My Ooma VOIP phone

[ERD50]

Timely thread for me - I just switched our VOIP over from T-Mobile @Home (we discontinued our TM Family plan. As the kids move on it no longer made sense, and the VOIP was part of that plan).

I considered Ooma, but I recently saw a post from someone about some of the 'generic' ATA devices (the thing that bridges the internet to your regular phones in your house) that are pretty cheap and have some features I may want. Ooma, Vonnage and some others are proprietary - you have to use their hardware. I just don't like to be locked in like that. So I went with a VOIP that uses standard SIP protocol, and will provide you with your SIP credentials.

Like these:

Amazon.com: OBi110 Voice Service Bridge and VoIP Telephone Adapter: Electronics

http://www.amazon.com/Obihai-Technology-Adapter-2-Phone-OBI202/dp/B007D930YO

If I went with Ooma, I'd have to go for the Premier service as the 'fallback' feature is not part of the standard package. Fallback lets you specify a number to call (usually a cell phone) if your internet connection is down, or the box is unreachable for any other reason. I would not want to be w/o that. There are a bunch of other features that I like, but are not essential.

When I did a spreadsheet - ooma came out to be slightly cheaper after ~ 4-6 years. But if I had to replace their box @ $199, versus $30-$75 for a generic box, that would wipe out the savings. Plus, I just like getting away from proprietary services. I went with PhonePower, but don't take that as a recc just yet, as I don't have that much experience with them - but so far they have been good, and I got a quick response to porting my number, and a pleasant human called to get the security info they needed for the port.

Their 'cloned second line' is pretty neat - it's a second phone port that uses the same phone #, but you can make/receive calls on that second line while the other is in use.

And I'm using the 'selective forwarding' to try to thwart telemarketers - I'll follow up any results on T-Al's thread.


-ERD50

 

[Tree-dweller]

We have been using Loma for a little under a year. Only complaint is the lag we sometimes experience, resulting in us sometimes talking over each other.

 

[easysurfer]

I have both a landline and internet calling device. The landline connects to the entry for the lobby, so that's one reason to keep that. My calls are measured service so I don't even use the landline to call out. For that, I use a TK6000 (similar to Magicjack, but computer doesn't have to be on) which I am a charter memeber ($100 purchase, free for life of product). So for the TK6000 works well enough to keep. If I get disatisfied, I might just go back to the old days and get an unlimited national calling plan through my landline.

 

[mn54]

We have been using Loma for a little under a year. Only complaint is the lag we sometimes experience, resulting in us sometimes talking over each other.

I have also noticed this. It is annoying. I expect this during a phone conversation and have gotten used to it, but the person on the other end is a little confused by it.

 

[Texas Proud]

A question to those who have this VOIP.... does the box make the phone conversation a priority

IOW, will someone downloading a movie etc. make a conversaton stutter?

My boss has a VOIP at his house and it is pretty crappy at times.... his voice will drop words etc. where you have to ask him to repeat what he said... something that we get on Skype at times...

 

[ERD50]

Only complaint is the lag we sometimes experience, resulting in us sometimes talking over each other.

I have also noticed this. It is annoying. I expect this during a phone conversation and have gotten used to it, but the person on the other end is a little confused by it.

There will always be a delay with VOIP - this also happens with cell phones, and probably to some extent with 'landlines', I'm pretty sure it gets digitized along the way. But it depends how they do it - packets, or 'on-the-fly'.

With VOIP, and GSM phones (not sure about how CDMA does it), a time-slice of sound is captured (~ 10 or 15 mSec), analyzed, compressed, and then transmitted. At the other end, it has to all be received, decoded, and then 'played back'. So there is always a delay. It can be rather large in VOIP, as they need to give enough wait time for the packets to arrive and be re-assembled in order - and each packet can take a different route over the internet, so some packets will arrive ahead of others. If one is too far behind, it gets dropped, resulting in choppy sound. More delay helps. You need reasonably low 'jitter' times on your internet connection to keep delays to a minimum.

You can get a sense of the delay by repeating a count 1-2-3-4-5-1-2-3-4-5, and ask the other person to count with you, in time, starting on the second '1'. It's surprising to hear just how much delay there is. You do learn to wait before speaking to avoid talking on top the other person.

-ERD50

 

[ERD50]

A question to those who have this VOIP.... does the box make the phone conversation a priority

IOW, will someone downloading a movie etc. make a conversaton stutter?

My boss has a VOIP at his house and it is pretty crappy at times.... his voice will drop words etc. where you have to ask him to repeat what he said... something that we get on Skype at times...

Yes, it can be a problem. My internet connection is not really 'high speed', I get ~ 1Mbps. But that should be plenty for VOIP, until someone eats up the bandwidth with a download. Then it gets choppy.

There are routers with QOS settings, and I plan to look into these in the near future. There are a lot of variables, not sure how much this will help me.

Things were bad yesterday, and I was getting high jitter readings from my tests. I rebooted the 'modem' and everything cleared up.

-ERD50

 

[Rustward]

You can call 909-390-0003 which is an Ooma service number that will repeat whatever you say to it. This will give you a sense of the delay on the phone from which you are calling. After you dial, it won't ring, and it won't really "answer". Just call the number and start talking until you hear yourself in the earpiece.

 

[ERD50]

You can call 909-390-0003 which is an Ooma service number that will repeat whatever you say to it. This will give you a sense of the delay on the phone from which you are calling. After you dial, it won't ring, and it won't really "answer". Just call the number and start talking until you hear yourself in the earpiece.

Thank You!!! I called and did a quick 1-2-3, listen then 1-2-3, listen, repeat and I get get some good, immediate feedback on the sound quality. Stored to my directory.


Now I just need a semi-permanent disconnected number that gives the disconnect tones, to forward my telemarketscum to.

-ERD50

 

[Rustward]

There are routers with QOS settings, and I plan to look into these in the near future. There are a lot of variables, not sure how much this will help me.

-ERD50

While QoS can certainly control bandwidth hogs on your LAN, I wouldn't expect things like DSCP markings that come off your LAN to be honored when the traffic gets out on a big trunk. Have never verified it, but I suspect that traffic coming from consumer LANs gets encapsulated by the ISP so they have total control of it.

My Ooma gets priority on the LAN over everything but network management traffic.

 

[Rowdy]

...So I went with a VOIP that uses standard SIP protocol, and will provide you with your SIP credentials.

Like these:

Amazon.com: OBi110 Voice Service Bridge and VoIP Telephone Adapter: Electronics

http://www.amazon.com/Obihai-Technology-Adapter-2-Phone-OBI202/dp/B007D930YO

...-ERD50

I also considered similar devices, but was concerned about the extra steps required to set up 911 to work properly. I ended up with Ooma after reading many positive reviews and am very happy with my choice. I will likely continue the Premier service after the initial 1 year trial, so my phone cost will be about $13.50 for all the bells and whistles.

I really like the call forwarding, blacklists, call blocking, 2nd number, etc, etc that Ooma offers.

FYI, I have never had any issues with choppy conversations due to bandwidth, even when streaming movies; that could be because I have 12 Mbs.

 

[ERD50]

I also considered similar devices, but was concerned about the extra steps required to set up 911 to work properly.

Not an issue. The e911 is a function of your VOIP provider, I just entered the info on my account page on their web site.

I ended up with Ooma after reading many positive reviews and am very happy with my choice. I will likely continue the Premier service after the initial 1 year trial, so my phone cost will be about $13.50 for all the bells and whistles.

I really like the call forwarding, blacklists, call blocking, 2nd number, etc, etc that Ooma offers.

I think Ooma is a fine choice, I saw they got good reviews, and the overall long term costs are all pretty close with these. I just have a preference for open-standards, and that swayed me towards a SIP provider, and I'm getting all those services you mention.

FYI, I have never had any issues with choppy conversations due to bandwidth, even when streaming movies; that could be because I have 12 Mbs.

Yes, I have limited bandwidth, around 1Mbps, so it's an issue for me while downloading. Netflix eats that all up. 12Mbps would solve that. Though you still need good 'jitter' and packet loss numbers, that can be more important than raw speed.

While QoS can certainly control bandwidth hogs on your LAN, I wouldn't expect things like DSCP markings that come off your LAN to be honored when the traffic gets out on a big trunk. Have never verified it, but I suspect that traffic coming from consumer LANs gets encapsulated by the ISP so they have total control of it.

My Ooma gets priority on the LAN over everything but network management traffic.

I really don't know much at all about QOS and routers. I'm trying to learn, and I'm just not sure how much I can expect it to help for my situation. Or which routers are best. I'm leaning for one of those that comes with DD-WRT, I'm a pretty big fan of open source.

-ERD50

 

[mickj]

Timely thread for me - I just switched our VOIP over from T-Mobile @Home (we discontinued our TM Family plan. As the kids move on it no longer made sense, and the VOIP was part of that plan).

I considered Ooma, but I recently saw a post from someone about some of the 'generic' ATA devices (the thing that bridges the internet to your regular phones in your house) that are pretty cheap and have some features I may want. Ooma, Vonnage and some others are proprietary - you have to use their hardware. I just don't like to be locked in like that. So I went with a VOIP that uses standard SIP protocol, and will provide you with your SIP credentials.

Like these:

Amazon.com: OBi110 Voice Service Bridge and VoIP Telephone Adapter: Electronics

http://www.amazon.com/Obihai-Technology-Adapter-2-Phone-OBI202/dp/B007D930YO


-ERD50

I use the obi as well with google talk (I also use callcentric.com on the same box for 911 functionality.) Love it! less than $5 a month.

 

[Chuckanut]

A questin for Ooma owners: Can I plug in my old wireless phone system which I had used with POTS into Ooma.

My main reason for wanting to get Ooma is the inconvencience and risk of not having my mobile phone with me when I need it. The other day I missed an important call from a relative because the phone was downstairs and I was upstairs. I never heard it ring. The other concern is the phone not being conventient in the case of an emergency. I really don't want to crawl upstaris to call 911 if I break my leg or have a heart attack. With Ooma, I hope I can reinstall my old wireless extension phones and have a phone upstairs, downstairs and in the garage.

 

[ERD50]

A questin for Ooma owners: Can I plug in my old wireless phone system which I had used with POTS into Ooma.

That's exactly what most (all?) of these various VOIP boxes (ATA) and service provide. The ATA has one or two POTS ports on them. Plug any POTS phone into the port and away you go.

What many of us do is disconnect the line from the phone company where it enters the house. Then you can plug in from the ATA to any convenient phone extension, and this will 'light up' all the other phone extensions in the house.

There might possibly be some of these devices that work only through wi-fi, but AFAIK, they all have at least one POTS port.

-ERD50

 

[pb4uski]

A questin for Ooma owners: Can I plug in my old wireless phone system which I had used with POTS into Ooma.

My main reason for wanting to get Ooma is the inconvencience and risk of not having my mobile phone with me when I need it. The other day I missed an important call from a relative because the phone was downstairs and I was upstairs. I never heard it ring. The other concern is the phone not being conventient in the case of an emergency. I really don't want to crawl upstaris to call 911 if I break my leg or have a heart attack. With Ooma, I hope I can reinstall my old wireless extension phones and have a phone upstairs, downstairs and in the garage.

Yes, that is exactly what I do. I plug a cordless phone that has 5 extensions into the Ooma box just like I plugged it inot the wall when we had landline service.

Another thing you can do is configure Ooma so that when a call comes into your home number it simultaneously rings on you cellphone (called multi-ring).

 

[MBAustin]

We got our Ooma about a month ago and were just notified that our landline number will port tomorrow. We also decided to keep the Premier service for the number blocking features (despite being on do not call lists, we get 3-4 spam calls most days).

I have had the "random touch tone" happen but I think only when I am talking with my mother, who lives in a retirement apartment complex with a central phone system. I wonder if it has something to do with the interaction between Ooma's systems and their PBX?

 

[pb4uski]

....I have had the "random touch tone" happen but I think only when I am talking with my mother, who lives in a retirement apartment complex with a central phone system. I wonder if it has something to do with the interaction between Ooma's systems and their PBX?

I don't think so because I have had it happen when I talk with DD on her cellphone.

 

[tryan]

I am over 2 1/2 years into my ooma up at the lake ... got one of the truly FREE boxes (no 911 fee or taxes). They're loosing money on this deal every month.

What are the monthly fees today (thinking of switching for home)?

 

[Rowdy]

I am over 2 1/2 years into my ooma up at the lake ... got one of the truly FREE boxes (no 911 fee or taxes). They're loosing money on this deal every month.

What are the monthly fees today (thinking of switching for home)?

About $3.50/month standard or $13.50/month for Premier.

 

[axtec]

My bill is $3.84/month now (up from $3.47 originally). I'm really happy with just the basic service (more bells and whistles than I had with my previous service). I have the personal blacklist, but not the community blacklists. I guess the personal blacklist must be a feature on the basic service. It's really nice to have, especially during election season.

The only weirdness I've experienced is sometimes the caller doesn't hear the initial "hello" when I answer. I'm now in the habit of waiting 1 heartbeat before saying "hello". I have fast internet, and I configured QOS on my router.

I had one problem with the hardware, which was resolved through customer service. PM me if you want details before you sign up (or if you want a code for $50 off) .

 

[LakeTravis]

I've had the MagicJack Plus that doesn't have to plug into the computer for about 6 months now, and it's been working just fine.

$70 for the device, $2.50 a month.

 

[Rustward]

Now I just need a semi-permanent disconnected number that gives the disconnect tones, to forward my telemarketscum to.

-ERD50

I just noticed that one of the call disposition options in the Ooma blacklist feature is "Number Disconnected Message".

The other options are:

• Send To Voicemail
• Call Blocked Message
• Continuous Ring

 

[ERD50]

I just noticed that one of the call disposition options in the Ooma blacklist feature is "Number Disconnected Message".

The other options are:

• Send To Voicemail
• Call Blocked Message
• Continuous Ring

Nice. Maybe I'll submit that "Number Disconnected Message" option to my VOIP provider's "Feature Wish List".

-ERD50

 

[tryan]

My bill is $3.84/month now (up from $3.47 originally

Price creep is why I pulled the plug on Vonage ... 14.99/mo became 17.99 then 19.99 ... next thing I know I am paying over 24 buck per months . ALL DONE.