Anyone using an OOMA VOIP?

[high_revs]

ooma user here since october 2010. the taxes did go up from 3.47/month to now a whooping 4.02/month.

works pretty well. they'll ask for your address for 911 purposes since i guess PD can't track a VOIP number to an address.

Fax capability might be a hit or miss. I gotten mine to work in my current location and the past one with same internet provider. no special configuration needed though there are suggestions out there if you have a hard time faxing. i use only 1 line service, not 2 but you can have 2 if you want to.

you can't just press flash/hang up and expect to get a dialtone immediately. sometimes there is a lag and the system thinks you are trying to access the 2nd line (which it'll remind you that it is not available for you). just hang up phone, wait 2-3 seconds, then pick up to dial again.

i got the bluetooth option also but frankly, that would only be for answering calls. can't really dial out. i did get the ooma headset option also. expect the battery to go kaput in 3 years or so. i got the battery replaced at batteriesplus or something like that (local) for like $14.

you can use any telephone/cordless system. it works on my panasonics. i just got the ooma headset since that was the costco deal back then. but if you already have a cordless system, you don't need to. i don't use the ooma voicemail system since i have a regular answering machine. just had to configure ooma to pick up many, many rings later so my answering machine picks up first.

if you have a fax (and this issue i've not been able to figure out yet), someone calling you may seem like data coming in. so fax will pick up. it's not a consistent problem for me. but sometimes fax suddenly gives the tone trying to pick up.

i've gotten my money back many times over from even the cheapest at&t local phone.

caveat... this is obviously dependent on your internet. if your internet goes down, you have no telephone capability. some people forget this little but critical fact. so you'll probably want a backup (cell) in case of an emergency.

[dyson]

Been using ooma for 4+ yrs. grabbed myself an old Ooma Hub that registers as tax free. Havent paid a dime since purchase. Works great too.

[Ricky-Ray]

Side question. The Ooma cordless handset just configures to the hub right? No other items necessary?

[pc_load_letter]

Something with your Vonage statement doesn't add up to me. I have the 9.99 service and my monthly bill is always a shade over $17.

You can log onto the web interface and clearly see what all the charges are.

I broke down the features\price comparison to OOMA and Vonage always comes out ahead.

I've been very happy with the service since 2008ish.

[high_revs]

no other items. it connects to the hub only. it just sits on a charger base and that's it.

i don't know if they make it yet, but i've always wanted them to make a handset that can connect to a bluetooth headset.

i can't seem to find wireless headsets that allow pairing to a bluetooth headset. but this search was done early last year and just gave up on it.

Side question. The Ooma cordless handset just configures to the hub right? No other items necessary?

[TacFan]

i have ooma but pay $0 for it. I got in on the non-tax ooma hub thingy

[snypr]

Been using it for 3+ years and absolutely love it....so far save me $2530-ish...id do it again in a heartbeat. I have the Ooma, cable modem & router all on UPS as well....has kept everything up so far...only had 2 outages so far though..

[sholling]

I've had the original (now discontinued, no fees or taxes) Ooma for about 5 years and although I don't use it a lot it's been flawless when I do use it. They do collect taxes on those using their newer models but the fact that they've keep their word and not tried to bill those of us with older devices speaks volumes about their business ethics. That said their deal is for the life of the device and when it dies I'll have to pay for a new Ooma box and government fees and taxes will apply to it.

The way I use my Ooma device is what makes it so convenient. When I switched to FIOS fiber optics Verizon cut the copper phone wires going from their central office to my house. The fact that the household copper is not connected to the outside world allows me to plug the Ooma box's "phone outlet" straight into a phone wall jack which lets me make and receive calls on any phone plugged into any and every wall jack in any and every room of the house - just like normal telco phone service. No computer or additional boxes required. If you can't use it that way then much of the convenience factor is reduced. Since I have unlimited cellular minutes I'm not sure I'll bother to update to the new version if I had to use their wireless handsets (poor reviews). Note I keep my Ooma and my FIOs router on a hefty UPSes to ensure service during power outages.

The second thing Oomas are known for is low bandwidth usage which is important if you have slowish broadband going into the new PC Ranch.

Before I had Ooma I depended on Vonage to talk long distance an hour or so a day with sick and dying (cancer) family members and it was mostly ok - most of the time. There were occasional outages but not all that often, but tech support was English challenged and clueless. What really sucked was the pain they put me through to cancel the service. Cancellations were routed to a separate slooooow boat to India queue and it took me almost 90 minutes, mostly on hold, but included 15-20 arguing with an English challenged customer service rep to get through that I really did want to cancel my service. Canceling my father's service after his death was another horror story. I'd rather use 2 soup cans and a string then deal with Vonage again, although they are supposed to have great international plans.

[RoundEye]

I have one of the newer boxes (as I pay taxes ($3.XX/Mo)). I have it connected the same way you do plugged into one jack and it powers the whole house. The only issues I've had with it have been the result of an internet outage caused by the douchbags at Time Warner Cable.

I got it at Costco a few years back when they had a sale around Christmas time.

[nerdyvirgin]

Ive had Ooma for about 3 yrs, my monthly fee ranges from $5.35 to $5.60 a month, its also not truly unlimited free minutes, my oldest kid went phone yapping and Ooma sent email saying I would automatically be switched to business line since my usage was not consistent with residential use. Went over 5000 minutes a month for 2 months, emailed them resolved issue kicked my kid off the house phone. Good quality if you hookup modem to Ooma then to router, if just from router or use wifi then minor issues. Well worth the money to get it.

[gobler]

I use Voipo. I pay $18 monthly (for now) for unlimited calls nation wide. I can also "create" phone numbers for extra lines. When I do sign a six month or yearly contract the bill drops to $9.99/ month..


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