Hacker News Reader

Comment by BenjiWiebe | Hacker News Reader

I've been using Citi and Discover for years with a Google Voice number. Possibly I've been grandfathered in though?

I could not use my Google Voice number (that I've had since Grand Central) for most companies that only do SMS 2FA until it became my Google Fi number. Then I guess some flag got set in the database they check against.

>I could not use my Google Voice number (that I've had since Grand Central) for most companies that only do SMS 2FA until it became my Google Fi number. Then I guess some flag got set in the database they check against.

I was wondering about that, because I can't get google voice because I have google fi, so clearly it's using the same bank of numbers, but maybe once they are fi, they are ported to T-mobile instead of their own CLEC.

They removed that restriction. You can have Fi and Voice on the same account now.

Yeah, I think that restriction was due to that extremely strange way of using Hangouts (remember that?) as a possible backend for both Google Voice and Google Fi text messages.

Chase bank used to not work with Google voice. I would have to use email for code. Sometime in last year? it started working.

yeah, I use GV with all sorts of things that don't normally allow most likely as a result of being grandfathered in - i.e., I suspect they don't recheck old active numbers as being invalid per VOIP classifications/etc.

GV still works on BOA to an extent: general balance queries through their app or the web will go through but anything involving identity and real transactions via wire or zelle will ask for your real mobile number. Even if you do happen to visit one of their branches they will ask for confirmation through your real mobile number (landlines will obviously not work).

Works for me with GV, for anything involving identity. I might have been grandfathered in.

I think your experience is typical. I use my Google Voice number for everything and have rarely had any issues.

There are a few popular companies that blacklist VoIP numbers, but most don't. Even Chase, which historically blocked Google Voice, started allowing it a couple years ago.

Mine has worked as well but it used to be a landline when I first acquired it many moons ago.

Execs at those companies probably think "Google = good".

Yet Facebook won’t let me sign into WhatsApp using my GV number alone.

There must be something unique about my GV number. It's even allowed on WhatsApp (knock on wood).

I registered it about 13 years ago. I didn't transfer it from a landline/cell phone, it was picked from a list of Google Voice numbers available in my area code. I've never had Fi.

I don't think SMS senders can actually tell the difference between Google Voice and other VoIP providers.

Twilio has a lookup API, which returns the subscriber name and carrier.

Here's an example response (subscriber name redacted):

  {
    "data": {
      "name": "LASTNAME, FIRSTNAME",
      "line_provider": "Google/Bandwidth.com (SVR)",
      "carrier": "Bandwidth.com",
      "line_type": "landline"
    }
  }

Ah, I always assumed Google uses Bandwidth.com completely transparently – I wasn't aware there's a separate level of "line provider" look-up available. Thank you!

Reply on news.ycombinator.com