Google Home is killing free voice calls in the UK — what you need to know

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Google Abode is killing complimentary voice calls in the UK — what you need to know

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Did you lot know that your Google Banana can make calls from ane U.K. number to another? It's not the kind of feature that'southward been well advertised, but information technology is at that place. Well it'southward at that place for at present.

Unfortunately information technology's not going to be around for much longer, because Google is scrapping that feature in the U.K. And then no gratuitous phone calls from Google Banana displays and speakers for y'all.

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The characteristic lets users in the U.K. brand costless calls to other U.K. numbers, which can be quite handy since you can initiate everything through the speaker (or smart display) using your phonation. The best role was that if you didn't want to utilize your own number, Google would pair an unlisted number to your device and phone call from that instead.

Unfortunately, for reasons Google hasn't properly explained, this feature is disappearing from mid-December. Or at least it is in the U.K., since the feature will still be bachelor in the U.S. and Canada. Here's what information technology says in the Nest help pages:

"*Important: Starting in mid-December 2020, if you're in the U.K., you won't be able to make Google supported calls on your speaker or brandish. You'll still be able to make audio or video calls through Duo."

Fortunately the U.Thou. isn't beingness completely deprived of smart speaker calls. Amazon Echo devices are all able to phone call other Amazon devices with Alexa, meaning you can still phone up your friends and family without needing to touch your phone.

Similarly the Echo is capable of "Outbound Calling" which lets you call mobile and landline numbers from your smart speaker. That's network specific, though, and you volition need to be with EE or Vodafone to make that happen. It's still free, however.

If you're non into that, and want to stick with Google, there's always Google Duo. Duo works with all Google Dwelling house and Nest speakers and Displays, but volition merely call other Duo users, not phone numbers.

If that's not for you, you're just going to take to choice up your phone and apply i of the many messaging apps out at that place instead.

Tom is the Tom's Guide's Automotive Editor, which means he tin usually be constitute knee joint deep in stats the latest and all-time electrical cars, or checking out some sort of driving gadget. Information technology'due south long way from his days as editor of Gizmodo United kingdom, when pretty much everything was on the table. He's unremarkably found trying to clasp another giant Lego ready onto the shelf, draining very big cups of coffee, or complaining that Ikea won't allow him buy the stuff he really needs online.

Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/news/google-home-is-killing-free-voice-calls-in-the-uk-what-you-need-to-know

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