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Sprint Users: Are You Having Issues With Your Google Voice Integration?

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It was only a few days ago that Sprint’s Integration with Google Voice went live and was available for all Sprint customers. Well, its been a few days since then and Engadget is reporting that some Sprint users are having some major technical issues. Some of the many problems include activating their mobile number onto to their Google Voice account, completely crippled Google Voice accounts, people you call granted access to your voicemail, and other general weirdness.

What seems to be really setting these people off is a complete lack of tech support from Sprint, who is sending affected users over to the Google Voice Forum where there is nary a soul in sight to actually help anyone with their questions (as so often is the case with Google services).

I’ve noticed a lot of these problems stem from someone porting their mobile numbers over to Google Voice and then trying to undo it for whatever reasons. So definitely think hard before you dive head first into into Google’s Voice integration with your Sprint account. Attempting to go back could open a whole new can of worms.

I personally haven’t had any of these specific issues after porting my mobile number over to Google Voice account but there was definitely some work involved in getting everything setup correctly as far as Google Voice settings go. Because of this, I’m definitely not going to be announcing this integration over Facebook for fear that my “noob” friends and family will encounter all kinds of problems.

As we like to do so often here at Phandroid, we would like to hear from you guys. Have any of you Sprint users experienced any hiccups associated with porting your mobile number over to Google Voice? And if you haven’t yet taken advantage of the new service, are all these problems making you think twice about taking the plunge?

[Via Engadet]

Chris Chavez
I've been obsessed with consumer technology for about as long as I can remember, be it video games, photography, or mobile devices. If you can plug it in, I have to own it. Preparing for the day when Android finally becomes self-aware and I get to welcome our new robot overlords.

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34 Comments

  1. The only issue I’ve had is that it is a little too integrated for my taste. I don’t like that it takes over as your text program at all. I use Go sms and love it, but after integrating all text coming in go directly to GV. Needless to say I went back to my GV number. Unless they spruce up the app a lot more I will stick with the old way.

    1. That is exactly what keeps me from doing the integration. I want to be able to still use my Texting application. I kept it the way it was before, it is my voice mail and second phone number. Until they figure the texting out, I am not integrating

      1. Agreed, I’m having the same experience and from what I’ve read on the forums, lots of other people have complaints with the sms system as well.

      2. thats how i use GV… i have my voice mail forward to my GV number and then i get all my voice mails normally. i won’t integrate because i see no point… i actually use my google voice number from time to time so i kind of like having a second number

        1. Yep! Exactly what I was trying to say in the OP. Same here… I think GV is pretty cool, but of course I am just a little to paranoid to allow it to take over my VM.

          :)

    2. If you set it up properly, you can still use your default messaging app. Technically you can use both. =) @565fd46445ee7b2626cc3cb2e40aa043:disqus @df2e254d3a867e41d1cbde0ad95f22ee:disqus
      There’s just a lot of setup involved.. =/

  2. I’ll just copy what I said on engadget:
    http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/05/sprint-google-voice-integration-has-major-issues-major-lack-o/#comment-198047208

    Re: Discount problems: I found that by spending EIGHT hours on the phone, driving to my local corporate store, and going mad from listening to hold music, being told that the issue was due to having Automatic Bill Pay, told that nothing could be done, etc., I eventually got everything to work. I have a 20% municipal employee discount, and here’s what I did:

    First, get your local corporate store rep who’s intelligent enough to know about the GV integration (if he has a rooted EVO, Shift, or Epic running CyanogenMod 7, that’s a good hint) to document in your account that you need the discount temporarily disabled, then re-enabled the next day (apparently the store reps can’t do either) so you can complete the integration.

    Next, call *2, make your way to advanced tech support, and pray you get a tech who also knows about the integration, and ALSO documents the same thing on your account. Have them transfer you to the Business Billing department (they apparently handle all corporate/government discounts, even if you have a personal account).

    Finally, have the business billing rep file a ticket to have the discount disabled on your account. MAKE SURE that they note in your account that even though the discount is disabled, it should be re-enabled within 3 days, and that even if the system forgets to give you a discount on your next bill, you should not be charged, and should still get your discount. Also ask for them to call and follow up once the ticket is processed, and two days after that to re-enable the discount.

    It’ll take a day or two for the ticket to get processed, but once it is, activate the Google Voice integration. Once it’s done, call up Sprint and have them re-enable the discount. If all works right, you’ll have your discount, and your GV integration. I’m waiting for my bill in three days to make sure they didn’t screw up…

    EDIT: Oh, and the lack of shortcode support for things like Twitter and Facebook alerts. Very disappointing. MMS I couldn’t give a damn about since we have Email, Dropbox, etc. on smartphones.

    1. Shortcode is not all that really… loaded Spam and Slamming junk, sure theres a few good things with it, but who really cares. Twitter and FB both have apps for that! lol…

  3. My text app still works fine i just get two notifications now instead of one. WHat i have found is that when I reply from my text app it syncs with the google voice but if i reply from google voice it doesnt show up in my text app. Im using the default text app on miui if anyone is wondering

  4. What Jeff said, maybe too much integration? I think so, and another tech support blunder between Google and Sprint, oh boy.

  5. Just get a damned Google Voice # and turn off Sprint VM by conditional call forwarding the voicemails to the Google # and they will be sent to your phone! So silly cause this is already available… the Google Voice # is FREE. Omg.

    BTW, what’s Engadget’s problem? Seems they just wanna piss all over Sprint lately?

    I’ve been using the Google Voice service to forward voicemail from my Sprint # for a year already, lol.

    Have a nice day ;)

    1. Yeah. What exactly is so hard about switching numbers. People act like they’ve never had to give someone a new number before. Remember the days before number portability?

      1. Actually I don’t. I’ve always had the same number since I had my first cell phone. It would be a royal pain to have to change my number everywhere that I’ve entered it, and make sure every last person who could possibly call me would know the new number.

        1. With Google Voice separate and independent from Sprint, you don’t need to give up your Sprint #, you can also make calls from you sprint phone but through Google Voice using the GV number. Albeit, it uses LandLine calls or minutes from your account so that might be a deal breaker for some.
          Only thing it doesn’t do is when you get a call then is not know what line (Sprint or GV) the call is coming into your phone from.

          Anyway… Just thought to mention that this service has been available through GV for some time already!

          :)

  6. For those wanting to use their own messaging app simply enable sms notifications for your mobile number on your GV account. Took me all of 5 minutes to figure this out.

    Oh and this integration is different from using google voice the old way, very different, as in i don’t have to give people a new number now. anyone not understanding that is either dense or purposely being ignorant.

    1. Have fun going into your GV sms inbox on a regular basis to delete all the sms messages that are forwarding to another sms inbox. That to me seems ignorant and dense. If they want to integrate then do it right by making a decent sms interface is all I was saying. And as a developer who has had quite a bit of sucess on android I was just voicing my opinion. I am well aware of how to forward sms through GV. So in short, don’t be an ass when replying to other people’s opinion seeing how that is what the article is asking for. Have a nice day.

      1. Why would anyone have to delete their messages in their gv inbox? something tells me you just don’t understand how this whole thing works.

        i LOVE the fact that my messages are backed up automatically in my GV account and accessible from anywhere.

        Their sms interface does leave something to be desired, but that’s why i use the stock messaging app instead, which is easy to do.

        judging by your first comment it certainly doesn’t seem like you knew you could forward the sms messages to your phone so they display in the text app of your choice.

        Sorry for being helpful though!

  7. I’ve been using Google Voice back when it was grand central using a Mogul, then a Touch Pro, and now an EVO. My EVO (and I think every Android device) already “integrates” GV splendidly without the need for the “porting” method/feature. So, if you have an Android device *should* merely need to download and install Google Voice from the market. Everyone else, you still can place calls using GV if you set up a pre-pend for every outgoing call which is your google voice number plus the appropriate numeric and pause code timing. Aside from that, you might benefit from the “integration” from Sprint, but I wouldn’t know if it is necessary for non-Android devices.

    1. The integration allows one to do all of the above seamlessly as well as use their current mobile number for outgoing calls.

      I’ve had a GV number for some time and nver used it because I didn’t feel like giving people a new number, nor calling people and having them not know it’s me.

  8. My issue is with getting mms. I am given the link to download picture but I get an error message after I try and download it. If anyone knows of a fix, please inform me. I am on cm7 with the laghtest nightly on an evo. I also don’t like having gv all day because my battery life gets cut in half.

  9. Im having no issues but wish i could text multiple people at once

  10. No issues here works great, and yes this is supported by google that is what all of the paper work and training said it said that sprint employees were not allow to address any issues and were to direct evryone to google via a support website.

  11. Mine works fantastic. I love it.

  12. I haven’t had a an issue yet with the integration. I just think it would be better if Google processed MMS via Voice, so I can just shut off my Evo’s default messaging app’s alerts all together and set the maximum messages to 1. Other than that, it’s nice being able to use the Chrome Browser’s Voice extention to receive voicemail and texts from my Sprint number, instead of giving out the Voice #. That’s probably the biggest convenience there.

  13. I had to disable it and go back using my GV# for my voicemail only… i use the stock messaging app, and while all settings are correct in GV, i stopped receiving them in the messaging app. also another thing that irks me, if your phone is off, then turn it on, you dont get a notification of any sms received during the time the phone was off (that is if you are lucky to have sms being sent to the stock app)

    The one feature I love about GV is to block certain numbers. I will be looking for updates to see if they improve this experience, then switch..

  14. I’m more than pleased with my Google Voice experience. I love the fact that if I lose my phone, or for whatever reason it is not working, I can use my computer to check my messages, and make phone calls which come up with my sprint number. Also, being from Canada originally, calling my family and friends for free from my phone is awesome.

    ONLY hangup I’ve had is I can’t figure out how to use handcent sms for text messages instead of google voice app. minor issue though.

  15. Been using GV for about 3 yrs. What’s the deal with “integration” with Sprint? WTF would you do that? !?

    And once again, demonstrates that Google doesn’t have any knowledge how to provide customer service. I’be been trying to educate their execs for years. It’s a lost cause. Bad as Crapple.

    C’mon HP, kick Google in the ballz with webOS and wake them up!

  16. People you can still use any sms app you want. I have an evo and use the stock sms app because I don’t like the gv app.

  17. One major issue preventing GV from using Sprint’s phone number is if you have a government or state employee discount on hour account. This flags the account so that GV won’t accept the sprint number without the twenty porting fee.
    Solution? Remove the govt or state employee discount and it will work. You might need to “work ” somewhere else! …

  18. Let’s face it, GV is free. And you get exactly what you pay for… That is not much. You can place phone calls and receive sms using a GV number. Big deal! The rest barely works, is buggy or lacks functionality.
    The voicemail system is BAD – Have you checked Youmail? Really, it is 10 times better.
    The GV app is a sad piece of cr@p. Never seen an app so poorly designed. It takes over your sms and mms. Still haven’t found how to get Handcent to be the default program to handle GV sms.
    The integration of my Sprint phone number lasted 4 hours. I promptly canceled it after that. I am still using GV to place international calls. But from now on, I will let Sprint (= real phone company) handle my calls.
    GV = No thanks.

    1. I don’t have these issues, but I haven’t chosen to allow GV to handle my calls. I have a GV # which I use and can send texts regular or through GV, no media though… not a big deal.

      As for the app… ? Does what it says really, no frills for sure, but it works.

  19. To anyone who wants to still use there stock sms or any other for that matter heres how. Go to GV settings/notification settings/make sure synchronize Inbox is checked, then check notification via text message, then make sure Inbox notifications is UNCHECKED. This will warn you that youll get 2 notifications but it wont now that your integrated.. This worked perfect for me. Hope it helps

  20. Yes my only issues so far (like others) is SMS … I like using Handcent, but in order to I have to deal w/ 2 notifications for each text (one from Handcent and one from GV)… and if I disable GV Inbox notifications I don’t get voicemail notifications. They need to add separate options in the settings for SMS and VM notifcations.
    Other than that I’ve been happy w/ the integration.

  21. I have a sprint number in area code A but an account in area code B, (different part of the country). Apperently that causes my number to be non-portable. Sprint reps told me if my phone were in area code A, I might be able to port the number then, however there is no way to temporarily change it, port, and change it back.

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