[APP] GrooVe IP - Google Voice VoIP

[tdbone1]

hi:
i have a moto droid-x (mb810 verizon version)
its running Gingerbread
i do no have any kind of cell service
i use SKYPE over WIFI only.
settings:
wifi = always on.
power mode = performance
airplane mode = on

skype has a problem in wifi mode (i have read its when the screen goes to sleep (power saving mode) wifi/cpu slows down)
anyhow skype has problems.

my questions to you the developer

01 with droid-x in airplane mode running GB how stable is GrooveIP in WiFi only mode?
i dont use Bluetooth or Cell service/3g at all.

02 can the default contacts and dialpad be used that comes with android on my phone or do we have to use grooveip dialpad and contacts?

thanks

 

[snrb]

hi:
i have a moto droid-x (mb810 verizon version)
its running Gingerbread
i do no have any kind of cell service
i use SKYPE over WIFI only.
settings:
wifi = always on.
power mode = performance
airplane mode = on

skype has a problem in wifi mode (i have read its when the screen goes to sleep (power saving mode) wifi/cpu slows down)
anyhow skype has problems.

my questions to you the developer

01 with droid-x in airplane mode running GB how stable is GrooveIP in WiFi only mode?
i dont use Bluetooth or Cell service/3g at all.

02 can the default contacts and dialpad be used that comes with android on my phone or do we have to use grooveip dialpad and contacts?

thanks

We use a droid x for development and testing. Works well for me. But your experience is going to depend on your network connection and the droid x connection to the router. I know the droid x is picky about routers. The only setting I'd enable in GrooVe IP would be the adaptive echo canceler (or basic echo canceler if you plan to use speakerphone). If you have issues with the WiFi going into a power saving state when the screen turns off GrooVe IP has some lock settings under troubleshooting. Or you can set it so the screen stays on during a call. I haven't noticed WiFi going into a power saving state on our Droid X.

You can use the native dialpad to make calls with GrooVe IP. If you set GrooVe IP to make all calls then any call that would have been made with the native phone network will be made via GrooVe IP.

 

[snrb]

I remember reading about an auto-answer feature request earlier, is that something which is in development?
It would be a way around the bluetooth answer buttons not working on tablets.

I just committed the changes for this feature into our version control. So it will be in the next update (sometime this week or next week)

 

[snrb]

Version 1.2.18
- Add content descriptions for image buttons
- Update tab labels to prevent scrolling on the Galaxy Nexus
- New ability to add contacts from the recent call log
- Add miscellaneous setting to auto answer a call after the first ring
- Improve DTMF generation during a call
- Fix in-call dialpad hanging on some devices
- Echo canceler improvements
- Remove "Read Logs" permission
- Fix bug with in-call notification sometimes not showing while in a call

 

[splitzrazr]

I love the concept, but GrooVe IP just doesn't work well on my Razr. I have three main problems:

1. The call quality is bad, like unusable bad. Even after I play with the settings.
2. The Bluetooth is buggy. It can't switch from phone to Bluetooth or back
3. Disabling Bluetooth in GrooVe doesn't do a thing. Bluetooth is still used, even if no devices are connected.

Has anyone else with a Razr experience these?

 

[snrb]

I love the concept, but GrooVe IP just doesn't work well on my Razr. I have three main problems:

1. The call quality is bad, like unusable bad. Even after I play with the settings.
2. The Bluetooth is buggy. It can't switch from phone to Bluetooth or back
3. Disabling Bluetooth in GrooVe doesn't do a thing. Bluetooth is still used, even if no devices are connected.

Has anyone else with a Razr experience these?

The razr is probably the phone we make the most calls on. It shouldn't require any settings changes. You may want to just try a clean install to see if that helps. Uninstall the app, restart the device, then install the app. But call quality is going to depend a lot on the network. Also if you have any task killer or battery manager apps they can interfere and cause call quality problems. Or if you device is set to put the data or cpu into a power saving state that will cause problems.

Bluetooth unfortunately is something the app doesn't have a lot of control over. The only api exposed is a toggle to turn bluetooth on/off. By disabling bluetooth in the app the app no longer calls the toggle at all. But the device may still decide to try and route audio to the bluetooth connection.

 

[thebobp]

Version 1.2.18
- Add miscellaneous setting to auto answer a call after the first ring

Thanks for adding auto-answer! But the problem in my case is that the first ring is too slow: it's enough time to trigger the multiple-forwarding usage issue I described in previous post. With the current timing, I have to manually disable and reenable bluetooth anyway even after the auto-answer, thus making auto-answer unusable as a non-manual solution.

To fix this, could we please have an auto-answer option that triggers right after one second (i.e. the same time as as the "accept calls on answer" voicemail fix)? One second (rather than one ringtone) should be enough to hear the incoming call warning, while being maximally fast to avoid other issues.

Once again, many thanks!

 

[splitzrazr]

The razr is probably the phone we make the most calls on. It shouldn't require any settings changes. You may want to just try a clean install to see if that helps. Uninstall the app, restart the device, then install the app. But call quality is going to depend a lot on the network. Also if you have any task killer or battery manager apps they can interfere and cause call quality problems. Or if you device is set to put the data or cpu into a power saving state that will cause problems.

Bluetooth unfortunately is something the app doesn't have a lot of control over. The only api exposed is a toggle to turn bluetooth on/off. By disabling bluetooth in the app the app no longer calls the toggle at all. But the device may still decide to try and route audio to the bluetooth connection.

That seemed to clear it up, thanks. I rated the app and commented about the great support. Oh the mysteries of the 1s and 0s.

Not that this is the place to post feature requests, but:

1. Getting Bluetooth would be awesome, especially with all the new driving laws popping up. I know you have to rely on the api, but I can wish right?
2. Full contact integration. I can't look up my FB contacts through GrooVe IP. Also, even if I have a FB contact linked to a Google contact their image doesn't show up.
3. Speaking of contacts, full screen image caller ID would be awesome. Kind of like these

Anyway, great product and thanks again for the help.

 

[snrb]

Thanks for adding auto-answer! But the problem in my case is that the first ring is too slow: it's enough time to trigger the multiple-forwarding usage issue I described in previous post. With the current timing, I have to manually disable and reenable bluetooth anyway even after the auto-answer, thus making auto-answer unusable as a non-manual solution.

To fix this, could we please have an auto-answer option that triggers right after one second (i.e. the same time as as the "accept calls on answer" voicemail fix)? One second (rather than one ringtone) should be enough to hear the incoming call warning, while being maximally fast to avoid other issues.

Once again, many thanks!

Hm, maybe we can add a delay configuration. So you can specify how many seconds after the call is initially received to auto-asnwer.

 

[snrb]

A few days ago we released a free version of GrooVe IP. GrooVe IP Lite lets you make calls over WiFi through your Google Voice or gmail account. The app is available for free on google play (android market) and the amazon app store

From google play
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.snrblabs.grooveip

From amazon
http://www.amazon.com/snrb-Labs-GrooVe-IP-Lite/dp/B007HA7A18

GrooVe IP contains the following features that GrooVe IP Lite does not:
- Calls over a mobile data connection not just WiFi
- Native dialer integration
- Proximity sensor support
- Change sign in status or sign in invisible

 

[cindyjin]

I use samsung exibit II 4G. I accidentally change the caller id to show my google voice number instead of the caller's number. Now I want to change it back to show caller ID but forgot how to do it. Could you let me know where can I make the changes? Is that in the phone's setting or the groove ip's setting?


Thanks

 

[snrb]

I use samsung exibit II 4G. I accidentally change the caller id to show my google voice number instead of the caller's number. Now I want to change it back to show caller ID but forgot how to do it. Could you let me know where can I make the changes? Is that in the phone's setting or the groove ip's setting?


Thanks

The setting would be in your Google Voice account. Google.com/voice.

 

[Headcase_Fargone]

Is anyone here using GrooveIP over their cellular data connection? I use it all the time on my phone over a DSL connection at home but when I bought a second copy for my wife's phone quickly discovered that it doesn't work so well over a 4g connection.

It actually still sounds fine on the GrooveIP side of the conversation, but the person on the other end gets horribly choppy voice. Lots of entire words being dropped, etc. I've tried adjusting some of the settings like mic buffer and this makes it sound fine for the first 15 to 30 seconds of the call, at which point it gets choppy again.

Anyone here solve this issue? I'd love to be able to just use data on this $30 TMobile plan and not worry about going over minutes...

Edit: After doing some reading up on VoIP it looks like GrooveIP only uses G711 which requires more bandwidth than a 3 or 4g connection typically offers. I wonder if they'll support G729 anytime soon?

Edit 2: After further reading I see that Google Voice only supports G711, no iLBC or anything like that. I should have figured the developers of GrooveIP would have given the option if it was available to them. I should also have guessed that this was a limitation of GV, considering there still isn't even an empty trash button after all these years.

 

[jbunne11]

Can you please tell me how you did this? I'm trying to do similar things but I cannot figure out how to use the intents in Tasker.

Sorry for the delayed response, I havent checked these forums in a while. To automatically turn on groove ip when connected to wifi and during peak verizon hours, I set the tasker conditions to...

Wifi connected
Selected times (6am-9pm)
Selected days (weekdays)

Then the actions are a little trickier. Go to Misc-Action Intents. In the action field enter "com.gvoip.START_GROOVE_IP" without quotes and I believe it is case sensitive. You can enter an exit task that says "com.gvoip.STOP_GROOVE_IP"

Let me know if you need any help

 

[snrb]

Is anyone here using GrooveIP over their cellular data connection? I use it all the time on my phone over a DSL connection at home but when I bought a second copy for my wife's phone quickly discovered that it doesn't work so well over a 4g connection.

It actually still sounds fine on the GrooveIP side of the conversation, but the person on the other end gets horribly choppy voice. Lots of entire words being dropped, etc. I've tried adjusting some of the settings like mic buffer and this makes it sound fine for the first 15 to 30 seconds of the call, at which point it gets choppy again.

Anyone here solve this issue? I'd love to be able to just use data on this $30 TMobile plan and not worry about going over minutes...

Edit: After doing some reading up on VoIP it looks like GrooveIP only uses G711 which requires more bandwidth than a 3 or 4g connection typically offers. I wonder if they'll support G729 anytime soon?

Edit 2: After further reading I see that Google Voice only supports G711, no iLBC or anything like that. I should have figured the developers of GrooveIP would have given the option if it was available to them. I should also have guessed that this was a limitation of GV, considering there still isn't even an empty trash button after all these years.

Yes, Google Voice has a limitation of only supporting G711. It requires 80kb/s of bandwidth in each direction during a call.

 

[Lebo]

Not having much luck with GrooveIP on wifi (no data plan). When I make a call, the recipient's phone rings and the program reports a connection when the recipient answers. I can recive a call made to my google voice number also and it reports a connection. However, no voice in either direction goes through and after a few seconds the grooveip icon in the status bar goes red and the call is disconnected. At this point the icon disappears for a few seconds then reappears in green. This happens consistantly with or without the proximity sensor turning off the screen(held away from head). I *think* i have the ports forwarded correctly but any ideas what the problem could be would be appreciated. Using the current GrooveIP lite (for testing) from android market.

 

[snrb]

Not having much luck with GrooveIP on wifi (no data plan). When I make a call, the recipient's phone rings and the program reports a connection when the recipient answers. I can recive a call made to my google voice number also and it reports a connection. However, no voice in either direction goes through and after a few seconds the grooveip icon in the status bar goes red and the call is disconnected. At this point the icon disappears for a few seconds then reappears in green. This happens consistantly with or without the proximity sensor turning off the screen(held away from head). I *think* i have the ports forwarded correctly but any ideas what the problem could be would be appreciated. Using the current GrooveIP lite (for testing) from android market.

What kind of device? And is it stock or have you changed the rom? Any task killer or battery manager apps installed on the device?

 

[Lebo]

I am using a Huawei U8652 also known as the AT&T Fusion. After some testing GrooveIP works perfectly with the stock rom but fails to work with CM7. Disturbing because the stock rom is like brushing your teeth with sandpaper. I'll try a few different CM7 iterations and hopefully find one that cooperates.

 

[brotherswing]

Groove works brilliantly on CM7 on my LG VM670.

 

[cghodo]

I've been using GrooveIP for a few months now and mostly like it. About to drop my voice plan to use it and GChat exclusively and have some questions.

I've got a HTC Thunderbolt, Droid X (previous phone), and will soon have an Android Tablet. I plan on walking around with a Verizon hotspot for whenever I'm not around wifi.

Questions:

1. I can't find any combo of settings that removes the echo and inconsistent quality from the Thunderbolt without dropping the speaker volume to unacceptable levels. On 3g/4g, even on wifi through my home 12 down 3 up cable connection the Thunderbolt sucks. Meanwhile, the Droid X works great as a GrooveIP phone, though I've only used it on wifi. Is there anything I can do to help the poor Thunderbolt out or is it just a bad GrooveIP phone?

2. When I'm in the car, I'd like to answer phone calls through a mounted Android tablet using a bluetooth headset. I have neither of these things yet. Have any suggestions for equipment that works best with GrooveIP? I've been thinking Galaxy Tab 10.1 from Amazon (Amazon.com: Samsung Galaxy Tab (10.1-Inch, 16GB, Wi-Fi): Computers & Accessories) for the tablet. I haven't looked for the headset yet.

Thanks in advance. Great app. Let me know if I'm about to screw my mobile life up with anything I just outlined.

 

[snrb]

I've been using GrooveIP for a few months now and mostly like it. About to drop my voice plan to use it and GChat exclusively and have some questions.

I've got a HTC Thunderbolt, Droid X (previous phone), and will soon have an Android Tablet. I plan on walking around with a Verizon hotspot for whenever I'm not around wifi.

Questions:

1. I can't find any combo of settings that removes the echo and inconsistent quality from the Thunderbolt without dropping the speaker volume to unacceptable levels. On 3g/4g, even on wifi through my home 12 down 3 up cable connection the Thunderbolt sucks. Meanwhile, the Droid X works great as a GrooveIP phone, though I've only used it on wifi. Is there anything I can do to help the poor Thunderbolt out or is it just a bad GrooveIP phone?

2. When I'm in the car, I'd like to answer phone calls through a mounted Android tablet using a bluetooth headset. I have neither of these things yet. Have any suggestions for equipment that works best with GrooveIP? I've been thinking Galaxy Tab 10.1 from Amazon (Amazon.com: Samsung Galaxy Tab (10.1-Inch, 16GB, Wi-Fi): Computers & Accessories) for the tablet. I haven't looked for the headset yet.

Thanks in advance. Great app. Let me know if I'm about to screw my mobile life up with anything I just outlined.

I asked another thunderbolt user and these are the settings they told me they have:

Under Trouble Shooting:

1) Check <Keep Screen On>
2) Check <Audio Processing>

Under Audio/Echo Settings:

1) Microphone Gain of -4
2) Check <Adaptive Echo Cancellation >
3) Check <Post Processing>
4) Set Echo Tail to 200ms - 400ms

The echo tail setting can vary from device to device, so you may have to adjust that value.

I'd also suggest trying the basic echo canceler since these settings were from before we implemented the basic echo canceler.

 

[cghodo]

Thanks for your repsonse. Can you verify that GrooveIp will work with the Galaxy Tab 10.1 using bluetooth? I had heard there were some issues before and just wanted to make sure if this tablet will work, or if there is a better tablet option for GrooveIP.

I asked another thunderbolt user and these are the settings they told me they have:

Under Trouble Shooting:

1) Check <Keep Screen On>
2) Check <Audio Processing>

Under Audio/Echo Settings:

1) Microphone Gain of -4
2) Check <Adaptive Echo Cancellation >
3) Check <Post Processing>
4) Set Echo Tail to 200ms - 400ms

The echo tail setting can vary from device to device, so you may have to adjust that value.

I'd also suggest trying the basic echo canceler since these settings were from before we implemented the basic echo canceler.

 

[snrb]

Thanks for your repsonse. Can you verify that GrooveIp will work with the Galaxy Tab 10.1 using bluetooth? I had heard there were some issues before and just wanted to make sure if this tablet will work, or if there is a better tablet option for GrooveIP.

The Galaxy Tab 10.1 is the tablet we use for development. Bluetooth will depend on the headset, some older headsets may not work.

 

[percus]

Hi everyone, from a new user of this forum.


I've been using Groove IP for about two months now on my Samsung Exhibit II, without any serious difficulties at first. But in the past couple of weeks, I've increasingly had a major problem: on outgoing calls (not incoming calls), the call connects, but there is no audio in either direction. So the person I call hears the phone ring, answers the call, but cannot hear me and I cannot hear him/her.

This does not always occur. But often, after one call going through perfectly, the next few calls will have this problem.

Some things I've tried:
1) Restarting Groove IP. This will often let me make one successful outgoing call, but as soon as I try to make my second outgoing call, the problem is there again.
2) Rebooting the phone. This sometimes helps Groove IP be more stable, but not consistently.
3) Waiting a few minutes. Sometimes help, but not always.
4) Logging into gmail and trying to place a call from there. Sometimes this seems to help temporarily, and allow me to place another successful outgoing call or two from Groove IP. But not always.
5) Uninstalling a few apps that I've installed recently (since the time I've noticed this problem), in case they are somehow conflicting with Groove IP. Doesn't help.

Interestingly, on the outbound calls that do go through, there also seems to be a significant increase in downstream (but not upstream) latency. The other person hears me very quickly, but there is a delay of more than a second before I hear him/her.

Neither the lack of audio nor the latency problem happen on incoming calls. Only outgoing calls.

Has anyone else seen this kind of behavior? Any thoughts? I really have the impression that none of these terribly frustrating problems happened until a week or two ago.

Could this be related to the changes in Version 1.2.18?
Could it be a more general google voice issue?

All help would be tremendously appreciated!

Allon

 

[snrb]

Hi everyone, from a new user of this forum.


I've been using Groove IP for about two months now on my Samsung Exhibit II, without any serious difficulties at first. But in the past couple of weeks, I've increasingly had a major problem: on outgoing calls (not incoming calls), the call connects, but there is no audio in either direction. So the person I call hears the phone ring, answers the call, but cannot hear me and I cannot hear him/her.

This does not always occur. But often, after one call going through perfectly, the next few calls will have this problem.

Some things I've tried:
1) Restarting Groove IP. This will often let me make one successful outgoing call, but as soon as I try to make my second outgoing call, the problem is there again.
2) Rebooting the phone. This sometimes helps Groove IP be more stable, but not consistently.
3) Waiting a few minutes. Sometimes help, but not always.
4) Logging into gmail and trying to place a call from there. Sometimes this seems to help temporarily, and allow me to place another successful outgoing call or two from Groove IP. But not always.
5) Uninstalling a few apps that I've installed recently (since the time I've noticed this problem), in case they are somehow conflicting with Groove IP. Doesn't help.

Interestingly, on the outbound calls that do go through, there also seems to be a significant increase in downstream (but not upstream) latency. The other person hears me very quickly, but there is a delay of more than a second before I hear him/her.

Neither the lack of audio nor the latency problem happen on incoming calls. Only outgoing calls.

Has anyone else seen this kind of behavior? Any thoughts? I really have the impression that none of these terribly frustrating problems happened until a week or two ago.

Could this be related to the changes in Version 1.2.18?
Could it be a more general google voice issue?

All help would be tremendously appreciated!

Allon

Have you made any changes to the settings in the app? Try doing a clean install of the app. Uninstall the app, restart the device, then install the app.