Why won’t Google Voice let me use my phone number?
What is Google Voice?
Google Voice is a telephony service offered by Google that provides users with a free phone number for making calls, text messaging, and voicemail. With Google Voice, users can make and receive calls on any device using the Google Voice app or website. The service also provides features like call screening, voicemail transcription, call recording, and more.
Some key things to know about Google Voice:
- It provides a free phone number – This number can be used for making outgoing calls and receiving incoming calls or texts.
- Works on any device – Google Voice works on smartphones, tablets, and computers using apps or web browser.
- VoIP service – Calls are made over the internet rather than regular phone lines.
- Optional forwarding – You can forward calls to your cell phone or landline.
- Transcribes voicemail – Voicemails are transcribed and emailed to you.
- Call screening – Google Assistant screens calls and provides transcripts.
In summary, Google Voice gives users a free phone number and various communication features over the internet. It can be used alongside or in place of a regular phone number.
How Google Voice Works
Google Voice is a telephony service offered by Google that provides users with a phone number for calling, text messaging, and voicemail. When someone signs up for Google Voice, they are assigned a unique Google Voice phone number that is different from their regular cell phone number or landline number.
With Google Voice, calls to a user’s Google Voice number can ring their cell phone, landline, and up to 6 other linked numbers simultaneously. This allows users to have one number that reaches them anywhere. Google Voice can also screen calls by asking callers to state their name before the call rings through.
For text messaging, texts sent to a Google Voice number will appear in the Google Voice app or on the Google Voice website. Users can send and receive texts for free to any US number from their Google Voice number. Google Voice will also transcribe voicemails and send them to the user’s email.
Overall, Google Voice acts as a central hub for communication by providing users with a single phone number for calling, texting, and voicemail. According to a Google policy page, “Google Voice gives you one number for all your phones, voicemail as email, free SMS, low rates for international calls, and much more.”[1]
Porting vs Forwarding Numbers in Google Voice
There is an important difference between porting a phone number to Google Voice versus simply forwarding calls from your existing number to Google Voice. According to Google Support, porting a number imports your existing mobile or landline number into Google Voice. This makes it your official Google Voice number that can be used to make outgoing calls and receive texts.
On the other hand, call forwarding does not actually move your number to Google Voice. As explained by Gladly, call forwarding routes incoming calls to your existing number over to your Google Voice number. However, your original number stays with your phone carrier. You continue paying your carrier to keep that number active.
In summary, porting makes your current number your Google Voice number, while call forwarding simply forwards calls but does not move the number.
Why Google Voice Doesn’t Allow Number Porting
There are a few key technical and regulatory limitations that prevent Google Voice from allowing full phone number porting from landlines and wireless carriers:
Limited Carrier Cooperation: Major phone carriers like AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile have not fully cooperated with Google Voice to enable phone number porting. They view Google Voice as competition and have not provided the technical integration needed for seamless porting.
Regulatory Restrictions: Telecom regulations in the US have not caught up to internet-based voice services. Rules around number portability were designed for traditional landline and wireless carriers. So legacy regulations limit what Google Voice can do.
Overall, the phone carriers have not prioritized building connections to make phone number porting easy for Google Voice users. And regulations treat Google Voice differently than traditional carriers. These technical and regulatory limitations constrain Google Voice’s abilities for now. But the situation may improve in the future with continued innovation.
Limited Carrier Cooperation
One of the main reasons Google Voice does not allow full number porting is that some major carriers like Verizon do not participate in porting numbers to Google Voice [1]. Without cooperation from all major wireless carriers, Google is unable to enable users to seamlessly port their existing phone number.
Google Voice relies on partnerships with carriers in order to port numbers. But carriers may be reluctant to allow number porting to Google Voice because it could negatively impact their business. When a user ports their number to Google Voice, they are essentially taking that number away from the carrier [2].
Larger carriers have less incentive to cooperate with Google Voice number porting because they have large existing customer bases. Smaller carriers, on the other hand, have been more willing to work with Google Voice as a way to attract new customers from the major carriers [3].
Unless regulations require carriers to allow number porting to services like Google Voice, users may be out of luck when it comes to porting their existing number to Google Voice.
[1] https://support.google.com/voice/thread/109031133/what-companies-carriers-does-google-voice-allow-you-to-port-from?hl=en
[2] https://www.reddit.com/r/Googlevoice/comments/159eqoq/why_does_voice_need_a_carrier_number/
[3] https://support.google.com/voice/answer/1065667?hl=en
Regulatory Restrictions
One key reason Google Voice does not allow full number porting is due to regulatory restrictions around transferring numbers between wireline and wireless carriers. The FCC has specific rules against porting landline numbers to mobile devices and vice versa. Since Google Voice works across both wireline and wireless networks, allowing true number porting would go against these regulations.
The FCC has historically treated wireline and wireless phone services differently, and so they impose limitations on number portability between the two. In particular, the FCC’s phone number portability rules say that consumers can only transfer their number when switching services within the same type of carrier, either from one wireline provider to another wireline provider, or between wireless carriers.
Google Voice straddles these categories, so permitting full number ports would essentially allow consumers to improperly transfer phone numbers between wireline and wireless services. While Google Voice provides functionality similar to a mobile virtual network operator, its underlying infrastructure still involves both traditional landlines and mobile networks. This gray area limits Google’s ability to enable proper number porting without violating regulations.
Workarounds and Alternatives
Since Google Voice does not allow full phone number porting in most cases, some users resort to workarounds to use their existing number with the service. One of the most common workarounds is to use call forwarding instead of number porting.
With call forwarding, you keep your current wireless or landline number active with the existing carrier. Then in your account settings, you enable call forwarding to forward all calls to your new Google Voice number. This way your main phone number rings in Google Voice rather than porting the number itself.
According to users on Reddit (source), this workaround allows you to keep full functionality of your number outside of Google Voice, while taking advantage of Google Voice features when call forwarding is enabled.
The main downside to call forwarding compared to porting is that you still need to keep your original carrier service active. However, it does provide a way to use your primary number with Google Voice until restrictions on porting are reduced in the future.
Third Party Services
Although Google Voice does not allow direct number porting from mobile carriers, some third party services offer this capability for a fee. Companies like NumberBarn and Phaxio provide number porting services into Google Voice starting around $20. These services work by porting your existing number to a VoIP provider that allows transfers to Google Voice. The main benefit these third parties provide is handling the porting process for you. However, they do charge more than Google Voice’s standard $20 porting fee.
The Future of Number Porting
Currently, Google Voice does not allow users to directly port their existing phone number into the service. However, there is hope this could change in the future as Google continues to develop Voice and negotiate with carriers.
Google has indicated interest in enabling full number porting capabilities in Voice. In a Google Voice support article, they state: “We understand that many users want to port their existing number into Google Voice. Rest assured our team is working hard to add this feature!”
For number porting to be enabled, Google Voice would need cooperation from carriers and regulators. Carriers have historically been resistant to easily losing their subscribers’ numbers to third-party services like Voice. However, as Voice grows and user demand increases, carriers may soften their stance to avoid customer dissatisfaction.
Some analysts speculate Google is negotiating directly with carriers like AT&T and Verizon to strike deals that would allow direct number porting. Google’s clout and Voice’s popularity could convince carriers it’s better to cooperate than lose customers entirely.
Additionally, Google could lobby regulators to mandate number portability between carriers and services like Voice. If Google makes a compelling consumer welfare and competition argument, regulators may force carriers to allow porting.
While the future is unclear, there are signs of hope. With Google’s persistence and mobile users’ demand, direct number porting in Google Voice could become a reality.
Summary
Google Voice was designed with simplicity in mind, allowing users to get a new phone number and forward calls and texts to existing devices. However, regulatory restrictions and limited carrier cooperation mean Google Voice does not allow transferring your existing number from a carrier. While third party services exist to port a number to Google Voice, they come with risks, costs and unreliable results. For the foreseeable future, users wanting to use Google Voice with their existing number will need to rely on call/text forwarding rather than full number porting. Moving forward, increased carrier flexibility and updated regulations could potentially allow direct number porting to Google Voice, but for now workarounds are limited.
In summary, Google Voice provides call and text management features without requiring number porting from your carrier. While users understandably want to retain their existing numbers within Google Voice, various technical and regulatory hurdles prevent this today. Google Voice still brings value through call/text forwarding, voicemail transcription, and other capabilities – just with a new provided number rather than your existing mobile number. With an uncertain regulatory outlook, direct carrier cooperation remains the biggest barrier to allow true number porting to Google Voice down the road.