MagicJack vs. Ooma vs. Vonage vs. ???

[Golden sunsets]

Hi all; I checked and couldn't find a thread devoted to just VOIP offerings. We intend to change our Triple Play Phone/Internet/Cable package at the end of the year. As part of this change we first want/need to separate the landline bill from internet/cable and are looking for the best priced phone service assuming good quality and also the ability to port our current landline number.

Can anyone chime in on the best plan to use? My cursory search seems to indicate that Magic Jack is the least expensive and porting is available as well as a host of other services such as call blocking and smart phone integration.

Thanks - looking forward to shaving the cost of our triple play down a bit by year end.

 

[Freedom56]

If you are bothered by telemarketers, IRS scammers, and others, go with Ooma premier. Their call blocking functions are great and can be customized. Plus the Ooma phone app lets you make calls over Wifi from anywhere in the world using your home phone as a server at no extra charge.

 

[Ready]

Check out Google voice with an Obihai OBI200 adapter. The service is completely free and works flawlessly. I’ve had a google voice number for years now.

 

[MBAustin]

If you are bothered by telemarketers, IRS scammers, and others, go with Ooma premier. Their call blocking functions are great and can be customized. Plus the Ooma phone app lets you make calls over Wifi from anywhere in the world using your home phone as a server at no extra charge.

+1 on Ooma premier. We've had it for several years now and have been very happy with the service. It's not 100% spam/scam proof, but the blocking tools definitely help. I also like that the app notifies us when we get a voicemail and we can listen to it immediately if we want wherever we are. This actually kept our electricity from being disconnected when we were away on a trip due to a mixup at the power company.

 

[braumeister]

If you are bothered by telemarketers, IRS scammers, and others, go with Ooma premier. Their call blocking functions are great and can be customized.

+1
I noticed recently that it lets me set the first six numbers to be blocked (my area code and exchange) which takes care of the recent spoofing trend. Using the Ooma Premier service for about five years now and very happy with it. Costs about $15 a month averaged out, and well worth it to me.

 

[Golden sunsets]

Check out Google voice with an Obihai OBI200 adapter. The service is completely free and works flawlessly. I’ve had a google voice number for years now.

Telemarketers are a concern so I am inclined toward paying for that service, if it is not included with the basic. I thought Magic Jack covered call blocking, but if it doesn't truly work, then that is not a real provided service I guess. Does Google Voice stop telemarketers and can you port a previous number?

 

[Freedom56]

To make Ooma nearly 100% spam/scam proof, I use the attached rules for call blocking. The only thing that gets through are short 4 second empty voice mail messages (very rare) that I add to my call blocking list.

 

[Al18]

Check your cell phone provider. You can probably add an inexpensive device ($25-$50) to port your home phone number to cell service. The device connects to your regular home phones. Consumer Cellular charges $10 per month for the added phone number.

 

[Ready]

Telemarketers are a concern so I am inclined toward paying for that service, if it is not included with the basic. I thought Magic Jack covered call blocking, but if it doesn't truly work, then that is not a real provided service I guess. Does Google Voice stop telemarketers and can you port a previous number?

Google voice has fantastic call filtering. I can’t recall ever receiving a telemarketing call on my phone in years.

 

[frank]

I can't seem to find a website for google voice or instructions on how to set it up and port a number. is there a site for that? do I need a device to hook phone to computer first? what type of device do you use for google voice? sorry if this is inappropriate. if so just delete it. thanks

 

[Ready]

I can't seem to find a website for google voice or instructions on how to set it up and port a number. is there a site for that? do I need a device to hook phone to computer first? what type of device do you use for google voice? sorry if this is inappropriate. if so just delete it. thanks

You need to buy an Obi200 adapter first. They sell them on Amazon.

 

[cathy63]

Check out Google voice with an Obihai OBI200 adapter. The service is completely free and works flawlessly. I’ve had a google voice number for years now.

+1. This is our solution too.

To set it up:

1. Buy the Obihai from Amazon.
2. Temporarily setup a new Google Voice number, preferably on a brand new GMail address.
3. Connect the Obihai and get it working with the new Google Voice number.
4. Google can only port numbers from cell providers, so you have to do a two-step process.
4a. Port your landline number to a cell phone. I bought a cheap T-Mobile SIM for $4, stuck it in an iPhone I already had, and ported the number there.
4b. Port your number from the cell to Google Voice to replace the number that Google had previously assigned to you.

This solution does not have E9-1-1 service unless you pay a monthly fee for it. We do not pay for it, so I put stickers on all the phones with the police and fire dept numbers. (When my Mom was visiting, she pointed out that this is what we used to have when I was a kid before the 9-1-1 services came into existence.)

There's an initial cost of less than $100 to by the Obihai, the cell phone SIM, and pay for the Google Port. After that, it's totally free.

We do not get any spam calls on the VOIP line. I also love that we do not get any political calls during election season, although Google does still take messages from the political calls even if they don't ring through and it emails us the transcriptions along with a link to the audio if we want to listen to it (we never do).

 

[OldShooter]

A couple of weeks ago I set up an Ooma box to do some testing. My main interest was their often-recommended spam filtering, but we have also been having frequent line quality/hum problems on our wireline. Maybe 8-10 service calls in the last year.

Two days ago I order the line port of our wireline number to Ooma. Amazingly, they say it might take as long as 3-4 weeks to get it done. I am used to a couple of hours when porting a number between cell phones, but I guess it is what it is. I also just installed a new Panasonic wireless phone system to use with the Ooma box. Lots of nifty features, like intercom, that we are exploring.

The Ooma "Telo" box cost me $41.95 net for a sealed factory refurb on eBay. The phone system, 5 phones, was $85.25, again factory refurb but from Amazon.

The best software in the world is the stuff you just bought but have not yet installed. So that's where we are with Ooma right now.

I have Google Voice service on my cell phone and like the way it transcribes voice mail, etc. But I view Google as an unreliable vendor, stopping services arbitrarily (like Google+ this week). I have also found their software to sometimes be of poor quality or feature incomplete with a totally lackadaisical approach to user issues in general. So I decided that I do not want to build my telephone infrastructure on this kind of foundation. YMMV, of course.

 

[Cobra9777]

Check out Google voice with an Obihai OBI200 adapter. The service is completely free and works flawlessly. I’ve had a google voice number for years now.

Google voice has fantastic call filtering. I can’t recall ever receiving a telemarketing call on my phone in years.

+1 for Google Voice and Obi-200. The Obi device (VoIP adapter) is $47 on Amazon. To set it up with GV is quite easy and well documented, although largely a DIY affair. After that all calls in the US and Canada are free, with most international calls at 1-2 cents per minute, which is a great rate. In 5 years of using this, I don't think we've ever received a robo/telemarketing call or any unsolicited call of any kind. Google's spam call filtering appears to be very good.

You get all the usual features like voicemail, call forwarding, call blocking, conference calling, caller ID, etc. One feature I really like is getting a notification on my mobile phone when I miss a call at home, including the voicemail transcription as a text. No 911 service though, so you'll need a cell for emergencies, or pay a small fee.

Also IIRC, you cannot directly port a landline phone number to Google Voice. You can port a mobile number, or you can do a two-step process, which is well-documented on the web. We just ditched our 35-year-old landline number for a fresh Google Voice number. That old number was hopelessly tainted from it's existence in so many robo-calling databases.

 

[sengsational]

I have Ooma non-premier for $4.50 or so per month, plus a Sentry box. I don't get why people pay monthly for spam filtering when the one time cost of the Sentry white list device pays for itself in a couple of months and is completely effective. But please, keep paying for the filtering...I feel it's why the basic price is so low.

 

[frank]

what is the name and model of the sentry device?

 

[wolf]

Many, many, years ago. Consumer reports did survey. Ooma, was winner. Voice quality best. Purchased my unit at Costco. At the time, "set up" was hard. Wireless feature never worked. So just hooked up Ooma unit to my wireless phone unit. Costco Panosnic /4 receivers.

Only pay, less that $4 month. Tax or something. Been many years. Works fine. Much cheaper than AT&T landline.

 

[mrfeh]

Check out Google voice with an Obihai OBI200 adapter. The service is completely free and works flawlessly. I’ve had a google voice number for years now.

+1, if you're looking for bottom dollar cost (free excluding the initial hardware purchase).

I've tried many VOIP solutions over the years. IME, Vonage is rock solid, but it's more expensive than most other options.

 

[jim584672]

Been on MagicJack for many years. It is ok. $100 for 5 years. Works through a regular phone or Android app too.

 

[Floridatennisplayer]

People still have landlines?

 

[jim584672]

People still have landlines?

MJ plugs into your router and you hook a regular phone to it, no landline needed.

 

[Henry Lili]

I've had Ooma basic close to two years. No TM calls[emoji16]. The service is "free" bit you do have to pay FTC and other fees. Just over $5/mo

 

[retired1]

I use Magic Jack for last few years since cutting all cords (Phone, TV, and Cable/Dish). I believe it's about $20/Yr !! It's been working pretty good. With traditional land lines the jacks all around house worked great but once you switch to VOIP, you'll need to buy multiple (2,3,or 4) phone system with 1 base + remote handsets.

With VOIP, you'll need to pay 911 service separately... usually ~$19/yr.

 

[frank]

I use Magic Jack for last few years since cutting all cords (Phone, TV, and Cable/Dish). I believe it's about $20/Yr !! It's been working pretty good. With traditional land lines the jacks all around house worked great but once you switch to VOIP, you'll need to buy multiple (2,3,or 4) phone system with 1 base + remote handsets.

With VOIP, you'll need to pay 911 service separately... usually ~$19/yr.

do you pay for that separately or with is it included in the yearly cost for the magic jacks?

 

[kcowan]

Been on MagicJack for many years. It is ok. $100 for 5 years. Works through a regular phone or Android app too.

Since they introduced the mobile app, we never use the jack anymore. Make/receive calls on 2xiPads and 2xiPhones.