Using Google Voice outside the United States

At the time of this writing, Google seems to be using IP filtering to prevent people with non-US IP addresses from setting up accounts.  Fortunately, “mgoebel” of the Internet Tablet Talk forum has figured out a beautifully simple way around this.

Here’s how it works:

When you receive your Google Voice invitation, send it to a someone you trust in the United States, and ask them to set up the account for you.  You’ll have to trust them with your password, but you can change that later.  Have them set up the account and send you the login credentials.

Log in and change your password.  You should now have a fully operational Google Voice account.  It won’t forward to overseas numbers, but you can get around that by setting up an account with the Gizmo Project.  You can set up Google Voice to forward to a Gizmo Project SIP number, which will allow your your friends and family in the US call you for free anywhere in the world.  You can set up your Gizmo account for use with a computer, wifi phone, internet tablet, or wifi-capable smartphone.  You can even set up an analog telephone adapter with your Gizmo settings and receive calls on a regular landline phone.  All for free.

See the links below for more detailed instructions.

• How to set make and receive free phone calls using your N810, Google Voice, and Gizmo
• How to set up your Sunrocket ATA or “gizmo” for free phone service with Google Voice
• The original thread at Internet Tablet Talk