Voice over IP

[G.]

Anybody use Vonage or Ooma? I'm probably going to try Ooma. About $200 initial, then pay only taxes from then on (~$5.00 month).

Any regrets?

We want to keep our land-line, but it's time to ditch Ma Bell. Looking at upgrading our 'net speed (I was looking regardless of VoIP - too much load on my 3.5 MB down speed system. Finally seeing my connection bog down. Roblox + XBOX Live = kids fighting ).

Does the phone use a lot of BW?

Have you ever had to call 911? Did they know who and where you were?

Any complaints (from you, or others) on voice quality?

What else?

Thanks in advance!

[Insomniac]

Anybody use Vonage or Ooma? I'm probably going to try Ooma. About $200 initial, then pay only taxes from then on (~$5.00 month).

Any regrets?

We want to keep our land-line, but it's time to ditch Ma Bell. Looking at upgrading our 'net speed (I was looking regardless of VoIP - too much load on my 3.5 MB down speed system. Finally seeing my connection bog down. Roblox + XBOX Live = kids fighting ).

Does the phone use a lot of BW?

Have you ever had to call 911? Did they know who and where you were?

Any complaints (from you, or others) on voice quality?

What else?

Thanks in advance!

I just got Ooma last week. My boss has had it for over a year and loves it. I've had no problems with it so far. I maxed out my internet bandwidth and sound quality was still fine. Their voice CSR wasn't helpful (didn't understand my question about E911 at all) but the online live chat yielded better results. My plan was to give it a month or so and then port my number ($40 if you don't subscribe to Ooma Premier). So far, I'm thinking, how did I miss the boat on this and AT&T made $600 off me in the last year! Now it's going to be Ooma + Smart Phone for the same monthly cost.

I got mine on Amazon. The price had been going up and down between $115 and $150.

Further expanding on E911, I was told if they (Ooma) can verify your address, they (Ooma) will route you to your local 911 center. In addition, if it supports E911, they will have your address on screen. I called my local 911 center (not by dialing 911) to ask them if the supported E911 and they confirmed they do. I also saw a report on the state of KS stating the entire state was upgraded to support it (county by county).

I'll report back in a week or two once I get back to work. Then I'll know how good voice quality is from my colleagues.

[SteveH]

I use Vonage in my office (in my house). I have been satisfied. Never have maxed out bandwidth though. With Vonage you have to identify where the device is located and update it if you travel. In theory I could take the Vonage device with when traveling. I do have incoming calls transferred to my cell when traveling which is nice. Also sends email transcriptions of voice messages to me (most times work, sometimes not).

[dando]

I used Vonage for a bit, and it was OK. But keep in mind I have a whole house wired network and WiFi.

This is what my home network looks like:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=4399701385464&set=a.1537125982868.2079125.1076403639&type=1&theater

Nuts. In any case, I have no issues with VOIP quality since we switched over earlier this year. However, when Ike came through here 3+ years ago, the landline and dialup internet access was all we had for a week. :saywhat:

-Kevin

[WickerBill]

I think I'd have to go with Ooma Premier, in order to get Caller ID with name -- and then that would negate quite a bit of the savings.

[Insomniac]

I think I'd have to go with Ooma Premier, in order to get Caller ID with name -- and then that would negate quite a bit of the savings.

You mean vs other VOIP services? At least for me, "comparable" (Ooma Premier seems better in nearly every way) to AT&T is $50-55/mo. I'm going to live with the number for Caller ID for now.

[WickerBill]

Insomniac, you were supposed to give us an update. About 24 weeks ago. :)

My Ooma just walked in the door today from Costco.com ($109 -- at least $130 everywhere else). My local taxes will be $3.49 a month. So far it's great, but I won't be using it too much until the number port happens.

AT&T bumped my monthly to about $51, barebones, so out the door they go. Ooma or bust, I guess.

[nrc]

AT&T bumped my monthly to about $51, barebones, so out the door they go. Ooma or bust, I guess.

POTS is outrageous. I'd love to dump ours.

Yeah how about a report, Insomniac. I hear these things can't be relied on in a zombie apocalypse.

[G.]

Been using Ooma exclusively for about 4 months now.

Ran it for a couple of months in parallel with AT&T, then ported.

I like it, a lot. Wife complains about audio going "klingon" every so often. I don't know if it's from the BW getting limited, or the handset-base distance (note: "BW" = band-width). I've never had an issue, but she is the Power User in the house. :)

Something that I found out far too late, most of the Premiere benefits require at least one, and sometimes two Official Ooma handsets. :irked:

Ooma works just fine with your own phones, and WHEN YOU DISCONNECT MA BELL WIRES from the POTS world, you can plug any powered phone into your existing house wiring, but if you want things from Premiere like automatic second line, you need a $60.00 Ooma phone. Or two. (not to get confused with 2nd number, which you can keep. Auto second line = if someone is talking on the system, you pick up the Ooma-branded handset, and can call OUT without any magic.)

Something I'm training the family to do, when you answer the phone, wait ONE SECOND before saying "Hello", "WTF do YOU want", "WickerBill's Fireworks Emporium", or however you answer your line. There's a slight delay in setting up the call, then no noticeable lag issues. Your BW may vary.


Bottom line, $5/month for a learning curve >> $72/month for AT&T!

[WickerBill]

When I called a family member (in the other room)'s mobile, there was a good 500ms voice delay, but if I walked far enough away that I couldn't hear her ambient voice, the conversation was fine. But I'd imagine that's the .5 delay you're speaking of when answering the phone in action.

So I got the three months free of Premier, and am considering signing up for a year of it (if you do a chat on their website with a support person, and talk about your free trial and how you're not sure you want to keep using Premier, they offer you the year for $99, according to another forum I visit) so I get the free phone number port. That would be 15 months (3 free plus 12 paid) of Premier and a number port for $100, vs $40 for the port. I still feel like the only thing I'm desperate for in the Premier package is caller ID name, but I can see us enjoying some of the enhanced voicemail features, and I know I'll like the blacklists.

Of course, with the blacklists in place, the phone might never ring. :)

Interesting about the powered phones. So you're saying if I hook up a $9 wired handset to the Ooma, it won't work? Doesn't matter a lot for me because my house is filled with a 5.8GHz Panasonic system where only the base plugs into the phone jack (or in this case, the Ooma), but interested in your caveat nonetheless.


I'm completely bought in, so Insomniac's impending review isn't going to make much difference, but I always like to hear someone tell me I did good... so here's hoping he's had a good experience.

[Insomniac]

Insomniac, you were supposed to give us an update. About 24 weeks ago. :)

My Ooma just walked in the door today from Costco.com ($109 -- at least $130 everywhere else). My local taxes will be $3.49 a month. So far it's great, but I won't be using it too much until the number port happens.

AT&T bumped my monthly to about $51, barebones, so out the door they go. Ooma or bust, I guess.

Hah, totally forgot. So here is a 6 month update. After I did the number port, they offered me Premier for a year for $60, so I took it. (It's normally $120/yr and you can get a free number port, so instead I decided to only pay the $40 for the number port.)

My local taxes are lower than they thought, so that was even better.

Some things I have learned. Put it behind your router. If the Ooma loses power or you need to reboot it, you'll lose your Internet connection. If you have an old phone from the phone company, you may need to re-wire it (flip polarity) for it to work properly.

I feel like there is a slight lag compared to AT&T (and it's made worse by my companies VOIP system in some offices) that annoys me at times. I hate interrupting people while they are talking. If anyone uses the Communique teleconference system, it hates Ooma. It almost always thinks I pressed more buttons than were actually pressed (especially considering the code is programmed into the phone). It's more them than Ooma because it's the only automated system that I've had trouble with (but at the same time, any other phone I use works fine).

To get some of the premier features it seems you also need to buy an Ooma HD Handset.

I should add, I have a ton of bandwidth (25 mbps down/15 mbps up) and all my VOIP "speed tests" are really good. There is still a lag.

[Insomniac]

POTS is outrageous. I'd love to dump ours.

Yeah how about a report, Insomniac. I hear these things can't be relied on in a zombie apocalypse.

I haven't had an Ooma service outage (that I've seen). The logo will flash red. Obviously if the Internet goes, so doe your phone. Premier has a feature where it will ring a backup number if your Internet goes down. I had one outage and the feature worked.

I was somewhat concerned about E911. I think all you need to do is be sure your local 911 center is E911 equipped. It's easy enough for Ooma to direct 911 to your local center, but they need E911 to also get your address.

All in all, it was a great trade off for me. I went from AT&T to Sprint iPhone + Ooma for a little less per month.

[Insomniac]

Interesting about the powered phones. So you're saying if I hook up a $9 wired handset to the Ooma, it won't work? Doesn't matter a lot for me because my house is filled with a 5.8GHz Panasonic system where only the base plugs into the phone jack (or in this case, the Ooma), but interested in your caveat nonetheless.

It will work. He was saying the opposite. When you disconnect from the telco at your box, you can use all the wiring in your house with Ooma. Plug the Ooma into a wall jack and then all your other wall jacks will work with phones. So if you had corded phones, maybe multiple (non-system) cordless phones, etc. you wouldn't have to choose just one to connect to the Ooma Telo.

[G.]

Interesting about the powered phones. So you're saying if I hook up a $9 wired handset to the Ooma, it won't work? Doesn't matter a lot for me because my house is filled with a 5.8GHz Panasonic system where only the base plugs into the phone jack (or in this case, the Ooma), but interested in your caveat nonetheless.



It will work. He was saying the opposite. When you disconnect from the telco at your box, you can use all the wiring in your house with Ooma. Plug the Ooma into a wall jack and then all your other wall jacks will work with phones. So if you had corded phones, maybe multiple (non-system) cordless phones, etc. you wouldn't have to choose just one to connect to the Ooma Telo.

OK, you got me. I am ASSUMING some things, but I am not familiar with Ma Bell PSTN/POTS enough to make that call.

http://www.ooma.com/app/support/distributing-ooma-all-telephone-jacks


WARNING: You must make sure that your landline has been physically disconnected from your in-home wiring. This means you must unplug the connection from your phone company at the junction box on the outside of your home. If the landline is still connected (even if the service has been cancelled) and you attempt to distribute dialtone as described above, you may damage your Ooma Telo and void your warranty.

My assumption is, the Ooma PHONE port doesn't like the -48V that POTS gives you. That's the -48VDC power that allows your old-school (not plugged into AC in any way) handsets to work in a power outage. Reading the warnings, it looks like you need to pull the DC, which is why I said what I said.

So, in conclusion, I could be wrong.

[chop456]

Something I'm training the family to do, when you answer the phone, wait ONE SECOND before saying "Hello", "WTF do YOU want", "WickerBill's Fireworks Emporium", or however you answer your line. There's a slight delay in setting up the call, then no noticeable lag issues. Your BW may vary.

The neighbor hasn't learned this and it's annoying as HELL calling their house and having to listen for background noise or notice that it's stopped ringing to know if someone's picked up.

[dando]

I always find there is a delay (slight) with VOIP no matter the provider. Just one of those say hello once, twice, three times (a lady.... ;)) before the caller acknowledges. VOIP to VOIP may be like calling cell to cell...it sucks. YMMV.

-Kevin

[SteveH]

I've never noticed a delay with Vonage, but never really paid much attention for one. Will now. I'm slow witted anyway, so it takes a few seconds to figure out what to say when I pick up the phone... :gomer:

[WickerBill]

I'm slow witted anyway, so it takes a few seconds to figure out what to say when I pick up the phone... :gomer:

:)

I can see that being the case here too. If we ever got this for my grandmother-in-law, it may be perfect. She has always answered her phone "uuuuHHHHELLO!" and VOIP may restrict it to just "hello"....

[Don Quixote]

The neighbor hasn't learned this and it's annoying as HELL calling their house and having to listen for background noise or notice that it's stopped ringing to know if someone's picked up.This is what is wrong with the world. Just walk next door and talk to them face to face. You kids and your phones. :shakehead

[dando]

This is what is wrong with the world. Just walk next door and talk to them face to face. You kids and your phones. :shakehead

Or like you, tin can and string... :gomer: :p But hey, @ least guy youse guys ain't using balloons for internet. They must figger everything out there is high enough already. :D

-Kevin

[WickerBill]

World record phone number port: AT&T processing my landline number port to Ooma 3 days after I requested it. Ooma said typically to expect 4-6 weeks. :eek:

[dando]

World record phone number port: AT&T processing my landline number port to Ooma 3 days after I requested it. Ooma said typically to expect 4-6 weeks. :eek:

Way overstated by Ooma. Maybe when porting first started ~10 years ago. I ported from Sprint the week porting started, and it was a nightmare. I've since ported the cell # twice more, and its taken two days max (the last one was same day). Porting the landline to TWC took a day. All of the backend processes are pretty much vintage by now.

-Kevin

[G.]

World record phone number port: AT&T processing my landline number port to Ooma 3 days after I requested it. Ooma said typically to expect 4-6 weeks. :eek:

Near as I can tell, it depends on your billing cycle end-date. If you just started a new month of Ma Bell, then it's going to take a while (3-4 weeks).

I timed my switchover to be very close to the end date, switched in a day or 2, then got a final bill from AT&T. I paid it, then I got another bill. I called them, they confirmed that I was done, etc. Was FAR and away the best call to AT&T I've every had. :eek: Woman was responsive, pleasant, awesome. BUT...



Now I have an outstanding debt of $0.03 though. Not sure how I want to handle that one... I bet this call won't go so well.

What payment method will cost them the most grief? What's the minimum cost they pay if I use a credit card? :laugh:

[WickerBill]

Near as I can tell, it depends on your billing cycle end-date. If you just started a new month of Ma Bell, then it's going to take a while (3-4 weeks).

I timed my switchover to be very close to the end date, switched in a day or 2, then got a final bill from AT&T. I paid it, then I got another bill. I called them, they confirmed that I was done, etc. Was FAR and away the best call to AT&T I've every had. :eek: Woman was responsive, pleasant, awesome. BUT...



Now I have an outstanding debt of $0.03 though. Not sure how I want to handle that one... I bet this call won't go so well.

What payment method will cost them the most grief? What's the minimum cost they pay if I use a credit card? :laugh:


AT&T, at least here, sends business reply envelopes with bills... tape three pennies to a brick, tape the envelope to the other side...

[Insomniac]

World record phone number port: AT&T processing my landline number port to Ooma 3 days after I requested it. Ooma said typically to expect 4-6 weeks. :eek:


Near as I can tell, it depends on your billing cycle end-date. If you just started a new month of Ma Bell, then it's going to take a while (3-4 weeks).

I timed my switchover to be very close to the end date, switched in a day or 2, then got a final bill from AT&T. I paid it, then I got another bill. I called them, they confirmed that I was done, etc. Was FAR and away the best call to AT&T I've every had. :eek: Woman was responsive, pleasant, awesome. BUT...



Now I have an outstanding debt of $0.03 though. Not sure how I want to handle that one... I bet this call won't go so well.

What payment method will cost them the most grief? What's the minimum cost they pay if I use a credit card? :laugh:

Mine took a bit longer and they mailed me a refund. The same day it ported, they called to tell me U-Verse was available in my area and as a valued customer they had an offer. I told them I was no longer a customer but they insisted. So I asked for pricing and they said sorry, it seems it's not available yet. :rofl:

[chop456]

This is what is wrong with the world. Just walk next door and talk to them face to face. You kids and your phones. :shakehead

I have to make sure the husband's not home before I go over there and he doesn't always drive the same car.

[Don Quixote]

:D

[WickerBill]

Port is done. Pretty much a non-event. Now what? Nobody calls this stupid thing anyway. :)

[TravelGal]

Port is done. Pretty much a non-event. Now what? Nobody calls this stupid thing anyway. :)

You could put your number on Facebook. That would fix it. :laugh:

[WickerBill]

Been a couple of weeks, and I can say I highly suggest Ooma if you still have a landline or pay more than $10 a month for Vonage or Comcast VOIP.

Sounds excellent, free calls to all the US, etc. We're actually using the house phone more than we used to for outgoing calls since long distance is free.

[G.]

Been a couple of weeks, and I can say I highly suggest Ooma if you still have a landline or pay more than $10 a month for Vonage or Comcast VOIP.

Sounds excellent, free calls to all the US, etc. We're actually using the house phone more than we used to for outgoing calls since long distance is free.

I concur, but a few of the people we call complain about the audio quality. Actually a LOT of people. The wife's voice goes all Klingon and ****. Sounds good on our end. I blame her. :)

I should be upgrading my 'net speed (maybe next week), and I have (had?) a few issues with some devices latching on when they shouldn't be, but too many complaints for my comfort.

This ^^ is fixable. Paying $70+ a month to ATT is NOT. (well, I guess I DID fix it)

[nrc]

G, what's your Internet connection? Any correlation between other bandwidth usage and Klingon episodes? Do any of you have QOS configured on your router?

[G.]

G, what's your Internet connection? Any correlation between other bandwidth usage and Klingon episodes? Do any of you have QOS configured on your router?

Net is 3Mb down, 1 Mb up. Not that speedy, but usually plenty. I haven't made a correlation to loading and audio quality, but I don't talk to people. :gomer:

Net used to be pretty solid for speed - always 3/1 every time. Lately I've had a lot of inconsistencies, usually faster, but sometimes dog-slow. Not sure why, yet, but I'm upgrading anyway, so meh.

Haven't messed with QoS, but you might be on to something. I have it optimized for video (D/L) by default. Might need to mess with that someday soon.

[Insomniac]

Net is 3Mb down, 1 Mb up. Not that speedy, but usually plenty. I haven't made a correlation to loading and audio quality, but I don't talk to people. :gomer:

Net used to be pretty solid for speed - always 3/1 every time. Lately I've had a lot of inconsistencies, usually faster, but sometimes dog-slow. Not sure why, yet, but I'm upgrading anyway, so meh.

Haven't messed with QoS, but you might be on to something. I have it optimized for video (D/L) by default. Might need to mess with that someday soon.

A quick way to check if it is QoS is to put the Ooma in front of your router. It will automatically throttle upload/download speeds (it's a lot, but probably not for your connection). Also, if you connect it this way, you can quickly/easily change the QoS by going to setup.ooma.com (this will load the configuration page for the device).

[nrc]

Would one of you Ooma people like to give me a referral code for this?

http://www3.ooma.com/refer-a-friend/


Edit: Moved to this thread from gadget thread.

[WickerBill]

Would one of you Ooma people like to give me a referral code for this?

http://www3.ooma.com/refer-a-friend/

.



See your PM... (edit) looks like up to five people can use this code, so here it is for everyone: DAK3978

[nrc]

Thanks. Now I can blame you if it doesn't work out. ;)

Seems like Premier is going to be a must for the caller name. I read back through the thread and saw the bit about arm twisting for a discount but I don't really have a good use case to hold out for the end of the premier trial. I'll need to pipe it into our phone wiring to get much use out of it and that means porting our number sooner rather than later.

Any tips on features to use or avoid?

[WickerBill]

I'm pretty happy with the pieces I've used -- the long distance, the caller ID, voicemail, etc. Don't know of anything to avoid.

I will tell you that it will take a good 4-6 hours (if your experience is like mine) for the voice quality to stabilize. You'll get some robotic sounds and delay until it figures out how to deal with your specific bandwidth, jitter, and latency. Since then for me it has been 100% perfect.

Also, it *does* auto-hang up on any phone calls that reach 60 minutes.

[G.]

Seems like Premier is going to be a must for the caller name.

Be sure to read the fine print (I still never have :laugh: ).
Caller ID seems to be a bit quirky. Some people that used to show up on caller ID with ATT, don't always show up anymore. The number does, but no name.

However, if you go to your call logs, I think you can add the name there, and it will show up on the phone. Haven't tried entering Mr. Dumbazz or Miss Poopyschitz yet.

Like I said, I never bothered to mess with it much. Wife don't care, so I sure don't.


I'll need to pipe it into our phone wiring to get much use out of it and that means porting our number sooner rather than later.

Any tips on features to use or avoid?

There's plenty of warnings about it, but you NEED TO DISCONNECT FROM MA BELL, if you put VOIP onto your home wiring. Easy, not dangerous, but you have to open that box on the side of your house and pull the wires.

Ooma doesn't like the 12 V (or is it 48?) that the phone Co. puts on the lines.


The Premier has a few cool features, but you need to buy their phones to use them (some features only need one for the house in order to work, some need more than one). I just kept my phones.

Also, when you answer, there can be a 1/2 sec delay. So if someone annoying calls you, and you answer with a quick bark of "WHAT?!?", it might get missed. It's sad to waste a good bark.

Once audio is routed, there isn't really any delay, it's just the initial connection.


Be sure to call Ma Bell when you finally go live, and cancel. Otherwise they may keep charging you.

You can set up a new number in parallel with Ma Bell, and try it for a while before you port your regular number to Ooma. You can keep that new number forever. Then, if you buy the Ooma phone, you can set up different ringtones and create your own Batphone line.

I almost want an Ooma phone, mostly for the "instant second line", or whatever they call it. If the wife is talking, you can just pick up another Ooma handset and dial out. (I also find myself using the landline more than cellular.)

I've made calls longer than an hour, and I KNOW the wife has. No disconnects.

[Insomniac]

Thanks. Now I can blame you if it doesn't work out. ;)

Seems like Premier is going to be a must for the caller name. I read back through the thread and saw the bit about arm twisting for a discount but I don't really have a good use case to hold out for the end of the premier trial. I'll need to pipe it into our phone wiring to get much use out of it and that means porting our number sooner rather than later.

Any tips on features to use or avoid?

You shouldn't need any arm twisting. They offered me premier for $60 after they completed the number port.

I am annoyed by how 3-way calling works. You can only do it with the Telo. With AT&T, you could simply do it with any phone.

I'm going to try out Basic for a bit when my Premier ends, but we'll see. I have to call them so they don't renew it, so they make me an offer...

[Insomniac]

I'm pretty happy with the pieces I've used -- the long distance, the caller ID, voicemail, etc. Don't know of anything to avoid.

I will tell you that it will take a good 4-6 hours (if your experience is like mine) for the voice quality to stabilize. You'll get some robotic sounds and delay until it figures out how to deal with your specific bandwidth, jitter, and latency. Since then for me it has been 100% perfect.

Also, it *does* auto-hang up on any phone calls that reach 60 minutes.

My quality has been the same from minute 1. I still think it's laggier than AT&T and the touchtone quality not as high from the number of times I've had to re-enter conference call pass codes. Also, mine has never auto-hung up after 1 hour, or any interval. I'm on the phone a lot, and over an hour many times a week.

[nrc]

There's plenty of warnings about it, but you NEED TO DISCONNECT FROM MA BELL, if you put VOIP onto your home wiring. Easy, not dangerous, but you have to open that box on the side of your house and pull the wires.

Yeah, that's the plan. Our telephone interface box is in the basement next to where the Ooma will be so I'll unplug house wiring from the AT&T line right there and run the house wiring side over to the Ooma.


The Premier has a few cool features, but you need to buy their phones to use them (some features only need one for the house in order to work, some need more than one). I just kept my phones.

That's one thing it looks like they could do a lot better. There's no reason why they can't use hook flash and star codes to enable more of those features on an ordinary phone. *98 should pick up voice mail instead of having to dial your full number.

Two people say there's no one hour hang up. So Wickerbill, who is hanging up on you?

[WickerBill]

I couldn't talk for an hour on the phone if my life depended on it. (That's a very interesting thing for me to say, based on our recent PMs, nrc)

My wife indicates the phone goes dialtone at exactly the 60 minute mark, every call.

[Insomniac]

Yeah, that's the plan. Our telephone interface box is in the basement next to where the Ooma will be so I'll unplug house wiring from the AT&T line right there and run the house wiring side over to the Ooma.

That's one thing it looks like they could do a lot better. There's no reason why they can't use hook flash and star codes to enable more of those features on an ordinary phone. *98 should pick up voice mail instead of having to dial your full number.

Two people say there's no one hour hang up. So Wickerbill, who is hanging up on you?

One disadvantage (assuming your interface isn't an area you go to often) is the Telo box has the connectivity status "light", plays your voice mail as it is recorded in real time (Premier feature, basically acts like an old school answering machine and you can pick up during), line selection (Premier), 3-way calling (Premier, you have to touch both lines to combine them) and quick voicemail controls to avoid any dialing (like an answering machine).

If you want these things close by, you can connect it to any phone jack in the house. Just be sure to disconnect the telephone company so your in home wiring remains a closed network.

For VM, I use the web site and my e-mail to listen more often than my handset. I can live without quick dial, because at least you can perform the functions from your phone. The things that can be done with the Telo only drive me craziest.

[G.]

I couldn't talk for an hour on the phone if my life depended on it. (That's a very interesting thing for me to say, based on our recent PMs, nrc)

My wife indicates the phone goes dialtone at exactly the 60 minute mark, every call.

I just looked at the logs, and asked the wife.

"does the phone disconnect at the 60 min mark?"

"Oh, god no!"

My guess is it's your ISP or a setting on the home router shutting it down. I can't find anything on Ooma.com that would set this.



I saw several calls well over an hour. She says she talks while she's "cleaning".

If I paid her, I'd dock her pay. :flaming:


:p;)

[nrc]

One disadvantage (assuming your interface isn't an area you go to often) is the Telo box has the connectivity status "light", plays your voice mail as it is recorded in real time (Premier feature, basically acts like an old school answering machine and you can pick up during), line selection (Premier), 3-way calling (Premier, you have to touch both lines to combine them) and quick voicemail controls to avoid any dialing (like an answering machine).

I had thought about that. Unfortunately there's not a better place for it where I have both phone and network connectivity. An Ooma handset upstairs would solve the problem and we'll probably end up with that eventually.


For VM, I use the web site and my e-mail to listen more often than my handset. I can live without quick dial, because at least you can perform the functions from your phone. The things that can be done with the Telo only drive me craziest.

I snooped around on their forum and call waiting and three way calling do support hook flash now. Since they control the phone line it just seems like they could make things easier with star codes. Maybe there's more stuff that's not documented yet. Of course they can't get around only having one line in your home if you don't have their handset.

[Insomniac]

I snooped around on their forum and call waiting and three way calling do support hook flash now. Since they control the phone line it just seems like they could make things easier with star codes. Maybe there's more stuff that's not documented yet. Of course they can't get around only having one line in your home if you don't have their handset.

Thanks nrc, I'll try the "double flash" next time I need it.

[nrc]

When you're spoiled by Amazon Prime it's maddening to follow a package crawl across the country by UPS ground. Ooma wanted $15 for faster shipping so I passed.

[nrc]

I couldn't talk for an hour on the phone if my life depended on it. (That's a very interesting thing for me to say, based on our recent PMs, nrc)

My wife indicates the phone goes dialtone at exactly the 60 minute mark, every call.

Ha. Missed this when you posted it. That's ok, what people really want is a good listener. :D

[nrc]

Ooma arrived the other day and everything seems to be working well. Right now it's plugged into just one phone by I did a test of connecting it into the home wiring and everything worked well. I triple checked that I was disconnected from the telco network before making the connection. No way I'm coming back here and reporting that I blew it up. :)

I did have a moment of tech rage over the stupid musical dial tone. I was able to disable that by setting the Telo to "fax" mode. Anyone know if that has any undesirable side affects?

Number port is now in process. If they align it with billing cycles as someone suggested we've got three weeks to wait. I thought about adding call forward to our line so I could go ahead an forward calls over to the new number in the interim but that just reminded me of why we're dropping them in the first place. $8 a month plus an $8 service charge so someone can go out back and throw the giant blade switch that activates call waiting.

Your port is scheduled to complete on Jan 31, 2014. Excellent.

[nrc]

Everything has worked very well. I have noted the connection delay a couple of times but that's not a huge deal.

I called AT&T today to make sure our service was terminated with the number transfer. I swear that I was speaking with Edie McClurg. Sorry, nice lady but I don't want to switch to your really slow DSL to use your VOIP service and still pay more overall.

[nrc]

Woot! has Ooma Telo (refurb) for $79 for a bit longer today.

http://www.woot.com/?ref=gh_w_1

[WickerBill]

Update:

I've changed jobs, and now work out of my house. Because of this, I spend a decent amount of time on the phone in my new basement office. For every day conversations, Ooma works great. But when I'm trying to speak authoritatively, and it "robots out" even a tiny little bit, I lose some face.... so Ooma remains our home phone system, and I've just begrudgingly called Ma Bell to reinstall a POTS line that will only be used in my office. My employer will pay for it, so I guess it isn't any loss -- except that it kind of stinks to have to be tied back to AT&T.

[nrc]

I don't buy it. Who speaks with higher authority than robots?

Do you suppose a higher speed uplink may have helped? I hope your POTS line is more reliable than ours was or you'll be sounding authoritative over static and humming a couple of times a year.

[WickerBill]

I do think a higher up speed could help, but what's interesting is that there is one very specific place I call that seems to produce the worst out of the Ooma. Unfortunately that's the place our conference call system is located. 1:1 calls nearly anywhere else are very good.

[cameraman]

Could it be an incompatibility with the conference call software?

[Insomniac]

I've found routing between VOIP systems can cause oddities. My company also has VOIP and I can get vastly different results depending on the number I dial, and that also changes over time. I have 10 mbps upstream, so it's not a bandwidth issue.