Is this the end of free Google Voice/Obi landline service

[RetiredAndLovingIt]

Polycom the owners of Obitalk posted a message in December announcing end of life for the OBI 200 series effective December 18th 2023. They have already removed these models from their website and they don't mention any replacement. They don't say the devices will stop working on that day but if they do stop working with Google Voice they can probably be used with another SIP based service provider for a cost.
At least we have almost 2 years to figure it out and hopefully Google will step up and keep it going. If not I've had 10 years of totally free landline service (after 2 OBI purchases) so no complaints here, it's been a good run.
The full details can be read at this link

https://www.obitalk.com/info/products/obi212

 

[Sunset]

Thanks for posting this. Looks like only 2 more years of free phone service.

I wonder if they are trying to push towards the business units, which only cost $150 for the device and I'd switch if they can operate for free as well in 2 years.

It's the ongoing monthly costs that really mount up over time, which is why I loved this device for my occasional phone calls to Canada for free.

 

[RetiredAndLovingIt]

Thanks for posting this. Looks like only 2 more years of free phone service.

I wonder if they are trying to push towards the business units, which only cost $150 for the device and I'd switch if they can operate for free as well in 2 years.

It's the ongoing monthly costs that really mount up over time, which is why I loved this device for my occasional phone calls to Canada for free.

You will still have the option to call on your cellphone simply my downloading the Google Voice app to your phone. The Obi is only needed for home landline use. I did not understand that until about a year ago so now I have my cellphone dialer and also my Google voice dialer on my cell and I can use either, GV uses your cell data or your WIFI.

Many cell plans are also now offering free calls to international countries using your plan minutes so check your plan. For example my carrier Tello which runs on T-Mobile towers offers plans starting at $5 which includes 100 minutes and unlimited texts and includes free calls to 60 international countries using your plan minutes. Canada and Mexico has always been free with them but now they've added a ton of other countries.
https://tello.com/free-international-countries

If you're a Facebook user, you can also call from your Facebook app on your cell using your home WIFI. Most of the time the calls are crystal clear and totally free.

Bottom line you will still have free or very cheap options. Personally I just like my landline phones and will miss them but I can move to the cell for all my calls if I have to.
I remember paying $1.50 a minute to call the UK back in the 1980's and 90's. I'm so glad these days are gone, it used to cost me a fortune.

 

[MC Rider]

Oh well. I forget which model I have. If it quits working, will probably just dump the land line.

 

[gauss]

I have my original obi110 boxes linked to Callcentric (SIP provider). Sure I pay a few dollars a month for access, but it is a reasonable trade off to me for not having my main home line on a "free" service.

Unlike many people I am not interested in dumping my land line for a couple of reasons.

#1) I refuse to give businesses my cell phone number out of fear of unwanted interruptions such as when driving or other times I don't want to be distriubted

#2) My wife and I share our house, so this is the phone number we give out for "both" of us.

I would not have kept the land line if I had to pay the traditional rates of up to $25 a month or so, but with Callcentric I think I pay $10 every 3 to 4 months.

-gauss

p.s. Good thing that I didn't run out and buy a Obi 200 series adapter when the EOL was announced for my Obi 110 back in 2016 (Obi 200 was the suggested replacement LOL).
https://www.obitalk.com/info/faq/About-the-OBi/end-of-life-announcement

 

[HawkeyeNFO]

My Ooma from 2009 had zero monthly fees or taxes, but a power surge a couple months ago fried the Ooma hardware. It had a great run, 12 years of no fees and gave us a US phone number when we lived in Europe.

I'm with Sunset, in that I don't want any monthly fees at all. So for at least the next 2 years, my Ooma # is forwarded to Google Voice, and in the house it makes the Obi ring the phones. Hopefully they have a low cost alternative at the end of next year.

 

[cathy63]

The announcement doesn't say the hardware will stop working. In fact, it says it may continue to work. "OBi200, OBi202 and OBi212 devices may continue to work after the end of service date, but they will not be able to get added to the Google Voice service after December 18, 2023."

To me, this says they're retiring the OBi server software that is used to register the device with Google Voice. If your device is already registered it should continue working.

 

[Vincenzo Corleone]

The announcement doesn't say the hardware will stop working. In fact, it says it may continue to work. "OBi200, OBi202 and OBi212 devices may continue to work after the end of service date, but they will not be able to get added to the Google Voice service after December 18, 2023."

To me, this says they're retiring the OBi server software that is used to register the device with Google Voice. If your device is already registered it should continue working.

If I'm not mistaken, this will remain true up until the point Google Voice changes something on their side that would have required a firmware update for the OBI devices. When that happens then you might be out of luck.

 

[Cobra9777]

...To me, this says they're retiring the OBi server software that is used to register the device with Google Voice. If your device is already registered it should continue working.

If I'm not mistaken, this will remain true up until the point Google Voice changes something on their side that would have required a firmware update for the OBI devices. When that happens then you might be out of luck.

That's my take as well. OBi2xx devices will continue to work with GV after 12/18/23, at least until Google changes something (which they tend to do fairly regularly). OBi is just pulling the plug on future firmware support as well as the OBiTALK portal, which is how new devices are provisioned for use with GV. That's also how you would re-provision your device if, for example, you changed your Google password. So don't do that after 12/18/23.

In any case, when these devices DO stop working, at some point after 12/18/23, we still might not be out of luck. It's true that there are no new or upgraded consumer ATA devices in the pipeline, which would enable access to GV. There's just no demand for these products as people abandon landlines in droves.

However, there is an active community of OBi users that have been developing 3rd party firmware that bypasses OBiTALK. Originally, this was to prolong the OBi1xx devices back in 2017, and then later to add features to OBi2xx. Here's the website. It seems to be very well documented and not too complicated... about the same as flashing a router with 3rd party firmware.

Anyway, when the time comes, I'll either install one of the 3rd party firmware options, or just transition to using my home GV number with other devices, like older tablets and Android phones. My old landline handsets are already pretty long-in-the-tooth. It may be time to send them to their new home at the landfill.

 

[RetiredAndLovingIt]

I think the costs of keeping up with Googles updates probably has something to do with why they're dumping it. There was a couple of weeks earlier this year where everything went south after a Google update as they frantically tried to get everything back working.

I just like having a "landline" so when the phone rings it doesn't matter where I am in the house, I can pick up an extension upstairs or downstairs without rushing to grab my cellphone. I use the Google number which rings on my cell and landlines for family/friends only and rarely get a Spam call on it. The cellphone has always had tons of Spam calls coming in so I never answer it unless I know who it is. If it's a legit caller, they can leave a message.
I have a combination of cordless phones, old analogue phones and a corded one with caller ID display in my home office. All have to be at least 20 years old and still work fine so I'll keep them going as long as I can.

 

[easysurfer]

I think the costs of keeping up with Googles updates probably has something to do with why they're dumping it. There was a couple of weeks earlier this year where everything went south after a Google update as they frantically tried to get everything back working.

I just like having a "landline" so when the phone rings it doesn't matter where I am in the house, I can pick up an extension upstairs or downstairs without rushing to grab my cellphone. I use the Google number which rings on my cell and landlines for family/friends only and rarely get a Spam call on it. The cellphone has always had tons of Spam calls coming in so I never answer it unless I know who it is. If it's a legit caller, they can leave a message.
I have a combination of cordless phones, old analogue phones and a corded one with caller ID display in my home office. All have to be at least 20 years old and still work fine so I'll keep them going as long as I can.

I like having a landline too.

Old fashioned, but when speaking for a length of time, I prefer the feel of a phone that's easier to grip than a flat smartphone.

My problem now is when asked for my primary phone number, I often now give my cell phone instead of landline because places sometimes automatically all numbers are cell and send texts there.

p.s. I use Ooma for my landline phone.

 

[upupandaway]

Thanks for the link on the custom firmware community. I use obitalk for my payphone at home and it would disappoint all the visitors if they couldn't use it anymore. I will probably just get a cheap sip provider if it stops working.