What is the downside of Google Voice?
Limited Carrier Support
One of the biggest downsides of Google Voice is its limited carrier support. Google Voice currently only works with certain mobile carriers, most notably excluding Verizon, the largest wireless carrier in the United States (Google support, 2022). This means Verizon customers are unable to use Google Voice for voicemail transcriptions, call forwarding, or other key features that require integration with a mobile phone number.
Google Voice also has limited international carrier support. It is primarily focused on the US market and only available in certain countries. Users outside the supported regions are unable to sign up for or fully utilize Google Voice for their phone service (Reddit, 2013). This restricts the usefulness of Google Voice for global or frequent international travelers.
The lack of support for major carriers like Verizon, as well as minimal global availability, significantly reduces the addressable market for Google Voice. Those on unsupported carriers simply don’t have full access to Google Voice’s capabilities within their mobile phone plans.
Call Quality Issues
One of the downsides of Google Voice is that call quality can be spotty at times compared to traditional phone carriers.
Users have reported issues with dropped calls, echoes, and delays in audio when using Google Voice for phone calls.
According to one Reddit thread, the voice quality on Google Voice calls is “significantly inferior” to regular carrier calls. The poor audio quality makes it difficult to carry on conversations without disruption.
Google Voice relies on data connectivity rather than cellular signal for calls, so any instability in the internet connection can degrade call quality. This dependence on data networks leads to more call failures compared to standard cellular calls.
The call quality limitations of Google Voice can make it frustrating to use as a primary phone service. Users looking for carrier-grade reliability may be disappointed with the frequency of choppy audio, echoes, and dropped calls.
Limited Features
Google Voice lacks some key features compared to many other VOIP solutions. Notably, Google Voice does not support video calling, which has become a standard expectation for modern phone and messaging apps. Google Voice also does not allow MMS messaging, only supporting standard SMS text messaging.
Google Voice’s voicemail options are also limited compared to some competitors. Users have basic voicemail controls like greetings and visual voicemail, but advanced customization is lacking. For example, users cannot set up multiple voicemail greetings that play depending on who is calling. The voicemail transcription feature also receives mixed reviews on accuracy.
According to an article on Google Cloud Community, “there are so many basic features missing it is completely unusable for lots of SMBs.” Without key communication options like video calling and MMS, Google Voice trails behind rival VOIP services.
Integration Challenges
Google Voice can have problems integrating with some mobile devices and third party apps. For example, Google Voice may not properly sync contact information or calls with a device’s native dialer and address book.
This can lead to issues like calls not appearing in the phone’s call log or contacts not linking up between Google Voice and the device’s existing contacts. There can also be problems with third party apps not fully supporting Google Voice features or no longer working properly after signing up for Google Voice.
According to this blog post, some apps end up blocked or restricted when using a Google Voice number. The post also mentions dependency on internet connectivity as another disadvantage.
Spam Risk
While many providers offer effective spam call blocking, Google Voice’s defenses against unwanted calls are limited. Without strong spam filtering options, users are more prone to receiving fraudulent calls and robocalls.
The major downside is the higher potential for spam calls and robocalls to get through. Google Voice lacks robust call blocking tools and advanced spam detection found with other VoIP providers. Users cannot easily block certain area codes or deploy smart filtering based on call patterns.
Google Voice relies primarily on user reporting of spam numbers instead of proactive filtering. Without stringent automated blocking, users are more vulnerable to illegal robocalls, telemarketers, and scams. This constant nuisance can make Google Voice much less usable as a primary phone number.
Privacy Concerns
One of the main downsides of Google Voice is the privacy concerns around Google collecting user data. When you use Google Voice, Google processes information like your phone number, call logs, voicemail transcripts, and more in order to provide the service. However, some privacy advocates have expressed concerns over the lack of transparency and safeguards around how this data is used by Google (Source).
Specifically, Google Voice transcribes voicemail messages and stores the transcripts on its servers. While this enables useful features like voicemail transcription, it also means Google has access to potentially sensitive messages. There is little clarity on how long Google retains this voicemail data and protections around its use.
Number Porting Difficulties
One downside of Google Voice is the complexity involved in porting an existing phone number to Google Voice. The process can be quite difficult compared to porting numbers between mobile carriers. There is a significant risk of losing your phone number if the porting process encounters errors.
According to Google’s support site, porting errors often occur due to incorrect address information associated with the phone number. Users must double check that the address on file with their carrier is accurate before initiating the Google Voice port. Even small errors can cause the entire port to fail.
If the port fails, the original carrier may swiftly reclaim the phone number before the user can correct any errors. This could result in permanently losing the phone number that was supposed to be ported over to Google Voice.
Overall, porting an existing number to Google Voice involves careful attention to detail and carries the risk of losing the number if anything goes wrong. For many users, this downside outweighs the benefits of Google Voice.
Customer Support Lacking
One of the main downsides of Google Voice is the lack of robust customer support options. There is minimal live support available, with no phone number or chat options. Users must rely on web forums and community troubleshooting for many issues.
According to users on Reddit, contacting Google Voice customer service can be difficult: “The catch is that Google Voice is a terrible service! I’ve used it for over 2 years and it always froze, always had bad call quality, and good luck trying to get customer support” (source).
Without readily available live assistance, Google Voice users can get frustrated trying to resolve problems on their own. The lack of customer service options is a major downside for many customers.
Messaging Limited
Google Voice has limitations on messaging that some users may find restrictive. SMS messaging is supported, but group MMS is not available. Google Voice only allows text messages to be sent to individual recipients [1]. While group messages are possible, they are limited to a maximum of 8 recipients – including the original sender [2].
There are also limits on the number of consecutive texts that can be sent per day. Though Google does not provide official send limits, users have reported being capped at around 100 texts per day before getting blocked [3]. For heavy texters or business users, these kinds of limitations may make Google Voice impractical as a primary messaging solution.
Lack of Future Development
One major downside of Google Voice is that the platform has seen very little new development or features added in recent years. After Google acquired Voice and integrated it into their offerings around 2010, there was initially a flurry of new updates and features added. However, since around 2013, the pace of innovation has stagnated.
As a result, Google Voice lacks many of the latest messaging capabilities and calling features found in more modern VoIP and communication platforms. The user interface and experience also feels dated. While the core functionality remains, Google Voice has not kept pace with advancing technology and user expectations.
There are very few signs Google plans to invest heavily in expanding Voice capabilities going forward. The platform receives only minor incremental updates focused on maintenance and optimizations. This lack of future development is a major limitation for those seeking a full-featured and forward-looking communication solution.