Replace Ooma Voicemail with Google Voicemail?

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ktwalrus
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Joined:Sat Aug 14, 2010 7:11 pm
Replace Ooma Voicemail with Google Voicemail?

Post by ktwalrus » Sat Aug 14, 2010 8:02 pm

I just bought a Telo. I forward our two iPhones over to Google Voicemail. Is there any way to do a similar forwarding to replace the Ooma Voicemail with the Google Voice voicemail? This would allow us to manage all our Voicemail in one place.

I don't plan on subscribing to Premier so any solution would need to be implementable with just a Basic Telo.

If no such support exists, please consider this for a future update to Ooma.

murphy
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Re: Replace Ooma Voicemail with Google Voicemail?

Post by murphy » Sun Aug 15, 2010 2:45 am

Call forwarding is a Premier feature so without Premier your request is not possible.

Why don't you train all of your callers to call your Google Voice phone number.
If you configure GV and Ooma so that GV voice mail answers before Ooma voice mail then you achieve what you want.
Customer since January 2009
Telo with 2 Handsets, a Linx, and a Safety Phone
Telo2 with 2 Handsets and a Linx

ktwalrus
Posts:12
Joined:Sat Aug 14, 2010 7:11 pm

Re: Replace Ooma Voicemail with Google Voicemail?

Post by ktwalrus » Sun Aug 15, 2010 6:20 am

I paid the $40 to port my landline number (which I've had for 40 years). If Google Voice offered number porting, then what you suggest would work for me.

Anyway, I suppose this topic is now just a request to Ooma to support some sort of solution for non-Premier subscribers.

The main feature of Google Voice Voicemail that I want to use is the free email notifications for new voicemails. I don't want to wait until I get home to find out that I have a new voicemail. Rather, I am always connected to email with my iPhone.

Maybe making the email notifications (but not text translation) a free service would work for me. Another solution would be a free iPhone app that provides access to Voicemail and uses "push notification" to alert me of new voicemails (and place a count badge next to the app icon with a count of the number of unread voicemails in the box).

FreePhone
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Re: Replace Ooma Voicemail with Google Voicemail?

Post by FreePhone » Tue Aug 17, 2010 9:35 pm

Ktwalrus, I believe Google Voice can still be your primary service for voicemail. It can be setup to pickup before Ooma does. So porting your number to Ooma doesn't change this. I am doing the same thing. As I have mine setup right now, when my Ooma number rings, Google Voice will ring my cell phone. So when my number port is complete, all I have to do is change my Ooma number in the Google Voice setup to my ported house number.

So for me Google Voice does all the things for that I wanted from Ooma Premier, except for free.

ktwalrus
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Re: Replace Ooma Voicemail with Google Voicemail?

Post by ktwalrus » Wed Aug 18, 2010 12:58 pm

The number I am porting is my Vonage number (nothing to do with Google or Ooma). I just want to use Google Voice's Voicemail after this number has been ported to Ooma.

Are you saying that I can forward my ported number (after it is ported to Ooma) to Google Voice somehow while I have the free Premier trial and then after the trial ends, Google Voice will still be used for Voicemail?

I looked at the Google Voice Extensions feature (which is only available to Premier subscribers), but I don't really understand it. I think all it does is to forward any calls to my GV number to my Ooma so I can answer the call. What I want is backwards from this... That is any call to my Ooma number would ring my Ooma and if I didn't answer, the call would be forwarded to Google Voice Voicemail box (where voicemail notifications to an email address with translation are free).

I don't see how what you are suggesting would work? Unless you are suggesting I just tell everyone to call my GV number and just have that forwarded to Ooma. Problem is that I've had my number for so long that it would be a real pain to inform everyone of the change.

What I need is for Ooma to have a "forward to external voicemail". The "multi-ring" feature might work, but it is not free (and voicemail notifications just aren't worth $10 a month to me).

I'd like to suggest that Ooma could implement a "forward to external number" on no answer as a free feature and not lose too many sign ups for Premier.

FreePhone
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Re: Replace Ooma Voicemail with Google Voicemail?

Post by FreePhone » Wed Aug 18, 2010 4:47 pm

You enter the number that Google Voice will pickup for voicemail. It doesn't matter what number you use, it can be your home number or cell number or both.

karalabe
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Re: Replace Ooma Voicemail with Google Voicemail?

Post by karalabe » Thu Sep 02, 2010 6:11 pm

FreePhone, how the heck do you use google voice VM with your ooma number without call forwarding (premier feature)? OP's problem is very real and no, without premier, he can't get what he needs.

FreePhone
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Re: Replace Ooma Voicemail with Google Voicemail?

Post by FreePhone » Fri Sep 03, 2010 3:48 am

Well that's funny, because I have been doing it and I don't have Premier.

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lbmofo
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Re: Replace Ooma Voicemail with Google Voicemail?

Post by lbmofo » Fri Sep 03, 2010 5:33 am

Caller needs to call the Google Voice number but here is how you'd use Google Voicemail for your ooma # if so:
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=8964#p62551

rlweiner
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Re: Replace Ooma Voicemail with Google Voicemail?

Post by rlweiner » Mon Apr 06, 2015 2:58 pm

I've been trying to figure this out as well. I finally gave up and called tech support. They said that it can only be done from their end (the tech thought that might change with the new release of their account management system). She said it will take a day to go into effect, so we'll see.

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