How to use Google Voice as emergency number

[bupolo]

I have both a regular number and now a Google Voice number. I want to be able to utilize the google voice number as an "emergency number." By that I mean that I want my phone to ring from that number regardless of whether I have my phone on silent or not (I usually turn off my ringer at night to prevent being woken up by drunk/accidental dials and such, but I have a mom that lives alone and I'm basically the only emergency contact she has living on the West Coast)

Any idea how to set this up? I don't want to miss a call if - god forbid - anything bad happens, but I don't want to have to leave my ringer on at night.

 

[UncleMike]

Using Google Voice as an emergency contact number is a good idea, since you can change your actual number and not have update anyone you may have given the emergency contact number to, such as schools, babysitters, etc. Any solution would likely work with or without the Google Voice number though.

There are apps in the Market that allow you to "whitelist" certain numbers, allowing them to ring through, while silencing all others. One such app is Bedside; it's not free, but there are probably some free alternatives.

Tasker can also do this, though the it takes some setup effort, and the approach I've seen doesn't work with some devices.

 

[Dan-droid]

Thumbs up for Bedside. I've used it since my first Android phone, and it works flawlessly.