Tell me about your residential VoIP experience
3My mother was previously using AT&T’s “Wireless home phone” service. A standalone voice only cellular base station which is connected to her cordless phone system. $20 per month for unlimited nationwide calling.
Unfortunately the system operates in the 3G spectrum, and AT&T is discontinuing their 3G support in February to clear the way for the 5G rollout.
Verizon offers a nearly identical wireless home phone service, but Verizon reception is poor inside her house. Switching her to the local landline provider would require a massive amount of work (the previous homeowner deleted and plastered over all the POTS jacks). Also, local landline service is $30/mo plus taxes and fees.
So I’m looking at residential VoIP options. Ooma? They offer a cellular based standalone system, the Telo 4G. Service is $10/mo.
But what options have you used? I used a MagicJack many years ago when I was traveling extensively. It worked ok, but I had to have my computer turned on for it to work. A standalone device is the only way to go for her.
Vonage? Obihai and Google Voice combo? Please tell me about your experiences!
- 15 comments, 45 replies
- Comment
Switched my landline number to GV years and years ago. Went through the whole supported/not supported/supported thing with the Obi (now Polycom). Works pretty well, but I don’t actually use it much.
I also have an old “feature phone” cell phone that connects via bluetooth to the landline base. The cell phone just lives there plugged into a charger next to the base station.
Incoming GV calls are forwarded to the cell number. I can make outgoing calls on either the cell or Obi from the handset (depending on which button i push).
Also used three 2-line Obis to make a cheap 6-line “VOIP” for a non-profit. (shh. don’t tell google.)
@walarney I have had GV for many, many years. Since it was a pilot program and getting a local area code in a big city was easy. But TBH, I don’t think I ever used it for outbound calls. Only for the “junk” stuff like selling on Craig’s List, placing orders when I don’t want to start getting sales calls, etc.
Does GV include nationwide calling within the “free” service, or does it require loading up long distance credit into my account? Most of who she talks to are people from back in TN, so long distance calling is a must.
@ruouttaurmind free for nationwide. We call from WA to MD. You already know, but some of the GV convenience features I like are being able to log in and read your voicemail, and it’s relatively easy to block numbers.
But from what i recall setting it up, there’s at least one feature that’s enabled by default that you have to navigate to the “legacy” settings page to disable. But that was some time ago…
@ruouttaurmind Oh, yeah. @Limewater reminded me: GV is specifically not for 911 calls. You have to set up a second service with Obi if you need that.
@walarney Thank you for this information. I appreciate it.
I bought an Ooma from here a bunch of years ago. It works. I should probably check my credit card for how much they’re charging me.
@sammydog01 I don’t know about back then, but today if you have a Ooma device there is no monthly service charge, and that includes nationwide calling.
@ruouttaurmind There were fees. Not many though.
@ruouttaurmind @sammydog01 Ooma charges $6.32/mo. including taxes and fees for the basic service.
@macromeh @ruouttaurmind I’m getting billed $5.85 a month. I think that’s all taxes and fees. It probably varies by state.
@macromeh @sammydog01 I surely can’t place any blame on Ooma for the cost, but dang that’s a bunch of taxes and fees for a free thing.
@ruouttaurmind @sammydog01 I don’t think the service is free (anymore anyway) - IIRC, it’s $4.99 + taxes, etc. per month for basic phone service. My wife runs a small community library that operates on a shoestring, so I pay the bill for their phone, but I forget the details of how the cost breaks out. Seems to be pretty reliable after several years of use.
@ruouttaurmind @sammydog01 OK, I just looked at the Ooma site (first time in years), and they are now calling the service “free” and all the charges “taxes and fees”. When we first signed up, it was the above mentioned “$4.99 + taxes and fees”. Apparently their marketing geniuses have replaced the old “Tomato” with an all new and improved “Tomato”.
@macromeh From their website:
@macromeh So in my area, the total monthly cost would be $5.63. Of course that will be +$12 and a bit if I opt for the 4G adapter.
We have magic jacks. We connect ours to our router with an ethernet cable.
@lisaviolet When I had a Magic Jack it was strictly a USB into the computer proposition. Maybe I need to have another look at them. Thank you!
We use nettalk to keep a home phone line. Like modern magicjack, it’s a stand-alone device.
We bought one in 2012. We still have it and it still works.
We pay about $40 a year to keep the service, plus about $2.50 a year in extra fees and taxes.
We don’t really use it very often, though.
I’ve previously seen a lot of value in POTS reliability for emergency situations. Where I lives previously, though, Verizon was the provider and was rolling out fiber to every house and just providing a battery for eight hours of service during a power outage. That killed the value of POTS for me.
@Limewater Thank you for your reply! I’ve just been looking through the Nettalk website and online store. What a shit show. If they run the service like they run their website, I believe Imma pass on them for now. Also, it looks like they’re maybe transitioning to a all software/cloud model? Doesn’t appear to be any residential oriented hardware offered on their website. The only devices I can find with a quick search are from eBay and sketch websites. Discontinued? ¯_(ツ)_/¯
@ruouttaurmind Yeah, I had forgotten about that. I looked at their website recently and agree it’s gotten kind of sketchy. Like they aren’t really in the home phone business anymore and are just keeping it around as a legacy.
POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) powering itself through the line is not an intentional way of dealing with emergencies — it is an accident of history. The fact that old phones sometimes worked during a power outage doesn’t make them inherently valuable. The OP’s mother needs a cellular phone that he pays for, and there’s no two ways around it.
@pmcgrane Thank you for your perspective. I’ve given her a cell phone. Of course the problem with cell phones in an emergency is the lack of a default location. The same concern for VoIP solutions. A POTS line location is instantly identifiable by the 911 system in the event the caller is incapacitated, or confused when calling. I’m definitely not into the idea of rewiring the POTS drops, but there is value in the 911 location service for the elderly I suppose.
@pmcgrane @ruouttaurmind Magicjack has 911 service now.
@pmcgrane @ruouttaurmind We use Google Voice with an Obi/Polycom device. I have ancillary 911 service via Anveo with the Obi for $25/year. It provides a default location. I have never used the 911 in an actual emergency, but the local 911 call center allowed me to test it after setup and everything worked as expected. Of course, no phone or 911 service is available via the VoIP during a power or internet outage, but we also have cell phones for that situation. Works for us.
@ruouttaurmind You can use Wifi calling with your cell phone. There’s a requirement to add a 911 address when you turn it on. (With samsung and att- I can’t absolutely say anything about other services but I assume they are the same.) Pair that with a cordless system that can run off your cell phone and she should be golden with no extra fees.
We just moved out to the sticks, ATT is essentially worthless here so we are dead in the water without wifi calling.
Several friends had VoIP via Comcast/Xfinity, and hated it for the simple reason that on the occasions when the cable service fell out, the phone went with it. I kept my old AT&T POTS landline for many years because my experience was that it was the only utility unlikely to falter and fall over during a hurricane, and we have those here. But in 2008, in Ike, that proved to be no longer true, and conventional cell service was more reliable. I presently have Verizon via a cell box for my old POTS desk set on the old landline number, TMobile for my cellular smartphone, and XFinity for Internet connectivity; I find that multisourcing is the real hedge against failure.
@werehatrack I deal with a bunch of clients and vendors who over the years have migrated to business VoIP. Even the very best connections still present artifacts which make it obvs that “this is not your grandfathers land line”. I have avoided VoIP in my own business for exactly this reason.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I use a PolyCom Obi202 for 2 free Voice Lines using Google Voice. I can then use 2 Land Line Phones for free calls in the US and Canada.
You may optionally transfer your old Mobile Number to Google Voice for $20.
The Obi202 costs $80. An optional WiFi adapter to connect the base unit is another $40. Internet service is required. If you plug the Obi202 directly into your Router; WiFi is not needed. You can plug the phone port directly into a cordless phone base and/or into your house phone wiring (Be sure the house wiring is not connected outside of the house; such as to your old phone company.).
You can get these from a well known online store.
Emergency 911 is not supported directly; but can be purchased for about $12 Yr.
A free 911 option is to program the Obi202 to route 911 calls directly to the same local Emergency number an e911 call would get to. The main difference is that your location information is not provided to the Emergency center. This is a problem if the caller can’t speak (Think Medical Issue or Assault).
Do a Google search for setup details.
After the initial setup; the only cost is to your Internet Provider.
Ooma user here, though with regular internet rather than 4G. I maintain for two households which is to say I pay the bill and turn off/on to reboot the Ooma devices every three months or so.
Once set up and with your number ported (if applicable) it just works. With a cordless phone base attached you have as many extensions as you want.
911 service is provided, you share the address when registering. Their app (your Mom may never use) allows you to get or place VOIP calls, check voicemail, see call history on a phone or tablet using wi-fi or data. Cost varies because it’s state and local taxes - in my case $5-$7 monthly. I added Premium (multiple ph#s, lines, call forwarding, etc ) which is around $130 extra annually - but the basic service will do what you need.
@afurball In reading their website it’s not totally clear to me. Since neither plan specifically mentions “call waiting” by name… do you happen to know if either the basic or premium plans offer a call waiting type feature? The premium mentions something called “instant second line” which sounds to me like call waiting? But no mention of anything like that on the basic plan that I noticed.
@ruouttaurmind
Basic does include Call Waiting.
https://support.ooma.com/home/call-waiting/
Instant second line behaves more like a true second line. If someone else is using the primary line, you can activate a secondary line for another conversation - inbound or outbound. With Premier you can also establish two fixed phone numbers and set one for primary use / outbound caller ID by default. Also includes free international calls to Canada and Mexico. If you get to feeling really retro you can buy one of their plug-in phone jack adapters to use for a fax, even.
@afurball Perfect. Great information. Thank you.
@ruouttaurmind
Another former Ooma user here…I used to have a Ooma “hub” device hooked to the front of the pack on my home network…it worked pretty good and the taxes/fees were just like $3 a month.
But when I moved I decided I wasn’t going to have 2 phone numbers anymore (my cell & the Ooma) because people (tenants, clients & friends) really didn’t understand the whole separation between “home phone” & “work phone” So if somebody had something of dire importance (invariably it wasn’t) and they had to speak to the MANAGER RIGHT NOW, they would just call one number, then the other, back and forth, back and forth, onandonandon. Usually on Friday nights or Sunday mornings. lol I knew what I was in for when I chose this path though, so it’s all good.
So, I’m just down to my one cell phone…shhhh…I do have a cheap back-up Tracfone and my cable bundle from COX cable made me take a phone router thingie but it was “free” to get the bundled deal. Only 1 other person knows my Tracfone number now.
I’m getting ready to drop the cable service (again) because I’m finding less and less of TV that much enjoyable.
I think they sell “panic buttons” to wear around your neck that offer inexpensive service. If you’re worried about health or safety.
If my mom was still alive, I’d get her one.
I still have her Jitterbug phone if you think that might be more user friendly. Just PM me and I’ll send it over.
@therealjrn I appreciate the offer. I set her up with an older LG and knocked out as much of the bloatware as I could, disabled the screen lock, and added a Qi wiggy on it so it just has to sit there and be all charged up, ready to go. No plugs or cables to eff with. Fortunately it has a user replaceable battery, so when the battery cooks off it’s a quick fix.
She avoids cell phones not because of the complicated interface, but comfort and hearing. When she gets on a call with friends or family she’s gonna be in it for a while. She prefers the comfort of that traditional fat handset nestled against her shoulder and squished up against her ear.
@ruouttaurmind I understand that. My mom was the same way. Cell phones just don’t have the same comfort level of an old-style handset.
@ruouttaurmind @therealjrn
Eh?
@fibrs86 Heh. I got one of those in a Woot BOC a few years ago. I tried to get her to use it when she was still staying at my place before I got her set up with her house. The quality of the mic and speaker was abysmal. Very difficult to hear her when she called me. Muffled and compressed like.
Good suggestion though!
@fibrs86 @ruouttaurmind That’s funny. I too, got one in a Woot BOC. I tried it out for awhile. It worked pretty good but it’s pretty dorky. lol
@fibrs86 @ruouttaurmind @therealjrn Alternatively, you can set up a cordless telephone to run off of your cell phone. Very helpful for long conversations.
/giphy it sucks
I have a magic jack, but we’re about to let it expire and do away with the home phone. I just don’t like giving my cell phone number out, so I kept the house number. But over the last year or 2 it never rings. It is set up so robots can’t call. It gives a message where it tells you to hit a number if you are a human. Computer calls don’t get through that yet. It’s been reliable. I wasn’t a big fan of the voicemail feature. Maybe I never set it up (or maybe I set it up like this and forgot), I get e-mails with the VM. So that might not work for your mom, but it could have been a setting. But there was caller ID and call waiting. The 911 service is an extra annual fee. It just plugs in to the cable modem I believe (Ethernet maybe), power and then to a phone. We’ve had it for about 4 years. Oh my only other complaint was with the cordless phones the clock on them is always wrong. Like it gets the info from Magic Jack and is always on Eastern time, I’m Central, so it’s wrong. I could never find a setting on their site to change it. Silly thing, but annoying.
We had vonage a long time ago and left because it was so damn expensive. Magic Jack had a low start up cost and I was able to pick it up in Walmart right away. We had phone through the cable company, but when my modem died the cable guy never got the phone reactivated on it, even after a few tech support calls. So I was paying for something that didn’t work and Magic Jack was cheaper, I was just glad my number didn’t get lost during that mess. Now the number I’ve had since 1998 will be free for someone else.
Ahem @ruouttaurmind I’ll just leave this here:
https://sellout.woot.com/offers/obihai-obi202-2-port-voip-phone-adapter-with-google-voice-2
oh shit, there’s a stable of them!
https://sellout.woot.com/plus/obihai-voip-phones-adapters
@therealjrn I was just looking through those when your message notification came in. Trying to figure out what the difference is between the two adapters.
¯_(ツ)_/¯
I finally reached the wall. She’s been without home phone service for nearly a full week (she has a cell phone in case of emergencies). I don’t have any more time to research the best solution and had to choose the immediate solution or she was going to have a breakdown. So… it’s my mother. What can I do?
Last night I ordered the Ooma Telo 4G setup. Ooma Telo base, 4G interface and battery backup for $130. Full price, but again, it’s my mother. I gotta do whatever I gotta do. The hardware will be waiting for me when I get home. I can set it up and get it all working at my place, then whisk it over to her house and get her rolling within a few minutes. Monthly service will be about $18 including unlimited nationwide calling and 4G cellular service, taxes and fees. A few bucks less than the AT&T wireless home phone setup, so that’s a minor win.
Thank you very much to everyone who replied to my plea for information. Lots of good stuff there, and I really appreciate it. It made my snap decision a bunch easier.
Amazon did not disappoint. As promised, the Ooma stuff was waiting for me when I got home from work today.
It’s all set up and working. As long as I have it directly connected to the router. For some reason it’s unable to activate the 4G interface. But I’ll deal with that this weekend. In the meantime, she once again has a working home phone.
The call quality during my testing is exceptional. Indistinguishable from a landline. At least when connected via CAT6 to the router. Much better than the old AT&T cellular home phone device.
Also, this thing takes an extraordinary amount of time to boot up. Nearly two minutes from power on to ready.
Once again, thank you everyone for your replies to this topic.
@ruouttaurmind
Excellent, hope Mom’s very happy with both her phone and you.
@ruouttaurmind
thankfully that doesn’t need to be done often.
@afurball et al, it took Ooma a week to resolve the issue with the Telo 4G interface. But yesterday the device was functioning properly and all was right with the word.
Throughout the process, I had to phone Ooma support maybe half a dozen times. These days that typically means offshore support staff and excruciating wait times on hold to speak with anyone. Although Ooma does use offshore support, I have to say I had no trouble communicating with them. Everyone I spoke with was fluent in English and communicated clearly. My longest wait time on hold was maybe 5 minutes. Very tolerable compared to some CS calls I’ve placed in the past year or so. AT&T took over 45 minutes on hold every time I called.
When I first started working through the problem with Ooma I of course was transferred to Level 1 support. They sent me to Level 2 support, who in turn elevated the issue to Level 3 support, who phoned me the next day to let me know my ticket was pushed up to Level 4 support. Level 4? I didn’t even know there was such a thing!
Level 4 referred to the cellular network engineers at Sprint, who apparently resolved the problem, because the Telo 4G setup is now working correctly. ¯_(ツ)_/¯
Even after the setup issue, I would recommend Ooma Telo 4G as a good option for someone who needs landline type functionality (fax machine maybe? Alarm system connection?) but doesn’t have landline access (outbuildings, remote site, etc). One big advantage of this configuration, it’s totally portable. Well of course it is, it’s basically a cell phone! Going to the coast on vacay for a few weeks? Take it with you! Traveling in the RV for an epic road trip? Take it with you! This served my mom and step dad very well when they’d pack into the RV and spend the winters here with me every year. Well, they were using a AT&T device as described in the top of this topic, but same functionality.
What’s up with old folks and the dislike of cell phones anyway?
@ruouttaurmind
But yes, portability is one of the beauties of the OOMA service. We have used it at VRBO units on the beach when we were in poorly serviced cell areas for instance.
However, remember that registration you did for the 911 service address? Keep in mind THAT is where they will show up if you call 911 while on the road.
@ruouttaurmind
I realize this is ‘late to the party’ but I’m another happy OOMA client. Kept is mainly for the ability to have a landline with the same number we have had for 30 years, without having to use it for one of mine or SWMBOs cells.
Set my elderly mom up with one when they moved to a house we built next door to mine several years ago. It has been fantastic for her use. My main recommendation is … get a UPS for the modem/router/OOMA set. It will keep everything up and running for several minutes up to a half hour for those times when you have a (short) power outage. As you noted, calls are really clear, and once it is up and running, it just works.
@chienfou
at one time I had a lengthy review of the OOMA process and recommendations on the woot site, but I think it has been removed when they cleared off a bunch of their forum stuff (evidently Amazon is not as interested in keeping all that old data as Matt used to be)
@chienfou
Fortunately, the Telo 4G kit includes a battery backup which will keep the Telo and 4G adapter functioning for about 10 hours (according to Ooma product specs) in the event of a power outage.
@ruouttaurmind
Hey, that’s coo!
@chienfou Down side? $12/mo for cellular service.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
@ruouttaurmind
Hey, it’s you Mom… right??!
Is that for just the cell service to use the 4g data only, or does that then give her a cell phone you can use in an emergency?
@chienfou That’s for unlimited talk and 1GB data on the Telo. To use the data, you have to connect directly to the Telo base; no wifi access is available.
She could use her cellphone or iPad to make/receive calls, but that’s an upgrade monthly charge. As it stands, she can make outgoing calls from her mobile devices using the Ooma app, but can’t answer incoming calls.
@ruouttaurmind
who bills the 4g fee? OOMA?
@chienfou Yes, Ooma includes the $12 along with the basic service taxes and fees. All together the monthly charge is $17.63 billed by Ooma.
@ruouttaurmind
OK, cool TIL! Happy with my/our current set-up, but good to know for future