Viber is here for Android (update at post 65)!!!

Kicksilver said:

I see.

But anyway, I'd like to have control over what's starting up with the system...

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But as I understand it Viber isn't starting with Android but the C2DM service is forwarding the request to Viber automatically. So it's more an Android thing, isn't it?

Viber could add an option for not using C2DM when you want to be temporarily unavailable for Viber calls and messages without switching off your internet connection. The way it works now calls and messages always get through, and you can't even switch off Vibers ringtone!

I still don't get why an autostart toggle is such a problem. According to Vibers logic, Skype, fring, Nimbuzz, Vonage, CSipSimple etc. should be flooded with complaints because of self-inflicted damage.

If Viber got flooded with complaints, maybe they failed to add a warning message to their autostart toggle when they still had one?

You don't need to dumb down your app to cater for the lowest common denominator. Just put the autostart toggle behind a button that reads "advanced settings, may break the app, beware of the dog!" Problem solved.

Am pretty happy with the app the way it is. There are enough users in my part of the world to make it really useful.

I do not really distinguish between calls, SMS, email, IM and VOIP calls anymore... when I do want to receive incoming, I simply put the phone on flight mode.

Exactly as @ral explained, Viber is intended to be a "substitute" to your regular, cellular service. That is how we vision Viber, and that is why it acts like it does.

It's not that we are "dumbing down" our application. We have a very logical way of developing the app and designing it, so it is not just "another service that is not available when you turn it off" - it is, to some extent, a "virtual provider". And you'll be surprised - even when you put a warning message, there is still a substantial percentage of users who will still accidentally shut off the service completely. As a company that wants to maintain a reputation of such a "virtual cell provider" - we cannot afford that.

Having said that, now it is easy to explain that just like your cellular service, that becomes unavailable when you shut off your phone or put it on Airplane Mode (as ral mentioned), so does Viber behave.
However, I will certainly pass on your request to change that, and we'll see what we can do to find a better balance between those two needs.

ViberMedia said:

Having said that, now it is easy to explain that just like your cellular service, that becomes unavailable when you shut off your phone or put it on Airplane Mode (as ral mentioned), so does Viber behave.

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I can enter flight mode and then switch WiFi back on, but I can't switch off Viber without switching off all internet connectivity.

For normal calls and texts I can choose when to receive them, who can call me (and who can't), which custom ringtones go silent and which rintones don't, etc. There are plenty of filtering options available for standard calls and texts, but Viber doesn't have any. It's like that tv set from 1984 that is always connected 24/7 whether you want it or not.


Many operators don't allow VoIP calls over their data networks, but they allow all sorts of text messaging. And even if net neutrality kicks in worldwide, Viber will still not be like cellular service as long as international data roaming costs a fortune. When you're roaming abroad a Viber call is way more expensive than a normal call, whereas international IMs are cheaper than SMS.

See why there are very good reasons to switch off contract-violating or international Viber calls without putting your entire phone offline? That requires an off switch that stops Vibers C2DM service without switching off WhatsApp or imo or Nimbuzz or IM+.

For now the only way to control Viber (short of uninstalling it and using Skype and Vonage instead) is by freezing Viber with apps like Titanium or MyBackup, and then unfreeze it when I want to receive Viber calls again.

It works, but it is a clumsy workaround. I'm sure Viber can do better than that.


Anyway, another Viber rep (or maybe it was you) said this:

Viber said...
*Autostart enable/disable- This is a common users request and we are currently looking into it... The same holds for blocking contacts and limiting calls to WiFi/3G networks.

android underground said...Looking into an autostart toggle? Finally! On the xda forum you kept saying that an exit button was as good as it would get. Good to hear that you changed your mind about it.

Viber said...
Things here change really fast

(source)

android underground said...Just put the autostart option in a screen behind an "ADVANCED SETTINGS!!! BEWARE OF THE DOG!!!" sign if you're afraid that some users will complain about self-inflicted damage. Problem solved.
Viber said...
Thanks for the suggestion - that's indeed our general idea that's being considered these days.

(source)

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What's going on here? Is one Viber rep promising things that another Viber rep doesn't know about?

I still think an option to turn off Autostart should be available.

This is not iOS, afterall.

@Diabo -
Thank you for your elaborate response.

I actually see no contradiction between the two responses. On Android Underground we have replied that we will take it into account and will look into this option. That was almost 2 months ago. Here, we say (after seriously considering it) basically the exact same thing as we had written in Android Underground (and you chose not to quote) -

We believe the number of users that want to an exit feature that will turn off Viber completely represents an extremely small number of users - maybe 1 in 10,000 overall. As such, we do not believe adding an "exit and turn off notifications" feature is needed. It would merely serve to unnecessarily complicate the application. We are sorry if this is not the answer that some of you want, but please understand that we need to make sure that adding features that would make some happy would not hurt other users.

Please note that we're not just being "stubborn" and choose to ignore our users' requests - on the contrary. Viber is one of the only app developer in the world (if not the only one) that sends out representatives to almost ALL forums where "Viber" is mentioned in order to listen to users, and adapt Viber to the majority's will. A great example is this thread on XDA: [Q] Contact Viber support about Viber ignoring Wifi-Sleep Policy! - Page 4 - xda-developers

I see.

Yea, you guys are doing a great job of being in touch with the users, no doubt.

Viber is one of the only app developer in the world (if not the only one) that sends out representatives to almost ALL forums where "Viber" is mentioned in order to listen to users

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You are the only ones I think.

ViberMedia said:

We believe the number of users that want to an exit feature that will turn off Viber completely represents an extremely small number of users - maybe 1 in 10,000 overall. As such, we do not believe adding an "exit and turn off notifications" feature is needed.

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You believe only 1 in 10.000 users wants an off switch? Why don't you ask 10.000 Android users if they want the option to make Viber start and stop as they choose?

Just have a look at the forum responses. On this forum and on xda you didn't come close to 10.000 replies, yet the number of users who want that feature is way above one. If you believe in 1:10.000, you should stop believing and start measuring. I'm sure 1:10 is closer than the truth, and you can't afford to ignore 10% of your target audience.

Or just release a public API so we can make alternative Viber (or multi-network) clients to cater for different types of users. I'm sure you're aware that one size never fits all.

Diabo said:

Or just release a public API so we can make alternative Viber (or multi-network) clients to cater for different types of users. I'm sure you're aware that one size never fits all.

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Actually, this is an option that's being discussed these very days
This might help us come to a common ground soon.

Is there any particular reason as to why you do not offer the choice of setting a Ringtone of our choosing ? Even a item to select the use "Phone Ringtone" ?


C

I just switched from an Iphone to a Droid razr maxx and what i miss the most of my Iphone is the way how Viber operates #1 it only shows viber recent calls not all the calls, it wont show it on the carrier mode, #2 even with the 4G still always gets cut off and says your Viber has been blocked and I will have full service WHY? #3 the bluetooth device used to work fine with Iphone with android it doesnt at all,

I have to use SKYPE it works way better and they can even hear me better.


Please Give it more attention a lot more people are switching to Android you shouldnt be loosing this side of it.


Thanks,

@championc -
There's no "business" reason, if that's what you're referring to. Up till now we simply preferred devoting our resources to developing other features and improve overall functionality. Be sure we plan to add the option of customizing Viber's ringtone, we're just not exactly sure when that would be ready. I'll keep you posted once we have any news.

@Wallys -
Actually the resources we devote to Viber on Android are equal or even higher at times than the ones devoted to Viber on iPhone. However, as you know, fragmentation on Android is a big issue, and there's not such thing as simply "Android" - there's Android on Galaxy, Android on LG phones, Android on Motorola, etc.

Having said that, please note that Viber does not officially support Razr yet, and that may be the reason for the problems you are experiencing. Here is the full list of officially supported devices: Can't download from Android market... | Viber Support
We are continuously working to adapt Viber to more and more devices, and we hope to attend to the problems with your device soon. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Hi, I am on ICS Passion for samsung vibrant. Everything works except for the voice/call. I can hear the other side but the other side cannot hear me......Any solutions? Thanks!

Please note that ICS was not officially released to Samsung Vibrant, which makes it a Custom ROM (in fact, it doesn't even appear on CyanogenMod's official homepage, meaning it was custom made by some users out there).

Please note that at this stage we don't support custom ROMs with Viber. Running Viber on a custom ROM results in various side effects (sometimes total lack of functionality), but we can't afford to support all custom ROMs out there. We are continuously working to adapt Viber to more and more ROMS, but meanwhile - you might want to contact the ROM developer for further support - they may be able to resolve this issue.

@geosa

Have you tried a WiFi to WiFi call. Maybe you can do a test call and see. Viber works better than Skype and can make voice calls in conditions where Skype cannot. Still, a bad 3G connection can result in problems on voice calls.

ral said:

@geosa

Have you tried a WiFi to WiFi call. Maybe you can do a test call and see. Viber works better than Skype and can make voice calls in conditions where Skype cannot. Still, a bad 3G connection can result in problems on voice calls.

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It Doesn't work on wifi as well.
Well! The custom ROM works good for me except for "VIBER".

geosa said:

It Doesn't work on wifi as well.
Well! The custom ROM works good for me except for "VIBER".

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Please let me clarify Viber's position on the matter on CM9, and Custom ROMs in general:

Our policy is that in general, we don't support Custom ROMs (we simply cannot afford to devote resources to supporting all Custom ROMs out there). However, we have decided to partially support CM and MIUI in the past, and are continuing to do so as newer versions (of ours!) are released.

HOWEVER - examining the case of CM9, this ROM was never officially declared by CyanogenMod developers - not even as Nightly. Please check out CyanogenMod's homepage and see that it is not even listed under the officially available Nightly Mods for neither Galaxy S devices, nor Vibrant: Samsung Galaxy S | CyanogenMod

If we ever decide to add support to CM9, it will only happen once CM developers on their part decide at least to upload an official version - then it'll make sense for us to work with this official version and adapt Viber to it.

Thanks for your understanding, and you might want to contact CM9 developers with this message
the Viber Team.

So there is no way to change Viber's Ringtone or message tone? I use Viber a lot for text messages but really hate the notification tone, I want to change it to my normal SMS tone... Just want to clarify it can't be done at this point in time...?

I need a list of phone numbers and people who use this app lol. I don't no of anyone who uses this app.

@Val21

It scans your contacts and checks who among your contacts is on Viber...

CountDotula said:

... Just want to clarify it can't be done at this point in time...?

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Unfortunately that's right - changing the ringtone or the message tone of Viber is not possible at this stage, but we are working to add it in future versions.

We apologize for the temporary inconvenience

ral said:

@Val21

It scans your contacts and checks who among your contacts is on Viber...

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yea i knew that. but i no my contacts and they don't use this

hey guys how is everyone doing...
just bought a tablet made by prestigio model pmp3074b
firmware version android 2.1
kernel 2.6.25
when i enter the android store and search for viber i find nothing.
I tried adding the download link manually into the tab but it wont download it.
Any ideas what i can do in order to download viber on it?

Thanx a lot