Google Voice finally gets some love with better call and SMS management

Google Voice gets several much-needed enhancements.

What you need to know

• Several features and enhancements are arriving for Google Voice users.
• Google is adding a redial button available when calls drop, along with providing the reason behind the dropped call.
• iOS users will now be able to set their Google Voice caller ID as the display number when receiving forwarded calls.
• Google is improving SMS management with multiple-thread deletion.

Fans of Google Voice may be happy to know that the company is finally giving the app some attention with a few helpful new features already rolling out on the best Android phones and iOS devices.

Google announced on Wednesday that dropped calls and missed calls will now be more informative, letting the user know why the device couldn’t complete or receive a call. In the former matter, if a call doesn’t complete using Google Voice, not only will the user be able to quickly redial, but the app will provide a reason that the call couldn’t complete. If it’s related to a connection issue, Google Voice will provide the option to complete the call using your carrier’s network instead.

Google Voice will also provide users with insight into why users might have missed a call and give recommendations on what they can do to ensure it doesn’t happen again. It can be something as simple as turning off Do Not Disturb or enabling a device to receive forwarded calls.

For users that rely on Google Voice for SMS, they’ll now be able to bulk delete threads, which should make SMS management a bit easier. Lastly, on iOS, users can set their Google Voice number as the display ID when a call is forwarded to their personal number.

Even though it seems that Google has shifted its focus from its VOIP app to a more traditional voice service à la Google Fi, it’s nice to see the company still acknowledging its existence every so often.

Most of these updates are available to users starting today, although the missed call feature is still rolling out to users and should reach everyone by the end of the month.