Re: Keepgo Data SIM Failure (Pixel 2)

The Real Bev <bashley101@gmail.com> wrote:

On 7/8/24 8:25 PM, VanguardLH wrote:

The Real Bev <bashley101@gmail.com> wrote:
 

Suddenly (well, maybe a few months ago -- I rarely use it) I am no
longer able to contact google voice via the SIM.  It contacts websites
fine, but doesn't connect to google voice at all.  The Keepgo people are
responsive and I have followed their instructions regarding the APN, and
they haven't given up yet, but to no avail.
 
I had thought that I used it to make a google voice phone call a few
days ago, but it went through our home (or other) wifi rather than the
SIM.  Latest google voice update was (I think) June 24 2024.  I know it
WAS working earlier in the year because I made calls from my car when
there was no wifi hotspot nearby.
 
Has google voice made some change since March or April that might have
created connection problems?  The service was perfectly good at a
reasonable price ($30 for 3GB plus $3.00 for another 1MB to keep the
unused data rolling over) and I've only used 500MB in a year and would
like to keep it.

 
Never used the cellular provider (KeepGo) you are talking about.
According to their web site, they only offer cellular data service.
However, don't you have to grant use of a device in your GV account,
like under "My Devices" or "Linked numbers"?  I'd check there to ensure
your GV account is configured to work with your device.

 
It is and was.  Something happened.
 

I have an old phone still back on Android 8.0.0.  No chance to upgrade
to later Android versions since LG, my phone maker, discontinued the V20
phone back in 2019, and then LG left the smart phone market in 2021.  My
phone got orphaned by LG.  The GV app on my phone is version
2024.06.17.645382423 (June 17, 2024).  It still does get updated
occasionally, and each time I'm nuisanced with a new notification about
how GV will be used to [asked to] make calls.  The Play Store web page
says the last update was July 8, 2024).  I just checked the Play Store
app on my phone, and it reports no updates, so I'm not [yet] offered the
July update.

 
I see the July 8 date at the website, but mine doesn't need updating
yet.  Not my turn, I guess.

 
The vast majority of time when I use the GV app on my Android phone is
at home, and that is using the wifi connection to the cable modem, so
I'm not much using GV via cellular data. 

 
Likewise, so I didn't notice the problem until recently.  Suddenly I
feel like most people probably feel when they discover they left their
phone at home :-(
 

When using wifi for an
Internet connection to reach the GV service, KeepGo nor any SIM is
involved.  You said GV is usable via wifi, but not via cellular data
using KeepGo.  When using a wifi connection to GV, any quota
restrictions for your KeepGo service do not apply.  If GV still works
via wifi to Internet, maybe you need to log into your KeepGo account to
check you still have some quota.

 
They say I have roughly what I say I have -- 2.5GB remaining;
Expieration is August 4, but I'll buy $3 worth of data (1MB) to keep it
rolling over.
 

You said you can still reach web sites using cellular data with the
KeepGo SIM which indicates you haven't hit a quota ceiling.  However,
could be KeepGo has a problem getting to GV.  When working with KeepGo
techs, did they even test if GV was reachable by them? 

 
They can reach it.  They say I was attempting to connect to a wrong APN,
but that made no sense because my setting used the correct one.  I made
a new APN with the settings they noted.  Same problem.  SOMETHING is
missing between Keepgo and google voice.
 

Could be the
problem is on their end, not yours.  KeepGo doesn't operate their own
network.  In the USA, they mostly use the AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon
networks (https://www.keepgo.com/pages/list-of-providers-by-ciountry).

 
Their home address is in Spain, but they say that doesn't matter. I sent
them screenshots of my settings, and they didn't say anything was incorrect.
 

Unclear is if you are using the GV app on your phone,

 
The app.
 

or using a web
browser (and which one) to connect to voice.google.com.  Google has a
nasty habit of requiring some non-ratified or proprietary functions in
their web pages requiring you use their Chrome web browser, or variant.
On my home PC, I use Firefox to connect to GV.  On my Android phone, I
use their GV app, but my GV app version is 3 weeks older than what the
Play Store app page says.

 
They suggested using a different browser (Opera) to connect with GV.
That made no sense at the time, but since I connect through firefox and
chrome on my computer, perhaps the same thing can be done with Android.
 
I generally use the android default browser (I assume it's chrome)
because firefox is slower.  I'll try going through browsers rather than
the app...  Still makes no sense unless google somehow screwed around
with the app.
 
OK, I went through chrome and it worked fine.  Hard to see and use, but
at least it works for outgoing calls.  For incoming calls, I'm asked to
press 1 to accept the call, but it doesn't seem to recognize the press.
Still, progress...

But the APN is used by your phone to connect to KeepGo.  The APN is not
involved in the Internet connection to the GV service.

The APN is what you define, if not automatic, in the mobile network
config on your phone.  That is regardless of trying to reach GV, or any
other web site or Internet-based service.  In Android settings, you go
to Network -> Mobile networks, and there you find where you can specify
the APN settings.  It's defined on your phone for how to connect to your
cellular carrier.  If the APN setup was incorrect, you wouldn't be able
to use KeepGo for anything, including reaching other web sites when
using KeepGo's cellular data service.

When using wifi with your phone, you get Internet access via whatever
gives you Internet access, not through your cellular carrier.  I
remember having to call my cellular service (Tracfone which is an MVNO
where they gave me an AT&T account in my area) to get them to the
correct APN settings for their BYOP (Bring Your Own Phone) plan. 

KeepGo has their APN help page at:

https://www.keepgo.com/pages/sim_install

Are those the APN settings defined on your phone?  If they are wrong, I
don't see how you could be using KeepGo's cellular data service for
anything.  Not for GV, or for any web site where you're using data for
Internet access.