Google Voice - got charged $60.??????

[scubieman]

Are you texting with it international? I just texted america and works fine.

 

[GrillMouster]

To the OP. Do the following.
Open the app list and open the app "Text Messaging". Are there any records there? If so, then you have been sending or receiving some text messages through the phone rather than through Google Voice.

One reason I don't bother using Google Voice for texts or calls is that it relies too heavily on the other people using the Google Voice number to contact you. If they already have your mobile phone number in their phone's contact book, it's natural for them to send a text to that number instead of your Google Voice number.

If you do use GV, then you need to make sure that it's set up to NOT forward notifications to your phone by text. You also want to make sure that it uses your GV number, NOT your phone's number as the "text back" or "call back" number.

In addition to checking out the settings in your phone's GV app, log into your GV account on through a web browser and check the settings.

 

[ricks]

Did the OP get his GV set up properly yet? I never get charges for texting and I text sometimes up to 500 times in a month.(I know alot of people that text alot more). If I got charged for some of those, I would have freaked.

 

[droidx2010]

Here's an important consideration: if you don't MAKE SURE you give your friends your Google Voice number, they will in all likelihood text your normal cell phone number (20 cents right there). If you get their text, and without noticing the icon of the program you use to send your reply--Google Voice is a classical phone handset inside a circular "call-out", the default Android program is called "Messaging" and is a smiley face inside a rectangular "call-out" (THEY LOOK VERY SIMILAR)--your outbound reply will be another 20 cents. That handles threads that begin as an inbound text to your normal cell phone number.

What about if you send out a text from Google Voice? Two things can still go wrong. Either your text pal may send a response to your cell phone (which is pretty unlikely) or they will hit reply, which means it goes to to your Google Voice number. As several here have noted, it's probably the case that you have texts set up so you get a copy to your cell phone number (another 20 cents).

Turning off this copy is not so easy. The only way I've been able to do it is with the following:

(1) Log in to Google Voice on your computer.
(2) Go to "Settings" (upper right corner), select "Voice Settings"
(3) Under the "Phones" tab, find your cell phone
(4) Select the "Edit" button
(5) There is an option called "Text Settings"
(6) Is "Receive text messages on this phone (mobile phones only)" selected? If so, turn it off! That is probably the problem.

This should solve the problem for texts that are correctly routed to your GV number, BUT REMEMBER: you have to make sure everyone uses your GV number to send you texts (or have Verizon turn off texting to your cell phone number) or you'll probably continue to pay for texts when you shouldn't!
-Matt

You know what? This seemed to have worked...haven't gotten the bill yet but it doesn't go through my phone now. Only problem is, I don't know I get texted anymore since I never get a notice on my phone that a text msg has arrived. Any way to fix that?

 

[gadgetrants]

You know what? This seemed to have worked...haven't gotten the bill yet but it doesn't go through my phone now. Only problem is, I don't know I get texted anymore since I never get a notice on my phone that a text msg has arrived. Any way to fix that?

Well, I think of you've stumbled onto a Google Voice "bug". It seems lots of people (including me) have GV set up to "synchronize inbox" which supposedly means that messages are pushed automatically to our phones. But for some reason, there can be a noticeable delay between updates...sometimes it can be several minutes or hours before a text appears in the GV inbox even when we watch it being sent.

-Matt

 

[Dr.Dad]

Random texts

I have been using google voice for a few months now, and I still get random notification texts sent to my mobile number (so I am charged)...I double check my google voice settings and....
that's another issue!
The "send texts to this phone" is unchecked as it should be, BUT the voicemail notification via text randomly gets checked every 2-3 weeks....
anyone else having 1 or both issues? any fixes or suggestions? The few dollars extra every month is not a big deal (certainly not 60$) but still annoying...a penny saved is a penny earned!
thanks!

 

[nerdkill]

i'm pretty sure i know what's going on here. from reading through this it seems op is being charged by verizon and not google. i think think the op is using the stock messaging app to send text messages thinking that it is now routing through their gv number. you have to text through your gv app. if you're using it correctly you will not see any of the texts that you have made using gv in your stock sms application.

also, somewhere back there someone said you can call for free if you add your gv number to friends and family. that is no longer true. gv now uses rolling numbers when it dials out from your phone. it used to call the same number each time to google, and then google to whoever you were calling. it used to be that it would call the same number each time to google and then google to whoever you were calling so you could get away with that. they said it was to make calling faster, but it's pretty obvious they did it so you couldn't get unlimited calling like that. you can still do it if you install the old .apk.

 

[nerdkill]

also if you call verizon and explain your mistake and tell them you'll enter into an unlimited texting plan if they adjust your previous months texting they'll usually do it. 30 a month for unlimited family texting, or you could just get into this plan which is saving me about 60 a month.

https://email.vzwshop.com/servlet/website/ResponseForm?OSPEUT_9_9_z_UU_0Hsr_.2eHmH_wkhthE

 

[thiagohf113]

I thought you can text using google voice without being charged? I used voice for all my texting & got charged $.20 per text msg. that came to over $60 last month.

Am I doing something wrong? How can I text w/out a charge? Damn - I'm paying $30/mo for data service, you'd think I'd get more.

Maybe you were texting through the standard Messaging application when you thought you were going through Voice.

 

[superdesi]

you can still do it if you install the old .apk.

Where can I get the old .apk?

Sent from my DROIDX using DroidForums App

 

[nerdkill]

you can still do it if you install the old .apk.

Where can I get the old .apk?

Sent from my DROIDX using DroidForums App

i googled "old google voice .apk" and this is the first result that showed up. HTC Evo 4G - Google Voice 0.3.4 apk file

 

[nerdkill]

I have been using google voice for a few months now, and I still get random notification texts sent to my mobile number (so I am charged)...I double check my google voice settings and....
that's another issue!
The "send texts to this phone" is unchecked as it should be, BUT the voicemail notification via text randomly gets checked every 2-3 weeks....
anyone else having 1 or both issues? any fixes or suggestions? The few dollars extra every month is not a big deal (certainly not 60$) but still annoying...a penny saved is a penny earned!
thanks!

that's really odd, and a security issue. if you can duplicate that i would post on google's forums. your settings should never change unless you change them yourself.

the closest i've come is a voicemail going to my verizon voicemail box. it's only happened when two people leave a message at the same time.

 

[berbely]

This is a little expensive for me.

 

[jorny32]

You need to use Google Voice(the application!) to text.....

It's not hard. Obviously you cUt just sign up with Google for free and ignore the fact that you are on VERIZON. DUH.

The app uses 3g data to send the text.... that's why it is free.

Sent from my ADR6300 using DroidForums App

 

[droidx2010]

also if you call verizon and explain your mistake and tell them you'll enter into an unlimited texting plan if they adjust your previous months texting they'll usually do it. 30 a month for unlimited family texting, or you could just get into this plan which is saving me about 60 a month.

https://email.vzwshop.com/servlet/website/ResponseForm?OSPEUT_9_9_z_UU_0Hsr_.2eHmH_wkhthE

That's why I thought it was cool using gv so I wouldn't be charged. I'd rather opt our of the unlimited texting. I'll just ignore the text msgs. coming in.