With a Google Voice number, you can forward calls and messages from one number to all your other phones, something like a donation if you have multiple devices. However, Google has announced that the “messages” part of the equation is about to disappear. The Google Voice app now tells users that “messaging to linked numbers will soon stop because mobile service providers have started blocking the messages”, according to Android Police.
Call forwarding is not affected, so you will still be able to use your Google Voice number to call all your other phones. However, you can only view your Google Voice messages on the Google Voice app on your phone or on the web. This can cause notification issues, as some portable and other devices do not support notifications directly from Google Voice Android Police noticed. However, you will still be able to receive voicemails at your email address.
Google Voice is one of Google’s longest running services and launched in 2009. However, it has only received sporadic updates and users are afraid that it may one day be discontinued like many other Google products. The search giant did not say when SMS forwarding will end, but you’ll probably want to make sure Voice is installed on your Android smartphone (s) so you can still get notifications on the go.