TQuist had a Google Voice number for a long time. I never used it well, and then I neglected it, and then it was releasted back into the wild. I confirmed earlier my previous number has been assigned to some else, which makes sense due to my inactivity. So I want a new number.
As this is Google stuff, I figured I would use Gemini to determine how to get a new number. There were mentions of options I did not see on the Google Voice menu. Hmm. I checked Copilot as well to see if the instructions were the same, and they basically were. And yet, I still had no option to request a new number.
I even gave Gemini refined information that the my Google Voice number was not listed in Google Voice, the AI response still didnt’ consider the correct answer.
So, I switched over to a traditional Google search and pretty quickly came upon this article:
How to get a new google voice number
This article explains that each Google Voice number request MUST be made from a new phone number. I had requested my first Google Voice number with my mobile phone, so in order to get a new Google Voice number I need a new mobile phone number. Hmm, now where did my daughter leave her mobile phone?
For those hanging in suspense, I’m not going to get a new Google Voice number until conditions change such that I really need one, for had I used the original one *at all* I wouldn’t have lost it due to inactivity.