Any tricks for more Google Voice phone number choices?

April 22, 2019 4:48 AM

Used to be, when signing up for Google Voice, you could page through tons of available phone numbers until you saw one you wanted. Now, for each area code or town, it only presents a dozen or so choices. Are there any tricks for seeing more? Or for getting a number on a desired exchange when a town has lots of exchanges (all within one area code)?
posted by daisyace to Technology (5 answers total)

When I signed up, you could punch in a number and see all the area codes it was available in. I don't think it was on the main page but I found it by searching help for "choosing a number" or something similar.

As a result I own the same phone number in both 415 (California) and 416 (Toronto) which are the two places I spend the most time. Very convenient.
posted by dobbs at 6:39 AM on April 22, 2019

Best answer: My answer doesn't directly address your question, but it might be relevant. I signed-up for a Google Voice number about a year ago. I have the number forwarded to my cell phone (it's an iPhone on Verizon). I find that it's difficult to have a normal conversation, because there is so much latency (delay between the time one person says something, and the time when the other person hears it). As a result, the other party and I keep interrupting each other during the conversation, making it very awkward. The only reason I haven't switched-away to another carrier is because I don't get very many calls on that number, and the calls that I do get tend to be pretty short.
posted by JD Sockinger at 6:57 AM on April 22, 2019

Best answer: I have had a Google Voice number since it was Grand Central before Google purchased it. I have gotten other numbers since including one late last year. There is definitely a change in the way they allocate numbers. I too was limited to a few choices. I rejected them all and waited a few days and tried again. I settled on one the second try. Settled is the operative word. I know of no hack to get around it, and I explored it on my own for a few days and did not find one. There could be one out there, but it is not obvious.
posted by AugustWest at 8:35 AM on April 22, 2019

Response by poster: Thanks, all! I did find I could use a legacy number-picker if I wanted to change from an existing Google Voice number to a new one (for $10). That doesn't seem to be available for a new account, just for a switch.
posted by daisyace at 8:48 AM on April 23, 2019

For future reference, I had a good experience buying a phone number on number barn and then porting it to google voice.

Costs a bit more, but gives you much more flexibility about getting exactly the number you want. porting instructions.
posted by vegetableagony at 12:19 PM on April 25, 2019