irvinecyclist
New member
Live in Woodbury. Want to switch my landline to VOIP. Any recommendations? So many companies to choose from. Thanks!
VOIP Recommendation?
- Thread starter irvinecyclist
- Start date
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I have not used the Ooma HD handset so I don't know how much better the sound quality is. I think both sides need to be using the HD units to get the HD quality they talk about. I am using my old Panasonic cordless as well as some cheap generic corded phones and it works good enough for me.
My family in Japan actually had Vonage and complained the quality was a problem at times. That is why they switched to Ooma. They said it is so much better than their Vonage experience.
Well, the Ooma is not designed to be an ultra portable unit (but it can fit in luggage easily). It is made to look like a slick touch panel answering machine. I can't recall exactly how big it is but I would say it is approximately the size of a cordless phone answering machine base unit. The dimensions may be on the web site. I know Best Buy and I think Costco have a display unit you can look at for size.
I think there is another older model which is smaller but does not look as slick as the latest unit.
I'm just using an ordinary wireless phone system. I think it's a Panasonic. But voice quality is good, and the cost per month for Ooma is something like $3.
Correct, you disconnect your house phone wiring from the incoming phone co. lines at your POTS box on your house which is usually near your electrical breaker box. This is needed so if the phone company sends the 90 volt pulse down the phone wires (ringing pulse), it will not fry your Ooma.
If you then plug your Ooma phone output into the phone line wall outlet, it will energize all the phone outlets in the house to work with all the phones all over your house. That is what I have done and it works great. I have a corded phone in the kitchen, and master bathroom toilet as well as a cordless phone in the family room and master bedroom and they all work just like a regular phone (caller ID and all).
If you happen to still use DSL for your internet (I had this scenario for a while until I went cable modem), you will have to keep the phone company phone line connected at the POTS box but you will move the phone co. wires to your second pair of house phone wires (most house phone wiring have at least two pairs of wires and many newer homes have three pairs). At the connection you connect your DSL modem to the phone outlet, you will have to take the cover off the wall and change the jacks connection from the first pair to the second pair. This will allow you to keep your DSL connection and still allow you to energize your whole house for phone service with the Ooma and not worry about frying it.
Now if you have your DSL modem and Ooma near each other and there is only one phone jack available, you need to go to home depot and get a dual jack wall plate (usually they are a modular kit) and wire the first pair to one jack for the Ooma and wire the second pair to the second jack to connect the DSL modem. This will keep a clean look to your wall and connections.
If you have any questions on this because you want to do it or if you want pictures of what I have done, please let me know (ask in the thread so others can benefit as well).
Just if you are wondering, I am not a phone repair guy or anything. I am just one of those guys that can figure out most things by looking at it or doing a little research and thinking about how to get around a problem.
Thank you very much for the detailed explanation.
I have Cox cable and phone service so I think my internal phone wiring must be disconnected from the telephone company right now. I remember the Cox tech made some modifications to my home phone wiring.
Your read my mind on my next question. My company pays for my Cox Internet and phone services right now but if (when) they cut that, I would seriously think about doing this. But I was thinking of getting something like DSL Extreme for Internet access, in which case, I probably need to reconnect the telephone network but use another pair for the internal phone lines like you are mentioning? Or, to make it simpler just keep the Internet from Cox?
If you have pictures of the work you did on the outside box, when you have some time, that would be greatly appreciated.
I'm using an Ooma Telo (http://www.ooma.com/products/ooma-telo) and have no complaints. You can find them at Amazon or any other online retailer.
davenlei
New member
I LOVE Ooma telo as well. It is such a great service and the carry cost is crazy low.
When I called AT&T to cancel my land line two years ago I was given the false sales pitch by AT&T about how emergency services may not be able to know who you are on a VOIP, etc. I kindly let them know that Ooma registers my number and address with E911 so I am covered. Then they tell me that VOIP is not reliable and can make you sound choppy and like a robot when you are on the phone with someone. I then asked them if I sound like a robot. She said no. I told her I am talking to her over Ooma VOIP and have been on it for two weeks already. She actually answered "Really? It sounds good. I though you were on a land line". Then she finally proceeded to throw out an offer of lowering my land line bill to be less than a third of what I was currently paying for it if I kept it. I told her "no thanks" and she finally cancelled my land line service.
It has been over two years and I have converted three other people to Ooma as well and they love it also. I call my Brother-in-law and Sister-in-Law in Japan and since we are both using Ooma, it is treated like a local FREE call. If someone local to their Ooma SoCal U.S number calls that number with their regular phone, it is treated like a local call as well but will call Japan. Also when my relatives in Japan call regular phone numbers in the U.S. with their Ooma, it is a local call to them (since their Ooma number is a U.S. number). My other relatives overseas who do not have Ooma only cost pennies a minute to call through my Ooma.
I also like that it is an answering machine and is a stand alone unit so you do not need to keep a PC on all the time like Magic Jack requires. Also it works with your regular phone and you do not need a 'special' phone to use it.
I am thinking about getting the blue tooth option so I can route my cell phone calls to the home phone when I am at home so it will not burn through my cell minutes.
Oh, another tip, if you convert to Ooma, you can have Ooma run through your homes regular phone lines if you disconnect the telephone companies connection at the POTS box on the side of your house and run the Ooma phone wire to the regular phone outlet on the wall. All my regular (corded) and cordless phones in the house are active with Ooma so it acts and feels just like a land line.
Best Buy has the telo at a decent price as well so if you want to have instant gratification you can go there and have the 30 day return policy to get your money back right away if you decide it is not right for you.
Oh, another thing, I would stay away from Vonage, COX etc. They overcharge for what they provide (although not as bad as Ma Bell). There are way lower priced and better options out there.
When I called AT&T to cancel my land line two years ago I was given the false sales pitch by AT&T about how emergency services may not be able to know who you are on a VOIP, etc. I kindly let them know that Ooma registers my number and address with E911 so I am covered. Then they tell me that VOIP is not reliable and can make you sound choppy and like a robot when you are on the phone with someone. I then asked them if I sound like a robot. She said no. I told her I am talking to her over Ooma VOIP and have been on it for two weeks already. She actually answered "Really? It sounds good. I though you were on a land line". Then she finally proceeded to throw out an offer of lowering my land line bill to be less than a third of what I was currently paying for it if I kept it. I told her "no thanks" and she finally cancelled my land line service.
It has been over two years and I have converted three other people to Ooma as well and they love it also. I call my Brother-in-law and Sister-in-Law in Japan and since we are both using Ooma, it is treated like a local FREE call. If someone local to their Ooma SoCal U.S number calls that number with their regular phone, it is treated like a local call as well but will call Japan. Also when my relatives in Japan call regular phone numbers in the U.S. with their Ooma, it is a local call to them (since their Ooma number is a U.S. number). My other relatives overseas who do not have Ooma only cost pennies a minute to call through my Ooma.
I also like that it is an answering machine and is a stand alone unit so you do not need to keep a PC on all the time like Magic Jack requires. Also it works with your regular phone and you do not need a 'special' phone to use it.
I am thinking about getting the blue tooth option so I can route my cell phone calls to the home phone when I am at home so it will not burn through my cell minutes.
Oh, another tip, if you convert to Ooma, you can have Ooma run through your homes regular phone lines if you disconnect the telephone companies connection at the POTS box on the side of your house and run the Ooma phone wire to the regular phone outlet on the wall. All my regular (corded) and cordless phones in the house are active with Ooma so it acts and feels just like a land line.
Best Buy has the telo at a decent price as well so if you want to have instant gratification you can go there and have the 30 day return policy to get your money back right away if you decide it is not right for you.
Oh, another thing, I would stay away from Vonage, COX etc. They overcharge for what they provide (although not as bad as Ma Bell). There are way lower priced and better options out there.
I've tried a few of these many years ago (Packet8, Vonage) and was never impressed. It sounds like it might be time to try Ooma. 
Do either of you use 'HD' phones with Ooma? Their site makes it seem like there is a big difference in quality. We have a 9 year old Panasonic cordless phone system that has been working great for us. I'd like to continue using it without have to purchase new 'HD' phones.
Do either of you use 'HD' phones with Ooma? Their site makes it seem like there is a big difference in quality. We have a 9 year old Panasonic cordless phone system that has been working great for us. I'd like to continue using it without have to purchase new 'HD' phones.
we have vonage and are happy with it. my wife uses it as her business line and the nice thing is that we can take the adapter easily with us any where we go. she has had it across the US and even in europe with no problems
how big is the ooma box? the vonage adapter is about an inch wide and a 4x4 square.
how big is the ooma box? the vonage adapter is about an inch wide and a 4x4 square.
davenlei
New member
zovall said:I've tried a few of these many years ago (Packet8, Vonage) and was never impressed. It sounds like it might be time to try Ooma.
Do either of you use 'HD' phones with Ooma? Their site makes it seem like there is a big difference in quality. We have a 9 year old Panasonic cordless phone system that has been working great for us. I'd like to continue using it without have to purchase new 'HD' phones.
I have not used the Ooma HD handset so I don't know how much better the sound quality is. I think both sides need to be using the HD units to get the HD quality they talk about. I am using my old Panasonic cordless as well as some cheap generic corded phones and it works good enough for me.
My family in Japan actually had Vonage and complained the quality was a problem at times. That is why they switched to Ooma. They said it is so much better than their Vonage experience.
davenlei
New member
rkp said:
Well, the Ooma is not designed to be an ultra portable unit (but it can fit in luggage easily). It is made to look like a slick touch panel answering machine. I can't recall exactly how big it is but I would say it is approximately the size of a cordless phone answering machine base unit. The dimensions may be on the web site. I know Best Buy and I think Costco have a display unit you can look at for size.
I think there is another older model which is smaller but does not look as slick as the latest unit.
irvinehomeowner
Well-known member
I recall one of our staff using Vonage or something and the quality was pretty bad, there were dropouts, the robot voice and sometimes delays during our conference calls.
But that was a few years ago and back then, Internet coverage wasn't as wide and speedy as it is today. A friend of mine has Ooma and they also think it's great. Since currently, our phone service is Cox, which is similar to VOIP, I might as well save some money and try Ooma. We have one of those phone systems where you just need to connect the base phone to a "landline" and then all the cordless sets are connected so Ooma is perfect for that.
We rarely use our landline... we never answer the phone, just let it go to voicemail... almost considered just porting our home number to Google Voice and getting rid of the landline altogether. But since Ooma is so cheap, I guess we can try it out.
But that was a few years ago and back then, Internet coverage wasn't as wide and speedy as it is today. A friend of mine has Ooma and they also think it's great. Since currently, our phone service is Cox, which is similar to VOIP, I might as well save some money and try Ooma. We have one of those phone systems where you just need to connect the base phone to a "landline" and then all the cordless sets are connected so Ooma is perfect for that.
We rarely use our landline... we never answer the phone, just let it go to voicemail... almost considered just porting our home number to Google Voice and getting rid of the landline altogether. But since Ooma is so cheap, I guess we can try it out.
usctrojancpa
Well-known member
Can you send and receive faxes using Ooma?
davenlei
New member
Oh! I did want to point out that if you go VOIP (Ooma or other providers) and you have a monitored central alarm system, you need to check to see if your alarm company equipment is compatible with VOIP. Some are and some are not. My alarm equipment was not compatible so I had the alarm company add the cell unit to my alarm for less than $100 total one time charge.
zovall said:I've tried a few of these many years ago (Packet8, Vonage) and was never impressed. It sounds like it might be time to try Ooma.
Do either of you use 'HD' phones with Ooma? Their site makes it seem like there is a big difference in quality. We have a 9 year old Panasonic cordless phone system that has been working great for us. I'd like to continue using it without have to purchase new 'HD' phones.
I'm just using an ordinary wireless phone system. I think it's a Panasonic. But voice quality is good, and the cost per month for Ooma is something like $3.
So you can get Ooma with whatever number it comes with and test it. If it works out, you can port your current home number to it? And what would the cost be to port your current number?
edit - I stopped being lazy and looked it up on their site.
Want to keep your phone number?
Just pay a one-time porting fee of $39.99, or enjoy complimentary number porting with an annual subscription to Ooma Premier (only $9.99 per month).
edit - I stopped being lazy and looked it up on their site.
Want to keep your phone number?
Just pay a one-time porting fee of $39.99, or enjoy complimentary number porting with an annual subscription to Ooma Premier (only $9.99 per month).
irvinehusky
New member
I checked their Web site but couldn't find the answer. But what if you wanted a second telephone set, for instance in your master bedroom? Would you just have to get a wireless phone system with multiple handsets?
Has anyone ever tried dialing 911 through these things? I know it's supposed to work through E911. I have my phone service from Cox Cable so it's the same thing as far as 911 goes.
Has anyone ever tried dialing 911 through these things? I know it's supposed to work through E911. I have my phone service from Cox Cable so it's the same thing as far as 911 goes.
irvinehomeowner
Well-known member
I think davenlei said you could hook it up to your analog line and then it would feed to the other analog lines in your house. I know the Cox system can do that, I just have to disconnect the line at the box from the landline (your telephone lines run in a loop, so hooking up something that provides a signal will provide a signal to all the other lines on the loop).irvinehusky said:
davenlei
New member
irvinehomeowner said:
Correct, you disconnect your house phone wiring from the incoming phone co. lines at your POTS box on your house which is usually near your electrical breaker box. This is needed so if the phone company sends the 90 volt pulse down the phone wires (ringing pulse), it will not fry your Ooma.
If you then plug your Ooma phone output into the phone line wall outlet, it will energize all the phone outlets in the house to work with all the phones all over your house. That is what I have done and it works great. I have a corded phone in the kitchen, and master bathroom toilet as well as a cordless phone in the family room and master bedroom and they all work just like a regular phone (caller ID and all).
If you happen to still use DSL for your internet (I had this scenario for a while until I went cable modem), you will have to keep the phone company phone line connected at the POTS box but you will move the phone co. wires to your second pair of house phone wires (most house phone wiring have at least two pairs of wires and many newer homes have three pairs). At the connection you connect your DSL modem to the phone outlet, you will have to take the cover off the wall and change the jacks connection from the first pair to the second pair. This will allow you to keep your DSL connection and still allow you to energize your whole house for phone service with the Ooma and not worry about frying it.
Now if you have your DSL modem and Ooma near each other and there is only one phone jack available, you need to go to home depot and get a dual jack wall plate (usually they are a modular kit) and wire the first pair to one jack for the Ooma and wire the second pair to the second jack to connect the DSL modem. This will keep a clean look to your wall and connections.
If you have any questions on this because you want to do it or if you want pictures of what I have done, please let me know (ask in the thread so others can benefit as well).
Just if you are wondering, I am not a phone repair guy or anything. I am just one of those guys that can figure out most things by looking at it or doing a little research and thinking about how to get around a problem.
irvinehusky
New member
davenlei said:
Thank you very much for the detailed explanation.
I have Cox cable and phone service so I think my internal phone wiring must be disconnected from the telephone company right now. I remember the Cox tech made some modifications to my home phone wiring.
Your read my mind on my next question. My company pays for my Cox Internet and phone services right now but if (when) they cut that, I would seriously think about doing this. But I was thinking of getting something like DSL Extreme for Internet access, in which case, I probably need to reconnect the telephone network but use another pair for the internal phone lines like you are mentioning? Or, to make it simpler just keep the Internet from Cox?
If you have pictures of the work you did on the outside box, when you have some time, that would be greatly appreciated.
irvinehomeowner
Well-known member
DSL (at least where I'm at) will never be as fast as Cox so you may want to keep them for Internet.
Since you have the Cox phone service already, then they did do what davenlei explained and all you have to do is hook up Ooma to your phone jack.
The phone line work is fairly easy as each pair is color coded. You just need to remember which color goes to which if you ever decide to go that route. And maybe you'll be lucky and the builder of your home already hooked up at least two pairs (my home has 3... but I had to hook them up myself).
Since you have the Cox phone service already, then they did do what davenlei explained and all you have to do is hook up Ooma to your phone jack.
The phone line work is fairly easy as each pair is color coded. You just need to remember which color goes to which if you ever decide to go that route. And maybe you'll be lucky and the builder of your home already hooked up at least two pairs (my home has 3... but I had to hook them up myself).