VOIP Tech Chat → [General] Does The Obihai Now Support Google Hangouts ???

When I use my Gmail account to make phone calls from the Netherlands to the United States they cost $0.01 a minute if I use the Google Chat facility (»www.google.com/voice/rates) but they are FREE when I use Google Hangouts (»www.google.com/hangouts/rates).

Does the Obihai now support Google Hangouts or will I be forced to pay $0.01 a minute to call the United States if I buy one to use here in the Netherlands? I make a lot of calls to the United States so I would really like to know before buying.

Obihai devices use Google Voice to make calls via the XMPP protocol. Google Voice is only available in the US. Google Voice calling rates: »www.google.com/voice/rates.

OE

If you (or have someone on behalf of you) open a Google Voice account in United States (just need to have IP address within United States) then the Google Voice Account is free to call any telephone number within Canada and United States from anywhere in the world.

Getting a U.S. IP address to use for opening the account is not the tricky part - nowadays there are several VPN addons for browsers that will let you run a limited amount of data through a proxy server in the U.S. - typically they are used for accessing video sites only available to U.S. users and many of them limit the amount of free access you can get, but it will certainly be enough to set up Google Voice. But one tip, do the account setup during daytime (U.S. time) because if you do it at night Google is more likely to want you to do phone verification of the account, which of course won't be possible if you don't already have a U.S. number. I always recommend creating a Google Voice account that is totally separate from any other Google accounts you may have for this purpose, but that is up to you.

However the real issue is that if Google detects that you are at an IP address outside the U.S.A. or Canada they will charge you 1 cent per minute U.S. for calls to those countries. One way to get around that is to route the calls via an Asterisk/FreePBX server or even another Obihai device in the U.S., so as far as Google is concerned the calls are originating from a U.S. IP address. If course if you can do that then you don't necessarily need an Obihai device, since any decent SIP-based VoIP adapter will connect to an Asterisk/FreePBX server, but IMHO the Obihai is still one of the better ones to use for the purpose.

You can try just a straight Obihai device first and see if by some chance Google allows you to place the calls without charging you; I've heard that users in some areas seem to get away with it but have no way to prove or disprove that.

You can also use Sipsorcery which will trigger GV calls from a US IP address if you don't want to get into setting up your own pbx

hok said Google only charges the 1 cent a minute to US if the account was originally opened from outside the US. You're saying it depends where you are at the time you're making the call.What makes you believe they treat an account setup any differently depending whether it is day or night?

If you do it when it is night [here], Google will think you are doing it in the daytime [there] suggesting that because you're there, your there is not their here.

At daytime I'm at work. Thus I do it at night here, in the US... Perhaps Google knows that I'm busy at daytime and changes its rules for me

To clarify, if Google decides that you are abroad, you will be charged $.01 to the US regardless of where you are calling from? What about if I am calling from the US to that GV number provisioned on an Obihai abroad? It should still be free, correct?

You can also use Localphone( effectively from any phone, not just VOIP) for $ 0.05/min, or $ 5.- for 5000 minutes /month ( dutch BTW applies if your credit card has abilling address in the NL )

I don't think SS offer free accounts anymore.

You're right. But if Amsterdam man makes more than about 20 minutes a day (he tells us it makes a lot of calls) then the annual fee starts to make sense

Thanks for the ideas and information.

To remove the possibilities of getting caught using an Obihai outside the United States as suggested could easily happen, I decided to search a little harder for solutions that use Google Hangouts.

I tried installing the new version of Google Hangouts on my mobile phone (Android) and got phone calls working !!! I made a few calls to the US to make sure they were free and it seems like that is going to give me basic coverage. As backup, I found a regular phone adapter that works with Google Hangouts that plugs into a USB port on my computer. I used to use something like that with Skype.

In case of failure, I am going to try CB's suggestion and set up an account with Localphone.

I can only confirm that using Google Voice (for calls to USA and Canada) through an Obi device set up in Europe has always been free.

Yet, trying to make a call from the computer through the same IP will cost you $0.01/minute.