with Hangouts, I now experience a massive delay on incoming calls before my phone (1st gen Moto-X) actually rings. I see the "incoming call" notification pop up in Google Hangouts a good 20 seconds before my phone rings, and usually I only get to hear it ring once or twice before it goes to voicemail. I did notice this issue on my previous phone prior to the Hangouts integration, but the delay was much smaller and more manageable. It's bad enough to the point that I can't confidently rely on receiving incoming calls which makes the frugal phone plan rather shortsighted.

I've tried searching for this problem but I've yet to find a solution. I'm not sure if the issue is with Airvoice Wireless, Google, or my phone itself, so I'm hoping to find someone with a similar setup to compare notes with. It would be great to hear from anyone who uses Google voice with a Moto-X, or Google voice with Airvoice wireless (preferably all 3).

[Daley]

I see the "incoming call" notification pop up in Google Hangouts a good 20 seconds before my phone rings, and usually I only get to hear it ring once or twice before it goes to voicemail. I did notice this issue on my previous phone prior to the Hangouts integration, but the delay was much smaller and more manageable.

This reads like a ring setting issue in the Hangouts app. If the software shows notices 20 seconds before it rings, it knows that a call is coming in, so it should start ringing the instant it gets notification. This could be anything from a crappy/too long ringtone to a ring volume escalation issue. Theoretically it could also be a firewall issue at your router causing a ring delay, but it's doubtful given the lag between notification and ring in Hangouts itself.

At the end though, caveat emptor. You get what you pay for. This is the price of using a free VoIP service and one of the reasons why I don't recommend Google Voice if call quality and reliability matter.

[roboclimber]

This reads like a ring setting issue in the Hangouts app. If the software shows notices 20 seconds before it rings, it knows that a call is coming in, so it should start ringing the instant it gets notification. This could be anything from a crappy/too long ringtone to a ring volume escalation issue. Theoretically it could also be a firewall issue at your router causing a ring delay, but it's doubtful given the lag between notification and ring in Hangouts itself.

At the end though, caveat emptor. You get what you pay for. This is the price of using a free VoIP service and one of the reasons why I don't recommend Google Voice if call quality and reliability matter.

Just to clarify, the software notifications are on my laptop, not the phone. Even when I know the call is coming, there's no sign of the incoming call or ability to answer it for the first 15-20 seconds.

I mostly like google voice for the ability to text from my computer, and for the really slick voicemail->text feature. Also, since I'm using a $10/month plan being able to text over wifi/data to avoid eating up a small allotment of monthly text seems to all but require GV. I'm not a heavy data user at all (I probably use less than 20MB/month, but I do want the option to have data access for maps or the occasional circumstance where I really need to look something up on the go. It seems like without GV I'm pretty much stuck having to move up to a plan in the $30-$45/month range. Are there any other good options I might be overlooking?

[Daley]

Just to clarify, the software notifications are on my laptop, not the phone. Even when I know the call is coming, there's no sign of the incoming call or ability to answer it for the first 15-20 seconds.

This sounds like it might be a firewall issue at your router, then.

https://support.google.com/a/answer/1279090?hl=en

As for the other question, there are other VoIP providers who provide SMS messaging support such as VOIPo, VOIP.ms and Line2. If you stick with the whole Google Voice/Hangouts thing, this won't do much good outside of home, but pairing an ATA with some cheap incoming VoIP phone number to have GV ring to at home might be an option as well. I don't monkey with the Hangouts app, I just have incoming calls forward to both the home phone and mobile and just answer the home phone whenever possible.

[tarheeldan]

It's not just you, roboclimber. I get the same thing, there's a long delay between Google servers and the phone but a shorter one from Google servers to the computer, so I'll see the notification on the PC sooner. This happens even if I'm not on wifi.

And there's just a long delay in general, like when you call someone else. You'll notice it if you call them while they are with you, for example if they can't find their phone and you're helping them.

[roboclimber]

This sounds like it might be a firewall issue at your router, then.

https://support.google.com/a/answer/1279090?hl=en

It seems unlikely to be a router issue, because I experience the same problem even if I disable the wifi on my phone and use the mobile carrier/data instead. Unless there is some sort of firewall settings on my phone I am unaware of, or possible an issue with the Access Point Name for airvoice?

VOIP isn't really a very important feature for me since I don't talk on the phone very often, and when I do plan on having a longer call I usually use skype. Probably the #1 important feature google voice gives me is the ability to send SMS over data/wifi so that I don't need a large text plan. It sounds like you are saying that the services you suggested will not work when I'm away from my computer? I suppose I could try WhatsApp instead of GV but I'd lose the ability to text from a computer and would have to port my number away from GV or give everyone a new number.

[Jack]

I don't have that problem, but I use the Hangouts app on the phone to answer the call over VoIP. Would switching from your cheap mostly voice / not much data plan to a cheap mostly-data / not much voice plan be feasible?

[Daley]

VOIP isn't really a very important feature for me since I don't talk on the phone very often, and when I do plan on having a longer call I usually use skype.

Okay, I think you're approaching the problem a bit backward, and you're making it more complicated than your entire setup really needs to be.

First, you'd be surprised about how much of a delay not properly poking a hole through a router can cause with voice services if the app or device isn't keeping a hot connection open... but this is besides the point.

Now, have you tried the guide (unabridged) yet? Are you familiar with my write-ups on VoIP service?

The bottom line you need to consider is if call reliability is important, GV really isn't the path that you should be taking. This said, if you're insisting on only one inbound phone number and keeping GV, you might want to consider forwarding 100% of those inbound calls to your mobile number instead of just relying on VoIP through Hangouts as the call forwarding/global call hunt is far more reliable for receiving calls than what you have currently. This is where having another open standards VoIP service with an inbound phone number comes in handy, either by using an ATA or a SIPphone app. This would let you do all your calling on real phones instead of trying to piece together a plethora of non-compatible proprietary communications apps.

Give the links a read and think about how best to optimize your setup for the money, and bottom line, don't be afraid to pay for what you actually need.

Best of luck, if you have any further questions, let me know.

[Allen]

When it was google voice it worked great for me.  Now that I was migrated to hangouts, my phone just doesn't ring at all usually; I just get a notification that I have a voice mail.  I'm pretty disappointed compared to how well Google Voice worked.

[trickinit]

I've been doing the Airvoice Wireless + Google Voice combo for my phone for a couple of years now, and it has mostly worked OK - a few glitches here and there but nothing I couldn't live with.

However, ever since Google Voice integrated with Hangouts, I now experience a massive delay on incoming calls before my phone (1st gen Moto-X) actually rings. I see the "incoming call" notification pop up in Google Hangouts a good 20 seconds before my phone rings, and usually I only get to hear it ring once or twice before it goes to voicemail. I did notice this issue on my previous phone prior to the Hangouts integration, but the delay was much smaller and more manageable. It's bad enough to the point that I can't confidently rely on receiving incoming calls which makes the frugal phone plan rather shortsighted.

I've tried searching for this problem but I've yet to find a solution. I'm not sure if the issue is with Airvoice Wireless, Google, or my phone itself, so I'm hoping to find someone with a similar setup to compare notes with. It would be great to hear from anyone who uses Google voice with a Moto-X, or Google voice with Airvoice wireless (preferably all 3).

Have you figured anything out with this? I'm having the same issue and came across your post while googling the problem. I am constantly missing calls because of it.
It seems to me that it must be something on Google's end. I have T-Mobile with an LG G3. The only common factor is that I use my Google Voice number as my primary number. I think you're right on in saying that it started with the Hangouts integration, as I don't recall having this problem before that.

[eostache]

I'm using Google Voice with an Obi100 box for a home phone like a landline (free calls!). Ours has been working fine lately. We have had minor glitches in the past, such as the phone not ringing when someone calls so they go straight to voicemail, but that may have been something on Google's end, but no problems in the past 6 months or so.

I haven't used GV with Hangouts at all, so the problems may be with Hangouts.

[jacksonvasey]

Have you tried disabling forwarding to the Hangouts app, and just forwarding to your phone?  Maybe try calling your GV number from another phone and time from hitting Dial to when it rings, with and without Hangouts.  Just to isolate Hangouts as somehow causing the problem.

I use GV with an iPhone on TMobile, and the Hangouts app seems to pop up about 5 seconds before the cell rings.