How to disable idiotic OK google arguments for better hands-free calling?

[Anyar Bakalin]

All I want is "hands free" calling/texting that doesn't argue with me.

So, whenever "OK Google" does anything other than calling or
texting, I just want to *disable* that mistake, so I don't have
to deal with it day in and day out, every day.

For example:
ME: "OK google" ... "call Antonio".
GOOGLE: Apps, automatic call recorder, call recorder free.

The OK Google settings for "phone" has only "Contacts" enabled,
yet OK Google *still* pops up apps when I say "Call Antonio".

Since I am *never* going to need voice-activated downloads of apps, I
just want to permanently disable OK Google from that result.

Sometimes OK Google brings up the web.

Other times it brings up the contact, but then I have to argue
with it for the specific phone number (e.g., I would never text
a landline, yet, OK Google doesn't seem to be smart enough to
realize only Mobile numbers can be texted to).

How do I tell "OK Google" to never search apps, and to NOT
try to text landlines, for example?

[tjoen]

Anyar Bakalin wrote:

> How do I tell "OK Google" to never search apps, and to NOT
> try to text landlines, for example?

there are replacements to ok google that will work better.

[c...@isbd.net]

tjoen <tj...@dds.invalid> wrote:
> Anyar Bakalin wrote:
>
> > How do I tell "OK Google" to never search apps, and to NOT
> > try to text landlines, for example?
>
>

Why shouldn't it text landlines? Our landline accepts text messages
quite happily and presents them as text. I keep trying to persuade my
bank that this is true but they won't accept it.

--
Chris Green
·

[Joe Beanfish]

Completely useless post unless followed by "Such as ...".

[Anyar Bakalin]

On Tue, 10 Nov 2015 10:10:54 +0000, cl wrote:

> Why shouldn't it text landlines? Our landline accepts text messages
> quite happily and presents them as text. I keep trying to persuade my
> bank that this is true but they won't accept it

Fair enough.

But that's not what I meant. I meant that I didn't want to argue with OK
Google about which numbers to text when I can easily designate that only
"mobile" numbers can be texted, and not "home" or "work" numbers.

I already have my contacts ordered that way, so that I know which types
of lines I can text. If I know it can be texted, I make it a "mobile"
designation in my Contacts. If I know it can't be texted, it gets some
other designation.

So, in your specific case, I'd just have multiple "mobile" numbers for
you, one of which would be your landline.

But that still doesn't solve the problem because OK Google constantly
asks me which number to text when I have more than one number, but only
one of which is mobile (which will work for everyone I have in my
Contacts).

The problem is that OK Google is trying to do too much.
It's actually smart. Too smart.

I need it to *just* text or call.
Nothing else.

What is a good app that will take voice commands to *just* text or call?

[The Real Bev]

The message shows up in the little screen on the phone? How is this useful?


--
Cheers, Bev
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The way England treats her prisoners, she doesn't
deserve to have any." --Oscar Wilde

[Anyar Bakalin]

On Tue, 10 Nov 2015 08:55:18 -0800, The Real Bev wrote:

> The message shows up in the little screen on the phone?
> How is this useful?

Good question!
If that's how the text message showed up, I would agree with you.
But my texts are READ OUT TO ME.

1. I talk to the phone to transcribe voice to text SMS.
2. I listen to the readout for text to voice SMS.

No hands nor eyes are involved EXCEPT the exasperatingly stupid task of
having to select the contact and then start the SMS process and then
click on the microphone.

That's silly for me to have to do these steps MANUALLY:
1. Find the contact in my contacts
2. Press the little yellow envelope to tell it to text
3. Press the even tinier microphone on the keyboard to speak
4. Press the send button to send

I should just be able to say:
Text TheRealBev, and then, when it says "what is the message?",
I'd say "Tell her that she needs to go hands free".
It would then send the message after a few seconds for me to
stop the process if it's bad.

Right now, I have to argue with OK Google so much that I do it
the manual way shown above. But I'm trying to streamline the
process by trying to reduce button clicks.

It really should take ZERO button clicks to send and receive
SMS text messages.

If you know of an app that does that, please let me know!

[Anyar Bakalin]

On Tue, 10 Nov 2015 08:55:18 -0800, The Real Bev wrote:

> The message shows up in the little screen on the phone?
> How is this useful?

Oh oh. I just realized you weren't responding to me, but to the person
whose landline received texts (on a teeny tiny screen).

I think there are so few landlines receiving text that this isn't the
problem for this particular question.

My problem is streamlining the text process so that it takes as close to
zero button presses to send and receive texts.

It's something *everyone* would want (if it worked), so, I'm surprised
it's so hard to find and app that does it.

[JJ]

Joe Beanfish <joebe...@nospam.duh> wrote in message
n1t0b2$kg9$1...@dont-email.me

> Completely useless post unless followed by "Such as ...".

Why not just put the phone in Android Handsfree mode?

Doesn't that do fully voice free sms?

[tjoen]

Joe Beanfish wrote:

> Completely useless post unless followed by "Such as ...".

Such as...

Handsfree by Aleksey Grichenko
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.grichenko.android.handsfree&hl=en

New Car Mode by Carlos Ceriani
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cceriani.newcarmode

HandsFree Answer (Auto Answer) by SureMotion
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.suremotion.handsfreeanswer&hl=en

[tjoen]

tjoen wrote:

> there are replacements to ok google that will work better.

There are replacements to ok google that will work better, such as
Dragon Mobile Assistant by Nuance Communications, Inc
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nuance.balerion

[The Real Bev]

On 11/10/2015 09:43 AM, tjoen wrote:
> Joe Beanfish wrote:
>
>> Completely useless post unless followed by "Such as ...".
>
> Such as...
>
> Handsfree by Aleksey Grichenko
> https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.grichenko.android.handsfree&hl=en

"ATTENTION! Starting Android 5.x (Lollipop) applications can not answer
incoming calls anymore (at least without rooting the device). For this
reason Handsfree will not work on new devices or after upgrading the OS
and I see no reason to further develop the app. Thanks everybody."

> New Car Mode by Carlos Ceriani
> https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cceriani.newcarmode
>
> HandsFree Answer (Auto Answer) by SureMotion
> https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.suremotion.handsfreeanswer&hl=en

Trying this one. It seems to hang during the install process...


--
Cheers,
Bev
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I don't need instructions, I have a hammer."
-- T.W. Wier

[tjoen]

The Real Bev wrote:

> "ATTENTION! Starting Android 5.x (Lollipop) applications can not answer
> incoming calls anymore (at least without rooting the device). For this
> reason Handsfree will not work on new devices or after upgrading the OS
> and I see no reason to further develop the app. Thanks everybody."

Good catch Bev!

This becomes an android question of the android gurus.

Why would Google disable hands free capability in Lollipop?
What did they replace it with?

[The Real Bev]

No idea. Thee are quite a few handsfree apps, so perhaps that applies
only to what that guy was doing and he didn't want to bother redoing it.

I successfully installed the SureMotion app -- I just had to restart
playstore. Stupid google. I don't really care about the
automatic-while-driving feature, which will expire in 30 days; I rarely
get phone calls and am happy to push a button on those rare occasions
when I'm expecting a call while driving. Most frequent: "I'm stuck on
the freeway, don't go skiing without me, I'll get there as soon as I can."

Probably won't have occasion to try it for at least a month :-(

There are advantages to meeting in a Walmart parking lot.

[c...@isbd.net]

The Real Bev <bashl...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On 11/10/2015 02:10 AM, c...@isbd.net wrote:
> > tjoen <tj...@dds.invalid> wrote:
> >> Anyar Bakalin wrote:
> >>
> >> > How do I tell "OK Google" to never search apps, and to NOT
> >> > try to text landlines, for example?
> >>
> >>
> > Why shouldn't it text landlines? Our landline accepts text messages
> > quite happily and presents them as text. I keep trying to persuade my
> > bank that this is true but they won't accept it.
>
> The message shows up in the little screen on the phone? How is this useful?
>

Er, rather like on a mobile phone isn't it!

--
Chris Green
·

[tjoen]

The Real Bev wrote:

> Probably won't have occasion to try it for at least a month :-(

These type of apps beg testing on the road so they may take time.

If you test this one, bear in mind that it changes features after
two weeks, so don't wait that month!

ReadItToMe - Unique Handsfree by Rob J
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=robj.readit.tomefree

[The Real Bev]

On 11/10/2015 12:09 PM, tjoen wrote:
> The Real Bev wrote:
>
>> Probably won't have occasion to try it for at least a month :-(
>
> These type of apps beg testing on the road so they may take time.

I may NEVER need it!

> If you test this one, bear in mind that it changes features after
> two weeks, so don't wait that month!

As far as I can see the only 'paid' feature you get is the ability for
it to be off unless you're moving at, say, 8 mph or faster. I wouldn't
use that anyway -- I don't like things running in the background that I
don't need.


--
Cheers, Bev
================================================================
"Some people say that when it rains it means that God is crying,
probably because of something that you did." --Jack Handey

[tlvp]

On Sat, 7 Nov 2015 23:53:48 -0000 (UTC), Anyar Bakalin wrote:

> OK Google doesn't seem to be smart enough to
> realize only Mobile numbers can be texted to

On the contrary, OK Google is smart enough to realize that even landline
numbers can be texted to -- in Poland, for example, the local phone company
will intercept an SMS directed to a Polish landline number, synthesize a
digital-voice recording of that text message, and then ring the phone in
question and deliver the message (for a small charge billed to the
"subscriber" at the landline number).

Landline numbers you're familiar with may not have that capability today,
but they may well be afforded that capability tomorrow, and OK Google wants
to be ready :-) .

Cheers, -- tlvp
--
Avant de repondre, jeter la poubelle, SVP.

[tlvp]

On Tue, 10 Nov 2015 18:39:53 +0000 (UTC), tjoen wrote:

> Why would Google disable hands free capability in Lollipop?

That's not what they disabled -- they made things so that one "can not
answer incoming calls anymore." Driver safety and all that, you know.

[Chris]

tlvp <mPiOsUcB...@att.net> Wrote in message:

> On Sat, 7 Nov 2015 23:53:48 -0000 (UTC), Anyar Bakalin wrote:
>
>> OK Google doesn't seem to be smart enough to
>> realize only Mobile numbers can be texted to
>
> On the contrary, OK Google is smart enough to realize that even landline
> numbers can be texted to -- in Poland, for example, the local phone company
> will intercept an SMS directed to a Polish landline number, synthesize a
> digital-voice recording of that text message, and then ring the phone in
> question and deliver the message (for a small charge billed to the
> "subscriber" at the landline number).

It's the same in the UK. Although it's free here.


----Android NewsGroup Reader----
http://usenet.sinaapp.com/

[c...@isbd.net]

There must be some detection of whether the line can receive SMS
without intervention then, we get SMS in text on the screens of our
DECT phones.

--
Chris Green
·

[c...@isbd.net]

tlvp <mPiOsUcB...@att.net> wrote:
> On Sat, 7 Nov 2015 23:53:48 -0000 (UTC), Anyar Bakalin wrote:
>
> > OK Google doesn't seem to be smart enough to
> > realize only Mobile numbers can be texted to
>
> On the contrary, OK Google is smart enough to realize that even landline
> numbers can be texted to -- in Poland, for example, the local phone company
> will intercept an SMS directed to a Polish landline number, synthesize a
> digital-voice recording of that text message, and then ring the phone in
> question and deliver the message (for a small charge billed to the
> "subscriber" at the landline number).
>

That's not what ours does, our DECT phones receive and display SMS
messages just like a mobile phone does.

--
Chris Green
·

[Anyar Bakalin]

On Wed, 11 Nov 2015 03:17:22 -0500, tlvp wrote:

> That's not what they disabled -- they made things so that one "can not
> answer incoming calls anymore." Driver safety and all that, you know.

I do not understand. I read that you wrote that, in Android 5.x, Google
disabled an app answering incoming calls, but, what does that mean?

Specifically, can an app do what I (and everyone else) wants, which is:

PHONE: ring ring ... "incoming call from [caller id]".
PHONE: Say "answer or ignore".
USER: "answer"
PHONE: connects you to the call

This is what I have now, using my Motorola bluetooth visor-mounted
speakerphone. I'm not sure which app gives me that, since it just works.

Does that no longer work in Android 5.x?

[tlvp]

On Wed, 11 Nov 2015 16:17:55 -0000 (UTC), Anyar Bakalin asked:

> Does that no longer work in Android 5.x?

I have no idea ... I'm on Android 2.3.5 myself :-) . Cheers, -- tlvp