[General Questions and Answers] q-killer:
Hi All! This is my first guide/thread so be kind. I was looking for a way to conserve money... I am on boost prepaid and it gets quite expensive when talking, or sending a few txt messages. I found there is a way to activate unconditional call forwarding which, now unfortunately does use up minutes, once activated (*72XXXXXXXXXX for boost) calls are automatically forwarded to a google voice number, and can be deactivated (*720 on boost). There maybe many ways to call forward depending on your carrier; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Call_forwarding... EDIT: now boost is charging me for forwarded calls, so I just call back with groove... the automation is still helpful though:

I think I have finally found the easiest most reliable method; you will need to enter your forwarding codes if you aren't on boost:

Needed items:

Android phone on carrier of your choice. Or you can use a tablet for wifi only calls, if your tablet doesn't have a mic, then try using a bluetooth headset.. maybe even a usb dongle if there is no bluetooth, but usb is available

Google voice (from market), and a google voice account (to send free SMS messages)

Groove IP ($4.99 one time in market to make/receive free voip calls)

LLama app (free, but we need this test version: http://www.mediafire.com/?qp5dfbqsc8ci88g) This version of LLama includes permission to dial #s, this is needed for forwarding #s, so don't use the one from the market.

In theory, groove IP can work over 3g, but in reality it doesn't for me. A short call to someone on the same cell network works at times, but calling anywhere else results in a choppy frustrating mess... therefore this guide assumes groove only works for you over wifi.

1) Get your apps installed.

2) Open Google voice, login, choose never use google voice to make calls, I had to skip the part where it asks you to setup voicemail because this requires conditional call forwarding (rings phone first then forwards to voicemail) which my carrier doesn't support. Your miles may vary here, but I recommend skipping this for now. When responding to, or sending text messages check the box 'always perform this action' and choose voice. Ask the people who txt you to now txt your google voice number. They will figure this out if you always respond to their messages via the google voice app.

3) Connect to wifi, run Groove IP, and login. Groove can be tricky to get working perfectly, but with some tweaks it works great for me. Here's my grooveIP settings:

uncheck 3g/4g calling, check accept calls on answer, under native dialer options-built in dialer preference- choose wifi only, under native dialer-exclusion numbers, enter your forwarding and 'disable' forwarding codes (dependent on carrier) separated by commas. Under audio/echo settings lower your mic gain, mine is set at -8, but yours may be different. Under miscellaneous check autostart and enter your default area code for easier dialing. Now verify calls are working by dialing the google voice test number: 9093900003. This will echo back everything you say so listen for echos/distortion, then make adjustments necessary. Use the 'troubleshooting' section under settings as a last resort, as you *should* be able to get everything working better if it is working at all at this point... tested on an evo 3d and an evo shift.

4) Run the LLama app. This will take the longest to configure of the three, click through the app and read the little one time dialogue boxes. This is a great free app, so if you find it useful, please donate some money to the developer. The configuration here may take some tweaking depending on your personal lifestyle, but I will share my current configuration(s):

a) Under Areas, I have Home, work, etc, anyplace there is a reliable wifi connection. Locations are based on cell towers and will need to be 'learned'

b) Under events: I deleted all the defaults and created:

* 'Near Hotspot': At 'locations' home, work, friends, family, school, etc (fill these in with your wifi enabled locations), delay for 4 minutes cancelling delayed if false, then turn on wifi.

* 'Wifi connected' When wifi is connected to <Any Wifi network> run Groove IP, run shortcut 'Forward' (direct dial to contact 'Forward' - *72XXXXXXXXXX), queue another event; wait one minute, disable mobile data (optional)

* 'Wifi Disconnected' When the phone is disconnected from <Any Wifi network> delay for one minute and enable mobile data

(disabling/enabling mobile data are optional but help conserve battery)

* 'Away from hotspot': When the phone disconnects from <Any Wifi network> delay for 2 minutes cancelling delayed if false, then disable Wifi, run a direct dial shortcut 'unforward' (*720), then run an android intent com.gvoip.STOP_GROOVE_IP. For this intent, choose custom, broadcast for the intent send mode, the package name is 'com.gvoip', and the action is 'com.gvoip.STOP_GROOVE_IP', leave everything else blank. This is needed because simply killing groove IP will result in it restarting automatically.

c) leave profile tab alone for now

d) troubleshoot to work out glitches... you can use the little clock icon in LLama to see history and what triggered last events

This does take some initial configuration/tweaking, but once everything works, it's just awesome. Now whenever I'm nearby a wifi hotspot I don't have to pay for minutes when making calls, and SMS through google voice is free always. Best of all, everything happens automatically so you don't forget about connecting wifi, forwarding/unforwarding, or starting/stopping groove IP. Remember to hit thanks if this helps you lower your phone bill.

**Edit**

This guide may still be helpful for a quite a few people, but unfortunately Boost is now using minutes on forwarded inbound connections... which sucks, because they weren't for about 2 months, and nothing changed. What you can do though, is leave out the forwarding aspect of this automation sequence. When people call, just don't answer and call them back right away via groove, or sms from google voice, this way you will still be able to conserve your minutes while on wifi. You still must use minutes both calling and receiving a call while driving or in motion, and google voice is always free for sms.