Boy, do I regret giving so many people my GV number and using it as a main phone number...
They are also removing Hangouts' SMS integration, BUT:
> Note: This change does not impact Google Voice users who may continue to use Hangouts for their Google Voice SMS.
That doesn't really make me feel great, it's only a matter of time before it changes again, and I'm quite sure the experience of staying in Hangouts will be awful in the meantime. This whole SMS + Hangouts + GV situation is such a clusterfuck, yet I feel a bit trapped in this ecosystem right now due to the stickiness of a phone number that family already remembers, and numerous business cards I've handed out.
I know they recently polished up the old GV app, but the FB Messenger + Whatsapp ecosystem looks so much nicer now... I wish I can just somehow hand them my GV number and leave this Google mess behind... or somehow redirect everyone to my carrier number.
> Boy, do I regret giving so many people my GV number and using it as a main phone number...
I recently switched to Google Fi and opted to bring in my Google Voice number. Fi works okay, but now that it's a "real" number, if I were to switch to Verizon or something, I could port it there.
So you might consider that approach to get your phone number out of the ecosystem.
I'm pretty concerned about their commitment to Google Voice functionality, too. I'm so invested in that ecosystem that I don't even know what my carrier number is anymore. I'd happily pay money for the service, but I don't think Google is interested in a subscription model for it. Does anyone know of third-party products with similar functionality? I dread the thought of having to figure something out on short notice.
Note that you can transfer your Google Voice number to another provider. I think there is a small fee the first time you do it. https://www.google.com/voice/unlock
I'm thinking about porting my GV number away from Google, if that is even possible. Voice used to be the best thing ever, but now it has a shadow of it's original functionality.
I ported my T-Mobile number into GV in 2013 when I switched to Android and Hangouts first added GV/SMS integration, so that I could send SMS from the desktop.
Then I ported my number back out to T-Mobile again in 2015 when I switched back to an iPhone and regained iMessage.
They are also removing Hangouts' SMS integration, BUT:
> Note: This change does not impact Google Voice users who may continue to use Hangouts for their Google Voice SMS.
That doesn't really make me feel great, it's only a matter of time before it changes again, and I'm quite sure the experience of staying in Hangouts will be awful in the meantime. This whole SMS + Hangouts + GV situation is such a clusterfuck, yet I feel a bit trapped in this ecosystem right now due to the stickiness of a phone number that family already remembers, and numerous business cards I've handed out.
I know they recently polished up the old GV app, but the FB Messenger + Whatsapp ecosystem looks so much nicer now... I wish I can just somehow hand them my GV number and leave this Google mess behind... or somehow redirect everyone to my carrier number.