VOIP SunRocket Internet Phone Service $199 for 15months = $13.27/month

[astrosfan90]

Okay, dumb question from a non-techie guy who's curious. What implications does the predefined IP for the gizmo have?

 

[Jlensbo]

It took a couple weeks of constant calling, but I finally got my signature number switched to a 757 area code (my main number is in the 302 area code)... HOORAY!!

The SR guy said that I could ADD the number and it would cost $3.00, but I wanted to SWITCH numbers (free). But now I'm wondering... would that $3.00 have been PER MONTH or would it have been a ONE TIME charge? Does anyone have more than one signature number who could answer this question? If it's a ONE TIME charge I would consider getting numbers for a few other states...

 

[SoulAssassin]

Originally posted by: Jlensbo


It took a couple weeks of constant calling, but I finally got my signature number switched to a 757 area code (my main number is in the 302 area code)... HOORAY!!

The SR guy said that I could ADD the number and it would cost $3.00, but I wanted to SWITCH numbers (free). But now I'm wondering... would that $3.00 have been PER MONTH or would it have been a ONE TIME charge? Does anyone have more than one signature number who could answer this question? If it's a ONE TIME charge I would consider getting numbers for a few other states...

I was told it's per month but after I transfered my Verizon number over I had 3 numbers for a month or two before I asked them to remove it and I was never charged.

 

[SoulAssassin]

Originally posted by: laketrout

But since that is more expensive, I think Amazon is the way to go at $28.99. Did you already get a giveanything.com GC because Amazon is also a rewards option?

True, I missed that, I'll probably go that route...sucks they took the phones off.

Forgive me for trolling but anyone else who is looking to sign up and isn't already being referred by anyone please PM me. Got points for one extra phone and would like to finish out the set. Thx!

 

[stockjock]

OK...got my stuff and it fired up right away with no problems and was able to talk. I do have one problem though...my outlook cannot read emails now. Can someone tell me why this might be? The Gizmo is in front of the router by the way.

Thanks

 

[ttown]

Originally posted by: astrosfan90
Okay, dumb question from a non-techie guy who's curious. What implications does the predefined IP for the gizmo have?

None. The "predefined IP" is from the "inside the network" perspective. The outward faciing IP is usually controlled by an up-stream DHCP server.

Originally posted by: stockjock
OK...got my stuff and it fired up right away with no problems and was able to talk. I do have one problem though...my outlook cannot read emails now. Can someone tell me why this might be? The Gizmo is in front of the router by the way.
Thanks

The gizmo is probably blocking port 25 (SMTP) and/or port 110 (MAPI). Try logging in and looking for port forwarding options.... Optionally, (and what I'd recommend) you can put the gizmo on the inside of your router and don't hang any PC off of the gizmo. If you move devices around, just remember to RESET everything starting with whatever is attached to your modem. If you did the later, you wouldn't have to change any other settings. If you did the former, your outlook would mysteriously "break" every time SR resets your gizmo.

hope that helps

 

[tomtrike]

Has any one tried this web site?

http://www.testmyvoip.com/index.html

I ran the test call to Boston with the "Preserve voice quality" option and received a score of 3.8.

How did you score?

tomtrike

 

[georgepa]

jlensbo-

Cool. Gotta love the recent expansion via Level 3. Signature numbers are $3 per month. Like SA I have read numerous times that after a port the extra signature number was never cancelled and SR never charged a dime for it (should have been an extra $3 per month.) Makes me regret calling in and cancelling my left-over signature number. They have the added functionality of having full voicemail and being user configurable as for blocked numbers, call forwarding, voicemail notification, etc.

 

[RideFree]

Yeah, I still have the three numbers.

 

[RideFree]

Originally posted by: tomtrike
Has any one tried this web site?

http://www.testmyvoip.com/index.html

I ran the test call to Boston with the "Preserve voice quality" option and received a score of 3.8.

How did you score?

tomtrike

4.2 to Iceland. "Almost as good as sliced bread!" :laugh:

 

[azoomee]

Just added a battery backup to mine -- found a 1400 VA backup. How do I figure out how long it will last with my modem, gizmo, and router?

 

[tomtrike]

RideFree said : 4.2 to Iceland. "Almost as good as sliced bread!"

-----

I wish I was doing as well. Today I sent this message to member services at SR:

"I have had trouble today with dropped calls. It has happened on THREE calls to different numbers. Always after about ten minutes. The VOIP light on my Gizmo MAC # **********889 goes out when this happens. I am only able to make another call after rebooting the cable modem and the Gizmo. When the VOIP light goes out on the Gizmo, I check the cable modem and its lights indicate that my connection is ok.

Any suggestions? This is very upsetting to be talking for ten minutes and hear a slight click and then find that your phone connection had failed."

I hope that someone has an answer.

My cable connection appears solid.

tomtrike

 

[Wolfsraider]

I had originally got in on this deal last year when it came out. for a month it sorta worked then for the next 4 months I always had to call them and reset the firware.

I never really used the phone as it was a pain in the arse to get working right. 5 support tickets went unanswered (they always promised me someone would be in touch the next day, I placed over 100 phone calls trying to get the numbers switched and these issues resolved) and months went by. I finally wrote off the service as a loss.

Then I got a email from them letting me know about cool new features blah, blah, blah.
I responded with a please close my account. They responded that I could only cancel my account over the phone. Fine. I waited the 20 minutes and got through finally. I promptly told the woman I wanted to cancel my account after verifying everything she tried to get me to not cancel. I responded "There is nothing you could offer me to keep me as a customer" after which she confirmed that the account was closed.

I recorded the conversation.

Imagine my suprise when I checked my email this evening;

Based on our records, one of our representatives was able to talk to you
regarding your intention to cancel your account. However, you ended up
accepting our apologies and the one month service credit that we offered.
We really appreciate it, Michael. Please let us know how else we may
assist you.


The original email I recieved:

Dear Michael,

First of all, I would like to apologize for the inconvenience that you have experienced when you have called member services. We are also reaffirming our commitment to you for better service and timely response as we are firm believers of good customer service and rest assured that this inconvenience will not happen again.

We are very sorry for being a cause on your confusion regarding cancellation procedure. We understand that it is inconvenient for most of our customers to call member services to cancel their account, but SunRocket has no intentions of making it difficult for our customers to cancel their account. However, we would want to protect our customers against fraud and identity theft incidence, that is why we only take cancellations via phone.

I am very sorry if we have to put you through this procedure but we are doing this for our own customers' sake. Thank you for understanding our stand on this matter.

I am headed over to file a complaint with the better business bureau.

Mike

 

[ttown]

Wolfsraiden... wow...
As much as I like SR and my experience has been good... if that happened to me, I wouldn't quit until that customer service rep got axed.

BBB does get companies attention. I went through ~6 months of billing errors with Qwest before I resorted to the BBB. By then, I collected names and written promises that my billing errors would end -- so I had plenty of evidence. As a problem resolution, I wrote [synopsis] "Either stop billing me, or pay me $5000 for continued harrassment."
They elected to stop billing me.

 

[Wolfsraider]

I have filed the complaint. And to think I was willing to take the loss and move on. All I wanted was for them to cancel my account.

Mike

 

[tomtrike]

More on my dropped calls.

I was in contact with the help desk in the Phillipines today. A tech named Jeff said that I needed a firmware update on the Innomedia Gizmo. He immediately sent it and I saw the "Run" led indicate the download by turning orange for a few minutes, then back to green.

A follow-up e-mail from member services stated that I may have to resort to Dynamic Rate Limiting if the problem of dropped calls continues after this firmware update.

tomtrike

 

[astrosfan90]

Originally posted by: ttown

Originally posted by: astrosfan90
Okay, dumb question from a non-techie guy who's curious. What implications does the predefined IP for the gizmo have?

None. The "predefined IP" is from the "inside the network" perspective. The outward faciing IP is usually controlled by an up-stream DHCP server.

Ahh, okay. Thanks ttown!

Still a bit new to this technical stuff. Blame it on my growing up using only Macs and the fact that I didn't have to learn anything new to install SunRocket.

 

[SoulAssassin]

Originally posted by: azoomee
Just added a battery backup to mine -- found a 1400 VA backup. How do I figure out how long it will last with my modem, gizmo, and router?

<capt obvious>Plug everything into the UPS and then unplug the UPS from the wall.</capt obvious>

 

[azoomee]

Originally posted by: SoulAssassin

Originally posted by: azoomee
Just added a battery backup to mine -- found a 1400 VA backup. How do I figure out how long it will last with my modem, gizmo, and router?

<capt obvious>Plug everything into the UPS and then unplug the UPS from the wall.</capt obvious>

Uhh, yeah -- thats the brute force method. Wasn't sure if any of you super-smart people could figure it out with a calculator or ???

 

[RideFree]

Originally posted by: azoomee

Originally posted by: SoulAssassin

Originally posted by: azoomee
Just added a battery backup to mine -- found a 1400 VA backup. How do I figure out how long it will last with my modem, gizmo, and router?

<capt obvious>Plug everything into the UPS and then unplug the UPS from the wall.</capt obvious>

Uhh, yeah -- thats the brute force method. Wasn't sure if any of you super-smart people could figure it out with a calculator or ???

Sure, if we had the wattage of everything that you have plugged into your UPS.
Of course, then, so could you. Teach a man to fish...

You'll also need to know that the measurement of electrical power that is computed by multiplying volts times amps. (i.e. your 1400 VA UPS)
In a DC circuit, volt-amps (VA) and watts are the same because DC circuits do not add inductance and capacitance that take away power. In AC devices, volt-amps ratings are higher than watts. For example, in an uninterruptible power supply (UPS), the volt-amps rating is approximately 60% higher than the actual wattage.

i.e. 1400 x 60% = about 840 watts.
Now, take the total of the combined load (stuff you have plugged in) and divide 840 by that number and you will have... (sorry, this is now beyond my limited abilities. You'll have to do the higher math yourself).

 

[RideFree]

I might add that you can not factor in every watt that shows mathematically.
At some point, the losses have to be factored in and will diminish a true math equation result into a practical quantity.
Edited to include an approach to practicality called: An approximation.

 

[georgepa]

tomtrike-

So, has the update taken care of it? If not, I listed the best way to tweak your DLR settings a few pages back. Remember to put in as the DLR value your exact UPLOAD bandwidth (as listed by your ISP.)

 

[tomtrike]

georgepa-

I seem to be ok now. VOIP light has been on steady since the firmware update. Calls have been stable.

SR service suggested setting the DLR at 90K less than the slowest upload speed noted. I'm glad to see that you suggest the exact upload spec from my ISP. I'd hate to set it at 350-90K. 384 I could live with.

For now I'll wait and see if the dropped calls are cured.

tomtrike

 

[SuperBacon]

Well im up and running with SR. Had to put the Gizmo behind the router. It wouldnt work putting it between the router and modem like the install instructions stated.

Voice sounds pretty good, especially since i know its much cheaper. Still waiting on my phone # porting over, but that should be done by the 30th.

Once you SR, you never look back!

 

[azoomee]

Originally posted by: RideFree

Originally posted by: azoomee

Originally posted by: SoulAssassin

Originally posted by: azoomee
Just added a battery backup to mine -- found a 1400 VA backup. How do I figure out how long it will last with my modem, gizmo, and router?

<capt obvious>Plug everything into the UPS and then unplug the UPS from the wall.</capt obvious>

Uhh, yeah -- thats the brute force method. Wasn't sure if any of you super-smart people could figure it out with a calculator or ???

Sure, if we had the wattage of everything that you have plugged into your UPS.
Of course, then, so could you. Teach a man to fish...

You'll also need to know that the measurement of electrical power that is computed by multiplying volts times amps. (i.e. your 1400 VA UPS)
In a DC circuit, volt-amps (VA) and watts are the same because DC circuits do not add inductance and capacitance that take away power. In AC devices, volt-amps ratings are higher than watts. For example, in an uninterruptible power supply (UPS), the volt-amps rating is approximately 60% higher than the actual wattage.

i.e. 1400 x 60% = about 840 watts.
Now, take the total of the combined load (stuff you have plugged in) and divide 840 by that number and you will have... (sorry, this is now beyond my limited abilities. You'll have to do the higher math yourself).

Thanks Ride Free -- makes MUCH More sense now.