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Old 11-06-2009, 10:51 AM   #61
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ooma set up was quick and easy. Crystal clear voice calls, tested it for about 2 hours of gabbing. Can access my voicemail on my PC and play my messages, and even download them (wonder if I'll run into any legal issues?).

I started the process of porting my existing number over. Hope it goes smoothly.
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Old 11-06-2009, 11:39 AM   #62
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Another option for number control is Google Voice. You get a google phone number for free that you give to everyone and then manage how that number is handled. It's at the beta stage now, but should be rolled out soon enough. http://www.youtube.com/view_play_lis...21A9118B95978F

As far as voice quality goes, VOIP uses some pretty strong compression (more voice information squeezed into less bits). That can pose problems in voice quality. But bandwidth and processor usage can also adversly affect voice quality.

Regards...
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Old 12-19-2009, 05:49 PM   #63
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Looking at ooma - does it still come with a Scout and ooma hub?
We have a dedicated fax line and fax via one of the computers as well, also have wired phones in the garage, attic, and bedroom. The 4 wireless handsets complete our non-cellular phone system. Thinking that if we were to upgrade our internet speed to T-5 and go to ooma it could be all advantage. Anyone using a fax on ooma for incoming and outgoing transmissions? Using Premier for the extra line and special ring? Anyone take their ooma hub to another location to maintain single # phone service? Thinking ahead to a possible second home....

Costco ooma $200
port phone # $40
ooma Premier $120/year
cost/year = $360 cost for current 2 # landline/year = $840
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Old 12-19-2009, 08:09 PM   #64
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I have Vonage. I use it with a cordless phone with several handsets so we just have the master handset we plug into vonange then the other handset just plug their bases into the electrical outlet. Works great. It is true that if the internet or power goes out...there goes the phone. However, we have the cell phone in that event.

We do also have DSL and for the last 3 years had it with a metered landline phone service since it was required then for the DSL. It costs about $15 a month and we never use it (phone is in the drawar).

ATT now offers DSL for $10 more per month without the phone line so going without the phone line saves roughly $5 a month.
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Old 12-20-2009, 05:24 AM   #65
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My ooma is working great. I like the blacklist option, and have already added some of those annoying robodialers (car warranty, credit card scam).

I kind of felt bad for the Vonage rep I called when cancelling. She asked why, I said I get free VOIP and she was trying to find a way to keep me. Offered $8.99 a month, and I said I get it FREE now.

Not sure if the blacklist option requires ooma premier or not. $99 a year special right now for it.
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Old 12-20-2009, 09:13 AM   #66
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Katsmeow View Post
I have Vonage. I use it with a cordless phone with several handsets so we just have the master handset we plug into vonange then the other handset just plug their bases into the electrical outlet. Works great. It is true that if the internet or power goes out...there goes the phone. However, we have the cell phone in that event.

We do also have DSL and for the last 3 years had it with a metered landline phone service since it was required then for the DSL. It costs about $15 a month and we never use it (phone is in the drawar).

ATT now offers DSL for $10 more per month without the phone line so going without the phone line saves roughly $5 a month.
The AT&T $10 per month is for people who have not had it before.... and only for the first year... it is $20 otherwise...

I am on the $10 per month... but will probably get a new number and increase the speed after the year... and then port my phone number to someplace else...

Maybe getting a second phone now is not that bad...
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Old 12-21-2009, 10:45 AM   #67
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Hoping this is not too much of a hijack:

I am looking for a new VOIP solution myself. I have been using Skype for several months (mostly to dial into insanely long, boring conference calls that have 800 number dial-ins). But, recently, I have been having a lot of trouble (garbled sound, dropped calls, etc.) if my Internet connection is not perfect. I started using Skype not only because they are 100% free for this use but also because of their reputation for being able to compensate for this kind of thing better than most other providers. This no longer seems to be a focus for them since I have been hearing similar issues from other Skype users recently.

So, I am looking for a new VOIP provider which will not drop calls when the Internet connection quality is not perfect (speed, latency, etc.). I realize that call quality will suffer as connection quality degrades; but, I would think that someone would have the technology (ideally software only) to handle this more gracefully than just dropping calls.

Background: At home, I currently use Charter Communication's HSD service which is great at times but seems to have significant issues almost daily in the early afternoon as well as whenever we have any kind of weather (high winds, rain, etc.). When I travel, I experience a wide range of connections ranging from barely better than dial-up to much better than my home connection.

I would think this kind of issue (quality of Internet connection) might plague most of our global travelers as well as some of our expatriates; so, I am hoping any suggestions, information, etc. will be broadly useful.
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Old 12-21-2009, 10:57 AM   #68
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I've been on ooma for maybe a month or so now. The phone number porting worked fine. No problems, but then I haven't tried anything weird like the 2nd number or faxing. There is a slight latency, but I'm not sure if it is the same as a normal phone line would be. The quality has been great.

calmloki, have you checked out their forums? The following thread might be of possible interest: https://www.ooma.com/forums/viewtopi...t=1184&start=0. Short answer is that it seems to be able to work.

We've got the "old" setup, which is the Hub + Scout. We don't have the Scout hooked up, as we just have a cordless 3-phone setup plugged into the Hub. The "newer" Ooma Telo, I'm not sure if that has the Scout capabilities or not.
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Old 12-21-2009, 12:33 PM   #69
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Originally Posted by Kronk View Post
I've been on ooma for maybe a month or so now. The phone number porting worked fine. No problems, but then I haven't tried anything weird like the 2nd number or faxing. There is a slight latency, but I'm not sure if it is the same as a normal phone line would be. The quality has been great.

calmloki, have you checked out their forums? The following thread might be of possible interest: https://www.ooma.com/forums/viewtopi...t=1184&start=0. Short answer is that it seems to be able to work.

We've got the "old" setup, which is the Hub + Scout. We don't have the Scout hooked up, as we just have a cordless 3-phone setup plugged into the Hub. The "newer" Ooma Telo, I'm not sure if that has the Scout capabilities or not.
Thanks, hadn't been on the ooma forums - good link on faxing issues and fixes.
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Old 12-21-2009, 05:26 PM   #70
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How long did it take ooma to port an existing number? Thinking of dumping Vonage on the home phone.

Using ooma at the lake; works great. The real test will be a power outage. Simulated one and it worked fine with a UPS on the modem, router and home monitor. We'll see.
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Old 12-22-2009, 08:17 AM   #71
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How long did it take ooma to port an existing number? Thinking of dumping Vonage on the home phone.
I think they gave an estimate of 3 weeks or so, and they were a bit quicker than that. But it still was a couple of weeks. Actually, looking through my records it was exactly 2 weeks.
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Old 12-22-2009, 11:53 AM   #72
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Has anyone tried to use Skype to call other regular phone numbers? Also, any experience with using Skype-In? Skype-In gets you a phone number so people can call you from a regular phone.

Skype's computer to computer voice quality (and video) is excellent. I'd like to know if the same holds true for computer to phone.
Since this post, I have subscribed to Skype-In (your own phone number) as well as unlimited calling to the US & Canada and am very pleased with the quality of the calls. It cost me a total of about $60 for the year. I also got a plantronics .audio 610 USB headset which is awesome.

I've used the service for hour-long conversations with no break-up in the audio.
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Old 01-11-2010, 03:57 PM   #73
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Was surfing the web and see that there is a competitor to Magicjack.

I don't own one myself but thought I'd post the link:

TK6000 VoIP Device | netTALK.com, INC.

Happy to see a direct competitor to Magicjack as in several areas Magicjack can use improvement.
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Old 01-11-2010, 05:23 PM   #74
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Was surfing the web and see that there is a competitor to Magicjack.

I don't own one myself but thought I'd post the link:

TK6000 VoIP Device | netTALK.com, INC.

Happy to see a direct competitor to Magicjack as in several areas Magicjack can use improvement.
I just picked up magic jack, I was considering nettalk, but from what I can find out, magic jack is avail in all area codes, net talk is not. Replacing one land line phone with magic jack for florida. Will still have a land line phone in GA and VOIP in vacation rental. Now have to decide on internet fax provider.
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Old 01-13-2010, 04:12 PM   #75
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Another option for number control is Google Voice. You get a google phone number for free that you give to everyone and then manage how that number is handled. It's at the beta stage now, but should be rolled out soon enough. YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.

Regards...
Last weekend I was able to convince someone on Twitter to send me an invitation to use Google Voice...and so I set up an account last weekend. There are several reasons to use Google Voice, but the main reason I use it is for making FREE long distance phone calls from my landline in the lower 48 states (2 cents a minute for international calls). I was skeptical about the free long distance phone calls but it's legit. The way it works is after you get your account set up, you log on to your account, go to the call screen, enter the phone number you want to call and then click on the Connect button. At that point, your landline phone rings, you answer your phone and then Google Voice calls the number you want to connect to...and it starts ringing. It works pretty good....and like I said before, it's free. One small negative I've noticed so far is that the sound occasionally breaks up a little...for example on a 50 minute phone call I made earlier this week, the sound broke up occasionally up for a total of approximately 30 secords. If anyone uses a landline for long distance and they pay per minute charges, this is a great option to eliminate long distance phone charges. Another negative for some people might be that they have to initiate the long distance phone call from their computer.

If you want an invitation to use Google Voice, go to their web page and request one...I've read that it takes 1-2 months to get the invitation from Google.
https://services.google.com/fb/forms/googlevoiceinvite/

Also, if you know someone that already has it, they might have an invitation available.
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Old 01-13-2010, 04:56 PM   #76
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I have been using this for long distance (2 cents/minute worldwide) and for vacation home phone in combo with pay as you go virgin cellphone.

Amazon.com: USB Phone Adapter for Skype, MSN, Yahoo, USB VOIP Interface connects your home phone to network: Electronics

go to amazon and search usb telbox if above link does not work...for best prices.

particularly if you are already skype savy and have a spouse that does not want to use a headset.

just plug regular phone into box after loading some software.

I will probably try ooma and magic jack to compare at some point. Above was a $25 investment.
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Old 01-13-2010, 05:05 PM   #77
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I received a google number, too. I find it awesome with too many features to keep track of. For me, it will be ideal when I travel, ringing whatever sequence of phones I choose. It has custom greetings for any individual or group you want, it does voice-to-text on messages (so you can check VM in a quiet or private setting.

I also finally got a MagicJack and it is working well. Only downsides: you have to use area codes even for local calls, and it disconnects when you computer sleeps. I plan only to use it for outgoing calls as part of my consulting gig (thru the google number to give that as caller ID). If I'm sitting at my desk, the google number will ring the MagicJack for me (avoiding cell phone use) and give the google number (not the magicJack) to the caller on their caller ID.

Oh... and I am something of a gadget/computer geek. But it is pretty handy for me.
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Old 03-11-2010, 07:09 PM   #78
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We just got a Magicjack using their 30 day free trial offer. Everything installed fine but after picking a new number I couldn't get a dial tone. They said to wait an hour or two. Still didn't work so I searched online and realized it may be something Magicjack needed to do. So I used their Live Chat and they needed to refresh the number from their end. It all works now.

I asked if this could be used with more than one phone, like the kitchen and the living room. She said that we could use a splitter. Instead, I hooked it up to the house wiring and it works on all the phones. We will disconnect a couple of the extensions, we really only need two.

We'll give this a try and decide before the 30 day trial is up if it's a keeper. The issue is that we've had Vonage for over a year. While it works great, we pay $17.99 for the basic with 500 minutes and we typically use less than 100 minutes. With fees and taxes the monthly bill is over $24. We both have prepaid cell phones that are very economical and we really just use them for checking in while away from home. Maybe once a month DH or I will have an extended conversation with family for 30-60 minutes. That's what we use the home phone for. Family calls and if I have to make a call where I may be on hold for a while, like a customer service number. Outside of family, our few calls are usually doctors calling to confirm appts and people trying to get us to buy something or donate money.

While I'm happy with Vonage it's a $24/month cost vs. Magicjack at $20/year. But darn it, I'm attached to my old phone number!! We've had this number since 1983! We can easily email family with the updated number and notify all our doctors, etc.

I talked to DH about ooma and he wanted to try the 30 day Magicjack offer first.

Hate to lose my old number. But it's just not worth $288 a year.
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Old 03-11-2010, 07:43 PM   #79
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I went to MagicJack as a second home number (DW ties up the other one with her business calls). After 3 months, it seems to be OK. Only problem is that when my computer sleeps it loses the connection most of the time and I have to restart MagicJack. I turned off the auto-sleep on my laptop to fix it. Voice quality is a little less than traditional land line. Can't beat the price.
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Old 03-12-2010, 08:54 AM   #80
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I don't like to leave my computer on all day if I'm not using it. I usually turn it off overnight, too. What I'm planning on doing for the magicjack is setting up an older, extra computer in the basement, running an ethernet cable and phone line to it and leaving that one on all the time just for the phone. My son says we can get it set up and then remote into it if it needs any attention.
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