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My friend Andrew and I were testing out the backend of Google voice today. Here are a few of our findings. (And please let me know if any of this is incorrect.)

• SMS Relay - GV is smart somewhat smart. If Party A txts Party B’s GV number from a non-GV number that’s associated with a GV number, it will show up in Party B’s phone/GV as Party A’s GV number. If Party A releases the association, then the txt appears from one of google’s 406 area code numbers.
  • Basically, all txts from others without a GV association will have a 406 area code and not be known to you — unsolicited behavior. It will however append the body of the message with the caller id of the sender. (Clever)
  • But, if you send a txt from the GV web interface to a number, any response will have the proper sender ID. Because GV now has a hook since you solicited the txt. If you send a txt from the GV web interface, any reply may have the same area code as the recipient, but it will not be the same number. In this case, the receiver’s name will be appended onto the body of the msg — solicited behavior.
  • The above two bullet points apply to numbers that you’ve never allowed GV to know about. I believe if there is past sms or calling activity to a number from within the GV website, it will remember that and use that caller ID instead of the 406 area coded number.
  • One more point. The reason everything is still routed through a Google owned number is so that they can keep a log of all your conversations. Only txts that originate from somewhere they do not know about (from your cell phone to another cell phone) will not be recorded.
• Calling the 406 number - (i’m not as sure on this) everyone has a 406 number associated with their GV that redirects the call or txt to the number that was chosen when you sign up for GV. It acts as an intermediary that intercepts all incoming transmissions and sends them to the GV number or the other numbers associated with the GV.
  • Just like the SMS relay, if you use a phone that is associated with a GV and you call the 406 number, it will go to that person’s cell.
  • HOWEVER, if your physical phone number is deleted (not just unchecked from being forwarded) in GV, you will get a “this call cannot be completed as dialed” message and will not be able to connect.
• Calling a number from within the GV website will ring your phone of choice first, then call the number you wish to reach.
• When calling a GV number via cell phone, your call timer starts immediately when you hear the first ring tone. This is a clue to tell you the number is being routed through GV because your actual cell/provider starts charging the moment routing begins.

A couple of other notables:

• Calls made through the GV website that connect to your cell phone still cost you money even though it’s an incoming call. This is unfortunately the way US cell service works right now. In Europe, incoming calls are free (caller pays).
• There is no mechanism to call from your computer. You must have a phone associated that you can use as a terminal.

Edited 2009-08-07 09:56 CST: Added more info on the SMS caller ID relay.