First question is - are you familiar with Linux command line at all? If not get familiar with it first.

Second you’ll need to own or buy a domain and point it to the server’s IP.

Then install either Ubuntu Server or Debian on the server, setup SSH and run this Ansible project - https://github.com/LemmyNet/lemmy-ansible

If that’s not comprehensible to you, I’d really recommend getting more familiar with Linux command line and servers before I’d recommend starting a Lemmy instance.

There isn’t a Google Voice app. It’s not Android.

You could probably place calls from the browser but not receive them.

I heard of some people setting up IP phone stuff for it, but it doesn’t seem simple.

This type of grass is native to most of Europe, to be fair. But monoculture is still not great.

No. I have a second phone with it just to play with.

It’s functional, but rough. App support is lacking, VoLTE doesn’t work still which means on countries like the US which shutdown 2/3G you cannot make or receive calls. The UI is clunky and dated.

I think a lot of these issues would go away pretty quick if it got a lot of attention. But then it’s unlikely to get much attention without that stuff. Vicious cycle. It’s a good base to build on.