Some Google Voice users reportedly unable to receive text messages

According to a thread in Google’s Help forum, some Google Voice users are having trouble receiving text messages. Both mobile and desktop seem to be affected, and Google says it’s “currently investigating.”

For those of you who are familiar with Google’s VoIP service, I don’t have to explain why Google Voice is so convenient, but I will for those of us who are not familiar with it. With Google Voice, not only do you get a free number when you sign up, you can make local calls and send text messages for free in the US and Canada. And if you elect to pay a small sum, you can even make international calls and port your existing number.

Back in January, Google brought some much-needed changes to Google Voice, making the UI much more in line with the current design language and adding features like full MMS support. However, it seems as though some users are having trouble sending text messages through Google Voice. According to Google’s Help forum, certain Google Voice users have found that while they can send texts, the responses to those texts don’t show up on their mobile or desktop devices.

Several users have reported the exact same issue over the past 24 hours, and Google has since acknowledged it and says it’s looking into the matter:

Thanks for reporting the issue you are experiencing with SMS messages. We’re currently investigating. Please stay tuned for updates. I’ll post back when I have anything to share. – Vanessa, Community Manager

It shouldn’t take too long until Google resolves the problem, but as one of the forum users points out, service disruption like this could be more devastating for people who rely on Google Voice for public announcements and emergency messages.

Is your Google Voice SMS working? Have you been able to fix it? Let us know by leaving a comment below!