VoIP

[ManBearPig]

deleted

 

[RossMAN]

In order of worst to best:

1) http://www.magicjack.com/

2) http://www.nettalk.com/

3) http://wwww.ooma.com/

4) ObiHai + Google Voice = Pure Win

 

[Mixolydian]

My parents use Vonage and have never had a problem with it.

 

[RossMAN]

My parents use Vonage and have never had a problem with it.

I knew I forgot one, here's my amended ranking:

1) http://www.magicjack.com/

2) http://www.nettalk.com/

3) Vonage

4) http://wwww.ooma.com/

5) ObiHai + Google Voice = Pure Win

...

Profit?

 

[Iron Woode]

I use nettalk duo because, unlike MagicJack, I can get a local Canadian number.

It works fine for me.

 

[DnetMHZ]

We've had an Ooma for years, no issues.

 

[KK]

I knew I forgot one, here's my amended ranking:

1) http://www.magicjack.com/

2) http://www.nettalk.com/

3) Vonage

4) http://wwww.ooma.com/

5) ObiHai + Google Voice = Pure Win

...

Profit?

Vonage??? for real? that's almost as bad as a lec. I have voip.ms for 2 years, and it's been decent, no issues. So far it's averaging monthly just under 8 dollars.

 

[AnonymouseUser]

Vonage??? for real? that's almost as bad as a lec. I have voip.ms for 2 years, and it's been decent, no issues. So far it's averaging monthly just under 8 dollars.

Voip.ms has been great for me as well, averaging $16/month for home and business line on two Obihai adapters. While Obihai's adapters are a cinch to setup, Voip.ms isn't quite so easy, so if you are new to VoIP you may want to look elsewhere.

Google Voice is a backup that rarely gets used for anything other than texting.

EDIT >> DSLReports' The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

 

[Anonemous]

Used GV + Obihai for about almost 2 years. Works well but there are snags (firmware updates) which require the box to be reset every now and then. Just converted a landline to GV and it took 3 days, a sim card, old cell phone and $20. Goodbye AT&T landline (was being charged $40/mo for basic service (no long distance, 60 calls/month, no caller id, no call waiting etc)).

 

[Red Squirrel]

just remember with voip you still need an internet connection and you wont be getting the -48vdc power when the power goes out, so it's up to you to have proper battery/generator backup so you don't lose your phone during a power outage.

 

[tokie]

I have used VoIP.ms for 5 years and have nothing but positive things to say about them.

I even ported and kept my cell phone number after moving countries.

 

[AnonymouseUser]

The other thing to keep in mind is that Google Voice and Skype don't have E911, but the other VoIP providers do. If possible, keep your modem, router, and phone adapter on a battery backup to give you temporary phone service during a power outage.

 

[Texashiker]

My wife and I have been on vonage for close to 4 years. Only problem is when the net goes down.

No more outrageous phone bills.

 

[arch113]

I just got an email from ooma saying my warranty is about to expire. I am not required to have warranty on the device to continue to use omma, right?

 

[AnonymouseUser]

I just got an email from ooma saying my warranty is about to expire. I am not required to have warranty on the device to continue to use omma, right?

I don't know but I would certainly hope not. This does bring up an point worth noting: Ooma requires their expensive proprietary devices to work while not being any cheaper than other VoIP providers. So without the warranty, you'd be forced to replace the Ooma device with another Ooma device if your current adapter died, else you can't continue to use Ooma. Vonage is similar but with cheaper hardware and more expensive service.

While that simplifies things, it also locks you into their service. With an adapter like the Obihai Obi100/110, Linksys PAP2T, or any of the dozens of other adapters on the market, you can easily switch to another VoIP provider at anytime. In fact, you can even use two providers at the same time (eg, Voip.ms on line 1, Google Voice on line 2). Softphones are possible as well, meaning you can use your Smartphone or PC and never need to purchase a VoIP adapter at all.

 

[ManBearPig]

deleted

 

[crashtestdummy]

Question: how much are these on average per month? Thanks for the great replies guys!

My folks have had ooma for about a year now with few complaints. For a single line it's like $4/month in taxes and fees.

 

[Paulson]

Well straight talk has a home phone now (just runs off of verizon cell towers) for $15 a month but you have to buy the $99 receiver.

I've used Vonage through my cell phone (over wifi, get 3000 minutes free per month and don't have to have an account) and it works great. Gets a little iffy on a 3G network but great over the wifi.

 

[lxskllr]

I don't have it, but I'm most interested in MagicJack. It has mixed reports of quality, but if it does work, it doesn't get much cheaper. If it doesn't work, you aren't out much money.

 

[ManBearPig]

deleted

 

[tokie]

Wow, a few bucks a month is not bad at all.

Is one option to port our number to google voice and use it through our cell phone?

I use VoIP.ms and can use it over 3G/4G on my cell phone using any VoIP app. There is no perceptible delay in my voice unless I am in a tunnel or have terrible signal (in which case my voice over circuit-switching would be bad too).

You can definitely port to whatever VoIP provider you want, although I don't know about Google Voice.

 

[ManBearPig]

deleted

 

[BrokenVisage]

Ooma Jerry.. Ooma!

 

[mmntech]

just remember with voip you still need an internet connection and you wont be getting the -48vdc power when the power goes out, so it's up to you to have proper battery/generator backup so you don't lose your phone during a power outage.

Yep, smart idea to have a UPS on your router and modem. Which is something I need to do. Of course if you have a cell phone it doesn't matter.

I have VOIP through my ISP. Bit of static with them but good call quality. It's nice to have unlimited Canada and US calling.

 

[Anonemous]

How is call quality for these things? According to reviews, some people say it's great, others say it's horrible. Ooma looks pretty good so far. The obihai seems a bit more complicated.

Edit: obihai seems really complicated, I have no idea how it works lol.

Obihai has a great guide for setting up google voice for their devices.

http://www.obihai.com/googlevoiceFAQ.html

Call quality is dependent on your internet speeds. I was getting clear calls with 1.5Mb download/ 384Kbps DSL.

It does seem complex but all you do is setup a new Google voice account first (don't want to use a Google account that is being actively used for chat/email) and enter the info into the Obihai webpage which controls your Obitalk device.

Another option would be to port your old number to Google voice and use it with your cell phone/smartphone. That takes some steps but there are lots of guides out there on how to do it. You would need an unused cell phone (and sim card depending on provider). And you just call up the cell provider and request you want to port your landline. I used Tmobile since they have a pay as you go plan and they sell sim cards for 2-3$ when it goes on sale. Once that is done, you request on the GV web site that you want to port a cell phone number to your google account, pay $20 and wait a day or two.