Question about Comcast VOIP phone service

[MichaelB]

Anyone here use Comcast VOIP phone service? Can a subscriber see the detailed call activity? What number was dialed, what number called, how long the connection lasted, etc? Is this info available from teh Comcast account online?

 

[marko]

I know you can see those details using Vonage. Not sure about C'cast, but I'd assume so.

 

[Texas Proud]

I have had it for a couple of months.... never checked...

Decided to look and I see a link to get the details... but when I hit it it is timing out before giving me details...

Sooooo, I would say yes it does, but can not verify it for you....

 

[aja8888]

Anyone here use Comcast VOIP phone service? Can a subscriber see the detailed call activity? What number was dialed, what number called, how long the connection lasted, etc? Is this info available from teh Comcast account online?

Yes, all that is available on their site in your account once you log in. We have had the service for two months now as it comes bundled with Xfinity. You can't unbundle it as i tried.

 

[Texas Proud]

Yep, I looked in my email account and there was a voice tab... looks like I got two voice mails left at Comcast...

But all phone calls were listed... ones answered, calls out etc. etc... It also looks like you can block callers...

I am going to have to look into what options that I have...


On a side note... just noticed they offer free Norton.... just finished loading it up and got a security risk on this page... or it found it somewhere else... will have to see....

 

[MichaelB]

Great. Thanks.

 

[bUU]

Anyone here use Comcast VOIP phone service? Can a subscriber see the detailed call activity? What number was dialed, what number called, how long the connection lasted, etc? Is this info available from teh Comcast account online?

Tabs are:

• Email
• Voice
• Address Book
• Calendar
• Text Messaging
• Preferences

On the Voice tab are:

• Voicemail - including the Calling Number, when received, the recording, and the automated text transcript, when possible
• Missed Calls - including the Calling Number, when received
• Answered Calls - including the Calling Number, when received, duration
• Placed Calls - including the Called Number, when placed, duration
• Trash

I really enjoy having Text Messaging from a browser window now. I've had it before with my cellphone but I find I use it a lot more via my home phone.

 

[MichaelB]

On the Voice tab are:

• Voicemail - including the Calling Number, when received, the recording, and the automated text transcript, when possible
• Missed Calls - including the Calling Number, when received
• Answered Calls - including the Calling Number, when received, duration
• Placed Calls - including the Called Number, when placed, duration
• Trash

I really enjoy having Text Messaging from a browser window now. I've had it before with my cellphone but I find I use it a lot more via my home phone.

Thanks for the detail. When you have a voicemail, does Comcast send you an email notification? If so, does it also send a transcript with the automated text?

 

[bUU]

Definitely, along with a WAV file you can play if the transcript isn't good enough. What's really funny is that the only one that it has had a lot of problems with was this one:

Voicemail from (844) 249-2624 for phone number (XXX) XXX-XXXX
130 seconds
The caller left a voicemail, but due to the quality of the message, the voicemail was unable to be transcribed. This may be a result of too much background noise or the message was left in an unsupported language.

Google that caller's phone number and it was a call from Comcast itself! (I was having a technical issue with the Internet service, and it was someone from some call center somewhere mumbling - he was barely audible over the din of what must have been a hundred other technicians all probably sitting within 40 feet of the guy.)

Most of the time the transcript is much better:

Voicemail from (XXX) XXX-XXXX for phone number (XXX) XXX-XXXX
27 seconds
"Hi this is Mario with 10 etc. Sent you the quote yesterday just wanna follow up on that you said you gonna make a decision possibly yesterday so I just wanna follow up with you and see kinda where you were with that well if you get a chance gimme a call back if I would like to get some feedback from you. My number is XXX-XXX-XXX. Thanks and I look forward to hearing back from you."

And that was a guy with a very thick Georgia accent. The transcription software did pretty well considering.

 

[MichaelB]

Those transcripts remind me of some Vonage automated transcriptions that were so far off they were unintentionally hilarious. We get a fair number of messages in Spanish which really confuses Vonage.

This is not for us, it's for a family member, but it has the features I need, and the WAV file for voicemail is a valuable bonus. I think we'll try this.

Thanks for the feedback, tip of the hat to bUU.

 

[ERD50]

Thanks for the detail. When you have a voicemail, does Comcast send you an email notification? If so, does it also send a transcript with the automated text?

I'm surprised by all the people who have VOIP, but aren't aware of, or don't use the extra features. These are key for me.

I don't have Comcast, so I can't answer specifically (don't they give examples on their site?), but I can tell of other things to look for:

Fail-over number: If the system cannot make contact with your box (like if your internet connection is down, or the box is off or some other problem), it will call an alternate number of your choice. I have it set to my cell phone.

Simultaneous Ring: As it says, rings two or more numbers at once, any can answer. This is needed to take advantage of NOMOROBO, which detects scammer caller IDs and hangs up on them (free service, see nomorobo.com).

Virtual Second line: Convenient - our TA box has a second line that I keep one phone plugged in to. If the main line is being used, you can call out and receive calls on the second line, and it has the same # as the main line.

Call Blocking: May be a subset of 'Call Forwarding' - you 'forward' blocked calls to 'reject', voicemail, a specific number (I send spammers to the FCC reporting number), 'ask caller to say their name', etc...

...

I really enjoy having Text Messaging from a browser window now. I've had it before with my cellphone but I find I use it a lot more via my home phone.

FYI - you can text any cell phone from a computer - just email them at their number and carrier address. For t-mobile and Verizon it is

xxx-xxx-xxxx@tmomail.net

and

xxx-xxx-xxxx@vtext.com look up others

-ERD50

 

[bUU]

I'm surprised by all the people who have VOIP, but aren't aware of, or don't use the extra features. These are key for me.

I don't have Comcast, so I can't answer specifically (don't they give examples on their site?), but I can tell of other things to look for:

Fail-over number: If the system cannot make contact with your box (like if your internet connection is down, or the box is off or some other problem), it will call an alternate number of your choice. I have it set to my cell phone.

Simultaneous Ring: As it says, rings two or more numbers at once, any can answer. This is needed to take advantage of NOMOROBO, which detects scammer caller IDs and hangs up on them (free service, see nomorobo.com).

I think these two are together packaged as Advanced Call Forwarding at Comcast. I have five separate numbers set up. When my home phone gets a call, it rings in all five places. The first is NoMoRobo which has a specific set of telephone numbers that it picks up and hangs up on (solicitors). The second is the telephone at home, itself, then the voice mail system, then our two cell phones. As soon as any one of the receivers picks up, the phone stops ringing at the other four spots. And I am pretty sure that calls to my home phone ring on my cellphone even when my Internet connection is down. Great feature.

Virtual Second line: Convenient - our TA box has a second line that I keep one phone plugged in to. If the main line is being used, you can call out and receive calls on the second line, and it has the same # as the main line.

As far as I know, we don't have this capability with Comcast.

Call Blocking: May be a subset of 'Call Forwarding' - you 'forward' blocked calls to 'reject', voicemail, a specific number (I send spammers to the FCC reporting number), 'ask caller to say their name', etc...

I think I have ten numbers set up to be blocked.

FYI - you can text any cell phone from a computer - just email them at their number and carrier address. For t-mobile and Verizon it is xxx-xxx-xxxx@tmomail.net and xxx-xxx-xxxx@vtext.com look up others

Yup, I've made use of that in the past, but what Comcast offers me is great because I can receive Text messages from SMS systems. So my spouse can TXT me from her cellphone while I'm sitting at my desk in my office.

 

[ERD50]

...
Yup, I've made use of that in the past, but what Comcast offers me is great because I can receive Text messages from SMS systems. So my spouse can TXT me from her cellphone while I'm sitting at my desk in my office.

Cell phones can send/reply to an emailed text, but the replies can be a little iffy depending on the system. The replies from DD (t-mobile pre-pay) sometimes come through as 4 or 5 attachments with the text itself being one of them. Other times they come through as a regular email. Might depend what they get routed through at the time.

So the Comcast solution might be better in this regard, but it's good to know about the email option.

-ERD50