This article explains how to set up a Google Voice conference call and how to record it.

What to Know

  • Tell participants to call your Google Voice number at a specific time.When you’re on the call, press 5 to add each subsequent caller.Press 4 to toggle conference recording on and off (after turning on incoming call options in Settings > Calls).

How to Make the Conference Call With Google Voice

Configuring and managing a Google Voice conference call is easy. You don’t have to start as a conference because you can turn one-on-one calls into conference calls as needed. Also, your Google Voice number can be combined with Google Chat to get the full conferencing effect.

  • Inform the conference participants to call you on your Google Voice number at an agreed-upon time.
  • Enter into a phone conversation with one of the participants by either having them call you or you call them through Google Voice.
  • After you’re on the call, add the other participants when they dial in. You’re alerted when you have an incoming call. To accept other calls, press 5 after hearing a message about starting a conference call.
  • To record a conference call in Google Voice, go to Settings > Calls and turn on Incoming call options.
  • All participants must be connected to the conference call to initiate a recording. To start recording or stop recording, press 4. A message alerts all participants on the call when recording is activated and deactivated.

What’s Required to Make a Google Voice Conference Call?

All that’s needed to make a Google Voice conference call is a Google account and a computer, smartphone, or tablet with the app installed. You can get the Google Voice app for iOS and Android devices and through the web on a computer. The same is accurate for Hangouts; iOS, Android, and web users can use it.

Inform the conference participants to call you on your Google Voice number at an agreed-upon time.

Enter into a phone conversation with one of the participants by either having them call you or you call them through Google Voice.

After you’re on the call, add the other participants when they dial in. You’re alerted when you have an incoming call. To accept other calls, press 5 after hearing a message about starting a conference call.

To record a conference call in Google Voice, go to Settings > Calls and turn on Incoming call options.

All participants must be connected to the conference call to initiate a recording. To start recording or stop recording, press 4. A message alerts all participants on the call when recording is activated and deactivated.

If you have a Gmail or YouTube account, you can start using Google Voice in no time. Otherwise, create a new Google account to get started.

The Limitations of Google Voice

Google Voice is not primarily a conferencing service. Still, it’s a beneficial way to use your phone number on all of your devices. Use it as a simple and easy way to make a group phone call.

Unlike full-fledged conference tools, Google Voice doesn’t have tools to manage the conference call and its participants. There isn’t a facility to schedule the call and have the participants invited in advance through email, for example.

A group conference call with Google Voice is limited to 10 people on the call at once (or 25 with a paid account).

Despite the lack of extra features that you might find on other services (Skype has better options for conference calling), Google Voice’s simple and straightforward conferencing ability that anyone with the essential devices can participate in makes it an appealing option. Because it integrates with your smartphone and lets you use a variety of devices, it does its job well as a central calling service.

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