PhonePower Experience so far
CheapSk86:
There are many threads on PhonePower issues with service or signing-up, or just questions in general as to the quality of the service. I signed up for them after watching several of these threads and trying to understand what to expect, and what to watch for. This is just my recap so far of the experience, service, usage, and anything additional.
I signed up mid-May and we are now at the 4th of June, about 3 weeks since I signed up. I am on my Obi202 still with PhonePower as my primary in- and outgoing , and currently used for TF calls as well.
Configuration: With my OBI202 - I have stuck with the standard release of firmware available, and my configuration through PP is as it was set from when I first signed up, minus the additional gateway I added, but disabled, for the TF provider. I kept my GV number and signed up for a new one with PP when I registered, showing my GV for outbound calls, and forwarding my GV number to my PP for incoming. There have been no noticeable delays or drawbacks to that so far, though I haven't fully tested the voicemail functionality yet.
Usage: I am on the phone every day for a minimum of 20 minutes, and a max so far of 2.5 hours at a time. The majority of my calls have been toll-free, but I have had some standard calls using my minutes, though currently just shy of half my 300 signed up for.
Quality & Connection: I have had no dropped calls (except one I think was attributed to a conference line issue) and have had good sound quality. Delays have been negligible, and it seems much faster than GV ever was. I tried routing TF calls through a different service, but have to make additional adjustments to my router and network config, so I have them still through PP and they are just like my normal calls (as expected). Incoming has been good, and I have asked some of my friends to let me know how I sound and they have no complaints.
Additional Notes: I signed up and had a problem with it processing my payment. I called customer service and they helped get it cleared up. The number I selected was reserved from my first attempt and once you select one and move through the process, it reserves the number for about 15 minutes. I really wanted the specific number because the number it was, so I asked customer service and was told they would switch it once my registration completed. 10 minutes after signing up, they processed it and swapped the number to the one I initially attempted to get. I got an email about the complete registration, and the number change. It was quick and very easy and I was making calls within 20 minutes of completing the process.
So far, it's been positive, and since I am coming up on my 30 days shortly, I will probably be sticking with it.
I have not experienced the intermittent connection issues so far, and have had no degradation in call quality, sound, or signal. I am on a baseband (broadband) connection with Comcast on their standard plan and my uptime has been fine.
Heather:
I thought I'd add my experience here too. Not so good. I finally cancelled with Phone Power yesterday after trying it out for about three weeks. I probably spent 3-4 hours in chat with tech support trying to make my configurations work properly. I had two different accounts. The final straw for me yesterday was when I tried to send faxes and they wouldn't go through. I put GV back on in place of phone power and the faxes went through flawlessly. Similarly, trusted callers wouldn't work correctly with Phone Power, so my mom couldn't use our service for long distance like she had been. I put GV back on and it works great. Obviously I still need a replacement for GV for when they do really discontinue service, but since GV is still working I decided to cancel with phone power and look for something more reliable.
CheapSk86:
Thanks for the added feedback.
I am not using the fax service or trusted callers - at least not yet - so I cannot comment on the functionality, or lack thereof, regarding those features. It is good to get additional feedback, though, from others, whether positive or negative. I think providing clean critiques of the service will help people who are looking to switch make the decision.
Could you also add what device and firmware you are using to your post? I found that, while many people were having issues with certain devices, it isn't consistent across all Obis so I think that information is also helpful.
In addition, should someone from Obi or PhonePower check out this thread or board, maybe they can address some of the issues people have, as well as continue to stay positive or strong on the points people praise.
shawguy:
Signed up with Phone Power on the weekend. Call quality has been excellent. Only issue I seem to be having is inconsistent outbound caller ID. (as posted in another thread). I have requested a port of my home phone number, after that's done - I'll post a more indepth experience:)
gadgetrants:
Add me to the list of new PhonePower Customers. :) I had the same experience as some signing up, i.e., the system "booted" me out after submitting...but I gave it a few days and everything worked perfectly on the second try. So well, in fact, that I was amazed when I tried the new number minutes after signing up and my home answering machine picked up! So surprise number 1 was: registering through the Obi portal means that all the configuring was done automagically.
Three other experiences worth noting:
(1) Pretty happy so far with call quality.
(2) When dialing out, there is palpable lag (maybe 7-8 secs) before connecting. I haven't trolled the forum very hard, but this is something I hadn't heard other users mention. (EDIT: just found this thread and the suggested fix, excellent: https://www.obitalk.com/forum/index.php?topic=7912.msg51465#msg51465, thanks @PeteMoss!).
(3) I also didn't research the "outbound spoofing" issue well enough and learned the hard way that PP is kinda limited. Long story, short: when I registered, I followed the prompt for outbound CID by entering my GV number -- however, in the end I decided that I preferred to use the number that I picked from PP, but lo and behold there was no way in PP's configuration settings to switch the outbound display number (e.g., http://www.obitalk.com/forum/index.php?topic=7514.0).
So, nice experience number 2: I emailed PP tech support, explained what I wanted, and 12 hours later it was so! Excellent service. :)
-Matt
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