Help Google Voice on the Eris

[Ted S]

I have a problem using Google Voice on the Eris. The problem is that I can't answer the calls quickly enough to prevent them from going to voicemail.

Some background: I have Google Voice set to screen calls from unknown sources. For those unfamiliar with Google Voice, you can configure it to send calls from known sources -- like friends and family -- right through to your phone but you can also have it screen calls from unknown sources. Call screening works like this; when a stranger calls, an automated Google Voice attendant answers the call and asks the user to say their name. For example the caller would say: John Doe. Then Google Voice calls your phone and says that you have a call from John Doe. Google Voice then instructs you to press 1 to accept the call, press 2 to send to voice mail, press 3 to reject the call. I might have the numbers wrong but you get the idea. It's really nice for keeping nuisance calls to a minimum.

My problem is that frequently I can't get to the dang keyboard quickly enough to accept the call. By default after so many rings it goes to voice mail so if you want to take the call you have to press 1 quickly. The trouble is that when the Eris rings, the dialer keyboard doesn't come up. I'm not sure exactly what screen is showing but it isn't the dialer. The dialer is a couple button pushes away so that along with a generally laggy Eris and a phone that doesn't physically start ringing until the caller has already heard two or three rings make it a real race to beat-the-clock.

I have set the call slot (I think it's called call slot) to zero making the tower polling more frequent. I've searched the Eris and the Google Voice settings for an answer to my problem with no luck.

Anybody have any ideas for improving my chances of actually being able to accept a call -- you know, other than the obvious "time to get a new phone man!" comment?

 

[metlcat]

I don't know of a way to make the dialer keys automatically show up when you're on a call, but I too was having the dialer lag. The best way to get rid of this is to first, check to see if you have a lot of text messages and old emails being stored on the phone. The more messages you have, the slower the phone will go. You can use an app from the market called Delete Old Messages to clear them out (let it run overnight). Also Use SMS Backup to back your texts up to your gmail account. Second, root your phone and either flash a custom ROM or root in place and find the thread in the Droid X forum about which programs are safe to delete to free up more memory.

Sorry I can't help you more than this.

 

[doogald]

The trouble is that when the Eris rings, the dialer keyboard doesn't come up. I'm not sure exactly what screen is showing but it isn't the dialer. The dialer is a couple button pushes away so that along with a generally laggy Eris and a phone that doesn't physically start ringing until the caller has already heard two or three rings make it a real race to beat-the-clock.

With stock Eris, when you answer a call, there is a large red "End call" button on the bottom the screen, right in the center. Just to the left is a button that looks like, well, a dial pad - press it and it will pop up the dial pad, from which you can press a number. The control to the bottom right is the speakerphone control, so you could quickly press that (so that the display stays lit and you don't have to wait for the screen to turn back on after you have brought the Eris to your face) and then activate the dialpad.

If that still isn't quick enough for you, I can tell you that if you root the phone and install the ROM xtrSENSE, which looks and feels just like stock Eris, it will give you an Eris without that nasty dialer lag. I realize that rooting sounds intimidating, but it really isn't all that bad and, again, running with xtrSENSE will make you feel as if you haven't rooted at all (with the exception of the lost lag.) That said, if the above works for you, that's great, too.