Tips for using Google Voice

Once you've set up your Google Voice account and entered your own Google Voice number, you're ready to actually use the service! This tutorial will cover some basic ways you can use Google Voice to stay in touch with the people who matter to you. We will cover:

• First ensure your ip situation (us).
• how to call someone
• How to Enable or Disable Advanced Incoming Calling Features
• How to record calls
• How to switch phones during a call
• How to start a conference call
• How to send or reply to a text message
• How to check your voicemail
• What is Do Not Disturb mode and how to enable or disable it
• How to delete incoming call notifications, text message conversations or voicemails
• How to download the Google Voice mobile app

How to make calls using Google Voice

1. Access your Google Voice account.

Visit www.google.com/voice in your favorite web browser. You will be prompted to log in to your Google Account; do so.

2. Open the "Calls" folder and click "Make a call" at the top of the call log.

Click the Calls tab (phone icon) to display your call history. At the top of the call log, click Make a call.

3. Select the number or contact you want to call and click Call.

The call details window will change to allow you to search for the person or number to call. In the box labeled "To", enter a phone number or the name of one of your contacts. A drop-down menu appears as you type, allowing you to select the person or number to call. After clicking one of these suggestions, click Call at the bottom of the window.

(Tip: If you locked the wrong number or contact, you can tap it, then tap the "X" next to it to remove it. Then you can enter a different number or contact.)

4. Select how you want Google Voice to forward your call to its recipient, and then make the call.

A box will pop up asking you to select a phone to answer the call. Click the drop-down menu labeled "Make a call," then select a phone you've connected to Google Voice, or select Hangouts.

If you choose a linked phone, Google will make the call. When you answer the call, you will be forwarded to the person or number you want to call.

If you choose Hangouts, you will be transferred to Google Hangouts and your calls will be made through your computer's Internet connection.

After making your selection, click Connect to place the call.

Notes on making international calls with Google Voice

When using Google Voice, you will be charged for international calls in three main situations:

• When you call certain remote areas in the US or Canada
• When you call a number belonging to a country other than the US or Canada
• When you make a call from a country other than the US or Canada

In all of these cases, you won't be able to make calls through Google Voice unless you already have a credit balance on your account. To learn how to add money to your Google Voice account, see our lesson on Google Voice fees .

Advanced Google Voice calling features

When you make a phone call with Google Voice, you can perform advanced actions such as record the call, switch the phone that answers the call, or start a conference call. However, to use any of these features, you must first enable them. need to be able to do this:

• Sign in to your Google Voice account at www.google.com/voice .
• Click the main menu button (three bars) in the upper left corner of the page.

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• Click Settings.

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• Click the Calling category, then click the toggle next to "Incoming Call Options" to toggle it to the "On" position (pictured below).

You can now use additional features when you receive a call from your Google Voice number.

To record a call:

• After answering the call from your Google Voice number, press the "4" key on your phone. Other callers will hear that you have started recording the call.
• To stop recording, press the "4" key again. Other callers will be notified that you have stopped recording. The recording will also stop if you hang up.
• You can view your call history by checking your Google Voice voicemail (more on this later).

To open the phone you are talking on:

• After answering the call from your Google Voice number, press the "*" ("asterisk") key.
• Google Voice will call all other phone numbers associated with your account. Just answer the call on the new phone you want to use.

To start the conference call:

• Receive calls from your Google Voice number.
• If you receive another call on your Google Voice number during a call, you will be notified and asked if you want to start the conference call. To do this, press the "5" key.

How to text with Google Voice

1. Sign in to your Google Voice account.

Use your web browser of choice to navigate to www.google.com/voice and log into your account.

2. Go to your SMS history.

Click the SMS tab (conversation bubble) in the left pane to display your text message history on Google Voice.

3. To start a new conversation, click Send Message, and then select recipients.

If you want to start a whole new conversation, click Send Message at the top of your message history. You can then click the box labeled "To" and enter a phone number or the name of one of your contacts. As you type, a drop-down menu will appear where you can select a contact or number to call. Click on one of the options to add it to your recipient list.

Unlike a call, you can click the To box again and enter another contact or number you want to text; you can do this up to 30 times! Of course, if you decide you don't want to text someone at all, just tap their name or number and then tap the "X" next to them to delete it.

4. To continue the conversation, click the name or number in the message history.

If you want to reply to a text message someone has already sent you, or continue a conversation with someone, just click the sender in your text message history.

5. Compose your message, add a picture if needed, and send.

Once you've identified the recipient of the text message, you need to actually compose the text message and send it out.

Click the box at the bottom of the page labeled "Type a message" and type what you want to say for the text message. You can also click the image selection button (the hill) on the left to search for and add images to your text; please note that images larger than 2 megabytes in memory will be compressed, and . GIF files won't upload at all.

When you're ready to send the message, click the send button (paper airplane).

How to Check Your Voicemail Using Google Voice

Google Voice has a voicemail system that handles missed calls to your Google Voice number. You can also set up a phone linked to Google Voice to record voicemail to Google Voice, or switch back to its standard voicemail system.

Anyway, once you have some voicemails in Google Voice, here's how to view them:

1. Visit the Google Voice website and log in to your Google Account.

Open your preferred web browser and go to www.google.com/voice . Log in to your account there.

2. View your Google Voice voicemail history.

Click the Voicemail tab (reel-to-reel tape) on the left side of the page to view a history of the voicemail messages you've received.

3. Open the voicemail you want to read or listen to.

Voicemails you haven't opened will appear in bold. To open voicemail, just click it.

4. Read the transcription of the voicemail, press the Play button to play it, or select other available options.

You will now be able to see a transcript of what was said in the voicemail. If you want to hear the actual content of the voicemail, click the Play button (ie the triangle). You may also have other options, such as raising or lowering the volume of your voicemail, or dialing its number with a single click.

Other Google Voice Features

There are a few other features of Google Voice that we haven't covered yet, but it feels like they might still be useful to you. One is to enable (or disable) Do Not Disturb mode. This will cause all incoming calls to your Google Voice number to go directly to voicemail, and all incoming text messages to remain in Google Voice instead of being forwarded to your linked phone.

Another is to delete call information, text message conversations or voicemails that you may no longer need. Another is to download the Google Voice mobile app so you can manage your Google Voice account on the go.

To enable or disable Google Voice's Do Not Disturb mode:

• Visit www.google.com/voice in your web browser and log in to your Google Account.
• Click the main menu (that is, three bars) in the upper left corner of the Google Voice main interface.

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• Click Settings.

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• Click the phone number, then click the toggle next to "Do Not Disturb" to turn it on.

To delete SMS conversations, call messages or voicemails:

• Sign in to your Google Voice account at www.google.com/voice .
• Click the Messages, Calls, or Voicemail tabs to open the folder containing the communication you want to delete.

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• Click the communication you want to delete, then click the More options button (three dots) in the upper left corner of the info window.

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• Finally, select Delete from the drop-down menu.

To download and install the Google Voice mobile app:

• Open your phone and look for the Play Store (App Store on iOS devices) app; you should be able to find it on the home screen. Click it to make it run.

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• Once in the Google Play Store or Apple App Store, you should see a search bar at the top of the screen (or in the upper right corner of your iOS device). Tap on it and type "Google Voice" using your device's (virtual) keyboard, then tap the suggestion from the drop-down menu that appears.

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• When your search results appear, find the app called "Google Voice" and tap it to select it.
• Once in the information screen for the Google Voice app, tap Install (or, on iOS devices, tap Get, then Install) to download and install the program.

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• (Note #1: You may be asked to log in to your Google or Apple account to continue. Do so if you have to, but it doesn't matter if you log out or skip this screen. Google Voice is free to use!)
• (Note #2: You may receive notifications about device features that Google Voice may require. Click Accept if you agree to do so.)
• After Google Voice is downloaded and installed on your device, tap Open on the app info screen to launch it. After that, you just need to tap the application icon on the main interface of the device to get started.

Those are some basics on how to communicate with Google Voice! Next, we'll go over some advanced features like how to block users, or how to change or enable/disable your voicemail.