Switch from Vonage to Skype for home line?

[aphex]

I've been tossing around the idea of switching from Vonage to Skype for my home line for awhile now. Vonage has been very reliable for me in the 4-5 years i've had it, maybe 1 day of downtime ever which isn't bad at all. My issues with Vonage of late is the call quality, its just gone drastically downhill for me. The line sounds very static and sometimes even when the calls connect it takes 2-3 seconds before you can hear each other. I thought about getting a new vonage box, but I like the idea that skype can also work with me anywhere (my iPhone, my laptop, etc).

Right now, with taxes, we pay about $23-$25/mo for Vonage (500 min/mo plan with a moderate amount of calls to Costa Rica). That works out to about $288/yr.

Skype would be; $30/yr for unlimited calls, $30/yr for Skype-In (Online Number) = $60/yr total. Calls to Costa Rica are the same as vonage, $0.08/min, but our family down there has skype as well so it would be free. Only downside is that I would need to buy a new Skype compatible phone system and we would lose E911, though we would program the local emergency # into speed dial like we have with Vonage.

Opinions?

 

[aphex]

bump!

 

[HopJokey]

Do you also have a cell phone(s)?

I currently use Skype for business needs and it works great. Call quality is superb.

Edit: I notice you have an iPhone so maybe you don't need the 911 feature since you got your cell?

 

[aphex]

Originally posted by: HopJokey
Do you also have a cell phone(s)?

I currently use Skype for business needs and it works great. Call quality is superb.

Edit: I notice you have an iPhone so maybe you don't need the 911 feature since you got your cell?

Yea, 911 isn't a big deal for us here, so its not a dealbreaker. We both always have our cell phones on us.

 

[funboy6942]

SKYPE FTW

 

[rise]

skype is great, just gotta get the right phone

 

[paulney]

I was reading reviews on the Skype WiFi phone at Amazon... Seems overall a pretty good deal.

 

[OverVolt]

MAGIC JACK

 

[Pliablemoose]

1 year with Skype as a home phone now, I have this phone and an additional handset.

Evidently that phone is out of production, but still available, with a new version, not necessarily from the same manufacturer coming soon supposedly.

I don't see the favorable reviews of the WiFi phones, and have been waiting for a 2nd or 3rd generation to come out.

About every 3 months or so I have to reset it, but for $6/month & unlimited US calls I'm a happy camper

eBay has Skype for sale, they've lost their asses on it because they paid too much for it, Skype does have a positive cash flow, just not nearly enough to make up for what eBay paid for them.

 

[robphelan]

i've had packet8 VOIP for the past year... mostly happy with it..

I do have some problems but not sure if it's because of the router(DIR-655) or what.

Port Forwarding looks good, but sometimes I can't make outgoing calls (incoming will work).. When I reboot the router, it works fine.

I'm thinking about jumping to skype when my 1yr contract is up.. i need to research a bit more, though.

 

[aphex]

Thanks everybody. My vonage sound quality has gone down the shitter even more these past few days.

One question - Does Skypeout support Caller-ID? (When I call someone via Skype, can they see my skype-in number?)

 

[HopJokey]

Originally posted by: aphex
Thanks everybody. My vonage sound quality has gone down the shitter even more these past few days.

One question - Does Skypeout support Caller-ID? (When I call someone via Skype, can they see my skype-in number?)

Yep, a recent addition for US users! Just go to your preferences and you can enable people seeing your number on Caller ID when you call with your Skype-In number.

For a while this was the only downside for Skype. No one wanted to pick up our calls because of the funky number or unknown number it would show on someone's caller ID. Now since this has been fixed/changed I am one happy camper.

 

[HopJokey]

BTW I paid $53.99 for one year of Skype-In and Skype-Out. That equals $4.5/month.

Also another thing you should know about Skype-Out is that it technically isn't "unlimited". Due to some "fair-use" laws you are limited to 10,000 minutes a month. I don't see that as a major problem but you never know...

Edit: In a 30 day month there are 24 * 60 * 30 = 43,200 minutes. So you would have to be making calls for about 25% of all time during the month to hit the limit.

 

[Vette73]

Originally posted by: aphex
Thanks everybody. My vonage sound quality has gone down the shitter even more these past few days.

One question - Does Skypeout support Caller-ID? (When I call someone via Skype, can they see my skype-in number?)

Have you checked your internet connection? Do a speed test and also try another phone, i.e. non-cordless.

My wife had some issues with her vonage and it turned out to be a bad FIOS box.

 

[UTmtnbiker]

Another option if you're a T-Mobile customer. We just switched from Vonage (500 minute plan) to T-Mobile's VOIP service, which is unlimited. Like you, with Vonage and all the taxes and fees, we were coming up around $25/month for 500 minutes. Once we switched to TMO's VOIP service, we're paying $11.44 with all fees, and it's unlimited, and we still get E911.

Call quality has been better, although we need to reset the router about once a month (not sure if it's the VOIP box or our Internet, as we just switched from cable to DSL). Of course, the other kicker is now that our home phone line is a Tmobile number, all of our calls home from our cell are free. We burn about 4000 minutes per month on our cell phones, so every free minute helps!

Not as cheap as Skype, but over half off of Vonage and the flexibility of using any phone still.

 

[aphex]

Originally posted by: HopJokey

Originally posted by: aphex
Thanks everybody. My vonage sound quality has gone down the shitter even more these past few days.

One question - Does Skypeout support Caller-ID? (When I call someone via Skype, can they see my skype-in number?)

Yep, a recent addition for US users! Just go to your preferences and you can enable people seeing your number on Caller ID when you call with your Skype-In number.

For a while this was the only downside for Skype. No one wanted to pick up our calls because of the funky number or unknown number it would show on someone's caller ID. Now since this has been fixed/changed I am one happy camper.

Awesome, thanks!

 

[Cerpin Taxt]

It isn't too difficult nor expensive to build a Linux machine dedicated to running as a Skype server, and (with a MagicJack-like device) you can tap it into your home's phone wiring so that you can still use all the phone jacks in your house with normal phone hardware.

http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/8592

 

[aphex]

Originally posted by: Marlin1975

Originally posted by: aphex
Thanks everybody. My vonage sound quality has gone down the shitter even more these past few days.

One question - Does Skypeout support Caller-ID? (When I call someone via Skype, can they see my skype-in number?)

Have you checked your internet connection? Do a speed test and also try another phone, i.e. non-cordless.

My wife had some issues with her vonage and it turned out to be a bad FIOS box.

Connection is fine, its the vonage box or service. We have a 15mb down, 2mb up connection and everything else seems to be working full speed.

 

[aphex]

Originally posted by: UTmtnbiker
Another option if you're a T-Mobile customer. We just switched from Vonage (500 minute plan) to T-Mobile's VOIP service, which is unlimited. Like you, with Vonage and all the taxes and fees, we were coming up around $25/month for 500 minutes. Once we switched to TMO's VOIP service, we're paying $11.44 with all fees, and it's unlimited, and we still get E911.

Call quality has been better, although we need to reset the router about once a month (not sure if it's the VOIP box or our Internet, as we just switched from cable to DSL). Of course, the other kicker is now that our home phone line is a Tmobile number, all of our calls home from our cell are free. We burn about 4000 minutes per month on our cell phones, so every free minute helps!

Not as cheap as Skype, but over half off of Vonage and the flexibility of using any phone still.

We have AT&T, so its not an option unfortunately.

 

[aphex]

One last question - What happens if you have multiple devices on with the same name? Does it ring at all locations at once?

Ex/ If I have a skype home phone and i'm signed onto skype on my laptop as well at the same time.

 

[zoiks]

I use packet8 and so far its worked superbly for me.

 

[zoiks]

Originally posted by: robphelan
i've had packet8 VOIP for the past year... mostly happy with it..

I do have some problems but not sure if it's because of the router(DIR-655) or what.

Port Forwarding looks good, but sometimes I can't make outgoing calls (incoming will work).. When I reboot the router, it works fine.

I'm thinking about jumping to skype when my 1yr contract is up.. i need to research a bit more, though.

Could be your router. What are you using for a handset? Is it a cordless phone?

If you are using a wireless router, you would need to have a 5.8ghz phone or something that works on a different freq. Routers usually work on 2.4ghz and that causes immense issues with the phone quality. I learnt the hard way. Went through like 3 different new phones before I found out. Switched to 5.8ghz and everything became sweet.

 

[aphex]

Packet8 seems to be the same price though, so if i switch I would like to try and save some money.

Skype works out to about $5.50/mo

 

[robphelan]

Originally posted by: zoiks

Originally posted by: robphelan
i've had packet8 VOIP for the past year... mostly happy with it..

I do have some problems but not sure if it's because of the router(DIR-655) or what.

Port Forwarding looks good, but sometimes I can't make outgoing calls (incoming will work).. When I reboot the router, it works fine.

I'm thinking about jumping to skype when my 1yr contract is up.. i need to research a bit more, though.

Could be your router. What are you using for a handset? Is it a cordless phone?

If you are using a wireless router, you would need to have a 5.8ghz phone or something that works on a different freq. Routers usually work on 2.4ghz and that causes immense issues with the phone quality. I learnt the hard way. Went through like 3 different new phones before I found out. Switched to 5.8ghz and everything became sweet.

P8 gave me a free Uniden 5.8 Ghz phone - UIP 160P...

I posted a question on their customer forum the other day about this.. the next afternoon, I was surprised that someone from Tech Support called me.

I explained my setup:

cable modem -> 4 port router
router line 1 to PC
router line 2 to 8 port switch
router line 3 to printer
router line 4 open

switch line 1 to modded xbox
switch line 2 to P8 phone
switch line 3-7 to separate rooms througout the house

he said the switch is most likely causing the problem & I should move the P8 phone directly after the router. I did that about 5 days ago & so far everything is going well.

 

[Cerpin Taxt]

D-Link DPH-50U Skype USB Phone Adapter - $4.74 + Free Ship After $10 Rebate