Henry Lili
Recycles dryer sheets
- Joined
- Oct 18, 2009
- Messages
- 246
Been with Ooma for over two years. No problems and, as of yet, no telemarketing calls. An added bonus!
This is why some people are a bit leery of gv911.com.as a retired 9-1-1 administrator for a large regional call/dispatch center be *certain* how calls to 9-1-1 are routed. i'm sure the technology has improved since i retired but if you plan on using your VOIP away from your home while on a trip be sure that a call to 9-1-1 will be directed to the call center serving that area and not to your home 9-1-1 call center. also make sure that your name, phone number and location address will pop up on the call taker's screen.
Some time ago I ported the landline number to Tracfone, and left it in central location, near the old kitchen phone. That was simple, and used it for 3-4 years. I just let that contract expire, because we don't use the number, and it just became a spam call bucket. The continuing cost was about $100/year.As requested by RunningBum, let's start a thread on phones. I am looking into a Google Voice free home phone as I just dumped Comcast and its VOIP setup. We want a "simple" single internet based phone for use in a common area when our cell phones are not handy. Suggestions?
This is why some people are a bit leery of gv911.com.
Not saying it is a scam, just worried about the quality.
1) Google Voice number with an OBi device - this is what we have. It costs $0/mo after the initial hardware purchase and number porting fee, but we have no 911 service. We could get that for an additional monthly fee.
We don't subscribe to a E911 service, but based on this thread, I might check out gv911.com for $1/mo. That's a good price point for me. The website seems kinda sketchy. Question for those who already subscribe... How do you test it? Do you call 911?
I’ve been on a bit of a home electronics updating spree the past couple of days. The latest was to connect my Ooma Telo device to the existing phone jacks at my home.
The setup is very simple but the Ooma instructions made it clear repeatedly that the any prior landline service had to be completely removed before connecting the Telo. I took a few extra steps and had AT&T come out for a service call (no charge) to make sure.
by dumping our DSL provider (EarthLink...$50 p/m) and AT&T and bundling everything with Comcast we saved about $1900 per year.
Impressive savings! In my case there are no savings over what I’ve been paying but I have a little more flexibility.
There’s a possibility I may have better VOIP service during power outages but I haven’t nailed that down yet. That involves Spectrum (my ISP). I spoke with them earlier today but they were pretty coy about answering my questions and instead kept trying to bundle their home phone with my existing Internet plan. I repeatedly declined.
Don't buy the OBI 100 series, Google Voice is no longer supported, but you can still find them for sale.
How does the ooma do for latency (the delay between when you speak and when the person hears you)? I tried ooma 10 or so years ago here in Michigan and found I couldn't live with the latency: it was like talking on a walky talky (for anyone who remembers those!).
I eventually decided ooma didn't have a server in a data center close enough to where I lived. Maybe they have servers in more locations today?
I see. I ended up replacing ooma with voip.ms. They have servers located all over the USA. I configured my software to use the closest one and have been very happy with the results. For anyone wanting to get their geek on with an old pc or by renting a server in the cloud, here is a site that tell you step by step how to make your very own PBX (like big companies used to have years ago)That’s a good question and unfortunately I don’t have a good answer but I have gotten comments about occasional delays, especially in my earlier use of Ooma.
Part of that is due to my setup over time. When I bought my Telo and started my Ooma service I also bought (and still have) a little Bluetooth/wi-fi dongle that plugs into the Telo. I did that because of my then-floor plan. I wanted the cordless phone/Telo on one floor but the router was on a different floor so I couldn’t make the Telo->router connection with an Ethernet cable.
When I moved out of state I set it up the same way. Much later I realized I didn’t need the Telo at all because you can use Ooma’s mobile app to make/receive calls. So all that is done via the Internet.
Interestingly, a few people have told me that the call quality is much better when I use my wireless earbuds (Bose SoundSport) rather than iPhone/iPod. I haven’t been hearing comments about delays.
Now (finally) my configuration allows a direct wired Ethernet connection between the Telo and router. Also new is this HD3 handset and I don’t have enough experience/feedback to know if delays will be an issue. I’ll find out!
Not a great reply to your post but I may follow up as I gain more experience. My instinct is that once a call is established it’s all up to network performance and not much reliance on Ooma servers although they would be needed to store things like call logs, voicemails, phone books and so on. That’s all just my hunches though.
A shorter answer is yes, I’ve experienced delays in the past but less so now.
I see. I ended up replacing ooma with voip.ms. They have servers located all over the USA. I configured my software to use the closest one and have been very happy with the results. For anyone wanting to get their geek on with an old pc or by renting a server in the cloud, here is a site that tell you step by step how to make your very own PBX (like big companies used to have years ago)
Nerdvittles.com
Because there is no more T-Mobile pay as you go.Why would you not want to use the T-Mobile $3 pay as you go, I'm pretty sure the original plan was pay as you go as well that everyone was using.
I'm looking at porting the landline to GV, and of course this means I have to first port to a mobile carrier.