Where can I find the Google Voice app?

What is Google Voice?

Google Voice is a telephony service offered by Google. It provides an alternative phone number that can forward calls to any of your phones, including cell phones, work phones, and home phones (Source).

Some key features of Google Voice include:

Get a free Google Voice phone number

Forward calls to any phone
Block unwanted calls
Transcribe voicemail messages

Send and receive text messages
Make inexpensive international calls

With Google Voice, you can consolidate your different phone numbers into one number and manage it all through the Google Voice app and website. It gives you more control over how you receive calls and provides additional features like voicemail transcription.

Benefits of Using Google Voice

Google Voice provides several key benefits for users looking to consolidate and manage phone communications.

One major benefit is the ability to make calls using your Google Voice number. This allows you to keep your personal cell phone number private if needed. According to https://www.crazyegg.com/blog/how-does-google-voice-work/, Google Voice calls can be placed through the mobile app or website, and offer features like call screening, blocking, and recording.

Google Voice also enables sending and receiving text messages through your Google Voice number. As explained on https://justcall.io/blog/what-is-google-voice-business-and-how-does-it-work.html, this allows centralized texting across your devices. Text transcripts are saved in the app.

Voicemail is another key Google Voice feature. According to Google’s support site at https://support.google.com/voice/answer/10931150?hl=en, voicemails can be transcribed and emailed to you. This makes voicemails more accessible and easier to manage.

Downloading the Google Voice App

The Google Voice app is available for free download on both iOS and Android devices. To get the app on an iPhone or iPad, open the App Store and search for “Google Voice” – the official app is published by Google LLC. According to the App Store listing, the iOS app is compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch running iOS 10.0 or later (source).

For Android devices, the Google Voice app can be found on the Google Play Store under the same name. The app listing notes compatibility with Android 5.0 and up (source). The Android app is also available directly from apkmirror.com for sideloading if the Play Store is unavailable (source).

The app is free to download and use with an existing Google account. First-time users will need to sign up for a free Google Voice number during the app setup process. Existing Voice users can simply log in to access the full suite of calling, voicemail, and messaging features.

Using the Google Voice App

The Google Voice mobile app allows users to take full advantage of Google Voice’s features on their smartphones. The app is available for both iPhone and Android devices.

Some of the key features and functionality of the Google Voice app include:

Making and receiving calls – The app allows you to make outgoing calls and receive incoming calls through your Google Voice number, rather than your mobile number.
Text messaging – Send and receive text messages via your Google Voice number using the app.
Voicemail and transcription – Listen to voicemails and view transcriptions right in the app. Voicemails are automatically transcribed.

Call forwarding – Forward calls to your linked numbers or devices.
Call screening – Screen calls by listening to a caller’s message and deciding whether to answer, reject, or block the call.
Do Not Disturb – Silence calls and texts as needed.

Voicemail greeting – Record custom voicemail greetings.

The Google Voice app makes it easy to access all of your Google Voice features on the go from your mobile device. Key functionality like calling, messaging, voicemail, and call management can be done right from the app.

Making Calls with Google Voice

Making calls with Google Voice is easy once you have the app set up. Here’s how to make calls using the Google Voice app on your phone or computer:

On your Android phone, open the Google Voice app and tap on the “Calls” tab. Tap on a contact to call them or tap the dialpad icon in the top right to manually dial a number. The app will route the call through your Google Voice number. You can also initiate calls from your phone’s native dialer by going into the Google Voice settings and enabling “Make and receive calls” (1).

On your computer, login to Google Voice on the web at voice.google.com. Click on a contact or enter a phone number in the dialpad. Google Voice will call your phone number and connect you after you answer. Alternatively, you can click the settings icon and check “Click to call” to have Google Voice connect the call instantly (2).

Call quality with Google Voice is generally very good, providing clear HD audio as calls are routed over the internet. As long as you have a stable internet connection, call quality rivals that of a cell network. Google Voice will seamlessly switch to cellular calling if your internet drops during a call.

Texting with Google Voice

One of the key features of Google Voice is the ability to send and receive text messages through the app. After setting up your Google Voice number, you can text anyone for free using the Google Voice app on your mobile device or from the Google Voice website.

To send a text message with Google Voice, open the app and tap the message icon in the bottom right. Type in the phone number or contact name of the recipient in the top field. Then type your message in the text box and tap the send arrow. The app will route the message through your Google Voice number.

You can send standard SMS texts or use internet messaging through the app. SMS texts will count against your cellular text message limit with your carrier, while internet messages are sent over data and don’t impact your text limits. The app will default to using internet messaging when possible.

The Google Voice app makes it quick and easy to carry on conversations over text message. You can view your full message history in the app, including texts sent from your Google Voice number and any messages received to that number. The app syncs across all your devices linked to the same Google account.

Overall, the Google Voice app provides a convenient way to send and receive text messages regardless of your cell service or location, as long as you have an internet connection. With the text messaging functionality built into the free app, Google Voice can serve as an alternative to traditional carrier texting.

Voicemail and Transcription

One of the most useful features of Google Voice is voicemail transcription. When you receive a voicemail, Google Voice can transcribe it to text so you can read it instead of listening to the recording. This makes it much easier to skim through voicemails quickly.

To enable voicemail transcription, go to the Google Voice website and click on Settings > Voicemail. There you can turn on the option for “Transcribe Voicemail”. Once enabled, you’ll see the text transcription of new voicemails on the Voicemail tab in your Google Voice account.

The transcription accuracy is quite good, with some reviews showing 90% accuracy or higher. However, the quality can vary depending on the clarity of the recording and speaker. Google Voice may have trouble transcribing fast talkers or accents. Proper nouns and numeric sequences can also end up garbled. But overall it provides a useful text summary of the voicemails.

You can also forward the voicemail transcripts to your email or phone as text messages. This allows you to read them without logging into your Google Voice account. The transcription feature makes it possible to scan through voicemails quickly and focus on the important ones.

Integrating Google Voice

One of the most useful aspects of Google Voice is the ability to integrate it with your existing phone number and other services. Here are some of the key ways to integrate Google Voice:

Use your existing number – You can port your existing number to Google Voice so you can receive calls and texts to that number through the Google Voice app. This allows you to keep your existing number while taking advantage of Google Voice features.

Set up call forwarding – If you don’t want to port your number, you can forward calls from your existing number to your Google Voice number. This allows you to receive calls on your regular number and answer them through the Google Voice app.

Link with other Google services – Google Voice integrates directly with services like Gmail, allowing you to listen to voicemails, return calls, and send texts right from Gmail. You can also integrate it with Google Contacts.

Use with other apps – There are a number of third-party apps that integrate with Google Voice, like WhatsApp, Skype, and more. These let you use your Google Voice number from within those apps.

Overall, Google Voice makes it easy to keep using your existing number while enjoying Google Voice’s capabilities across your devices and other services.

Google Voice Settings

One of the great features of Google Voice is the ability to customize various settings and notifications to your preferences. In the Google Voice app, tap the menu icon in the top left corner and select Settings to access the available options.

Under Notifications, you can toggle on/off message notifications for texts, voicemails, and missed calls. You can also set quiet times to mute notifications during certain hours. Additionally, you can enable or disable keyboard sounds, vibrate alerts, call connecting sounds, and more.

Some other useful settings include:

Voicemail: Customize your voicemail greetings and options for transcriptions.
Groups: Manage contacts and distribute messages to groups.
Phones: Connect additional linked numbers.

Account: Change password, link Google accounts, enable call screening, and more.

Taking the time to customize these options ensures Google Voice provides the experience you want. The settings allow granular control over notifications, sounds, linked devices, voicemail, and account management.

Conclusion

Google Voice is a free app that provides an alternate phone number for calling, texting, voicemail, and more. The app can be downloaded for iOS and Android devices on their respective app stores. Once downloaded, Google Voice offers features like free calling within North America, international calling rates starting at 1 cent per minute, free texts, voicemail transcription, call screening, and more.

The Google Voice app allows you to consolidate your communication channels into one easy place. It can serve as your primary phone number or an alternate second line. With call forwarding, you can send incoming Google Voice calls to ring all your other phones simultaneously. Overall, Google Voice is a versatile and feature-rich communication app that anyone can benefit from. To get started, simply download the free app on your mobile device from the Google Play Store on Android or App Store on iOS.