Considering Google's love for killing off all sorts of communication apps, it's a bit surprising that Voice has managed to live for over a decade now. It's gone through plenty of changes, including a complete redesign on desktop — a refreshed UI that some users have found controversial. After portions of the legacy website stopped working back in 2020, Google is now pushing to move those last few users to its new site by officially shutting down the old-school platform.
If you're still actively using the legacy web version of Voice to manage your account, you've likely received an email in your inbox over the last few days highlighting precisely what will change for you. According to Google, every feature planned for a transition to the modern web client has made the move, which means it's finally time to shut the old-school site for good. Voice's legacy website will start to phase out in mid-February, leaving users no choice but to make the switch.
Unfortunately, not every feature previously available in Voice is coming along for the ride. In addition to Call Notes — which Google removed in 2020 — three additional tools will no longer be available once the legacy app is dead, including:
- Do Not Disturb Timers
- Ring Scheduling
- Carrier Call Forwarding settings
As far as carrier forwarding is concerned, all calls will be sent to voicemail automatically, with no options for changes or customization. Google is also forcing voicemail-only accounts to add a number and update their call forwarding preferences. Finally, the company will no longer allow calling credits to be bought with non-USD currencies. Those with non-USD balances will automatically have their wallets converted to USD this summer when their balance drops below 0.50. Likewise, recharging in non-USD will be disabled.
Those changes may sound disappointing to legacy users — especially if you've been relying on carrier call forwarding. Unfortunately, it seems that the days of old-school Google Voice have reached their end. If you haven't already, it might be worth moving to the company's new UI for Voice before the forced transition next month.