Free VOIP calls, reliable even on 3g mobile data connection

Quote from acegolfer : Not sure whether this belongs to hot deals section but it's free after all. Mod, feel free to move to a more proper place. There are several free VOIP solutions but they all suffer from bad quality on 3g. I found a clever way to make free and reliable internet (VOIP) calls even on 3g mobile data. I posted the full instruction on XDA forum. http://forum.xda-developers.com/s...?t=2057887 It's complicated but it's how I can get great call quality on 3g data. I'm relying on VOIP 100% as I disabled Google Voice forwarding to my cell number. Now I'm paying $30/m for 2000 minutes and 5GB data. Happy Holidays!

Really nice to see we still got some incredible talent here in this country and they are not all concentrated in China. Good work!

Quote from Mirus : $30 a month for 2k min and 5gb data seems amazing. Which carrier are you with?

I think he meant 100min not 2000min and it's Tmobile probably. That's the Tmobile Walmart deal.


Btw, every 2000min on VOIP uses about 1GB of data, does that have anything to do with anything??

Ok if you guys don't want to go through all this headache.... download and try a program called talkatone

It supports google voice. I have tried many programs (groove ip etc....) but they all give issues even with a 4g connection. talkatone has been the best and it works great with a 3g connection. it uses a different codec than groove ip.

im not sure which method is better but talkatone serves my purpose without a hassle

There's a lot of misunderstanding of what the OP's method does in some of these replies...

Quote from tmushy : Ok if you guys don't want to go through all this headache.... download and try a program called talkatone It supports google voice. I have tried many programs (groove ip etc....) but they all give issues even with a 4g connection. talkatone has been the best and it works great with a 3g connection. it uses a different codec than groove ip. im not sure which method is better but talkatone serves my purpose without a hassle

Reports on xda show that it also has worse call quality than OP's solution, even though Talkatone uses their own servers.

Quote from NickB5320 : yawn, welcome to 2009...

I don't know if you read the entire thread, but this setup is unique because it uses iLBC. There have been other codecs that well predate this, but with Google Voice and native dialer integration, this is one of the better options out there.

Quote from attca2k : GroveIP uses the internet and Google voice to dial out VoIP.

Yes, but GrooveIP relies on a far inferior codec. I've been using GrooveIP for a year now and it's unusable over 4G or 3G (HSDPA).

Quote from busyness : Why did you disable your google voice?

The OP disabled Google Voice forwarding, not Google Voice itself. Forwarding will use his plan's minutes.

Quote from Mirus : $30 a month for 2k min and 5gb data seems amazing. Which carrier are you with?

The 2000 minutes refers to VoIP minutes, not plan minutes. OP is on the $30/month T-Mobile 5GB data plan.

Good tip if you have good 3G coverage. If you are driving in the middle of nowhere, like going from la to the bay area, forget about it. Even at my home in la, there's no 3G coverage. Too many risks of no coverage.

Probably no SMS/MMS option with this route, huh?

Quote from Fry-kun : Probably no SMS/MMS option with this route, huh?

im pretty sure in this set up that the txting is unlimitted thru the tmobile subscription.

Quote from yardguy00 : im pretty sure in this set up that the txting is unlimitted thru the tmobile subscription.

Correct. Tmo $30 plan offers unlimited text.

Since I don't use MMS, I use gv texting to keep the same number.

Quote from nyknicks8 : Good tip if you have good 3G coverage. If you are driving in the middle of nowhere, like going from la to the bay area, forget about it. Even at my home in la, there's no 3G coverage. Too many risks of no coverage.

1. ILBC codec is known to work reliably even on edge (2g). So it will work as long as your gsm cell phone works. Do not expect a miracle where this should work when your cell doesn't.

2. Don't you have WiFi at home? WiFi trumps 3g.

Quote from Fry-kun : Probably no SMS/MMS option with this route, huh?

I use the Google Voice app for texting

although I didn't understand anything, looks like a money saving thread.

this would be a great deal if 4g didn't use soo much battery...

$5 for GrooVe IP with an Android phone and you've got free calling in the U.S. and Canada over WiFi or 3G/4G. Couldn't be any easier.

Quote from AllThumbs : $5 for GrooVe IP with an Android phone and you've got free calling in the U.S. and Canada over WiFi or 3G/4G. Couldn't be any easier.

True only if you can hear the grooveip call on 3g.