• After 15+ years, we've made a big change: Android Forums is now Early Bird Club. Learn more here.

Google Voice Full Integration

lexluthor

Android Expert
May 15, 2010
4,157
402
Edit: Read my next post below before looking at the app in this first post.

Does anyone know how this app works?
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.MDRTools.GVMI2

I think I figured out that it will allow me to send outgoing texts using my google voice number via the stock messaging app. Those messages will go through google voice and not be charged by the carrier. Is correct?

What about incoming texts to my google voice number? By setting the google voice app to "also via the messaging app", does that just have google voice forward my texts to my regular phone number, therefore causing me to incur sms charges from my carrier?

Also, is there any difference whether someone replies to my initial text using your app vs someone who initiates the conversation with me?

Very confused about what this does. If the google didn't make the return window 15 minutes, I'd have definitely just gone ahead and tried this all out on my own.

I'd be very surprised if it works the way I'd want it to work (use stock or 3rd party SMS app for all GV incoming and outgoing texts and not have any carrier SMS charges)
 
Ok. So I emailed the author trying to figure out exactly what the above program does and he just emailed me back pointing me to his new app
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mdrtools.apps.gvintegration

Looks like this might be what we've been looking for. Will this allow me to use Google Voice with Go SMS? Sure looks that way.

Rooted phones only.

It's $4.99. Who's going to give it a go first?

Edit: The author emailed me that he'll give me a refund if it doesn't do what I hope. Trying it out now!
 
Upvote 0
Real good start. Few issues.

I can't set the sent and receive signatures to null. If I do, it puts the whole set by...thing back, so I just put a :

I guess I'm supposed to turn off my google voice notifications so that my google voice app doesn't notify me as well?

My default SMS app is go sms. I'm not always getting notifications.

Messages aren't threading properly in go sms. All of my sent texts are in one thread and all of my received texts are in another thread. Conversations also all get saved in google voice and they are threaded there.

Hope he can do something about that as that's a pretty major issue.

I suppose if I delete a conversation if google voice, it won't get deleted in the default messaging app and vice versa. That might be a little of a pain to manage, but I'm not sure how the app would get around that, probably no way.
 
Upvote 0
I'm more interested to know how this handles the display of contacts.
And, disclaimer, I've been using *only* the google voice app for the past.. 9 months or so.

But my main grip before was, receiving a text to my google voice number would assign that contact an alternate number. I had to save this alternate number to their contact. then when texting them, make sure that number was selected.
And then, google voice would sometimes change that "assigned" number in my contact list.

Is this still an issue? Anyone know how this app handles that?
The google voice app has gotten a lot better, but ya, the native one and GO Sms, .. and handcent, etc have much better notification options.
 
Upvote 0
No "pseudo" numbers with this app. Just send and receive your google voice messages with the sms app of your choice.
Right now, I'm still not getting notifications properly and there's a minor issue with threading, but i can indeed send and receive all google voice messages in go SMS.

If he can get notifications fixed we have a winner.
 
Upvote 0
No "pseudo" numbers with this app. Just send and receive your google voice messages with the sms app of your choice.
Right now, I'm still not getting notifications properly and there's a minor issue with threading, but i can indeed send and receive all google voice messages in go SMS.

If he can get notifications fixed we have a winner.

Ah -- good to know! Wouldn't the proper notifications be a function of GO SMS? (or whichever SMS app someone chooses)?

For kicks, with the notifications, Try going into the google voice app, and turn on Text Notifications.. then see if you receive a notification in GO SMS (will probably be a double notification if it works). I'm not sure how the integration app works, but just to make sure it's not set up to 'intercept' the notification *from* the google voice app.

Will probably purchase it and give it a go today.v:)
 
Upvote 0
In theory, this app is exactly what we've all been waiting for and exactly what you want/think it should do.

You disable your google voice notifications, forget that the google voice app exists (except I guess for voicemails. Not sure if voicemail notifications would go to system messaging app) and just use your sms app of choice to send/receive your google voice texts.

You have the option to set google voice, carrier service or ask each time when sending a text, so you use the same messaging app to send messages through both google voice and carrier. I suppose that's why there's the option for that signature that only you see. That way, you can easily see which message went through which service in your text history.

If someone sense a text to your GV#, yes, it just magically shows up in your standard messaging app. If you send out a text from your GV#, you just go into messaging, select a contact and choose to send the text through GV.

All of your send/receive texts also get saved to your google voice account and will appear there, so you still get that ongoing history. If you delete a thread in the messaging app, it won't delete it in the gv history and vice versa.

In practice, most of that is all working great except I'm not getting notifications in my messaging app.

Here's an excerpt of my email to the developer (who has been very responsive so far) that explains the issues I've been having. I think below speaks to most of your suggestions as well.

---

1) No notifications. I actually uninstalled go sms completely (saved a backup with titanium for easy restoral) and turned on notifications in my droid x stock sms program and still get no notifications when a message comes to my GV# and I do get notifications when it comes to my cell #. I did keep on GV notifications and I do get that notification when something comes to GV#. If I turn off GV notification, I still do not get go sms or stock sms notification when something comes into my GV#. Right now, I'll leave on google voice notification because that's the only way I'll know I got a text. Either way, the message still shows as unread in go sms and stock sms, so I'd think I should get a notification.

2) If I send a text via my droid x stock text messaging app, it doesn't ask me whether I want to send with carrier or google. When I send with go sms, it does. Might be an issue integrating with the motorblur txt messaging program. I don't really care about that one as I'll be using go sms anyhow.

3) If I initiate a conversation, the first message that I send is in a different thread from the rest.
---

Please give it a try and post back with your results. There's one review in the play store now that doesn't indicate any notification issues. Perhaps, it's just me or my Droid X that it doesn't like.

If he can get notifications working for me reliably, I'd be completely thrilled.
 
Upvote 0
aw man.. one of the key things I'm not sure it handles is: I use the Google Voice chrome browser extension to do a lot of my text messaging. I don't think it syncs up with the messaging app threads (like the google voice app does).

Unfortunately, that's gonna be a deal breaker if it doesn't. I forgot that was one of my main gripes.

EDIT: the notifications are working fine on my end.
using the stock MMS app with integration turned on
google voice app settings: notifications off, with option selected to receive sms through stock mms app
 
Upvote 0
aw man.. one of the key things I'm not sure it handles is: I use the Google Voice chrome browser extension to do a lot of my text messaging. I don't think it syncs up with the messaging app threads (like the google voice app does).

Unfortunately, that's gonna be a deal breaker if it doesn't. I forgot that was one of my main gripes.

EDIT: the notifications are working fine on my end.
using the stock MMS app with integration turned on
google voice app settings: notifications off, with option selected to receive sms through stock mms app
OT, but why would you do sms through android chrome browser extension when you could use go sms?

Anyhow, glad you posted your settings. I think you have a setting wrong and that's why you are getting notifications.

If you set google voice to "receive text messages via the messaging app", I think google voice turns around and forward the text to your cell phone number. I tried that and I do get notifications (since it's really a notification for the text coming into my cell number), but I also get all messages appearing twice. It's my understanding that option also will generate a carrier text charge. Do you have any easy way to confirm that?

I think you should still have that option set to "via the google voice app". If you do that do you still get notifications?
 
Upvote 0
lol, sorry, I think I wasn't clear--
I use the chrome extension on my computer browser a lot-- whether at home or school, to text people. .. since I can type a helluva lot faster on the computer keyboard, and it's convenient.

When I do this (on computer), it updates the message thread automatically in the google voice app. It does not update the thread in the SMS app, and I'm not even sure how it would do that. So basically, if I'm having a conversation through my computer browser (or via the Web Google Voice website on my computer), I will only see one side of the conversation (incoming) in my phone SMS app.

As far as the notifications, the settings I mentioned above were giving the desired results-- i.e. When I receive a text message, I only receive a notification through the MMS app-- which is what I wanted (not the double). That was just what worked when trying a few different methods.

Sorry, writing this quick as I'm heading to work, but I'll keep playing around with it. I'm really curious if that syncing is possible that I mentioned above.
I feel like it's getting closer though! and I know the main issue is that Google Voice does not have an available API to help out the developers... argh..
 
Upvote 0
Oh, that's a great point. I frequently use google voice website to do that. So, those "conversations" wouldn't carry over for me either. Not as much of a dealbreaker for me, I don't think since the conversations will still appear on the GV site. They just won't appear in my messaging app.

Interesting that you don't get double messages with that option on. Can you confirm if that's costing you carrier SMS messages? I'm 99% sure that's what it's doing. When you set that option, it actually checks off the option "receive text messages on this phone" in the google voice website settings. It was always my understanding that choosing that option forward all GV messages to your cell phone via carrier SMS.

You should not have to have that option set for this program to work. That's the beauty of it.

If you turn that back to "via the google voice app", do you still get notifications in your system messaging app? If not, you are back to where I am exactly.
 
Upvote 0
Ok, I'm kind of skimming here, but when this app is working correctly-- it basically uses GV as a service provider for you text messages, but your friends still see your cell phone service number (if you choose that), it still works with your preferred SMS app (Handcent for me), and so you could basically then cancel your text messaging plan?? Do I have that right? I might actually root for that.
 
Upvote 0
Ok, I'm kind of skimming here, but when this app is working correctly-- it basically uses GV as a service provider for you text messages, but your friends still see your cell phone service number (if you choose that), it still works with your preferred SMS app (Handcent for me), and so you could basically then cancel your text messaging plan?? Do I have that right? I might actually root for that.
No. This program will allow you to send and receive text messages from and to your google voice number using messaging apps other than the google voice official app.

It's for people who want to use their google voice number to text, but would like to use a more feature-rich client with it.
 
Upvote 0
No. This program will allow you to send and receive text messages from and to your google voice number using messaging apps other than the google voice official app.

It's for people who want to use their google voice number to text, but would like to use a more feature-rich client with it.

Ah, ok. That makes a lot more sense. Thanks for explaining!
 
Upvote 0
I have a droid razr, and the market will not let me install this!! But i downloaded and extracted the apk file, installed it on the razr anyway, and what is strange is that if I try to send via stock sms app, the message will fail. If I send the sms using go sms the sms goes through. Does anyone else have this strange problem as well?
 
Upvote 0
Decalex, do you agree that setting that option to "via the messaging app" is not the way this was intended to work since that will generate carrier sms charges? Have you tried "via the google voice app"? Do you still get notifications in your messaging app for GV texts then?

Jmuth197, sorry to hear it's not working properly for you as well. Do you get notifications of inbound texts to your GV # in go sms? As far as sending, you see that I have a motorola phone too and it's not giving me the popup to choose between gv and carrier. While not the same problem, both are related to sending in motorola motorblur apps, so there could be a compatibility issue with motorblur.

I haven't heard back from the developer since Wednesday night. Hopefully, he have some thoughts soon. I also gave him the link to this thread if he's interested in direct user feedback/interaction.

I know many of us have been looking for just this solution for a long time now.
 
Upvote 0
After switching ROMS from stock ics leak from moto, with motoblur to eclipse deblurred ROM I think that I can come to the conclusion that this app has problems with motoblur. Eclipse ROM allows this app to work to its fullest potential, no problems whatsoever, using the stock messaging app. GREAT WORK GUYS!!
 
Upvote 0
Been emailing the developer about some issues. He just posted an update that got go sms notifications working (almost) for me.

Still having a couple of minor issues.

If I have someone send a text to my GV #, I get the notification icon, notification sound and notification icon from go sms. But, I do not get the popup box.

If I have someone send a text to my cell #, I get all of the same and I do get the popup box.

One other problem, that I think is related. If I send a text using go sms and choose carrier in the popup box, the message just sits there and doesn't send. Go sms keeps showing a green sending arrow. If I then send another message through my carrier, they both then go through. If I send through go sms, it seems to work fine.
 
Upvote 0
Notifications in go sms have still been working great since the update. Developer is working on the popup box issue (sounds like that might be hard to get working) and the sending issue I'm having.

Otherwise, it's so great being able to use go sms to send and receive all of my google voice texts.

More people should know about this for sure.
 
Upvote 0
aw man.. one of the key things I'm not sure it handles is: I use the Google Voice chrome browser extension to do a lot of my text messaging. I don't think it syncs up with the messaging app threads (like the google voice app does).

Unfortunately, that's gonna be a deal breaker if it doesn't. I forgot that was one of my main gripes.
Wow, very surprised, but it looks like it DOES sync up your phone with the google voice site to some extent!

I just did the following test. Went into my google voice account on the web and sent a text to another phone. From that other phone, I replied back to my google voice account.

On my phone, I got the go sms notification of the received message. When I open go sms, the message I sent from the web as well as the reply back BOTH appear!

I already knew that any messages I send through go sms appear on the web, but that made sense because they are still getting sent through google voice servers. The fact that go sms is pulling messages from my google voice account that were not sent using go sms is very surprising.

I still think that if you delete a message from go sms or gv web, it doesn't delete from the other, so it's not a full sync.
 
Upvote 0
Very cool -- I also contacted the developer before I read the last few posts, but this is HUGE progress.

Lol. .now it's just the notification popup issue.

I did have a weird instance early on though, where I was getting double messages (not notifications) for each text that I received (using GOSms and stock messaging app).
Surprisingly what fixed it, and I think you mentioned this, is setting Google Voice app settings to receive through Google voice app (not messaging). .. but ya, odd.

So now I get the single message, as intended. My only two issues are
1. the notification popup -- and it doesn't turn the screen on, which might be related.
2. Seems like a super delay in receiving the messages sometimes. But then when I open GOSms, I see the new message in there.

So, mostly notification related.
Have you seen any progress on this?

Edit: for kicks, I've also tried combinations of Handcent, SMS popup, droid notify, ugg..
no popups or screen wake.
 
Upvote 0
Still been communicating with the developer. He's definitely working on the popup, at least with Go SMS. Not sure if that's related to screen on or not. He says it's pretty complicated to get the popup to work.

There was a version released yesterday that turned on a partial wakelock and held it open. That helped with notifications apparently, but that's not a good thing to do for the battery, so he released a version removing that.

Right now, according to the developer, you may not get notifications while your phone is sleeping if the notification icon is ON. If the notification icon is OFF, it will use a little (no clue how much) more battery, but you'll get notifications. My testing confirmed that's how it's working for me and I have the icon off now.

If you don't have it off, try it that way and report back.
 
Upvote 0
I have seen that too-- I was receiving status bar notifications fine with:
-the GV Integration persistent notification OFF
-using GO Sms, and choosing this option in the GV Integration app
-screen off (not consistently)

although there was a pretty big delay in receiving the message in most cases.
so, basically confirming what u just said above on my end. ;)

U know.. i'll try this app I was using in conjunction with the Google Voice app-- notifier pro.
I'll try to link it up with the stock messaging app to see if IT will recognize incoming messages and trigger a popup.
 
Upvote 0
Ok.. so this app *does* trigger a popup while using GV Integration with Stock Messaging app..
NotifierPro Plus
The free version probably will too.
Of course.. the popup is not as useful as that of Handcent or GOSms with reply options and such. but maybe this could help.

For reference:
GV integration with Messaging app
Triggered screen wake and popup
--still a delay, but worked with and without an existing notification in the status bar.


It might have to do with the permissions of the NotifierPro app. The service needs to be activated through system/accessibility.. which may be like killing a fly with a sledgehammer.. but it works.

Maybe there something this dev is doing that could help the GV Integration dev.
 
Upvote 0
Interesting stuff.

I'd definitely like to stick with Go SMS though. I know he's working on the popup issue.

I'm back to running with the notification icon ON always and I see to be getting notifications even when the phone is sleeping. I'm not a heavy texter at all, so most of it is just me texting myself from a 2nd google voice account.

Will keep an eye on things.
 
Upvote 0

BEST TECH IN 2023

We've been tracking upcoming products and ranking the best tech since 2007. Thanks for trusting our opinion: we get rewarded through affiliate links that earn us a commission and we invite you to learn more about us.

Smartphones