Popularity is not always a sign of a smoothly running internet phone service.
take google voice, for example. it is one of the most well-known options on the market, and yet users often report multiple issues per month. If you rely on the platform to handle all of your company’s phone calls and texts, the fact that Google Voice isn’t working can reflect badly on your brand.
As a professional or small business owner, you need to know all the obstacles you may face (and if they can be solved) before choosing your phone service. While you may be attracted to the way Google Voice works for free for people, the service could end up costing you if it creates poor customer experiences and inefficiencies within your team.
so what google voice problems are users facing? and since google doesn’t even offer customer support, how can you address them? We’ll help you fix nine common app issues, then explain how switching to a google voice alternative like openphone can be a one-step remedy for all your gv issues.
9 common google voice problems
google voice doesn’t have an impeccable track record when it comes to voip calls, far from it. simply entering “google voice not working” in a google search brings up a series of complaints, questions, and articles about known (and sometimes unresolved) issues.
If you currently use Google Voice and are having trouble with critical business phone features, you’re not alone.
We have identified nine common problems with internet phone service below.
1. can’t access google voice account
At a minimum, your voice over internet protocol (voip) service should be one you can access. but if you encounter errors with google voice, this could be an internet connection problem. Or you may need to go to your google play store or app store to update to the latest version of the voice app.
You can also run into problems if you try to have more than one google voice number on your phone.
Otherwise, there is an annoying situation where you or your team members may not be able to access voice through their google accounts.
If you use Google Voice for Google Workspace, administrators must assign each user a Google Voice license before assigning phone numbers (and each number can only be assigned once). When admins forget to turn on google voice for each individual account or accidentally reassign a phone number, it could cause problems that team members can’t fix themselves.
While it’s a fairly easy fix (licenses and phone numbers can be managed through the “Users” section of the Google Admin Console), getting started with Google Voice for Business can be quite a hassle.
2. no ringtone for incoming calls
you have converted it into google voice. so why don’t you get alerts when you have incoming calls or sms messages? a long list of missed calls or voicemails is never a good sign for customer satisfaction.
Open the app’s settings to see if you’ve enabled do not disturb mode (and disable it if so).
If not, tap the “calls” section of your settings to see if you accidentally turned off call answering on the web, android device, or iphone.
but even if all the settings are perfect in the browser, google voice will instantly mute the audio after you stop interacting with the platform for a while, even if you’re just on the next tab! the only solution is to go back to the tab and click for about 10 seconds.
google voice will not work properly in the background. On busy work days, when you are fully focused on tasks outside of your company phone app, you may forget to access the platform and end up missing a lot of calls.
3. I can’t make international calls
Do you have a global team or an international clientele? You need an Internet phone service that allows you to make international calls without any inconvenience. With google voice, there are some issues you may run into.
First, free accounts can’t make calls or send text messages outside of the US. In the US, while you can purchase calling credits (not possible through the app for iPhone users), you can only have a maximum of $70 in your account.
If you upgrade to voice for google workspace, you can pay up to $20 per user per month and still only be able to send text messages within the united states. that’s on top of the other text message limits for google voice.
google voice also claims that users may have problems with international calls on their phone if another application conflicts with the service. however, it doesn’t specify which apps can cause these problems, so some trial and error will be required to find out which app is at fault, if another app is the problem.
You may also need to try restarting the google voice app in case it’s just a glitch.
4. major sound quality issues with google voice
When choosing your voip service, quality is key. Unfortunately, Google Voice does not have a reputation for great sound quality. a lot of users report that it sounds muffled or distorted on calls, which is definitely bad for business. after repeating “your audio is breaking up” for the hundredth time, your customers may be breaking up with your brand forever.
Assuming you don’t have any Wi-Fi or mobile data issues, this is a google voice issue that users can’t fix on their own.
But without customer support for free users, getting help might not be as possible as you’d hope. With no one to ask, it’s hard to tell if what you’re experiencing is an internet connection issue, a platform issue, or something else.
5. google voice loads slowly in your browser
one of the benefits of google voice is the ability to access your phone from any computer or mobile device. the problem is that users are reporting problems accessing the platform through a browser at voice.google.com.
“For the last month or so, the google voice website acts like it’s on dial-up. Even when I’m texting, it takes 1-2 seconds for the characters to appear on the screen.” (reddit query)
“very slow to load in the browser”. (review on getapp)
There are some possible causes that you can check:
- poor internet connection
- incompatible browser (must use chrome, microsoft edge, safari or mozilla firefox)
- browser not updated
You can also try restarting if google voice doesn’t work in your browser, or double check the google voice browser and system requirements. however, if none of these are to blame and slow loading is a constant problem, there is unfortunately not much that can be done on your end.
switching to a google voice alternative like openphone may be your best option.
6. google voice number disappeared
We admit that this problem may sound a bit strange. But it’s true: These days, even your Google Voice number can hide you.
There are more ways this can happen than you think. It makes sense for voip services to revoke access if you don’t pay, but google will even retrieve your phone number in the following cases:
- You don’t make a call, send a text message, check your voicemail, or open the voice app on an apple or android phone in six months. you’ll only have 45 days to claim the number before it’s gone for good.
- port a number but don’t pay a $20 fee to keep your google-provided number as a secondary number within 90 days.
For business owners, the risk of losing a phone number is never ideal, even if it’s easily avoidable. this problem is virtually unknown with most legitimate paid internet phone services.
7. I can’t transfer the phone number
google voice claims that it can port phone numbers, but users may encounter a number of portability issues on the platform. for example, voice does not support portability for Canadian or toll-free numbers. and you’ll be stuck if you don’t pay a transfer fee of $20 per number. the process doesn’t make it easy either, as users report:
“porting a number is very difficult, there is no customer service”. (g2 review)
“changing the numbers you’re already using wasn’t very convenient for me.” (getapp review)
A seamless transition of all your business phone numbers to Google Voice isn’t possible for every business, even when it should be.
8. do not receive voicemail transcripts
If you don’t get voicemail transcripts, you wouldn’t be the first. some users report problems with the delivery and quality of the transcript. there could be a few reasons for this:
- .
- The caller’s audio quality was poor and google couldn’t decipher the message.
Even if your issue is resolved, please note that Google Voice is still quite limited when it comes to options for receiving voicemail transcripts. Google Voice alternatives like OpenPhone support more integrations, allowing you to get transcriptions in more convenient channels.
9. I can’t make voice calls on hangouts
did you choose google voice as your business phone service because of its integration with hangouts? Google has bad news for you.
first, hangouts will go to google’s growing graveyard this year (rip). Second, some users can no longer make Google Voice calls through Hangouts. this is a known issue that will not be fixed.
using google voice means you’ll have to switch between two different platforms to send messages to your team and manage phone calls. Or, if you want to use google voice for communications with your team and clients, things can get a bit complicated.
the platform doesn’t offer a great way to organize your inbox or contacts, largely because the google voice app wasn’t originally built for business use.
A google voice alternative that was built with business needs in mind (such as openphone) can help you achieve much smoother communication management.
Google voice not working for you? switch to open phone
Despite its popularity, Google Voice is plagued with problems that entrepreneurs can’t deal with. Google voice not working at a critical moment, for example during a phone call, can cause your brand to lose a sale and lose trust.
Luckily, google voice isn’t the only voip service out there. In fact, VoIP providers like OpenPhone are designed specifically for business use, which means you won’t just get rid of Google Voice problems. you’ll also get a number of features that the google phone app can’t provide.
Here’s how switching to openphone can help you overcome Google Voice’s top nine pain points for business.
1. easy configuration and access
Although google voice access issues can be fixed fairly easily, voip leaves your team members too susceptible to losing or delaying access. Also, setting up voice for google workspace isn’t exactly intuitive.
Having to assign licenses before phone numbers is an unnecessary step, one that openphone eliminates.
With openphone, adding a team member is easy. simply invite team members by email, give them a number, and they can accept!
Unless you deliberately go to the members section of your settings to remove team members, your employees will never be kicked out for something as trivial as being unlicensed when they already have an account.
Also, since users can share phone numbers, there’s no risk of blocking users from accessing their accounts when you assign a duplicate number.
2. rings on every incoming call (when you want them)
As much as we’d love for you to, we know you’re not going to be actively using openphone (or any voip app) every second. If you’re not on a sales or customer service team, you may not be able to access your business phone app unless you get a call or text. and openphone will not force you to do so.
openphone won’t stop alerting you to incoming calls just because you’re not clicking on the platform, so you never have to lose focus just to interact and avoid missed calls.
if you choose openphone, we will actually call it.
Of course, you can always set business hours to avoid receiving calls at the wrong time. just let us know when you’re working and we promise not to wake you up in the middle of your sweet dreams.
3. seamless international calls
openphone offers free and unlimited calls, sms and mms in the united states and canada with all plans from only $10 per user per month. it is affordable and all users can make international calls at very low rates.
In addition, you can get a US number. uu. (or a Canadian number) even if you live abroad and avoid paying international calling rates.
4. crystal clear audio quality
unlike google voice which disappoints users when it comes to sound quality, openphone offers top notch audio for incoming and outgoing calls. take it from our users:
“call quality is excellent and the features on offer are also amazing. Also, over the last year, they have continued to make improvements that only make the app better.” (review on g2)
“the design is clean and the call quality is impressive. would recommend.” (review on product search)
“I also experience high call quality with openphone compared to the competition.” (review on g2)
if you have problems, you can consult openphone’s transparent voip troubleshooting guide or contact the support team directly.
5. fast loading web app
If you use google voice because of its cross-platform compatibility, the good news is that you can still get this benefit when you switch to openphone, just you won’t have any new wrinkles when the platform finishes loading. in your browser.
With a strong uptime track record for the website (along with all ios, android and web apps), openphone is a service you can trust and support if you run into issues.
6. phone numbers you won’t lose
“I lost my number. can i have yours?” is a cheesy pick up line at best and a genuine question after a google voice nightmare situation at worst. your company phone service should never cancel your number just because you’re not using it, even with notice.
At openphone, we know that a consistent phone number is crucial for a good customer experience and to avoid updating all your online business pages at once. We will not remove your business number unless you deliberately remove it from your account (or unsubscribe). And to make sure you don’t do it by accident, we’ve even labeled this part of your setup a “danger zone” and require you to physically type “delete” before your number disappears. ⚠
7. simple and free portability process
when google voice (or other internet phone service) isn’t working, we want all your worries to disappear. that’s why we make transferring your phone number to openphone as easy as possible.
if you want to port your number from google voice, for example, all you need to do is:
- create an openphone account.
- unblock your google voice number. (note: google charges a one-time fee of $3 to port your number out of google voice).
- submit this 1 minute port request form.
Switching from most other voip services is even simpler and requires only two steps: create your openphone account and fill out the form.
openphone will not charge you any portability fees. And to give you something else to celebrate, OpenPhone also supports Canadian and toll-free numbers.
8. reliable voicemail transcriptions
Your team members aren’t always in a place where they can take business calls. But even in the middle of a blaring music festival, a voicemail transcription can help them determine the urgency of a call or remind them to call back later.
Missing voicemail transcripts can lead to dissatisfied customers and missed opportunities.
luckily, it’s not a problem with openphone. Once you’re in your phone’s admin panel open, it only takes a minute to get your voicemail transcripts (and voicemail audio) via gmail, other email providers, and even slack.
all users receive voicemail transcripts through the openphone app.
also, since openphone offers impeccable sound quality, you may even get more reliable and accurate transcriptions than on google voice.
9. effective team communication tools
since google voice doesn’t work on hangouts, you may be looking for a platform that allows you to streamline communication between your team and your customers, and do it right. look no further than openphone.
openphone is built with a dedicated section for all your team members. you can easily keep track of your internal communications and quickly reach the right person. just tap on their names to start conversations and collaborate!
plus, you can organize your business contacts based on everything from company to job title, so you can easily search for clients when it’s time to reach out.
using openphone is much less hectic than google voice. while google voice distributes your calls, texts, and voicemail into three different inboxes, openphone uses a unified inbox.
If you want a dedicated team messaging platform, feel free to use slack. openphone allows you to see voicemails, texts and missed calls on the platform when you integrate your account with slack, so you’ll still get a pretty streamlined experience.
Want even more peace of mind? Instead of sending popular features to a graveyard like Google does every year, OpenPhone is constantly adding new features to help you improve your internal and external communication, many of which are suggested by business owners like you!
a foolproof solution for google voice not working: make a change
google voice not working can be a costly problem if you use it as your business phone. When looking for a VoIP service for professional use, using a platform designed for reliable team-to-client communication can help you stay organized and efficient, with no downtime.
openphone meets the requirements. With international calling capabilities, great sound quality, and more must-have features, OpenPhone can help your team handle calls and texts better than ever. And you won’t have to spend more just to transfer phone numbers when you make the switch.
Do you want to test the platform before committing? start your free openphone trial today.