Ooma Telo VoIP Home Phone System: $109.99 AR @staples

[Zap]

Ive blacklisted all those annoying DirectTv/Cable/annoying donation companies too. Its easy to get rid of them forever I dont recall the last time I got an annoying tele marketer.

You mean you don't get those "cardholder services" calls from spoofed caller ID? D:

Definitely get the plus version though as the original wasn't well reviewed.
...
Also the MJ website and account management site is the most God-Awful-annoying-in-your-face-buy-more-stuff-from-us website in the world. Just be warned.

I haven't used MJ+ but still have the original kicking around here somewhere (I let it expire). It didn't work too well for me, with some voice quality issues plus some issues with the software not working right (which wouldn't affect MJ+).

And yeah, their web site is first and foremost a TV-infomercial-on-a-page.

 

[Mitch101]

Zap,

No I dont appear to.

I dont recall the last time I heard from a telemarketer and I dont get cardholder services which I assume is the credit card company calling me marketing their BS.

I believe and I could be wrong is that Ooma looks at the numbers being blacklisted by thier users and determines who might be annoying there is an option i have selected Enable Community Blacklist - Matching calls should get - Call Blocked Message And I have my personal blacklist which sends them to voicemail and they never leave a message. I also have Enable Anonymous call block enabled.

We get no interruptions.

 

[hellfire88]

None with Ooma but I've been using MJ+ now for about a year and a half for my home business line as I frequently make long distance calls. I've been pretty happy with it and it has worked out really well. Bought a 2nd one for my residential line.

Definitely get the plus version though as the original wasn't well reviewed. The plus version doesn't require a computer except for initial setup. After that you just plug it into the wall, your router and phone and your done.

It isn't perfect but then again neither was the landline service from my cable provider. The most reliable IMHO was POTS from the telephone company. Also the MJ website and account management site is the most God-Awful-annoying-in-your-face-buy-more-stuff-from-us website in the world. Just be warned.

Thanks for the feedback, I'm leaning towards the Magic Jack Plus now simply because its cheaper (only $40 for the hardware if you consider that the $70 purchase price comes with 1yr of service valued at $30) and I won't be using this VOIP landline much (more as a backup).

 

[MontyAC]

If you want cheap, then check out an obi100 and hook it up with google voice. I have the ooma and obi and both work extremely well.

 

[p_monks33]

Do any of these VOIP companies support alarm systems? I have cox cable phon that is a VOIP as far as I know. I never , I mean never make calls, I keep it and pay 24 dollars a month just so our home alarm can call out. Any cheaper solutions?

 

[Zap]

Zap,

No I dont appear to.

I dont recall the last time I heard from a telemarketer and I dont get cardholder services which I assume is the credit card company calling me marketing their BS.

I believe and I could be wrong is that Ooma looks at the numbers being blacklisted by thier users and determines who might be annoying there is an option i have selected Enable Community Blacklist - Matching calls should get - Call Blocked Message And I have my personal blacklist which sends them to voicemail and they never leave a message. I also have Enable Anonymous call block enabled.

We get no interruptions.

I may have to try that Anonymous call block.

I do use the community blacklist, but the caller ID is spoofed so it didn't do any good.

FTC cuts off 'Rachel from Cardholder Services'

Maybe that's why the calls are less frequent now, and a bit different. Now instead of "this is XYZ from cardholder services" (not always Rachel) I get the "we are calling about your current credit card, don't worry your account is in good standing but we can lower your rates..." I think whoever is behind the companies that were busted probably just opened up new shell companies.

 

[Pheran]

Now $100 at Costco, no rebate.

 

[haggggler]

These are very nice set and forget devices. I prefer the Obihai OBI100. $39 at The egg

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16833617001

 

[hellfire88]

Ended up getting the MagicJack Plus since Radioshack is having it on sale at $49.99 ($20 off regular price) and it includes 1 year of service ($29.99 / yr). So I saved around $70 on the device and will save around $1.20/mo which is good for me since I don't think I'll be using this VoIP much (more for a backup).

 

[Mitch101]

Doesn't Magic Jack plus require you leave your PC running all the time? I also read that it monitors your internet activity.

I like Ooma being stand alone like a router no PC needs to be running.

 

[hellfire88]

Doesn't Magic Jack plus require you leave your PC running all the time? I also read that it monitors your internet activity.

I like Ooma being stand alone like a router no PC needs to be running.

The MagicJack Plus does not require a PC to be running

The old/original model did though.

 

[Mitch101]

The MagicJack Plus does not require a PC to be running

The old/original model did though.

Did not know that will be interesting to hear how you like it.

 

[RossMAN]

Just about my exact impression -

Zap,

No I dont appear to.

I dont recall the last time I heard from a telemarketer and I dont get cardholder services which I assume is the credit card company calling me marketing their BS.

I believe and I could be wrong is that Ooma looks at the numbers being blacklisted by thier users and determines who might be annoying there is an option i have selected Enable Community Blacklist - Matching calls should get - Call Blocked Message And I have my personal blacklist which sends them to voicemail and they never leave a message. I also have Enable Anonymous call block enabled.

We get no interruptions.

Community Blacklist is only availble to premier subscribers?

In your opinion, is premier really worth it? We didn't port in a number.

How many of the features do you actually use? Which features rock and you could not live without?

 

[kmmatney]

I've always used premier service, so not sure how much better the voice quality if over regular service. The main features I really like with premier are

* Forward voice mail through email as an attachment. We rarely have to check the Ooma device for messages, as they already get emailed to us. I think with teh regular service you can still log into the website and check voice mail.

* Second line - can be useful at times

* Blacklists - community and personal. You can log into the web sites after someone calls, go to the call list, and blacklist numbers from there. It does help, and I'm getting a lot fewer spam calls than I used to from local charities.

* Backup number - calls get forwarded to a cell phone if your internet is down.

I could live without these features, so if you really want to spend as little as possible, the regular service should be fine.

 

[Crow550]

Obi100 (110 or 202 is also available) + Google Voice is pretty solid.

I helped someone transfer there old landline to Google Voice + Obi100 and now all the spam callers they use to get (the number is also registered at donotcall.gov) are now filtered with G-Voice's spam filtering. Call Quality is good too.

Did only 3 minor tweaks to boost the mic db and decrease the speaker db as well as set the device to 100mb full duplex.

Has all the snazzy features that Ooma Premier offers with some nice extras.

You can either add in e911 service for around $12 a year (they offer other e911 services too) or use a cell phone (doesn't have to be active) and or link it with a landline phone that links cell phones via Bluetooth.

Best bet is to take a peek at the Obi forums.

I'd use an Obi device too. However I just use Groove IP with my cell at Home.

 

[Brent]

I've been an Ooma customer for over 3 years now. It's a phenomenal offering with a ton of options and expansion functions available to it. I use an Ooma Linx to provide a remote telephone jack for my Canon MP830's fax function. My parents use the Ooma Linx to provide a remote telephone line for their home alarm system (and yes, alarm systems do seem to work reliably with Ooma - you just have to make sure that you configure things via the https://my.ooma.com website.

The community Blacklist as well as the personal Blacklist which allow me to only allow incoming calls from people and/or companies that we choose to allow through.

 

[Tedtalker1]

I just bought the Obi100 from Amazon for 37 bucks and free shipping. I'm going to try it out with Google Voice and if all goes well I'll cancel my Vonage. This purchase will pay for itself in two months. Thank you OP for all the info I have gained from this thread.

 

[QueBert]

I use premier, the 2nd line's nice, and the call forwarding is awesome. I never give out my cell number just my Ooma one. The blacklist works very well, I can't remember the time I got a random telemarketer call.