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Phone GV + SMS GV + BiteSMS = iPhone Heaven!

T

Travisimo

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Dec 22, 2009
991
226
Okay, now I know what all the Jailbreaking fuss is all about! Just got a ViP and Jailbroke for the first time. Theming is nice. MyWI is excellent. But coming from a Droid X, I found the lack of Google Voice integration the most annoying adjustment hurdle to overcome. Find the GV extensions for voice and sms has been a huge benefit! And in combination with BiteSMS, it's actually BETTER than Android's native implementation!

My only regret is having to re-download and re-install all of my Jailbreak apps when iOS 4.3 comes out. But unless there's a non-tethered Jailbreak right away, I'll probably be waiting a while for that anyway...
 
ok this thread is hilarious to me. I just discovered this combo today and I was about to post this EXACT message to share with all the JBers.

this trio is ABSOLUTE BLISS.
 
vega07 said:
ok this thread is hilarious to me. I just discovered this combo today and I was about to post this EXACT message to share with all the JBers.

this trio is ABSOLUTE BLISS.
Click to expand...

Haha, that is too funny! What's strange is that the two extensions were not easily discovered, and I really only found them by accident. But for someone coming from Android who uses Google Voice, they are really priceless! Using the official Google Voice app worked okay, but not nearly as seemless as using the native dialer/sms... particularly when clicking on a phone number or texting link from another app. Before installing the extensions, I had to manually copy/paste the number into the GV app to make sure it was using Google Voice. Now it just works behind the scenes using the native clients and/or BiteSMS.

Good stuff!
 
Agreed. I randomly stumbled across it too about a month ago. I use GV exclusively for calls/sms so it has been a godsend. The only thing still missing is MMS support from GV.

Travisimo said:
My only regret is having to re-download and re-install all of my Jailbreak apps when iOS 4.3 comes out. But unless there's a non-tethered Jailbreak right away, I'll probably be waiting a while for that anyway...
Click to expand...

Check out pkgbackup
 
If you dont mind my asking, what GV extensions? Are these found in Cydia? I have Bite sms too, I think that has some features related to google voice too, but it sounds like you are talking about extensions separate from Bitesms
 
Solange82200 said:
If you dont mind my asking, what GV extensions? Are these found in Cydia? I have Bite sms too, I think that has some features related to google voice too, but it sounds like you are talking about extensions separate from Bitesms
Click to expand...
The GV apps hes talking about are found in the app store
 
Solange82200 said:
If you dont mind my asking, what GV extensions? Are these found in Cydia? I have Bite sms too, I think that has some features related to google voice too, but it sounds like you are talking about extensions separate from Bitesms
Click to expand...

Bitesms does not have native Google Voice support. You either use the carrier's text messaging or your use their own service (usually for international). The extensions we were referring to are called "Phone GV" and "SMS GV", and yes they are both found in Cydia. The former is to allow you to use the native dialer/API for phone calls using Google Voice instead of using the Google Voice app. The latter permits the same for text messaging. So basically, it ties Google Voice into the native iPhone voice and text messaging system. Once the sms extension is installed, you could either use the native sms app or you could install bitesms, which is a lot nicer and will use the Google Voice extensions you installed.

Hope that helps!
 
Good finds, as I've also been using these since getting the Verizon iPhone last week. =)

Some tips.

Along with the Phone GV Extension program, it should install "GV Dial Rules" which allows you to mark certain phone numbers as "GV Direct Dial", "GV Call Back" "GV Offline Dial" "Carrier" etc.

This is helpful if you have certain people as contacts with usage of your GV number and don't want to always select which way to call that person, or if you know they have Verizon.

If you have the Verizon "Friends and Family", find out your "GV Direct Dial" number by clicking the info button in a GV Direct Dial call, and add that to your 10 Friends & Family numbers. You can then get "free" calling (I haven't tested this fully yet, as we just switched Family Plans to include this).

Lastly, with SMS GV Extension (dunno why he didn't name them both GV ____ Extension, shows up apart from each other in the Settings.app), I've found you can download the Official GV app from the App store, set your SMS GV Extension to use the alerts from that, then HIDE the app in your SBSettings app. You'll still get the SMS in BiteSMS, but none of the annoying badge symbols on either your Google Voice.app (since it's hidden) nor your Google Mobile.app (turn off Badge alerts under Notifications or remove the Google Voice from that apps list in Google Mobile).

Oh, two more tips. There's the SBSettings GV Send toggle. Have all of your incoming GV SMS with a signature of "-GV" or "sent via GV" and change your SBSettings toggle before sending, so you swap between your Carrier SMS and GV SMS.
 
Reading this thread has gotten me interested and confused at the same time. Is there a complete walk through of what has been done anywhere online? Is this allowing you to speak directly into an SMS app to have it all typed out (like voice to text)?

randallw said:
Good finds, as I've also been using these since getting the Verizon iPhone last week. =)

Some tips.

Along with the Phone GV Extension program, it should install "GV Dial Rules" which allows you to mark certain phone numbers as "GV Direct Dial", "GV Call Back" "GV Offline Dial" "Carrier" etc.

This is helpful if you have certain people as contacts with usage of your GV number and don't want to always select which way to call that person, or if you know they have Verizon.

If you have the Verizon "Friends and Family", find out your "GV Direct Dial" number by clicking the info button in a GV Direct Dial call, and add that to your 10 Friends & Family numbers. You can then get "free" calling (I haven't tested this fully yet, as we just switched Family Plans to include this).

Lastly, with SMS GV Extension (dunno why he didn't name them both GV ____ Extension, shows up apart from each other in the Settings.app), I've found you can download the Official GV app from the App store, set your SMS GV Extension to use the alerts from that, then HIDE the app in your SBSettings app. You'll still get the SMS in BiteSMS, but none of the annoying badge symbols on either your Google Voice.app (since it's hidden) nor your Google Mobile.app (turn off Badge alerts under Notifications or remove the Google Voice from that apps list in Google Mobile).

Oh, two more tips. There's the SBSettings GV Send toggle. Have all of your incoming GV SMS with a signature of "-GV" or "sent via GV" and change your SBSettings toggle before sending, so you swap between your Carrier SMS and GV SMS.
Click to expand...
 
BiteSMS is a BATTERY HOG. I can't recommend it personally. That sucker used to take my iPhone from a full charge to 30% just overnight. Got rid of it long ago.

Now the "GV" series extensions - Phone GV and SMS GV - are fantastic, as stated. They cost $3 each on Cydia and worth every penny. Together they come as close to replicating the Android->Google Voice relationship as is possible given Apple's restrictions. It's not quite as seamless as Android but it does get pretty close. Definitely give them a shot if you're a big Google Voice user (like me!)
 
Travisimo said:
Bitesms does not have native Google Voice support. You either use the carrier's text messaging or your use their own service (usually for international). The extensions we were referring to are called "Phone GV" and "SMS GV", and yes they are both found in Cydia. The former is to allow you to use the native dialer/API for phone calls using Google Voice instead of using the Google Voice app. The latter permits the same for text messaging. So basically, it ties Google Voice into the native iPhone voice and text messaging system. Once the sms extension is installed, you could either use the native sms app or you could install bitesms, which is a lot nicer and will use the Google Voice extensions you installed.

Hope that helps!
Click to expand...

Perfect, just what I was wondering, thanks!
 
chiefpavvy said:
BiteSMS is a BATTERY HOG. I can't recommend it personally. That sucker used to take my iPhone from a full charge to 30% just overnight. Got rid of it long ago.

Now the "GV" series extensions - Phone GV and SMS GV - are fantastic, as stated. They cost $3 each on Cydia and worth every penny. Together they come as close to replicating the Android->Google Voice relationship as is possible given Apple's restrictions. It's not quite as seamless as Android but it does get pretty close. Definitely give them a shot if you're a big Google Voice user (like me!)
Click to expand...

How would it? I have it and dont notice a difference. I think over half of the jailbreak community uses it, and I have never heard a complaint like that. Are you sure it was Bite Sms? Now you have me thinking
 
With Google Voice being your primary phone, how does it handle mobile to mobile minutes? Are they pretty much a thing of the past or does AT&T or whoever still recognize it?
 
Solange82200 said:
How would it? I have it and dont notice a difference. I think over half of the jailbreak community uses it, and I have never heard a complaint like that. Are you sure it was Bite Sms? Now you have me thinking
Click to expand...

No idea, but I'm positive it was BiteSMS. Same behavior on 2 different phones in fact. Once I removed BiteSMS I had no battery issues with either device. I'm not sure if newer version(s) of it have fixed or mitigated the issue but I'm not about to try it again.

It's definitely convenient but not worth the battery hit. There are a few other apps which do the same thing and more but I'm too cheap to spend any more money on "text messaging" stuff these days. :D
 
Travisimo said:
What's the difference between pkgbackup and aptbackup? Do you have experience using either one to restore after upgrading firmware?
Click to expand...

Don't even bother with AptBackup. PkgBackup is 1000% superior, especially with the recent addition of dumping your backups to Dropbox. The author has raised the price ($7.99) versus the $4.99 I think I paid many moons ago but it really is well worth the money. It literally saves your entire state (all repos, tweaks, extensions, even springboard layout) and allows you to restore it with one click. Even on different versions of iOS. It's really remarkable.
 
I have Pkgbackup too, and it works well. The only problem I have with it is I had backed up my phone when the version was the previous one to now, and it wont restore my photos for some reason. I still have the backup itself in Dropbox, and there is a weird file that is named Photos, but they wont restore to my phone. I emailed Pkgbackup support to see if I could do something else with the file to get my photos back, but never heard back. Anyway, it still is great, you may want to backup your photos just in case though. For the Cydia stuff, its perfect
 
chiefpavvy said:
No idea, but I'm positive it was BiteSMS. Same behavior on 2 different phones in fact. Once I removed BiteSMS I had no battery issues with either device. I'm not sure if newer version(s) of it have fixed or mitigated the issue but I'm not about to try it again.

It's definitely convenient but not worth the battery hit. There are a few other apps which do the same thing and more but I'm too cheap to spend any more money on "text messaging" stuff these days. :D
Click to expand...

Ive never seen, or even heard of, anyone taking even a remote battery hit with Bitesms. It's possible an older version messed with your phone, but 5.0 and up for me have been nothing but flawless for me and many others I've installed it on. Give it another go.
 
kre62 said:
Ive never seen, or even heard of, anyone taking even a remote battery hit with Bitesms. It's possible an older version messed with your phone, but 5.0 and up for me have been nothing but flawless for me and many others I've installed it on. Give it another go.
Click to expand...

Oh, alright. I'll install the latest version and see. :D
 
I haven't experienced or heard of anyone with battery issues with BiteSMS either. Another app that ties in with BiteSMS for those that don't use it is Lockinfo. You can get the quickreply popup directly on the lockscreen by tapping the sms notification. Very quick way to read/reply to SMS without ever unlocking your phone and launching any apps. If BiteSMS still doesn't work for you, iRealSMS is an alternative with pretty similar features.

sideline3 said:
With Google Voice being your primary phone, how does it handle mobile to mobile minutes? Are they pretty much a thing of the past or does AT&T or whoever still recognize it?
Click to expand...

I don't think it works with mobile to mobile minutes. In fact, I don't think it works with ATT's new free calls to any mobile deal either (routes through a landline). However, I think you can get it to work with A-list. A bit of a deal breaker for some along with lack of MMS.
 
Sometimes when i reboot or respring the phone , the push notifications from the google app dont work

And i miss a lot of messages

I have to open the google app to get push messages again


This is a pain cause sometimes i forget to open the google app after a reboot or respring


Does this happen to anybody else?


Is there an alternative to using the google app for push?


Im using the sms gv extension + bitesms
 
randallw said:
Good finds, as I've also been using these since getting the Verizon iPhone last week. =)

Some tips.

Along with the Phone GV Extension program, it should install "GV Dial Rules" which allows you to mark certain phone numbers as "GV Direct Dial", "GV Call Back" "GV Offline Dial" "Carrier" etc.

This is helpful if you have certain people as contacts with usage of your GV number and don't want to always select which way to call that person, or if you know they have Verizon.

If you have the Verizon "Friends and Family", find out your "GV Direct Dial" number by clicking the info button in a GV Direct Dial call, and add that to your 10 Friends & Family numbers. You can then get "free" calling (I haven't tested this fully yet, as we just switched Family Plans to include this).
Click to expand...

You have to put your google voice number into your friends and family. You then have to set google voice from the back office online not to display your google voice number.


Use Phone GV to call you back when you make a call. With this means you can make unktd calls to any number.
 
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