Comments on: SIZZLING! Get Free VOIP With Free Nationwide Long Distance With Google Voice And Gizmo5!

By: kamil rantise

kamil rantise — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 00:30:23 +0000

please give more infomation

By: Dan/Ctownbochur

Dan/Ctownbochur — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 22:07:15 +0000

@yak:
Effective 08/04 Google made Canada calling free!

By: yak

yak — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 21:36:11 +0000

@dan
You said that to Canada it costs one cent per minute but on the rate list it says it’s free. Did I miss something?

By: Mike

Mike — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 13:31:18 +0000

Just an update that you should post Dan, it is actually now possible to make call directly through a phone connected to a VOIP router through Gizmo5 that will dial through the GV service. There is more information about this at http://www.gizmovoice.com/ It does note as Moishe just said that there is a 4 minute limit unless you buy credit. I am not sure what that means but I am going to test it out to see how it works since I already bought $10 worth of credit to call internationally before GV was introduced with that service. With this feature there is defintly no reason that anyone should be paying for home phone service which after taxes and fees is quite expensive this is totally free. Once GV offer number portability there is for sure no reason not to switch to GV. ATT and Verizon are shaking in fear of this that is why the GV app for the Iphone was rejected.

By: Moishe

Moishe — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 21:06:38 +0000

Gizmo says that calling through GV is limited to 3 minutes, unless you buy credit. What’s up with that?

By: eli

eli — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 16:19:41 +0000

First, thanx I requested an invite and got it today.
Second, I think we should clarify that although you can use a regulat phone it will be routed over the internet nit you regular phone line.
Third, as Da mentioned you can dial any number over GV and while as he pointed out, you would have to be on T-Mobile to actually get free minutes with this one, you can use for you home number with unlimited local to make long distance calls (ALL YOU NEED IS GV!!). I’m thinking of cancelling m long distance plan and save myself some $30 a month!!

By: eli

eli — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 16:09:33 +0000

@anon: it will cost you!

By: anon

anon — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 06:07:44 +0000

is there a way (using gizmo5 or skype) to have GV calls forwarded to a overseas number?

By: yossi

yossi — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 02:48:23 +0000

i cant verify my gizmo number with google voice.for some reason the 2 digit code does not register via my keyboard-pad. any suggestions??

By: Dan/Ctownbochur

Dan/Ctownbochur — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 21:24:46 +0000

@hocker:
USB Modem.

By: hocker

hocker — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 20:10:54 +0000

how do you use a centro as a modem ?

By: Dan/Ctownbochur

Dan/Ctownbochur — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 18:33:14 +0000

@b:
Of course not, this only works for calls to US numbers, but it should work from anywhere in the world.

By: Dan/Ctownbochur

Dan/Ctownbochur — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 18:31:16 +0000

Guys, if you have a VOIP adapter/PAP2/ATA then by using the Google Voice and Gizmo5 configuration you will not need your computer to be on. It will work with a regular phone just like any VOIP service with free calls to all US numbers.

I hope that’s clear by now.

If you do not have a VOIP adapter, you can still make free phone calls to US numbers by downloading Gizmo5’s desktop app and configuring the settings as stated in this post to have the app use your Google Voice number.

Even though Gizmo5 normally charges for US calls, when you set it to use your Google Voice number the calls will be free. With this method all incoming calls to your Google Voice number will go to your Gizmo5 Desktop app, and you can make free outgoing calls to US numbers right from your desktop Gizmo5 app.

By: b

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 18:12:04 +0000

I tried the workaround, it doesn’t work to an Israeli phone number.

By: Mikeoracle

Mikeoracle — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 17:03:35 +0000

Ari, In the GV interface you go to Settings (top right) and you can change the call screening options.

By: Ari

Ari — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 12:07:25 +0000

Alright, got it up and running in Israel and works like a charm.

I am using the Cellcom Wireless service (via Sierra Wireless PCI Express Card) and get approximately 1 MBps (which isn’t great actually).

I tested it against Landlines and found that there was a 1.5 second lag. The quality was excellent and was able to have a phone conversation. I plan to test at greater length.

With the SIP2 router you can eliminate MagicJack or all those other alternatives (just as Mike has mentioned earlier with more detail). For the rest of us who are just looking to make some free calls to the States here and there, congratulations, you have a fully working incoming and outgoing virtual American phone line.

One question: When people call you, they are asked to state their name and you have to press 1 to connect. Does anyone know how to get rid of that?

By: Ari

Ari — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 09:52:14 +0000

Dan,

I didn’t quite understand. You stated:

“Use the Gizmo5 VOIP to make phone calls to anywhere in the US and receive phone calls with your Google Voice number for free!”

But Gizmo5 charges to make phone calls to anywhere in the US. Or do they?

By: yankel

yankel — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 09:38:53 +0000

@Mike:
That can be possible that they are essentially the same. But what gets me curious is why MJ would make you get a piece of hardware, couldn’t they just give you a softphone to download? I understand that it gives you the ability to connect a regular phone, but that should be a supplementary.
Unless there is a difference in quality i would think that the only reason for the hardware would be a marketing technique…

By: Moishe

Moishe — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 08:14:23 +0000

My previous question was:

“I can’t seem to get this straight: using the GV+Gizmo+VoIP adapter setup, CAN YOU dial outbound calls using a regular telephone?”

I forgot one key part:

Will the outbound calls be FREE? Using a VoIP adapter + phone, with no computer turned on (i.e. like Vonage)?

By: Mike

Mike — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 05:01:07 +0000

@ Mikeoracle While it is true you can’t make an outbound without using your computer using GV. You actually can just pick up the handset and make an outbound call if you have credit with Gizmo5 it costs $.019 a minute to the US. Once you get used to dialing out through your GV contact list online you will realize it is not that big of a deal. Especially when it can save you over $40 a month compared to what a landline or other VOIP service costs.
@ Yankel GV quality is just as good as any other service. The voice calls are crystal clear unless someone is hogging up your bandwith. On the issue of reliability since GV and Gizmo5 are both free services just from my experience the system has gone down only twice since I have been using it which is pretty reliable for a free service.
@ Da That is only when you are using a regular US number, we are talking about using GV alone through a VOIP router using Gizmo5

By: Da

Da — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 04:16:30 +0000

Unlike grandcentral with google voice u CAN call out without a computer,
1) just dial ur GV number from ANY phone.
2) while STILL ringing press * then enter ur 4 digit password.
3) press 2 plus the number u want to call followed by pressing the #
the above is only good if u have unlimited local or if u choose GV number as a my fav at t-mobile etc.

By: Dan/Ctownbochur

Dan/Ctownbochur — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 02:46:51 +0000

@Moishe:
Yes.

By: Moishe

Moishe — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 02:39:17 +0000

I can’t seem to get this straight: using the GV+Gizmo+VoIP adapter setup, CAN YOU dial outbound calls using a regular telephone?

By: yankel

yankel — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 02:32:51 +0000

@Dan/Ctownbochur:
I am currently in Australia, was not able to sign up from here.
Heres what I did: I Logged into my NY home PC, clicked on the invite and signed up. I now use it anywhere and works fine. I have been a Magicjack user for a while and I think the quality comes out better than Google voice.

By: Dan/Ctownbochur

Dan/Ctownbochur — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 23:58:28 +0000

@Mikeoracle: Like I said already, GV+G5 does work for home phone service with an adapter.

By: Mikeoracle

Mikeoracle — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 23:42:06 +0000

Dan, I was referring to outgoing calls to quote Mike
“The only problem with GV which is not really a problem for us is that if you want to dial an outbound call you need to originate from GV website. It then dials your phone and when you pick up it starts ringing and calls the number you instructed it to. If you have a computer that is always on it is not that big of a deal. You can also do this on a smartphone or PDA with wifi since GV is also formatted for mobile use.”
This makes it not such a great option for basic home phone service to not be able to just dial out direct from the phone hand piece.

By: Dan/Ctownbochur

Dan/Ctownbochur — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 21:24:00 +0000

@yak:
Google Voice charges a penny a minute to Canada.

http://www.google.com/support/voice/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=141925#U

By: yak

yak — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 21:21:54 +0000

does this work to call canadian #’s?

By: Dan/Ctownbochur

Dan/Ctownbochur — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 21:16:42 +0000

@Mikeoracle:
Mike said that MagicJack only works if the computer is on.

The GV/Gizmo5 workaround will work with a regular phone without the computer being on as long as you have a VOIP adapter.

As far as what I’ll do in Israel I haven’t decided yet, I may use my palm centro as a modem and then make calls to the US as needed from my computer.

By: Mikeoracle

Mikeoracle — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 20:58:55 +0000

Mike,
So currently if you dont keep your computer open or dont want to always initiate calls from the computer there is no way to just make an outbound call with your home handheld (non-cell phone) device with this GV/Gizmo5 combo? That is pretty inconvenient to use this as your basic homephone service.

Dan,
How will you be making all your outgoing calls in Israel, will you be lugging around a computer everywhere that has internet service? maybe I am missing something here.

By: Dan/Ctownbochur

Dan/Ctownbochur — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 20:32:04 +0000

@Mike: Thanks Mike, seems like I shouldn't have any problem using Gizmo5's desktop app to make free outgoing calls to US numbers while I'm in Israel. @Mendel: Maybe one of the techies will chime in about the differences between that $70 one from amazon that you linked to and the one from buy.com that I linked to in the post which is $53.

By: Mendel

Mendel — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 20:13:44 +0000

what do you think of this one from amazon?

By: Mendel

Mendel — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 20:02:14 +0000

can you recommend a VOIP Adapter, which doubles as a router?

(I currently have a Vonage Router, but I’m told that once you cancel the service, the router will stop working, besides that running the adapter through another router can have more issues, it also adds more clunk to my desk, not to mention the cost)

By: Mike

Mike — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 18:46:44 +0000

to A guy Magic Jack only works when it is connected to your computer. GV in conjunction with Gizmo5 is free and can work with a regular SIP router which means your computer doesn’t always have to be on.

By: Mike

Mike — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 18:42:01 +0000

to Mikeoracle Vonage routers are like cell phones they are locked. You can search around the Internet there are many websites that explain how to break the lock. I have never tried any of them so I am not sure if it actually works. Good Luck

By: Mike

Mike — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 18:38:39 +0000

Dan, I am an original GrandCentral user. Here is my full report.

While I was in the US I didn’t have much use for it. (One of the biggest draw backs is that you can’t use your mobile to mobile minutes with it in the US) Since I have been in Israel though I have used it as my exclusive phone service. The first two month that I was in Israel I was in someone else apartment who had their own VOIP service and I just had my GV number transfer directly to their line.

When I moved in to my own apartment after succos I set up GV as my VOIP carrier through Gizmo5. I was able to find a Linksy PAP2 router at this website for a reasonble price http://www.plonter.co.il/detail.tmpl?sku=PAP2&cart=1248753572144339&lang=heb I ordered it on the phone and they did speak English. (This was after ordering it from another Israeli website and then being told a week later after they called every day when the credit card didn’t go through that they didn’t have the router.)

To set up the router you need to sign up for a Gizmo5 account and have GV forward all calls to your Gizmo5 number. Since Gizmo5 uses the SIP standard you just need to dial in to your PAP2 router and configure it to access your Gizmo5 SIP account. Once that is set up anytime your GV number is called it will ring to the phone that is connected to the PAP2 router. This is exactly the same way that Vonage or Jivetel work but is FREE!! At my parents house they have phone service from Comcast which is also exactly the same.

The only problem with GV which is not really a problem for us is that if you want to dial an outbound call you need to originate from GV website. It then dials your phone and when you pick up it starts ringing and calls the number you instructed it to. If you have a computer that is always on it is not that big of a deal. You can also do this on a smartphone or PDA with wifi since GV is also formatted for mobile use.

As far as the problem of using the service out of the US, it is only a problem when signing up for the service you need a US based IP address. When my account converted from GrandCentral to Google Voice it stopped me in middle of the conversion since I was out of the US. I used Hotspot Shield http://hotspotshield.com/ which gives you a US based IP Address and easily takes care of this problem. I signed up for a new GV number a couple weeks ago with Hotspot Shield on and I had no problem.

The bottom line is that GV is a great FREE service that basically makes your home phone service obsolete. When I go back to the US I will continue to use GV as my main home phone service and will most probably use it conjunction with my cell as well since the are now GV mobile apps that allow you to dial out of your cell phone through GV automatically for Blackberry and Android and it won’t be long until it is available for the other smart phones also.

Google has also mentioned that they are looking into offering number portability so that you could switch your main number to GV. If you are intrested in switching now and still want to keep your old home phone number, you can port it to Gizmo5 for $35 a year with unlimited incoming minutes.

By: A guy

A guy — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 17:54:18 +0000

Interesting… I’ve been toying with this solution to make free VOIP calls on my smartphone over EVDO- never use any minutes! However in my experience and tests so far, its a horrible battery drain.

As far as calling internationally- I recommend a Magic Jack. Works great overseas. Ok, its not entirely free, but it may as well be at $20.00 for the year!

By: Dan/Ctownbochur

Dan/Ctownbochur — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 17:14:37 +0000

@b:
Can you hook up your Google voice to Gizmo5 and see if you can make free calls to the US from Israel?
Thanks!

By: b

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 16:38:53 +0000

I have google voice in Israel, it is usefull even if the call forwarding doesn’t work to Israel b/c I still get voicemail to my email etc.
In any case, I have google voice hooked up to my Skype as i have Skype in and Skype out and that works here too.

By: E

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 16:32:01 +0000

to all those who cant sign up because they are in Israel using a proxy should solve that issue.

By: Chaim

Chaim — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 16:05:35 +0000

Thanks! Now I figured it out!

By: Mikeoracle

Mikeoracle — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 14:52:06 +0000

Anyone know of a way for me to use my old vonage voip router for this?

By: Dan/Ctownbochur

Dan/Ctownbochur — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 14:51:57 +0000

@moish: Does anyone in Israel already have a Google Voice account that they signed up using in the USA? If you use Gizmo5 can you make free calls to America? Even if Google Voice doesnt work in Israel, I'd imagine that the workaround should still work. @yisrael aryeh leib: Calls to US numbers are free, calls to other numbers do cost $. @confuddled: Using just Gizmo5 costs money to make calls even to US numbers, Using just Google voice requires that the phone call be routed from the computer to your cell phone before it is placed. Combining the 2 allows you to use Gizmo5's VOIP capabilities and Google Voice's free calls to make free calls from your computer or a VOIP line. @Chaim: You need to register on the gizmo site for a new account, and then on the gizmo my account page is a section to input your Google voice login info.

By: Chaim

Chaim — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 14:49:50 +0000

Dan, I tried doing that, but or I don’t understand your instructions, or you made a mistake.
1) You say “Sign up for a gizmo account and download their VOIP app.”. I didn’t see where to signup before downloading, I just plain downloaded.
Now that brings me to my next question.
2)”On your Gizmo “My Account” login with your Google Voice login information”. Do I use “register a new acct name” or do I use “login using my current acct name” and input there my google voice acct info, or do I select login to asterisk, pbx or other voice service, and then I need to configure it?
Thanks!

By: E

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 13:46:09 +0000

Another great use is to use it for 10 unlimited call from verizon or the free 5 from tmobile just give out your new gv number and walls free incoming calls

By: confuddled

confuddled — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 12:59:42 +0000

Can you give us technophobes a slightly more detailed description of how this works? I use VOIP (with my own device and with callcentric). I would love to use this. Why do I need google voice and gizmo5? I can’t get googlevoice yet (I’m in Israel), but I’ll be in the US in a few days and will sign up with an invite I’ve already received. Why do I need both of them? What’s the benefit to that over using just googlevoice or just gizmo5? Is there any way to use this setup to have an Israeli phone number as well?

Thanks for your amazing resource, by the way. My wife and I are flying from Israel to the US largely with points we’ve earned through your recommendations.

By: yisrael aryeh leib

yisrael aryeh leib — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 12:04:53 +0000

my son is in jerusalem. national calls are free. what about international?

he only has a cell phone. how about international calls to a cell phone?

By: moish

moish — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 11:42:14 +0000

i dont think it will work in israel. heres the message i got Google Voice is not available in your country.
Thanks for visiting Google Voice. We’re not yet open for users outside the US, but are planning to expand our service to additional countries in the future