thinking about signing up, need advise
kaniki:
I think it was the capricorn network that I have been on, but they transferred me to the aquarius network on friday, or just 2 days ago.. they sent an email stating that they are retiring the capricorn network. We are not heavy talkers on the phone here, so I really have not used the phone much since the switch. So saying how reliable the new network is, is kind of hard to do. what I was figuring was, if they did have the cloned line feature, then I would need to get the 202 model, and if I could keep the cloned line, I would, but if not, no big deal. If they did, it is only a one time charge since you buy the equipment, since you dont rent. but like you said, if cloned line is not supported, then it is just stupid to spend the extra on the more expensive adapter, just to have 2 plugs. I currently have my current device plugged into the home wiring (yes, I did disconnect if from the outside so it is not going back to verizons poles) so that it runs to all the phones in the house.
As for the 202 vs 200 model, since I dont use fax, then wouldn't the 100 model work just as good for me as the 200, or is there some major advantage to using the 200 over the 100? Also, the other reason I was considering the 202 was because, the way I have my network set up is like this. cable modem, phone device, then it goes out to my switch (16 port switch, not a router), which then goes to my computers.. all wired.. I use my current phone box or ATA as you called it, as a router to give IP addresses to the computers on my network. Also, doing it this way, if someone slams my upload, or download for the internet, this way i know that the phone gets priority over someone downloading something too. I only have 2 meg up, 20 meg down, so it is decent, but not great. Just so you know, we use standard cordless phones in the house. Nothing digital.. Also, I know I could not plug my phone into the existing ATA, as I would probably have to return it. It is one that phone power sent me, so I did not buy it. In any case, that is why I was considering the 202.. and trust me, not having to run new wires, and moving a lot of stuff around to put up a router, plus buying a router too, along with the phone device is well worth spending the extra $25.
I do have some time to figure things out, and check things out a bit, as I pay for my service by the year, and I have a few months before my service runs out and I have to renew, but I am checking things out now, this way, if I do go for it, I have some time to try it out and use it before I have numbers transferred and stuff, and this way, I know that I am happy with it before I switch for good. But like I said, if it saves me a lot of money every year, then I am more then willing to switch.. I just dont want to end up with some crappy service over it. I have seen how good magic jack is, or isnt.. and am not one bit impressed with them. and I have tried other things in the past that had a lot of delay, or echo's, etc. and dont want to end up with that either. like the saying goes, if it is too good to be true, it usually is.. but there are those exceptions, and I was hoping that this was one of them. That is why I am asking questions first. From what you said though, the quality of service would stay the same, if i stayed with phone power.. and that is good.. I checked things like this out last time I switched providers too.. but I guess this time, it is not so much providers, but more plans..
Diane:
I have had an Obi100 for about a year. I am not that tech savvy and setting up was a lot more complicated/frustrating than expected. Not any service help that I'm aware of other than this forum.
I use Vestlink. There are delays in the communication and calls are often dropped. I'm on a very tight budget and always try to stretch a dollar, but often doubt that it's worth the aggravation. I'm currently having trouble with either my Obi or Vestalink service and have just posted a thread for Troubleshooting. *sigh
kaniki:
I dont know what kind of service that you have, but with any kind of voip type of service, being though a company like phone power, or the obi devices, they all use a certain amount of bandwidth to work right. If say, you have a very basic DSL or cable company internet plan, some only have something like 768k down, or 128k up. I am not exactly sure what the obi devices use, but a lot of companies can use 128 k for their service, both up and down, and if you say, have an internet plan that is only 128 k up, and you decide to click on something on the internet while on the phone, it can short your connection for the phone line, which can caused dropped calls. If say, your internet provider drops your service to below that 128k, the same thing can happen too.
As for me, I took the plunge. they had the 202 ones on sale this past weekend for $50, so I bought one, and now am just waiting for it to come in to give the service a try. Now I just need to figure out, Do I still need to sign up with a company like phone power too, to get the full features (being able to call anyone, no matter the type of phone), or do I get them just using the google network?
OzarkEdge:
Quote from: kaniki on May 26, 2015, 11:26:03 pm
I dont know what kind of service that you have, but with any kind of voip type of service, being though a company like phone power, or the obi devices, they all use a certain amount of bandwidth to work right. If say, you have a very basic DSL or cable company internet plan, some only have something like 768k down, or 128k up. I am not exactly sure what the obi devices use, but a lot of companies can use 128 k for their service, both up and down, and if you say, have an internet plan that is only 128 k up, and you decide to click on something on the internet while on the phone, it can short your connection for the phone line, which can caused dropped calls. If say, your internet provider drops your service to below that 128k, the same thing can happen too.
As for me, I took the plunge. they had the 202 ones on sale this past weekend for $50, so I bought one, and now am just waiting for it to come in to give the service a try. Now I just need to figure out, Do I still need to sign up with a company like phone power too, to get the full features (being able to call anyone, no matter the type of phone), or do I get them just using the google network?
The codec being used to encode your voice to digital packets, plus the transport protocol etc., determines the Internet service bandwidth required... say 87Kbps max in one direction per call. A good DSL connection or better is sufficient. Plus a good router/connection that does not interfere.
A good VoIP service provider interconnects with the traditional telephone network (PSTN). You can call to/from 'regular' phones worldwide, subject to routing issues and unserved areas. Google Voice may have more limitations than most VoIP providers, but you can hope to call your contacts using GV no matter the type of phone. GV does not call 911 and provides no customer service.
OE
kaniki:
Quote from: OzarkEdge on May 27, 2015, 05:52:01 am
Quote from: kaniki on May 26, 2015, 11:26:03 pm
I dont know what kind of service that you have, but with any kind of voip type of service, being though a company like phone power, or the obi devices, they all use a certain amount of bandwidth to work right. If say, you have a very basic DSL or cable company internet plan, some only have something like 768k down, or 128k up. I am not exactly sure what the obi devices use, but a lot of companies can use 128 k for their service, both up and down, and if you say, have an internet plan that is only 128 k up, and you decide to click on something on the internet while on the phone, it can short your connection for the phone line, which can caused dropped calls. If say, your internet provider drops your service to below that 128k, the same thing can happen too.
As for me, I took the plunge. they had the 202 ones on sale this past weekend for $50, so I bought one, and now am just waiting for it to come in to give the service a try. Now I just need to figure out, Do I still need to sign up with a company like phone power too, to get the full features (being able to call anyone, no matter the type of phone), or do I get them just using the google network?
The codec being used to encode your voice to digital packets, plus the transport protocol etc., determines the Internet service bandwidth required... say 87Kbps max in one direction per call. A good DSL connection or better is sufficient. Plus a good router/connection that does not interfere.
A good VoIP service provider interconnects with the traditional telephone network (PSTN). You can call to/from 'regular' phones worldwide, subject to routing issues and unserved areas. Google Voice may have more limitations than most VoIP providers, but you can hope to call your contacts using GV no matter the type of phone. GV does not call 911 and provides no customer service.
OE
I was mainly answering Dianne's comment there. I knew that it was low, just did not look up the exact specs. but like I stated, it a lot depends on your service. Here, verizon has DSL, and it is not always very reliable for speeds. and the max I can get at my house is 128k up. If that got split in half with another service on a router, that would bring it down to 64k, and if your service requires 87, then that is a bit short. I dropped them and went with cable for this exact reason.
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