[bastard_op]

This is actually fairly terrifying, I have used google voice for around 15 years myself (since acquisition), and use it as my main inbound line for multiple numbers actually. After verizon screwed me too circa 2009, I treat cell phones like burners, and really only use GVoice as my main inbound. It is all my mfa, sms, professional identity number, etc, and has always been solid as such as I use it with a paid gsuite I run my life out of too.

If they terminated my voice, I would be very much up a creek, and something I've considered as google tends to graveyard services enough and I can't imagine it is still high on anyone's give a shit list there.

I'd be curious if anyone else uses a like methodology with another service out there today. I've looked for alternatives over the years, and find really none for my needs for everything Google Voice provides and the android integration I use.

[xethos]

Oh hey, I've seen people like you. and it prompted me, several years ago, to do something similar with Voip.ms.

My "one number" was ported from a telco, and has lived at this paid service, with customer support, for over six years now. One side affect of this is, because it started out as a telco number, on't blackball it like they might other VoIP numbers.

Now all my SMS OTPs, real SMS, MMS, and transcribed voicemail all go to my email, which I consider impossibly convenient - real-time, but not dependent on a SIM card

Outgoing calls are through the built-in Android SIP client [0], and so show up as my one number (and are recorded by defualt in my single-party consent nation)

Incoming calls are forwarded to my SIM (for reliability).

All in all, it works pretty well. There was a series of outages around 2019 or so, but that's been the worst of it. And the benefits of getting SMS to my home country during international travel, and calling too, for no extra charge, is worth it to me. Though given your setup, I doubt I have to tell you about why it's so handy

[0] This was removed... I dunno, a few years ago? But I currently use a BlackBerry KeyOne that never made it past 8.1, because the battery life, repairability, and keyboard are exactly what I want.

[einsteinx2]

I ported my cell number to Google Voice about 8 years ago when I moved out of the US, and it’s always been detected as a VOIP number and annoyingly blocked by services that block those. I ended up getting a cheap prepaid cell plan with voice/sms over WiFi support the last time I was in the US just to have a number to use for SMS verifications and anything else that blocks VOIP numbers. I wonder if the service you’re using is doing something different than GV or you just got lucky with the VOIP detection.

Edit: Just took a look and their pricing is very reasonable. I’ve been de-Googling my life over the past year specifically out of fear of what happened in TFA as I realized I was relying way too heavily on them and I have zero trust left in Google. I didn’t port my GV number to the cell provider because it works for most things and it’s more convenient. This looks like a solid option and would only cost me a dollar or so a month at the amount I use that number.

[bastard_op]

Thanks for the tip with voip.ms! Interesting, usually most voip providers for what I would like require more than 1 user, hadn't really found anyone with all the features that would sell to an individual.

I hadn't thought much about using android as a sip client raw, I forget it does that and never have used to know how good it is, but I'll take your word for it as usable. The rest is just having a suitable sms method to respond through it like a cell phone as natively as possible. Not sure I'd like dealing with sms as email fully.

Back around 2015 I was using switch.co for my business, which was pretty awesome for like $15 a month. I setup a full IVR with voice prompts, had a great android client, web client, pretty much did everything too. Sadly they seem to have went poof when last I went looking for google voice alternatives, but was thinking of using them again for my personal line too.

I'll certainly keep voip.ms in mind for if/when google puts the axe to voice finally.