I realized this morning that I need to up my good-deed cred a bit, so I decided to make today's blog post an instructional on my transition from a US-based cell provider to Google Voice, meaning free texts and calls back and forth between and family and friends in the United States. This information is useful for shortlisted English language teachers who will be arriving in Japan within the next couple of months, as well as those involved with other professions that require an extended stay in other countries.
By the way, this post is long... really long, but you shouldn't be doing something like this anyway without thorough instructions. Read everything three times before you start this process and do further research even after that. I pretty much read all the information I could find on this subject a good three months before I was scheduled to leave, and when it came time to go through with it I was pretty comfortable with the approach.
A couple of disclaimers... These instructions are
only for those with
unlocked, rooted AT&T or T-Mobile
Android phones, not a toy... er, an iPhone... and though I'm sure there is a way to achieve similar results using Apple's device, you will need to discover that on your own. The second thing is that while this process and set-up has worked for me (and lots of other people), that doesn't necessarily mean it will work for you. If you screw something up, it's not on me.
Now... how exactly does this all work? Essentially, Google Voice is a pseudo-VoIP provider (Vonage is probably the most known VoIP provider), on its own possessing the ability to make and receive calls through Gmail and send and receive text messages to the Google Voice phone app, all of which are free when occurring between US phone numbers. The limitation is that while you may use the Google Voice app to send and receive texts to and from your phone, Google itself does not provide a method by which you can make and receive voice calls to your phone... however this dude
snrb has developed an app that makes this capability possible.
The way it works is that a
data connection rather than a traditional telephone line or cellular connection is used to transfer calls and texts, so if you're on WiFi or are using a data-only SIM card in your handset, you can talk and text anyone in the US free of charge
wherever you are in the world. By porting your phone number to Google Voice, you get to keep the number all your family and friends know and take advantage of free calls and texts to them.
I will try to explain the process of how I accomplished this as best I can, as this is all from memory. If you have any problems with any of the applications mentioned, you should contact the developers (emails are in the Play Store links) and they are pretty good about responding. Let me know if any of the instructions are unclear.
Anyway, let's get started...
What you will need
- An unlocked, rooted AT&T or T-Mobile Android (2.1 or above) phone, compatible with both GrooVe IP and Google Voice SMS Integration
- A US cell phone number, or Google Voice number
- Courage, patience, and time
(Optional) Step: Buy a pre-paid AT&T or T-Mobile SIM card
With this method of cell phone use, you will only be able to access the Internet, make and receive calls, and send and receive texts over a data connection, therefore you will need a way to do so absent a WiFi connection (some may be fine with just WiFi until they leave), since Google Voice cancels your current mobile contract.
I don't know about AT&T's options, but
T-Mobile doesn't provide a data-only SIM card, so I had to
purchase the $3/day unlimited everything SIM after I ported my number, which wasn't a big problem. The $2/day unlimited everything SIM would've been a better deal, but its 2G-only, while the $3/day SIM is 4G. Voice calls over 2G would not go over well, so only go for the $2/day SIM if you don't plan on making a lot of calls outside of WiFi.
And before you come over here, appreciate the fact that free WiFi is abundant in the States.
Step One: Buy GrooVe IP and Google Voice Full Integration
I assume it isn't too difficult to purchase these two apps after you've ported your number out, but its easier to buy the apps now and charge them to your final phone bill rather than wait.
GrooVe IP will allow your phone to connect to Google Voice to make and receive phone calls, while Google Voice SMS Integration makes it possible to use the native messaging app or third-party SMS app (I use GoSMS, haven't tried anything else) to text, instead of the awful Google Voice application. Both apps are $5, and I wouldn't open either until after you've completed the number port.
Step Two: Sign-up for Google Voice (Porting Your Number)
First, porting your number to Google Voice will terminate your cell phone contract, so only start this process close to your moving date. Second, do NOT cancel your contract with your service provider, allow Google to take care of that.
In order to use Google Voice, you need to sign-up for Google Voice. Obviously. If you already have a Google Voice number you want to use instead of your current cell phone number, skip this step. If not, continue. My recommendation is to port your current cell number into Google Voice... if everyone has your phone number, why change it? There is a one-time charge of $20, but you get to keep your number forever (or however long you like), which I think is completely worth it.
Yes, I can move fourteen hours away to a new country...... but I hate changing my phone number. Sue me.
Also, as stated above, porting your number to Google Voice will cancel your contract with your cellular provider. Luckily, my cell phone contract with T-Mobile ended exactly one week before my departure date, so that morning I initiated the process of porting my number from T-Mobile to Google Voice. Some of you may not be so fortunate, and will have to break your contract with your mobile service provider, so if you are still on-contract wait to set this up until you have at least two weeks before you leave the country. Use the time to google the heck out of this subject.
The process of actually porting your number to Google Voice is simple. Simply sign-in to your Google account, then head over to the
Google Voice page to begin the process. The instructions are pretty straightforward, follow them, and pay the one-time $20 to begin the port. Once again, do
not cancel your contract on your own, let Google take care of it.
Some important notes: ignore all the "omg, u cant make calls after, u kno dis, rite?" warnings that will pop up every five seconds. You will be able to, using
GrooVe IP. Also, the number porting process
will take (almost the whole) "up to"
twenty-four hours, after which it may take up to
three business days before you begin receiving texts.
The first twenty-four hours isn't so bad, since you're still able to text because your service provider still has control over your phone (assuming you heeded my warnings about not breaking your contract with your mobile provider.) On the other hand, the two and a half days of no received texts after I got the e-mail from the Google Voice team that the port was complete were the loooooooooooooongest two and a half days of my entire life.
Let's just say I'm one of those three-to-four thousand texts a month texters and I don't want to experience that kind of pain and suffering ever again.
In preparation for sending and receiving texts, go ahead and install the free
Google Voice app, sign-in, and have someone send you a text every few hours so you'll know when they start coming through.
Thankfully, the horrible torture of missing texts for almost three days is somewhat alleviated by the fact that
GrooVe IP is simple to set-up. Once your number is ported over, or if you already have a Google Voice number you want to use, open up the app and sign-in to your Google account and that's it, basically.
Depending on your phone, the strength of your WiFi connection, the cell signal of the person you're contacting, and probably a thousand other factors, you may experience some minor issues using
GrooVe IP. Sometimes I get a bad delay, other times an annoying echo... but hey, I can talk to my aunts, brother, dad, friends, mom, sister, and uncles on the phone whenever I want... for free. I like that tradeoff.
You'll likely need to play with some of the settings to get rid of delay or echo, but everything is well-explained within the app and you should have everything working properly in a couple of hours. One of my favorite things about
GrooVe IP is that it integrates with the native Android dialer, so you can make calls straight from there, instead of having to do it from the (ugly) interface of the app.
If you have any questions or problems with it, check out the
User Guide and
FAQ or
e-mail the developer.
After your world starts functioning again with the ability to receive texts, you can now set-up
Google Voice SMS Integration, which is even easier to do than with
GrooVe IP. Since you've already installed and signed into the
Google Voice app, the next thing to do after your number is ported is to wait (for for freaking forever) for text messages to start arriving.
Once they do, open up the
Google Voice SMS Integration app, sign into your Google account, and choose the setting "Via Google Voice Account" under the "Send Text Messages" option and "Native (or whatever your messaging app is) Messaging App" under the "Receive notifications to" option. Then check "Enable Integration" and the phone will restart. You should then be able to receive text messages to your messaging application of choice.
Step Five: Move to Japan, Be Fascinated
You'll love it here.
(Optional) Step: Purchase Data-Only SIM Card
Again, I am lucky (and so, so thankful) that the company I work for has provided me with housing, that WiFi was available here when I moved in, and that the guy who has been handling my immigration stuff speaks excellent English and has an Amazon Japan account, so when I got here I purchased a data-only SIM card as soon as I could. Everyone else's situations will be a little bit different, no doubt.
Some of you will be lucky enough to have WiFi access in your apartment when you arrive, others will not. Either way, in order to connect with your family and friends outside of a WiFi connection, and while waiting for your Alien Registration Card paperwork (what you will need in order to get a mobile voice plan), the best route to go is to ask whoever is assisting you to purchase either the
b-mobile 1GB Flat Rate Standard SIM or the
b-mobile 1GB Flat Rate microSIM for you, both of which are about $36 for 1GB or 30 days of use.
Once you receive the SIM, call the activation number (best to do from someone's cell phone) provided on the package and input the mobile number given to you (both numbers are on the package and card.) Your SIM will then be activated and you will be able to use the phone you brought over like you would in the US!
Lastly, an important note, even when your SIM is activated and your data connection is working, because of some sort of design issue with the b-mobile data SIM cards, some handsets will appear to have no connection when there actually is one. My phone is one of those phones.
It's not too big of a deal, other than being a battery drain and it stops
GrooVe IP from working over the data connection. None of my other apps has had any problems, however. There
is a fix available, and it is slightly complicated for those who have never delved into the
Android SDK before, but there's a first time for everything, right? For more information on the fix, check out
Japan Mobile Tech and decide whether you're up to the task (it's really not that hard if you can follow instructions.)
I'm currently using the
b-mobile 1GB Flat Rate Standard SIM
with my T-Mobile HD2, since I'm waiting on my first paycheck in order
to buy an unlocked HTC One X to use with SoftBank.
Step Six: Finally, You're Done!
Once you get your new Japanese Android phone though, you can just as easily re-download (you won't have to pay again) and install the three applications to use just as before, or you can get a mobile voice SIM card (after you get your Alien Registration paperwork) with either
docomo or
SoftBank for use with your already unlocked phone. Either option works, though apparently there are hoops you need to jump through with
SoftBank before they will allow you to use your own phone on their network.
But anyway, that's it. Hope this was easy enough to follow, but let me know if anything was unclear or if you have any questions. This is honestly one of the coolest things (in life) you can do, since it allows you to keep your phone number attached to Google Voice for as long as you want, and you can travel to any country in the world and have people reach you at the same number. If you're able to get everything working successfully, please let me know; it'd be nice to know I helped someone after taking waaaay longer than I thought I would to type this out.
Deuces!
