yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] BigKahuna68:
Better luck with alternate VOIP solution?

For those that have been successful with voip.ms I'd like to ask a few questions. Some background:

- All VOIP utilization is over home WIFI. I do not and will not attempt over TMO 3g/4g.

- When I first setup my GNEX in July, I followed this guide (Posts #1 and #6) to setup Google Voice + PBXes.com + SIPDroid.

- The Google Voice + PBXes.com + SIPDroid setup worked about 50% of the time. By work I mean zero packet loss, low latency. The other times the quality was so bad I could not use this setup. I recently disabled this configuration and went back to using mobile network only for voice.

- After further reading in this thread, others have been successful enabling and configuring QOS on their routers. Today, I did just that on my Linksys/Cisco E4200v2 and re-configured the Google Voice + PBXes.com + SIPDroid setup. No luck. First call, my packet loss and latency were so back I gave up. (Using speex as the only codec over wifi).

- Others on this thread have praised Google Voice + Voip.MS + CSipSimple.

Questions:

(1) Given my bad luck with Google Voice + PBXes.com + SIPDroid does anyone believe I'll have any better quality with Google Voice + Voip.MS + CSipSimple? I would try it, but it looks like it will cost me $25 bucks to find out ( minimum funding for a DID ).

(2) If you do believe its worth it, where can I find a good configuration guide? I've spent hours on Sunday googling and have not found anything specific to Google Voice + Voip.MS + CSipSimple. The closest is post #963 of this thread. The voip.ms wiki is daunting.

Just to troubleshoot my Google Voice + PBXes.com + SIPDroid setup:

- made test calls over several weeks, various days and time of days. There is no consistent pattern of good versus bad call quality.

- other issues that may be at play include ISP (Cox) and router (Cisco/Linksys E4200v2). The latter has been tested with both QOS on and off.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] whitedragonz83:
I believe you can ask for extra money back through VOIP.MS, if you chose to cancel your account with money leftover.

I would setup and add $25, no DID number. Then configure as such:

Account Settings->

Account Routing:

"USA48/Canada Routing = "Value or Premium, depending what you want. I found value fine, but recently went premium just to be a little more sure I always give the right caller ID"

General:

"CallerID Number" = Google Voice Number

Security:

"Main SIP/IAX Password" = password not the VOIP.MS password (used with CSipSimple to register your connection

Inbound Settings:

Protocol: "SIP"

Device: "ATA"

Default DID Routing:

DID POP:(Pick nearest server)

Routing: "check" SIP with [main account] setting.

Advanced:

Allowed Codecs: G.711 and g.729

That should be the Voip.MS settings you need to verify.

In CSipSimple:

Make a VOIP.MS account with settings as follows:

Username = SIP/IAX Main Username (from VOIP.MS) should be a 6 digit number

password = (above password you made)

server = nearest server you set above

Settings(CSipSimple):

Easy Config: check Integrate with Android, only for outgoing, and allowed to use mobile

Media->Codecs: make sure for slow G729 is top (this is for over 3g/4g) I also like this a lot for WiFi (or fast) depending the bandwidth.

That should be it.

Have Google Voice point to your T-Mobile number and you're set, I believe.

Also I really have had success with this g.729 over 3g/4g.

I don't know if it really is the codec (since speex is pretty low bandwith as well) or just the better latency from voip.ms servers vs pbxes.org servers.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] codesplice:
Thanks again to you guys picking up my slack. I've been a bit distracted recently with a series of high-priority projects at work, parting out a car, oh - and I'm getting married next weekend. Maybe I can get caught up after that? lol.... But seriously, thanks guys for keeping this going. I may not post frequently but I do read each and every post.

My understanding is that only ST on AT&T allows for the conditional call forwarding; ST on T-Mobile does not. So it's not totally false, it just varies for different situations. The same goes for the "no roaming on prepaid" statement. There are some circumstances where you can get roaming (and sometimes even data roaming) to work, but there's nothing standard across the board. Much better to go into it without expecting x to work and be pleasantly surprised when it does as opposed to depending upon x and finding out too late that you can't have it.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] BigKahuna68:
Thanks! I've taking this detail along with the information found in the previous posts and got a working inbound/outbound Google Voice + voip.ms + Google Nexus setup. I'll trying using this for the next few weeks and post my results.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] whitedragonz83:
Awesome to hear. Hope you have as much success as I have had
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] c0LdFire:
dup
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] zAlbee:
Today I made a 25-minute call over wifi with Sipdroid + pbxes.org + GV to Canada, and my stats were 0% packet loss, >91ms ping, i.e. quite good. I never got around to configuring QoS, but I happened to my sitting 5 feet away from my home router, while my wife was streaming video in the other room. I'm pretty happy with this. Free calling to US/Canada means I don't even need to buy a long distance card anymore (normally 3 cents/min). :thumbup: I think my previous troubles with packet loss were only in my bedroom, where my wifi signal was low.

By the way, maybe it's just me, but when I read the first post of this topic, I always got the feeling that configuring Sipdroid was hard (due to needing a pbxes.org account) -- but it's not. Everything is automatic. This really should be the recommended solution for noobs, better than Talkatone or GrooveIP. CsipSimple on the other hand still kinda goes over my head. :P

Sent from my Transformer TF101
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] idigg:
I'm buying a Galaxy Nexus from Craigslist today, he says its GSM and will work on AT&T and Tmobile. Is there a 100% for sure way for me to make sure this is the right version Nexus I need? Can I pop my activated TMobile SIM into it and see if it connects to data/cell ? Thanks!

justin
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] 3rdstring:
Yes

:Edit: I think that settings >> About phone >> Baseband should start with I9250...
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] zurdo82:
I wanted share my experience so far which has been very positive. I am more than happy to get rid of my contract.

I am starting my third month on T-Mobile monthly 4g for $30. On top of that, I set up a subscription with skype for unlimited US & Canada calls for $2.99 for my outgoing calls. For any incoming calls I just use my t-mo minutes. I am careful with my minute usage but skype has handled my needs very effectively.

I've used skype on both wifi and mobile network and it has been great so far. Yesterday for example, I called my parents in Peru while I was on the road. I drove from centreville,va to arlington (rosslyn) for about 25 min on route 66. The call never dropped but I had a couple of times where my parents couldn't hear me for a few seconds (my signal dropped to -105 dBm or lower in those occasions) but other than this, nobody notices (and very few people know) that I'm making and voip call. The lag is almost unnoticeable.

My only complaint about my setup is that I can't send SMSs to Puerto Rico numbers ( google voice cannot send texts to international numbers and unfortunately considers PR as an international number). I end up just usimg my tmo number for that.

Tmo also had very poor internet signal in the eastern shore of MD (mostly edge speeds in Easton & St. Michaels). For what I pay tmo, I don't really care and I was there only for a weekend.

Again, for $33 a month, I have pretty good speeds (way better than att - more reliable) , pretty decent coverage, and an excellent price. Porting my att to my google voice number is also great because I even have the flexibility to take or make calls from gmail/gtalk on my pc wherever I'm somewhere with poor reception.

Fyi, I tried grooveip and sipdroid beforehand but the call quality even on wifi never convinced me.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
Every GSM model has the bands for AT&T and T-Mobile. If you flip the phone over and it doesn't say "Verizon" or "Sprint" on the back, then you're good to go.

Although you should always pop a SIM into the phone and make sure its functioning properly when buying a used device.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] whitedragonz83:
This is interesting as I ignored Skype as a solution due to high prices, but since like you I only use my voip for outbound, I might read more on it. Skype does have one of the best audio codecs for voip calling.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] woody296:
I picked up a tmobile one s on c-list over the weekend. I put her on the simple mobile $40 plan. The internet speed is on par with sprint's crappy 3g speed so it's good enough for me. Thanks for the info on the tmobile $30 plan. I may come back and try it out.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Mgamerz:
This my friends, is why I love android.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] codesplice:
Agreed, thanks for contributing your experience, zurdo82.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] ejlmd:
I get great voice quality for outgoing calls using Vonage Mobile app from ANdroid Market. All calls are free to USA numbers, and calls to other Vonage Mobile users via the app use the HD Audio iSac codec.

http://www.mgraves.org/2012/07/making-use-of-wideband-voice-right-now-vonage-mobile/

I have found this much superior to GrooveIP, and simpler (as well as cheaper) than Skype.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] BrianDigital:
does it work with Google voice so that outbound calls use the gv number?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Mgamerz:
Question: You say 'no roaming at all'. Is this data roaming or voice roaming? I have AT&T right now, and I don't know if I never roam on voice. I always turn off roaming data cause it's crazy expensive. Do phones roam on minutes anymore? I haven't heard of roaming in ages...
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] whitedragonz83:
Prepaid T-Mobile $30/mo provides voice roaming. Not sure I even know if/when I am roaming on voice, but it is provided.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Mgamerz:
T-Mobile sounds like they might buy MetroPCS (or the other way around?)... Hope this doesn't change their pricing structure. Sounds likes its for LTE.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] codesplice:
Very cool, I'll have to check that out!

Yeah, as whitedragonz83 mentioned you do (usually) get voice roaming with the T-Mobile Prepaid plans; there is not data roaming option though. You don't have to disable it or anything - it just won't work. Even on postpaid carriers though you don't generally get charged for data roaming unless it's international data roaming - I once racked up a $890 bill in Afghanistan that way ;)

Yup. Shouldn't affect the pricing structure, I think it's just Magenta structuring to be ready to expand (or rather, create) their LTE network.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] DamienChaos:
I was in Alaska a couple of weeks ago and, although I had a very strong voice signal, I had absolutely zero data connection. As a result, I'd venture to guess that would be the standard experience if voice roaming on Monthly4G. The network name at the bottom of the pull-down shade would typically read "NO INTERNET CONNECTION", but periodically it would switch to show "AT&T" for a moment. That seems to match up with T-Mobile's prepaid coverage maps, which show some voice coverage, but very little data coverage in AK.

--DC
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] ejlmd:
It doesn't directly use Google Voice, but when you setup the app on your device, it asks you for your phone number, and then sends you a registration text. Enter your GV number, and then outgoing calls will show this as your caller ID.

This app is really good; I was able to successfully call to the US a number of times, at no charge, even with very limited WiFi from a Caribbean hotel. It even works pretty well on Sprint's 3G network. Voice has been louder and clearer than with Sipdroid as well (GSM or Speex codecs, over Gtalk protocol).

Unfortunately, think it only receives calls from other Vonage Mobile users.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Mgamerz:
I was in Wyoming and roaming kept coming up. Of course, it is Wyoming... Its like $1 per MB or something.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] atlgator:
No it doesn't. No T-Mobile signal? No calls.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Mgamerz:
On android is there a way to tell if you are voice roaming? In older phones it had like 20000 icons (RAZR)...
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] codesplice:
It is really very hit or miss. There have been times when I have had no tmo signal (showed roaming in the notification pane and an R next to the signal status indicator) and I could place a voice call (not via GV of course, just a standard cellular call) and others when I could not under very similar circumstances. I figure that you shouldn't plan on having that capability and instead be pleasantly surprised when you do.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
"r" in the status bar and "roaming" in the notification shade/lock screen.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] idigg:
Thanks to codesplice I now have a $28.50/month cell bill. I purchased my first refill from callingmart with the 5% discount. I came from ATT with just a 200MB data plan, having 5GB of data is so awesome. Rooted and upgraded to CM10, this phone is amazing! I'm actually running CSipSimple for outgoing calls over data/wifi, I'll use T-Mobile for incoming.

Anyone using the Diztronic case with an extended battery? Thanks again

PS - now it's time to convince wife this phone is better than an iPhone 5

justin
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] whitedragonz83:
What are you using in conjunction with CSipSimple?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] idigg:
Pbxes free SIP account. I notice doing ping/tracert it has a good amount of latency. I'll keep that for now but might splurge for a chicago based voip.ms account.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] chadd_k2:
I got the sipdroid/pbxes setup working last night and so far so good. The one thing I haven't found is how to set a default area code when making 7digit calls. Can anyone help me with that?

Sorry if this has been asked/answered already but I searched the thread and didn't find anything.

Also, if there anyone has any good sipdroid settings tips,please share! There's a ton of settings in there and I don't really know what they all do
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Pkt_Lnt:
I cannot dial seven digit calls on my cellular line. I have all my contacts in as 10 digit numbers.

For Sipdoid, this is a good place to start, especially the User Interface part.

http://code.google.com/p/sipdroid/wiki/FAQ
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] chadd_k2:
guess i'll chalk that feature up to a win for grooveIP then. :)
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] idigg:
So I'm loving this VOIP setup, but I'm having an issue. I tried SipDroid and CSipSimple and both exhibit the same issue. When someone calls my GV #, my GNex only rings 3 times, although the call gets 7-8 rings then my GV voicemail. So basically I need to answer my phone very quickly or it goes to VM. Any ideas? TIA

justin
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Pkt_Lnt:
It is Google Voice - it gives you 25 seconds from the time the call gets forwarded from GV until it activates voice mail. Some of the 7-8 rings are "false" rings while the system locates your phone.

People do not like dead air at the start of a phone call, so the false rings are inserted. That began in the early days of cellular use, since the system has to locate your phone and route to it when the call is initiated.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] idigg:
That bites, so everyone that is using a VOIP setup only gets 2-3 rings on there GNex? That is hard to believe that people are actually using this then.. Just curious.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Pkt_Lnt:
If your call routing starts with Google Voice, then it gives you 25 seconds before voice mail kicks in. The number of rings on the phone can vary.

My routing is GV > voip.ms DID > CSipSimple (if registered at voip.ms) > TMo cell number (if no answer or no registered). This usually means that I get 3-5 rings to answer either voip or cell calls.

I experimented with taking the voip.ms out of the process, and only get one more ring, 25 seconds is 25 seconds, and searching for the mobile can take half or more of that 25 seconds. Actually, the rings to my phone when registered on voip is faster than cell calls, usually I get 4-5 rings voip and only 3 rings cellular, but I am in a rural area with few towers so finding me takes longer.

I wish it was more, but since I use Google Voice to start the process, that is what it does. I researched the bejesus out of this, no workarounds found. On the other hand, my service is so inexpensive and it gives me so much control and flexibility, that I am happy with it.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] idigg:
So this is my setup...

GV > PBXes > SipDroid

What happens is my cell will ring 2-3 times and the caller gets 7-8 rings. After ring 3 on my cell, it never forwards to my TMo # which is odd.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] pdxtechdoctor:
you can use GrooveIP for incoming calls and then use sipdroid to only be used for outgoing.. The problem with the 3 rings is a PBXes issue..

You can also give this a try..

https://simonics.com/gvgw/

Just get it setup and then configure it in sipdroid or csipsimple
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Pkt_Lnt:
I had PBXes and SipDroid at first, per the setup instructions in the OP here. You have to have dual forwarding routes out of GV, one to Gtalk that is the PBXes/SipDroid and the other to your real cell number. That was the trick of using airplane mode via Tasker or AutoAP so that the call did not go to both at once with both ringing. There is no ability to have PBXes forward to your cellular number. So that is why calls that route to PBXes do not forward to your cell, because it does not do that.

That was a minor reason to go to the voip.ms and CSipSimple for me, the major reason being better VoIP performance (less latency) due to the codecs available and multiple servers close to ones location.

However, there is still that 25 seconds that Google Voice allows for a call to answer before Voice Mail picks up, regardless of the call routing.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] idigg:
I just signed up for a VOIP.ms account and added $25. I have it setup with csipsimple and I can only make outgoing calls even though I have the options set to receive incoming as well. When I call my cell # it just rings and goes to my GV voicemail. If I go off airplane mode my cell rings over TMo cell signal.

Do I need to buy a VOIP.ms DID in order to receive incoming calls? I'm pulling out my non-existent hair LOL
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] xdp:
Would love to do this but it seems Groove IP is only workable on WiFi - I just don't know if 100 minutes is enough for all talking outside of the house. If you run out, can you keep using data and texting within your current bucket until you choose to re-up?

Also, are you guys using 2-step authorization and a unique password for Groove? Not really comfortable giving them my Google password in the app - I wish it just asked for "authorization" like other apps that use your Google account do.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] UnknownPleasures:
Just wanted to say that this is a f***ing awesome thread!

I won't be going to the T-mo $30 plan as I can't make most of my calls on Wi-Fi but still going the prepaid route nonetheless.

Still cheaper than $100+ on AT&T.

Bravo sir, I will be taking a few of these steps in my quest however.

Thanks!
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] xur17:
Yes, you can keep usin your data and texting after you run out of minutes. You can also use the additional balance in your account for additional minutes, charged at $0.10 per minute, or $10 per 100 minutes after you run out, which is a decent price.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] bobsbbq:
Not sure how many minuets you use but consider this. The T-mobile 30.00 plan includes 100 min, after that it is just .10 per min so another 400 min will be just another 40.00. And you get 5gb of data at 4G speeds. So for me coming from verizon 70 was still much cheaper than my bill with verizon, it was about 96.00 a month for a 400 min plan. If you buy your refill cards through some online retailers (like calling Mart) you will save even more and none of those fees and taxes.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
Was poking around the play store and found this app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.geekherd.autoap which is by a developer who makes "RealSilent", which I love. When I saw it, it reminded me of this thread. Maybe someone here could make use of it.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
In order to stay on the $50 go phone plan you've gotta hope they think you're on a dumbphone and let you keep the plan. The bonus of using the T-Mobile plan is knowing exactly what you're getting up front and always having it.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
No problem. I think CallingMart is fantastic. I've had a great experience with them. My bad for not following this thread as closely, its pretty much turning into a secondary prepaid thread, whereas I thought it was going to be mostly VOIP based.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
Think I may have covered this in the other prepaid thread but... I'd just look at your regular monthly minutes usage and see what's best based on that. If you're a heavy data user and need the 5GB bucket, there's a full $40 jump between the 100 minute and UL minute T-Mobile plans. That's equivalent to another 400 minutes of talk in "overages". If you ever keep your usage under 500 minutes total, including current nights and weekends (which aren't free on prepaid), then its still best to use the $30 plan. You can use as much as you want up to 500 min total and still be less than the $70 plan, but you actually save monthly when you're under 500. Kind of like rollover minutes, except its just $$ in your account for next month.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] codesplice:
Ah, very cool. That would definitely be an easier way to pull off this set up for folks who aren't as familiar/comfortable with Tasker. Nice find!

Explained very nicely. I would definitely recommend that folks try the $30/mo plan for a month or two at least to see if it's something they can work with. If you end up using the $30 + another $20 of calls, you'll still be better off than going for the $70/mo plan. Or if you find out that you never use more than 2GB of data, there may be another plan (either with T-Mobile or some other MVNO) that may be a better fit. The joy of prepaid is freedom: you're free to try out as many different services as you need to in order to find the right fit. Don't feel like you have to be locked in to the choice that you make when you sign up.

I think my initial thought was that this could serve to augment the original prepaid thread with more discussion about techniques for getting the most out of the prepaid service, whereas that thread was more (at least initially) a discussion of the various services themselves. At any rate, I feel a bit like a prepaid missionary - the more converts we can get, the better!

Also, thanks for picking up some of my slack in this thread last night... lost power for most of the evening :(
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] codesplice:
Yeah, I've been using the 2-step authentication ever since it became an option. I love the added security of being able to cut off an application's access without having to reset my primary password.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Kransbox:
I just found this thread and I'm walking through the steps in tasker. I have the newest version and maybe some things switched around?

When I am setting up the task, step number 3 airplane radios, I do not see the option "airplane radios" under the net sub section.

Has it moved somewhere? I can get all the rest of the steps finished, but that one alludes me.:confused: