Google Voice

The latest version has some nice improvements but added some other issues. I like the ability to send photos and use emojis. I don’t like that it no longer recalls and suggests the numbers that you have sent texts to. Because I don’t link my iPhone contacts to it, If I delete a text string I now have to look up the number to start a new one. It should suggest numbers that have been used even if the archives are deleted and allow us to delete a suggestion we no longer need. The opposite is true for phone calls. It not only archives the phone numbers of calls you make but there is no way I have found to remove them from the archive. If these two issues were resolved I would rate it 5 stars. I'm updating my previous negative review to a positive 5 stars. Defects have been corrected and it is easier and more reliable to use. I especially like the ability to easily and permanently delete conversation and call history. Thank you Google !! Totally non functional for texts. Used the prior version all the time now there is no way to send a txt because the ">" that used to be there to send is missing. Also, after you enter the destination number you cannot get back to the message without starting over. This is a total train wreck. (Using iPhone 6s with latest iOS update).

I’ve used GV for years. Ian using this app on an iPhone 6 with latest iOS. The current version contains two major bugs that currently make this a three star app. 1) when texting photos, an occasional photo will perpetually stay in “sending”mode and remain at the bottom of the conversation. Sometimes it is multiple photos that are stuck and you have to scroll up to get to the latest message in your exchange with a particular person. This issue can be present in multiple text conversations and every time you send or receive a text from that person, the picture or pictures are the first thing you see, even if they were sent a month ago. There is NO WAY TO DELETE THEM. The only way to fix this is to delete the entire app and reinstall it. 2) The text box where you compose your text message frequently is missing no matter who you try to text. The only way to fix this is to exit the app and open it again. These bugs are quite annoying. Granted, it’s not that difficult to to exit and reopen the app to fix issue #2 but the frequency that this needs to be done is a bit much. Deleting and reinstalling the app multiple times to fix issue #1 has gone way beyond being just a minor annoyance. I’m hoping these issues are fixed soon.

Still not improved!!! I have been using Google voice for nearly 4 years. I needed a safer way to contact clients while Keeping a low profile as well as a way to contact guys I date and block them if need be all while having the ability to archive messages to reference later since I’m also a writer. Overall the service works great but why no address book was included in iPhone app version is beyond me. So I had to add the clients number to the iPhone which became problematic when Facebook linked my profile to these contacts and all the sudden my privacy was violated. And because you can add and update or block numbers from the app only when you log in via your email it gets super annoying. I also wish google had allowed for pictures to be sent out not just received. I recently downloaded another Google voice 3 app which I hoped included an address book along with picture sending and since downloading and using that I can no longer make calls using regular Google voice app. I also wish the messages wouldn't be separated into various conversations with the same person. Why couldn't they archive like regular text message for the same number. Google please fix!!

response required

I have been using this app for 1.5 years because I love the concept of a free way to text message and receive calls, but the app itself is the worst app on my phone. It crashes several times a week. When replying from the lock screen, it often does not actually send the message but doesn’t let you know it failed. I cannot send or receive video messages. A new message notification may pop up, but then when opening the app it may be super delayed in appearing. I regularly click on one text message and it opens a different one. 90% of the time if someone calls me, we can’t hear each other and I have to hang up and call them through a different app. I have to forward my calls instead, which works well. I have to use Google Hangouts to make free calls, because using the app either doesn’t work or uses my cell line that costs money. There are a couple of pictures I tried to send once and failed, but the app still shows them as pending months later and there is no way to delete them without deleting the whole conversation...so I have to scroll through them every time to see the latest message. Google obviously does not care to invest hardly any money or time in improving Google Voice. If I knew of a reputable and more reliable free phone and text service, I would use it instead.

I have had this Google phone number attached to my regular number for quite some time. I downloaded the app to my iPhone and was exceedingly surprised at how user-friendly and convenient it is to have a second number that is really attached to my main number. And I do not have to download "sketchy" apps that want to download my contacts to their server and all the other things that are so questionable these days. The part I do really love and have used, is that when people call my Google number, I can press the number four on the keypad, and it plays a legal recording telling both parties that the call is being recorded. If they continue, that is their legal acknowledgment and then Google sends you that entire recording to keep or archive on their trusted servers for as long as needed. Overall, I really cannot say enough about the Google number feature. And the app that I am reviewing here, is just an added bonus that deserves 10 stars in my opinion.