Want to drop landline and switch to Obi. Clueless!
LTN1:
Though I'm certainly not in his expertise league, I would agree with Steve's recommendation if you want an easy to use VoIP telephone solution. Consider even Ooma if you just want plug and play with e911--though there will be a monthly tax amount of roughly $4 even if the Ooma service is free to use (after buying the equipment of course).
While the OBi is quite easy to use for many of us, I have seen a handful of people have really hard issues--be it a conflict with their cable modem, ISP or even the initial setup with GV and the Obitalk web site. If these difficulties arise, you really need a moderate level of technical skills to troubleshoot and overcome them. With the MagicJack and Ooma...it is close to being plug and play.
To me, the OBi is also close to being a plug and play if you have been using GV for awhile. If not, and if you run into the issues mentioned above, you need to be both technical savvy and research savvy (as in researching these threads and the GV forum) to find a solution. If you want help, you also need to describe your issues with as much precision as you can, as volunteers can't really help unless they have enough information.
azrobert:
The telephone company supplies voltage to your house wiring that can damage your OBi. When you cancel your phone service there is no guarantee the voltage will be removed, so you must disconnect the house wiring from the phone company's wiring. You should have an outside junction box with a test jack. Just unplug the test jack to disconnect the house wiring. See the video link below starting at 2 minutes. A better way is to remove the wiring because someone can inadvertently reconnect the plug. On the video to the right of the test plug there are 2 terminals. Disconnect the wiring from those terminals. You should cut any bare wire to prevent shorting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNaNQEMKNmc
The OBi200 has an optional usb WiFi dongle called OBiWiFi. You cannot use a different brand WiFi dongle.
Pi314:
Quote from: DR_MN on July 29, 2015, 08:00:46 am
You can't port a landline directly to GV like you can with RingTo. You don't need E911 to configure GV to Obi like you do with RingTo. GV needs the Google Chat option which requires a few more steps in configuration to work with Obi.
The Obi100 does not connect wirelessly to the router. There is a different Obi device for that. I have my base unit for my wireless phones connected to the Obi with additional handsets in different rooms. Apparently there is a way to connect to wall jacks but it requires some wiring changes. You can search for posts that discuss this.
since I'm porting a landline AND I want e911, it sounds like RingTo is what I need.
What advantages does GV have over RingTo?
DR_MN:
Quote from: Pi314 on July 29, 2015, 11:38:26 am
since I'm porting a landline AND I want e911, it sounds like RingTo is what I need.
What advantages does GV have over RingTo?
RingTo or one of the other approved providers that provides e911. I suppose the biggest advantage for GV is that it is completely free. I'm going to repeat my suggestion that you research the approved providers so you know what each offers.
Lavarock7:
You could port your landline number to Voip.Ms for free.
You can then either buy an Obi which would connect to the Voip account and give you a phone line at home, without the landline.
Alternatively, you could port the number to Voip.Ms and tell it to forward call to your cell. You would pay a penny or two a minute while you decide and/or test an Obi.
Alternatively, you could port your number and just have the calls go to voicemail. Then have the voicemails sent to your email (or email on your phone).
With Voip.Ms porting is free but having them hold the number for you will cost perhaps $1 or so a month before calls. They charge a per minute cost on all calls except Voip.ms to Voip.Ms customers and toll-free numbers.
Want to test this out before porting?
Get an Obi, get the account and buy a number in your area. That will probably cost $1 to get a number and $1 the first month and maybe 50 cents for testing. You could then cancel the number and your test costs less than $3. If it works well for you, port the number.
Note that you could use your home PC and a program like Zoiper to connect to Voip.Ms but the Obi is a cleaner and more preferred solution.
Note also that there are many voip providers and you may find a different one suited to your needs. Callcentric offers a free inbound number in NYC and has a FAX receiving function built in which answers a number as a FAX and emails you a PDF of the received document.
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