Late last year, Obihai announced in a blog article (http://blog.obihai.com/2013/12/what-does-40-bucks-and-obi-device-buy.html), new services were coming to owners of unlocked OBi devices, that would provide a reliable telephone service at a great price. These services would be easy to set-up, come with critical features needed for a home user, and be priced at just $40 per year – that's only about $3.33 per month and includes all fees and taxes required by the government for delivering such a service.
Today, we would like to inform everyone, Obihai have partnered with Anveo to deliver the first such offering as part of the launch of the public-facing OBiTALK Approved Service Provider (ASP) program. We are excited to announce it first to OBiTALK forum readers, to anyone visiting the OBiTALK portal and soon (as the word spreads), to those who notice related discussions and future promotions we are planning that highlight the best and smartest BYOD VoIP solution available today.
CLICK HERE (https://www.obitalk.com/obinet/pg/services/itsp?i=anveo) to go to the Anveo offer landing page on the OBiTALK portal (sign-in required). From here, visitors will be taken to Anveo's web site where they can sign-up for a service, pay with a credit card or PayPal and then have that service automatically configured on their OBi device. That's it!
We think Anveo is an excellent launch partner for the OBiTALK ASP program. Anveo has a great reputation for innovation and service in the BYOD VoIP community of end-users and resellers. Anveo has also consistently delivered reliable emergency calling service to thousands of OBi device owners using a Google Voice number as their primary line.
Today's announcement is a 'soft-launch' of sorts. We want to work-out any unforeseen hitches and fix them, quickly. Also, we can take your feedback on usability and suggested enhancements and make improvements. Then, very soon, we will start to make noise in the press and media as well as socialize OBiTALK ASP solutions to the hundreds of thousands of OBiTALK users who own and use OBi devices with Google Voice. We also believe many more industrious families will realize their hard-earned money is getting 'jacked' with their current phone service and immediately see the ultimate value and total control they get when they switch to an OBi-based VoIP service.
There is an OBiTALK ASP landing page as well. CLICK HERE (https://www.obitalk.com/obinet/pg/services/spoptions) to check it out. This is where we will encourage OBi device owners to add SIP services to their OBi devices. We hope to have a broad selection of OBiTALK ASP partners, whose services will match the wide-ranging needs of OBi device owners.
The OBiTALK ASP program will evolve to support multiple service offers that are only available to individuals, families and businesses with OBi VoIP devices (ATAs, IP Phones, etc.). Because, even though at the core, we are a Silicon Valley, California-based technology company that designs, makes and manufactures cloud-managed communication solutions for residential and small business applications, we feel that our innovations have the greatest impact if we can tightly couple them with product plus service-provider solutions that deliver the best value for money to the end-user.
If you have any questions or comments about the OBiTALK Approved Service Provider program, or would like to become an OBiTALK ASP partner please send email to partner@obihai.com .
Thank you!
Only 250 outgoing minutes/month on the $40 plan is well below expectations; my expectations anyway.
Apparently free and unlimited incoming minutes is nice.
I agree +1. 250 minutes is very weak in my opinion. I have used Anveo for e911 service and they are a good service I suppose, but 85.00 seems pretty strong.
I agree. I won't bite it. There're a lot of alternatives including obivoice, localphone MagicJack, and etc. At least for home use, they should all do fine.
I'm surprised this was not a more competitive package--especially the limited # of outgoing minutes. There are way to many better options out there. As much as I like my Obi I would dump it and use netTalk before I would take this option.
It does not show you how you can get to keep your google voice number, does anyone has any other recommendation to keep your google voice number even by using other products? I am thinking MagicJack is cheaper?!
I heard Ooma can still support googlevoice, I believe that's my next device.
http://ooma.com/node/1420
Quotedoes anyone has any other recommendation to keep your google voice number even by using other products?
When you sign-up for the service, you will be asked what number you would like to present to the people you call as your Caller ID. Here, you enter your Google Voice number. The number will be verified to belong to you. Once verified, when you make a call from the phone attached to the OBi, the caller will see your GV number.
For inbound calls, you will need to enter the number given to you by the OBiTALK Approved Service Provider (e.g. Anveo) as a forwarded phone. Just go to this page (link) (https://www.google.com/voice#phones) and select Add another phone. Once you do this, when someone calls your GV number, the phone connected to the OBi will ring.
QuoteI heard Ooma can still support googlevoice, I believe that's my next device.
That would be a poor choice. You will need to pay $150 for the device + $150 for the service (That's $300 for your first year alone!) and then another $150 per year, every year for service fees. taxes and the Ooma Premier option to get the GV extension capability.
Anveo seems like a non-starter to me... too expensive and not enough minutes. Very disappointed with Obihai that they would choose this partner and negotiate these packages... especially knowing that Obivoice was out there delighting customers with lower pricing and great service.
Nice try...
I tend to agree with what others have said; the limited number of minutes makes this a non-starter. At the moment it appears that Obivoice has the better offer, since they say they offer unlimited minutes. Which I realize is deceptive because no VoIP provider is going to give anyone a truly unlimited number of minutes, but still it's not a paltry 250 minutes. 250 minutes is almost an insult; that's what people get from those cell phone service providers that offer a free phone and free service to those with annual income of 135% of poverty level or less.
Whoever thought this was a good deal to offer to Obihai users needs to seriously re-think that. The post implies that more such offers will be coming (perhaps from other VoIP providers?) and I would certainly hope that there will be something better than this offered in the future.
Why no name with caller ID on the lower plan also?
Input:
I would like to see unused minutes rolled forward, atleast on the Basic Plan.
Quote from: riptcity00 on February 11, 2014, 10:43:36 PM
Why no name with caller ID on the lower plan also?
CNAME lookups cost money as they have to access an external database to do the lookup. Thus the cost is something they don't want to deal with in the lower plan.
I wonder how your account looks in Anveo with one of these programs. Do you still get the call flow. Do you still get the address book?
Quote from: gderf on February 11, 2014, 04:14:37 PM
Only 250 outgoing minutes/month on the $40 plan is well below expectations; my expectations anyway.
Apparently free and unlimited incoming minutes is nice.
Anveo is a launch partner. It is conceivably (likely, even) that other future partners will offer plans with slightly different mix of minutes/features.
Quote from: MikeHObi on February 12, 2014, 08:56:24 AM
I wonder how your account looks in Anveo with one of these programs. Do you still get the call flow. Do you still get the address book?
I was told in another thread that Anveo accounts get to use the call flow and address book. So that gives you some power, as well as if your callers are just friends and family you can add them to the address book and don't really need CNAME.
Current cost for Anveo Personal Unlimited number is $2.00 plus $0.80 for E911 per moth. So adding 250 minutes outgoing which for US48 is $0.01/min would be another $2.50. So already, if you are using no more than that in outgoing minutes you can have a better deal on this program vs rolling your own. Sure, more minutes would be nice, but at .01 for each minute over, you are not being penalized. You are simply getting the going rate. (assuming US48)
I have to assume margins on these services for non commercial operations are pretty tight, so being able to squeeze a bit more out is a good thing.
250 min/month outgoing isn't enough as my primary line, but I'm thinking about the upgrade since I already have an Anveo incoming line and E911 ($2.80/month, so this would be ~$0.50 more; should be fine as a second outgoing line).
So is it easy to sign up for this and use my existing Anveo account (phone number, E911 Info)?
Thanks
How can you get the deal if you want to set it up yourself? I configure my Obi manually.
Hello ObiTalk: Both my wife and I have our own (different) GV numbers. To make outgoing calls on our Obi, she dials her desired outgoing number to present her GV number on the recipient's phone. When I make an outgoing call, I dial **2 followed by the number I am calling to show my GV number on the recipient's phone. This has been a real plus for us. If I follow the process you describe (which I haven't yet), it appears I can only replace SP1 or SP2, but not both. Is it possible with one Anveo line and one OBi box to duplicate the outgoing SP1 and SP2 Caller ID features we now enjoy? If not, what would it take to duplicate this capability?
Quote from: giqcass on February 12, 2014, 04:18:41 PM
How can you get the deal if you want to set it up yourself? I configure my Obi manually.
My complete guess is that once you setup the account, you get access to Aveno's customer website which gives you access to your sip username, password, sip proxy servers, audio codecs supported, protocols supported, configuration of dilaing format, outbound caller id, internal callerid/default extension, enable MWI and generate artificial ringback tone as well as sip status alerts. Should be all you need to do manual configuration.
Quote from: MikeHObi on February 12, 2014, 06:25:42 PM
Quote from: giqcass on February 12, 2014, 04:18:41 PM
How can you get the deal if you want to set it up yourself? I configure my Obi manually.
My complete guess is that once you setup the account, you get access to Aveno's customer website which gives you access to your sip username, password, sip proxy servers, audio codecs supported, protocols supported, configuration of dilaing format, outbound caller id, internal callerid/default extension, enable MWI and generate artificial ringback tone as well as sip status alerts. Should be all you need to do manual configuration.
If you don't register your Obi device on Obitalk you can't even start the signup process! It makes you pick which Obi you want to install the service on. Only Option I see is to add the Obi to Obitalk and then remove it. I have never used the Obitalk portal for management of my Obi and I don't want to start now.
Quote from: kwang0429 on February 11, 2014, 05:54:43 PM
It does not show you how you can get to keep your google voice number, does anyone has any other recommendation to keep your google voice number even by using other products? I am thinking MagicJack is cheaper?!
I heard Ooma can still support googlevoice, I believe that's my next device.
http://ooma.com/node/1420
Ok I don't think you got the real answer you were looking for, so here is my suggestions.
Firstly Ooma isn't supporting googlevoice in the way you think. What they are doing is the same thing that has been suggested here by everyone who is trying to keep their googlevoice post XMPP. Which is simply as follows:
- For Incoming calls: They give you a call-in phone number and then have you configure this phone number on googlevoice as a number to forward calls to.
- For Outgoing calls: They spoof your googlevoice callerid as the outgoing call
This appears to be what Ooma is doing, which contrary to what you think is not true GV support. For starters the outgoing calls will never show up in googlevoice. But for practically 99% of users, this is a non-issue
Currently there is no device that I have seen that natively supports the Google Hangouts protocol other than the device Google announced to break into the videoconference market.
Now that we cleared up how they are achieving googlevoice support after May 15 shutdown, we now get to your first question.
There are plenty of options available including Ooma which according to posts on this board is a $300 starting option. That is just plain ridiculous from a cost perspective considering there is this offering from Obitalk of 40$ per year but with only 250mins/month is also not acceptable for many users.
There is ObiVoice that is offering 40$ annually with 2000mins/month or 50$ for unlimited minutes.
You can practically get any other voip provider for that matter that gives you a call-in number and use it in exactly the same way I indicated above.
Hopefully that clears that up.
Quote from: Frank on February 12, 2014, 05:15:24 PM
...Is it possible with one Anveo line and one OBi box to duplicate the outgoing SP1 and SP2 Caller ID features we now enjoy? If not, what would it take to duplicate this capability?
Hi Frank,
You can have multiple custom Caller ID numbers configured in your Anveo account. To make a call with Custom Caller ID number configured you will need to dial a special prefix assigned for a particular Custom Caller ID.
To add custom Caller ID you will need to open your Anveo Account Preferences -> Custom Caller ID menu and add phone numbers there. After that you will need to complete automated Caller ID verification process for each custom Caller ID.
After that you can make calls though Anveo using *01, *02 prefixes.
I bought a new ooma for $84.79 @ AMZN for testing. I didn't realize you could not do 3 way calls like you can on an Obi, or POTS line, so for me it's not the right thing.
But basic service with "unlimited calls" costs $3.79 a month for taxes. It's not a bad value
(I thought I bought with one of my ccards that gives me 90 days to return something, but alas used another card without that benefit :-\
Is Anveo registered with the FCC?
I can't seem to find Anveo at http://apps.fcc.gov/cgb/form499/499a.cfm
Maybe it's under a different name? Thanks
QuoteI heard Ooma can still support googlevoice, I believe that's my next device.
That would be a poor choice. You will need to pay $150 for the device + $150 for the service (That's $300 for your first year alone!) and then another $150 per year, every year for service fees. taxes and the Ooma Premier option to get the GV extension capability.
Not accurate, I just got a ooma for $100, it's onsale, unless you want to be on their Premier plan, it's free instead of $150 per month you mentioned, and it's unlimited minutes within US, you can port your google number for free you don't have to be on the premiere plan, all you pay is local tax, which is $3 dollars for me in California. It's the legit way instead of cheat around way to do things.
[Obihai Comment] A monthly fee was never mentioned. The Ooma device sells for $150 on the company web site. The Ooma profit (called 'fees') and taxes depend on where you live but are about $4 per month ($48/year) - the Premier plan (required to get the GV Extensions feature you need) is about $108-$120 per year. So, the first year out of pocket money is between $256 to $318. And you own a locked device. Subsequent years are between $156 to $168 and above. You should try to return your device and cancel before it's too late.
A couple notes about Anveo. There is no provision when going through the sign up to integrate this plan if you are an existing Anveo customer. Their number pool is rather dry compared to every other provider I've ever tried including Obivoice.
If they don't have a presence in a particular area then you're not going to be able to port. For example, South Carolina still shows only two POPs for 843 and it's been that way for months. You simply can't have a number in Darlington or Myrtle Beach even.
Good luck on support. Anveo charges for that and it seems it doesn't matter what the question is. A basic account may be able to ask a few questions before having to pay but I don't want to burn a question on an answer that should already be provided.
On the landing page they declare support is "selectable" what ever that means (it means not free I imagine or not unlimted) and my last follow up about 843 porting never had it's last question answered.
Obivoice is still a question but I ponied up to support the idea and am hoping they come through. I'd rather not pay to have bugs answered and there is no options to find out what "selectable" means or ask other questions ahead of time.
Even if you are already logged in to your account, it still takes you through the E911 verification and account signup which is where I stopped.
Quote from: CLTGreg on February 13, 2014, 01:09:28 PM
A couple notes about Anveo. There is no provision when going through the sign up to integrate this plan if you are an existing Anveo customer.
Anveo for OBiTalk packages are available for new customers which means that during signup process you will get a new Anveo account created.
Quote from: CLTGreg on February 13, 2014, 01:09:28 PM
Their number pool is rather dry compared to every other provider I've ever tried including Obivoice.
Our underlying CLEC in US is the same one used by Google Voice ( Bandwidth.com ) which means we have the same coverage as Google Voice. LNP may be available in areas where we do not have new numbers in stock. Please email your phone number to our LNP via lnp@anveo.com and they will check if the number is portable.
Quote from: CLTGreg on February 13, 2014, 01:09:28 PM
Good luck on support. Anveo charges for that and it seems it doesn't matter what the question is. A basic account may be able to ask a few questions before having to pay but I don't want to burn a question on an answer that should already be provided.
I would like to mention that signup process is fully automated and at the end of this sign-up process, the Anveo voice service will be
automatically configured on your OBi device. So you can make and receive calls without extra efforts.
Also, Obihai will provide free installation support for 60-days after Anveo service is activated.
After 60-days, service-related support issues will be provided by Anveo and subscribers to BASIC and BASIC PLUS packages can select either pay-per-incident support option or include regular support option.
Quote from: CLTGreg on February 13, 2014, 01:09:28 PM
...or ask other questions ahead of time.
Feed free to email your questions to anveo.sales@anveo.com
Sorry, Anveo, my question above was not answered in your responses. What is your status with the FCC? Thank you
and honestly, I haven't seen 1 positive feedback from the solution you have to resolve google voice issue in the forum, the fee you pay with the minutes you have is just not working out.....
Quote from: Anveo on February 13, 2014, 01:46:01 PM
Our underlying CLEC in US is the same one used by Google Voice ( Bandwidth.com ) which means we have the same coverage as Google Voice.
Hmm, had some issues with my Anveo quality and now it may make some sense. I've heard of some issues with bandwidth.com. If I can find them I'll link them in.
I'm trying to think of one other phone company that doesn't disclose what the fees are to talk to them are. You seem to be saying this is only open to new customers but if you're not an existing customer how are you suppose to know how much a support call is going to cost?
I like Anveo for call flow etc. Perhaps there's a cultural thing and I understand the price is low however you tell me to e-mail LNP but last request I made took 20 days to get any reply at all. Follow up question to that have never been answered.
I have no problem dealing with Anveo as a high tech solution that likes to meter everything. But when you go beyond geek stuff and start to market turnkey solutions, there needs to be more information.
And when someone asks a question like "what about existing users" you should address that as to what your plans are. I don't care how mysterious they may be as far as where they are located but when basic stuff is left out people are going to poke further.
So my advise for the soft launch is to update the sign up page on what those costs are before asking someone to create an account.
I'm taking the "wait until end of April" approach, letting people that want to be on the bleeding edge do so. Then, I'll evaluate what seems the best at the time.
I won't be going, no matter what the price, with a service that seems like it's being run out of a guy's basement. Having used Callcentric for a short period for E911 and learning that their database was corrupt at one point, they got hacked for weeks, and then they didn't have their own generators or a co-located center, I'm not going to pick Fred's basement service, which is what one of the options I've seen discussed.
I also question why I need to pay up front for a year. If your service stinks, I'm leaving, and I expect at least a pro-rated refund.
I've also got to say that I've been really disappointed in OBi. The device was much more difficult to get working than it should have been - and I'm fairly technical although VoIP is new to me. Their firmware update process is garbage, we had to teach Sherman the right way to post an update so that we'd get notified, and that worked for a short period until he stopped doing it. Calls to him and emails to his attention never got returned. As a result, I stopped updating my firmware because my device was working fine.
Switching to the OBi and GV was right for me at the time - I dumped my landline and saved money, but ran into issues with my internet solution for my home alarm and had to switch to cellular for that, adding the cost of that device plus a monthly charge. While that monthly charge, plus whatever I will need to pay for future phone service after the OBi/GV connection breaks, will still be somewhat less, saving $15 or so a month really wasn't worth all the aggravation. Yes, my alarm system is now not vulnerable to a phone or internet cable being cut, but I wasn't that concerned about it.
I'm leaning towards dumping all of this stuff and switching to linking my home phone line to my cell line via Bluetooth, which is how I have my 92 year old in-laws set-up (they have emergency buttons on their wrists to summon help in Assisted Living, so no E911 is needed). It works well for them, and would likely work well for us. If we make all our outgoing calls on our cells, then the only thing I have to resolve is that GV will only forward our home number to one cell phone, and that's problematic. I may look into porting our number to one of the services that gives free incoming minutes and just never use the outgoing.
Rick you made a lot of interesting comments, and I do think some of the VoIP solutions are overly complicated. I did sign up for a year with Obivoice and am very pleased with it so far, but if you are looking for an alternative take a look at Lingo. They are a very sophisticated "plug and play" service, with excellent telephone support, and I used them in the past for two years with no issues. They are just not discounted enough for me to justify paying the taxes and fees they charge. My brother actually signed up with good ole Vonage not too long ago for a fixed rate of 9.99 and a little in fees and is very happy with them. I find Obivoice is at the right price point for me, though I do expect some pricing to increase over time. I have no expectation that any VoIP service will be completely flawless and without an occasional hiccup. After all, it's the internet and the internet promises much and ........ sometimes it actually works! ;D
Quote from: Rick on February 14, 2014, 08:20:57 AM
I also question why I need to pay up front for a year. If your service stinks, I'm leaving, and I expect at least a pro-rated refund.
I signed up for Obivoice and it clearly states that any cancellation is prorated to their monthly service. I paid 60 for 2 years service which at monthly rate would have been 4 times that much.
Quote from: Rick on February 14, 2014, 08:20:57 AM
I've also got to say that I've been really disappointed in OBi. The device was much more difficult to get working than it should have been - and I'm fairly technical although VoIP is new to me.
Lol :-\, have to disagree on that one. The basic usage of setting up GV on an Obi and using a regular phone is absolutely painless. Thats why it sold soo many. However, if you want to do some fun stuff, it is not that easy, however, I have to thank Obi for at least making this forum available. I have not only found solutions here, but new ideas on how to get more out of the Obi. The update sucks because it resets some settings, that I'll blame squarely on Obi.
Quote from: Rick on February 14, 2014, 08:20:57 AM
Switching to the OBi and GV was right for me at the time - I dumped my landline and saved money, but ran into issues with my internet solution for my home alarm and had to switch to cellular for that, adding the cost of that device plus a monthly charge.
This one is simple, sounds like you are using one of the nickel and dime alarm monitoring services (yes one of the big ones). In my area, I was paying the same, when I asked them about mobile monitoring they wanted to charge hundreds to enable mobile, then add like $10 to my monthly charge. Needless to say when my contract was up, I switched to another monitoring which get this "Offers wireless monitoring as standard". :P and charged 70% less. They will still connect to the landline as a backup but never use it. YES I do an alarm test monthly. The best part was, they used my existing sensors so the conversion was easy.
Quote from: Rick on February 14, 2014, 08:20:57 AM
If we make all our outgoing calls on our cells, then the only thing I have to resolve is that GV will only forward our home number to one cell phone, and that's problematic.
Go to your GV account and tell it your cell phone is a home phone. Then do the same with your wifes cell phone. Now that both phones are listed as a "home Phone" in Google Voice both phones can be selected as forwarding phones at the same time. Google voice will no longer send text messages to your cell phone but if you download the GV app it will notify you of text messages.
Quote from: MikeHObi on February 13, 2014, 04:57:36 PM
Quote from: Anveo on February 13, 2014, 01:46:01 PM
Our underlying CLEC in US is the same one used by Google Voice ( Bandwidth.com ) which means we have the same coverage as Google Voice.
Hmm, had some issues with my Anveo quality and now it may make some sense. I've heard of some issues with bandwidth.com. If I can find them I'll link them in.
I was happy to hear Anveo is partnered with bandwidth.com. The company does not get a lot of press in mainstream media but they are major players. They also happen to be my Cell phone provider. The fact that you have only heard of a few issues with a large business speaks to their quality.
Quote from: giqcass on February 14, 2014, 02:55:18 PM
Quote from: Rick on February 14, 2014, 08:20:57 AM
If we make all our outgoing calls on our cells, then the only thing I have to resolve is that GV will only forward our home number to one cell phone, and that's problematic.
Go to your GV account and tell it your cell phone is a home phone. Then do the same with your wifes cell phone. Now that both phones are listed as a "home Phone" in Google Voice both phones can be selected as forwarding phones at the same time. Google voice will no longer send text messages to your cell phone but if you download the GV app it will notify you of text messages.
Thanks, done.
Quote from: simpleAnswers on February 14, 2014, 01:38:01 PM
Quote from: Rick on February 14, 2014, 08:20:57 AM
I also question why I need to pay up front for a year. If your service stinks, I'm leaving, and I expect at least a pro-rated refund.
I signed up for Obivoice and it clearly states that any cancellation is prorated to their monthly service. I paid 60 for 2 years service which at monthly rate would have been 4 times that much.
Quote from: Rick on February 14, 2014, 08:20:57 AM
I've also got to say that I've been really disappointed in OBi. The device was much more difficult to get working than it should have been - and I'm fairly technical although VoIP is new to me.
Lol :-\, have to disagree on that one. The basic usage of setting up GV on an Obi and using a regular phone is absolutely painless. Thats why it sold soo many. However, if you want to do some fun stuff, it is not that easy, however, I have to thank Obi for at least making this forum available. I have not only found solutions here, but new ideas on how to get more out of the Obi. The update sucks because it resets some settings, that I'll blame squarely on Obi.
Quote from: Rick on February 14, 2014, 08:20:57 AM
Switching to the OBi and GV was right for me at the time - I dumped my landline and saved money, but ran into issues with my internet solution for my home alarm and had to switch to cellular for that, adding the cost of that device plus a monthly charge.
This one is simple, sounds like you are using one of the nickel and dime alarm monitoring services (yes one of the big ones). In my area, I was paying the same, when I asked them about mobile monitoring they wanted to charge hundreds to enable mobile, then add like $10 to my monthly charge. Needless to say when my contract was up, I switched to another monitoring which get this "Offers wireless monitoring as standard". :P and charged 70% less. They will still connect to the landline as a backup but never use it. YES I do an alarm test monthly. The best part was, they used my existing sensors so the conversion was easy.
It didn't sell soo many, that's why they changed their business model to partner with providers, because selling direct to consumers didn't go as planned, and they couldn't staff up to support them.
Having had this for two years now, and been through all the issues (and provided help to hundreds on this forum), it has most certainly not been smooth.
And no, I don't have one of the big companies, in fact I have a smaller monitoring company with no contract. I use Alarm Relay, it's $10.45 a month paid annually, plus if you use cellular monitoring they go through a third party for another $12 a month. I have another system in another location called Simplisafe, it's a very interesting model, monitoring gives you lots of internet ability plus email and text alerts all included. If I wouldn't have to invest in their hardware (they don't use other's hardware), I might consider switching my main system. Although I do like wired doors and windows vs. noticeable wireless sensors on their system.
Quote from: Rick on February 14, 2014, 08:20:57 AM
I've also got to say that I've been really disappointed in OBi. The device was much more difficult to get working than it should have been - and I'm fairly technical although VoIP is new to me.
Obi really screwed up here. Their bug ridden manual is so miserable that it forms a challenge even for an IT professional. For a layman, it means hundreds of hours of work and study and extra equipment and a second patient person as tester in order to master this device. However, as long as you can stay within the pre configured things - which means giving up many of the awesome features of this device- you will be fine.
I also think that it was a mistake to advertise Obi as THE Google Voice device. It will come back biting. Obi is great for BYOD providers and they should have advertised it accordingly.
Quote from: Rick on February 14, 2014, 04:07:45 PM
I use Alarm Relay, it's $10.45 a month paid annually, plus if you use cellular monitoring they go through a third party for another $12 a month.
$12 per month is ridiculous when I can get a fully functional cell phone for $30 per year from pagepluscellular.com or $14.99 per month for unlimited voice cell service with Straight Talk Wireless Home Phone (http://www.walmart.com/ip/Straight-Talk-Wireless-Home-Phone/22084643).
Quote from: carl on February 14, 2014, 04:34:21 PM
Obi really screwed up here. Their bug ridden manual is so miserable that it forms a challenge even for an IT professional.
It's hard to ague with that the documentation could be a lot better.
I decided to go with a rock bottom pricing voip provider. Their corporate offices and customer service phone center are in the attached photo.
Breaking news: The servers have just been relocated to China.
Well I like what I see. I'm a light, no frills needed, user. I use GV as my primary and also have a second number (different area code) and e911 at Anveo which cost me ~$1.80/month. This plan-> "Platform Minutes Included: Free 40 minutes per day".
So for an additional $1.53/ month I can now bump up to Free Incoming, 250 outbound /mon and 2 Concurrent Incoming Calls?
Is this correct?
Anveo's phone quality has been quite good and as far as support, a few questions I had were quickly answered by Anveo (and members) at DSLReports.
And call me old fashioned, but I want to use my phone's answering machine, so tired of the clearing GV's VM and message indicator. With Anveo I can set (extend) the time before VM kicks in.
Time for the switch. :)
Does anybody know if Skype will work with Obi110? Skype has a service for $2.99 a month subscription with unlimited calls to USA and Canada...I want my Skype number to ring on my house phone instead of just my computer...also so far I have to leave my computer on...must be a way...does anyone know about Skype internet phones...need something to plug into router instead of computer...thanks...aud
None of the OBi products support Skype.
Most so-called Skype phones are little more than USB handsets which require a running computer. There are (were?) some phones that do natively support Skype but I've never had my mits on one.
@nubie
Welcom to the forum,
GXV3140v2 IP Multimedia Phone (Sip+native Skype+built in camera)
http://www.grandstream.com/index.php/products/ip-video-telephony/gxv3140
GXP2200 (Android phone) Sip+can install Skype. USB plug used for a webcam. ($158.00 Amazon) http://www.amazon.com/Grandstream-GXP2200-Enterprise-Android-Device/dp/B00A79G6CA
Xblue Skype Desktop Telephone
http://www.amazon.com/Xblue-Skype-Desktop-Telephone-SP2014/dp/B003X0BK9O/ref=pd_sim_e_2
Freetalk phone adapter
http://ca.freetalk.me/skype-adapters/phone-adapter-for-skype.html
I own both Grandstream models mentioned above. Skype works well enough on both models. Added advantage is that both can be used with a sip account. The android model is by far the one I have the most fun with.
Another way which I don't see mentioned often enough is using a smart phone. Android/apple/windows/Nokia all have the ability to install Skype in addition to functioning as a cell phone (Sip+Skype+Cell). If you want a dedicated appliance, I would even consider installing Skype on an Android tablet. The tablet work the same as an Android phone (Sip+Skype)
Skype does have a service that will connect directly to any Obi without extra adapters but that service is pricey.
Free talk 1200 sounds most like the device you need. It can plug in to the Obi110 or Obi2xx 3xx series with obiline adapter. Currently the device is going for around $40 on Amazon. A computer is only used to set it up. After that the computer can be turned off. Skype does NOT provide 911 service.
Skype can also forward to a phone number for free when you purchase a subscription like the $2.99 plan you talked about.
Quote from: giqcass on February 15, 2014, 02:27:25 PM
Skype can also forward to a phone number for free when you purchase a subscription like the $2.99 plan you talked about.
That is how I receive my calls. Works quite well. If you don't care using the computer for outbound Skype calls and are mostly interested in receiving Skype calls on your phone, that would work nicely.
Hi,
Am another one of the ObiHai/Google Voice users thats thinking of switching to Anveo. A few questions for the experts
a) Anveo call quality - anyone have experience with how their call quality is vs. the quality on Google Voice?
b) Outgoing calls on Anveo/ObiHai - I see that one can "spoof" the outgoing caller ID to be the Google Voice number. However, can we still route our calls through Google Voice? i.e., be able to seamlessly use our Google Voice account (and their call rates) to make International calls for e.g.?
Thanks
Sam
Quote from: Samardh on February 17, 2014, 09:46:01 PM
b) Outgoing calls on Anveo/ObiHai - I see that one can "spoof" the outgoing caller ID to be the Google Voice number. However, can we still route our calls through Google Voice? i.e., be able to seamlessly use our Google Voice account (and their call rates) to make International calls for e.g.?
No. If the outgoing call was being routed through GV why would they need to spoof the GV number? ???
The call will not show up in your GV call history, it goes through Anveo and Anveo spoofs your GV number.
Incoming calls that you route to your Anveo from GV will show up in your GV call history.
Quote from: Samardh on February 17, 2014, 09:46:01 PM
a) Anveo call quality - anyone have experience with how their call quality is vs. the quality on Google Voice?
b) Outgoing calls on Anveo/ObiHai - I see that one can "spoof" the outgoing caller ID to be the Google Voice number. However, can we still route our calls through Google Voice? i.e., be able to seamlessly use our Google Voice account (and their call rates) to make International calls for e.g.?
Calls forwarded to Anveo from google voice are subject to the same quality issues of any Google voice forwarded calls. I have had no incoming quality issues on Anveo other than the random google voice problems that affects my Callcentric incoming as well.
My mom is using Anveo for incoming and outgoing and when I checked with her on Friday it has been working great.
Outbound calls via Google voice (after they shut off xmpp) can only be done via the webpage method. You log into your google voice webpage, and tell it you want to place a call. Tell it the number to call, and tell it the number to connect you. Google voice will then call you and connect you to the outgoing call. In that case the international part should be over GV, and the local charges would be through Anveo or whoever you use to complete the call to you. In that case it may be cheaper to have GV call your cell phone to complete the call since most cell services now have "unlimited minutes".
Quote from: Samardh on February 17, 2014, 09:46:01 PM
a) Anveo call quality - anyone have experience with how their call quality is vs. the quality on Google Voice?
The call quality of Anveo is perfect (arguably, the best), with no irritating delays such as I have experienced with Google Voice.
Call quality is highly dependant upon on the quality of your internet connection - if that is good, so be will your Anveo/Obi calls.
Rob.
Well I didn't do too bad on my guess of what we would be getting back in January. I guess they didn't round up and they didn't decide to be "generous".
Quote from: giqcass on January 01, 2014, 01:52:59 PM
My first guess.......... Anveo
At this price point my guess is 300-500 outgoing minutes.
Completely guessing but this is my logic. Anveo appears to be partnered with Obi based on their recomending them for 911. Anveo has Geo caller Id so it's no stretch to think they would be willing to send our GV caller ID. Based on Anveo pricing schedules and the assumption we will get a small break for the year contract.
$3.33
-$0.80 caller ID
_______________
$2.53 Calling Credit
$2.53/$0.01= 253 minutes
I assume Obi negotiated some kind of price break so they round up to 300 minutes. Based on the post I don't believe these minutes will roll over. If they don't roll over and we figure in for users that won't use all of their minutes Anveo could be generous and add 200 minutes without affecting their bottom line. Thus giving us 500 minutes total outbound.
It is unlikely they could compete with magic jack on outbound minutes because Anveo offers a higher level of service. In addition Magic Jack is "Jacking" up their prices for those that want 911 calling.
I have no information that is not available to everyone else so don't ask me if I have any inside info. This is just a guess. For the noobs I don't work for Obi or Anveo. Anyone elses guess is just as good as mine.
I saw a coupon for signing up Anveo last week. That thread seems to be gone. Did the coupon expire?
Quote from: Anveo on February 13, 2014, 01:46:01 PM
Quote from: CLTGreg on February 13, 2014, 01:09:28 PM
A couple notes about Anveo. There is no provision when going through the sign up to integrate this plan if you are an existing Anveo customer.
Anveo for OBiTalk packages are available for new customers which means that during signup process you will get a new Anveo account created.
I already have an Anveo account with existing balance, used for E911 only. Am I forced to create a separate Anveo account if I want to enroll in the Anveo-Obihai plan? Should I ask to have my current account closed and the balance refunded first?
Anveo international rates are too high. voip.ms is cheaper but cost $5.00 for 3500 incoming minutes. and additional 1.50 for e911.
Quote from: c3c3 on February 27, 2014, 09:59:46 PM
Quote from: Anveo on February 13, 2014, 01:46:01 PM
Quote from: CLTGreg on February 13, 2014, 01:09:28 PM
A couple notes about Anveo. There is no provision when going through the sign up to integrate this plan if you are an existing Anveo customer.
Anveo for OBiTalk packages are available for new customers which means that during signup process you will get a new Anveo account created.
I already have an Anveo account with existing balance, used for E911 only. Am I forced to create a separate Anveo account if I want to enroll in the Anveo-Obihai plan? Should I ask to have my current account closed and the balance refunded first?
I have the same question, any comment from ANVEO would be appreciated.
Quote from: dhfobi on March 01, 2014, 12:46:12 PM
I have the same question, any comment from ANVEO would be appreciated.
Why not ask Anveo? You can't expect them to monitor every forum on the web.
Quote from: giqcass on March 01, 2014, 06:40:44 PM
Quote from: dhfobi on March 01, 2014, 12:46:12 PM
I have the same question, any comment from ANVEO would be appreciated.
Why not ask Anveo? You can't expect them to monitor every forum on the web.
I did. No response to my email sent to anveo.sales@anveo.com.
Quote from: giqcass on March 01, 2014, 06:40:44 PM
Why not ask Anveo? You can't expect them to monitor every forum on the web.
Why not, the NSA does.
Quote from: thunderstruck on March 02, 2014, 06:07:37 AM
Quote from: giqcass on March 01, 2014, 06:40:44 PM
Why not ask Anveo? You can't expect them to monitor every forum on the web.
Why not, the NSA does.
Well if you want to pay for NSA style surveillance they might have to raise the monthly price by a billion or so dollars. Then they will know your phone is broke before you do.
Quote from: giqcass on March 03, 2014, 03:01:54 PM
Quote from: thunderstruck on March 02, 2014, 06:07:37 AM
Quote from: giqcass on March 01, 2014, 06:40:44 PM
Why not ask Anveo? You can't expect them to monitor every forum on the web.
Why not, the NSA does.
Well if you want to pay for NSA style surveillance they might have to raise the monthly price by a billion or so dollars. Then they will know your phone is broke before you do.
A rimshot and a round of applause for that one! HA HA HA
Quote from: SteveInWA on March 03, 2014, 09:07:57 PM
A rimshot and a round of applause for that one! HA HA HA
For future reference ===>> http://instantrimshot.com/ ;D
I'm happy with the price, the service, support and quality of the calls provided by Vestalink.
The OBiTALK "Generic Service Provider" option was used to configure the OBi202 for Vestalink on SP1. OBiTALK "OBi Expert Configuration" was used to modify the SP1 configuration for Vestalink. The most beneficial change to me was to disabled Call Waiting on "PH1", then enabled "Call Forwarding Busy Line" to Ring "ph2(#)".
Next, OBiTALK was used to configure SP3 and SP4 for "voip.ms. The voip.ms service is used for "Failover Call Forwarding" and for "Extensions" on my old OBi100 and OBi110. I use the older OBi devices as Lab or Test devices to check out various VoIP services.
OBiTALK - OBi Dashboard
SP1 Home Ph1 sp1 Vestalink Registered
SP2
SP3 Home Ph2 sp3 voip.ms Main Registered
SP4 vOFc Ph2 sp4 voip.ms x1024 Registered
@BigJim_McD
Interesting setup.
At the same time you unofficially introduced Vestalink into the "OBiTALK Approved Service Provider Program". If we say it often enough maybe they will eventually be listed. In any case I think it is safe to say that they are "officially" one of the more popular choices of the people participating on this forum. :)
I didn't know OBiVoice had changed the name to Vestalink till I read BigJim's post and checked the site this morning. (http://www.getsmile.com/emoticons/smileys-91853/aiw/smile.gif)
Quote from: QBZappy on March 04, 2014, 10:05:03 AM
@BigJim_McD
Interesting setup.
At the same time you unofficially introduced Vestalink into the "OBiTALK Approved Service Provider Program". If we say it often enough maybe they will eventually be listed. In any case I think it is safe to say that they are "officially" one of the more popular choices of the people participating on this forum. :)
I do think this will happen. I suggested to them that the name change was necessary to make them more dissimilar to the name Obihai before they could be listed as an approved provider. I was told that was pretty much the reason for the name change.
I posted on the forum several times that I couldn't be happier with Obivoice, I mean VestaLink ;)!! They were really responsive to my questions and I have had great call quality with them. Thumbs up to 'em.
FYI, I started a new topic that has some findings about the actual Anveo for ObiTalk plan.
http://www.obitalk.com/forum/index.php?topic=7391.0
I can't remove Vestalink from OBi110. It reappears by auto-filling all the fields when I attempt to add a different provider.
Using the web portal, I manually placed Vestalink in the sp2 position. Later it replicated itself into the sp1 slot and removed Callcentric in the process.
How do I stop this?
Quote from: Coasting on March 08, 2014, 09:29:04 PM
I can't remove Vestalink from OBi110. It reappears by auto-filling all the fields when I attempt to add a different provider.
Using the web portal, I manually placed Vestalink in the sp2 position. Later it replicated itself into the sp1 slot and removed Callcentric in the process.
How do I stop this?
Possibly by being aware of http://www.obitalk.com/forum/index.php?topic=61.0
Thanks drgeoff, that was a big help!
Phone Power has been added as an OBiTALK Approved Service provider.
There are two offers available:
1. OBi Lite: $34.99/year
2. OBi Unlimited: $59.99/year
CLICK HERE (https://www.obitalk.com/obinet/pg/services/itsp?i=phonepower) to see and sign-up for Phone Power service. Log-in required.
Phone Power, one of the largest VoIP providers in North America, is pleased to offer an exclusive promotion to Obihai customers. With live US-based support 7 days a week, a fault-tolerant geo-redundant network, and consistently high marks for Customer Service, Phone Power was awarded #30 by INC Magazine for the Fastest Growing Companies in America. All customers receive our crystal clear digital sound quality, advanced call forwarding and call blocking, voicemail, voicemail-to-email, and a host of other features.
Thank you!
Looks like a very nice offer even though I haven't heard much about this company before.
Couple quick questions.
Can you port a number to this provider?
Where on their web site does it show any available DID's?
Has anyone heard much about this company before? Reliability, quality, experience in this field?
At first glance it doesn't look too bad.
Another player, very nice...................
I had a neighbor who used them and was very happy with the service.
Quote from: AlanB on March 15, 2014, 07:53:29 PM
I had a neighbor who used them and was very happy with the service.
I take that back. My neighbor had BroadVoice before they were bought by PhonePower. They were going to sign up again last year but their ATA was dead so I convinced them to get an Obi instead.
IMPORTANT:
With PhonePower, can we manually config our devices instead of auto provisioning?
Quote from: Marketing on March 15, 2014, 04:26:00 PM
Phone Power, one of the largest VoIP providers in North America, is pleased to offer an exclusive promotion to Obihai customers.
Promotion? Is this a one time deal that renews at a different price after the "promotion"? I would not want any surprises, and their website lists completely different offers. I see no prices actually for BYOD.
Obihai needs to stop their approved providers from using deceptive advertizing terms like "unlimited" when it's not. "Unlimited" means 5000 minutes on Phone Power's other plans. Is unlimited here also limited to 5000 minutes, or perhaps even less?
Quote from: bgeery on March 16, 2014, 04:59:03 PM
Obihai needs to stop their approved providers from using deceptive advertizing terms like "unlimited" when it's not. "Unlimited" means 5000 minutes on Phone Power's other plans. Is unlimited here also limited to 5000 minutes, or perhaps even less?
There is no such thing as truly unlimited with discount providers. As long as the government allows it, this type of misleading advertisement will be commonplace and even good guys will be forced to use it ( or see the 80% moving to the unscrupulous)
I've had PhonePower for about 3 years now, and I also have their SIP Trunking plan for almost a year. Here is my review on DSLR: http://www.dslreports.com/comment/3039/83215
In summary, I like them from technology perspective; was annoyed by their add-on fees. But since they say "$60 with no hidden fees" - they would be my first choice!
I looked all over PhonePower's website, and decided against trying it. A lot of t he features I want are either not available, or cost extra. Incoming callerID name is not available. I believe the IVR capabilities cost extra. I don't remember what else, but I wasn't impressed, and thought Vestalink was a better deal.
That said, I think Anveo's normal non-obi approved plan is the one I like best, so far. I signed up for the $2/month unlimited incoming + $.80/month E911 service, no setup fees or commitment. So far, my $10 initial funding is mostly still there. :-) Their website is maddening to me, but I'm starting to get used to it. I think if I keep them, I'll set shortcuts for the pages I mostly use.
Anveo has good prices on outgoing calls, and with 6 second increments, a short call doesn't even cost a full penny. Canada is only .5 cents/minute, and China, which my wife calls is mostly 1.5 cents/minute, less that our calling card. Plus they have Fax in and out, no fax machine needed. You can upload fax bodies, fill out the header online, and incoming goes to email.
QuoteIncoming callerID name is not available
According to their obilite plan callerID name is included.
Quote from: Brandito on March 19, 2014, 11:22:42 AM
QuoteIncoming callerID name is not available
According to their obilite plan callerID name is included.
Thanks for the update- I think they must have just added that, as I'm pretty sure it said no when I checked. But I don't claim to be perfect, and I'm glad they have it.
Do you use them, or did you just see the features listed, like me? If anyone uses them, I'd be very interested to know if they have any type of incoming call blocking other than by phone number. This is my number one feature I want, to cut down on the telemarketers, especially the robo-calls, which should be easy to stop by adding any type of interaction at all. But filtering by number just doesn't work for telemarketers who can and do change their number at will.
I haven't started using anything other than gv and anveo e911 yet, waiting to see some more options. Phone Power seems like my most likely choice, so long as I hear good things about their reputation.
I suggest you go to their website and use their webchat support for your question. I connected to someone right away and they answered my questions about fax support and whether they could spoof my gv number.
Their 35 Dollar plan is cheaper than anveo and seems to offer more features and minutes.
I am here as I've just found out about Google voice not being supported after May, 15th. I bought 4 obi110 which will become garbage. I will use one for my mother with localphone, we use cellphones, anyhow. I don't know anyone willing to pay for VoIP, anymore. Localphone seems reasonable as it's 99 cents per month with setup ,one time charge of $3. Incoming calls are free and outgoing only 0.5 cents. We will dial back.
You don't know anyone willing to pay for VOIP any more? My assumption is that these people just have mobile phones? There are still those of us who are willing to pay for VOIP however and it's still a huge business I think.
Quote from: justme on March 19, 2014, 08:28:13 PM
I am here as I've just found out about Google voice not being supported after May, 15th. I bought 4 obi110 which will become garbage.
when the Obi's become garbage to you, send me your address, and I will send a prepaid mailer, to recycle your garbage
Quote from: justme on March 19, 2014, 08:28:13 PM
I don't know anyone willing to pay for VoIP, anymore.
Some of us still like landlines and VOIP can be much cheaper than Ma Bell with a lot more options too.
Can anyone confirm if any of the "OBiTALK Approved Service Providers" include a custom outgoing caller ID with the packages they offer. I use my Obi for outbound calling only and I need the outbound caller ID to be the published number ( of a POTS line I still have ). Is there a way to ask this question directly the companies offering approved plans before I sign up?
Thanks,
Lisa
Phone power for sure has caller id spoofing. Pretty sure others have mentioned the same is available with anveo. You should be able to contract either company directly to make sure.
vestalink does
Does anyone know if there's a way with Phone Power, to forward all calls to voice mail during different times of the day? Like when you're sleeping.
Other providers have this feature but I can't seem to find it on Phone Power.
Thanks
Actually, I seem to remember seeing a Do Not Disturb setting in the OBi device itself. But it may only be an on/off setting.
Quote from: Lisa2 on March 20, 2014, 10:09:28 AM
Can anyone confirm if any of the "OBiTALK Approved Service Providers" include a custom outgoing caller ID with the packages they offer. I use my Obi for outbound calling only and I need the outbound caller ID to be the published number ( of a POTS line I still have ). Is there a way to ask this question directly the companies offering approved plans before I sign up?
Thanks,
Lisa
Lisa,
Anveo will let you "spoof" your caller ID. See http://www.obitalk.com/forum/index.php?topic=7391.msg47302#msg47302 for this and some other things to know should you sign up.
This approved provider program sounds all good at face value, but it appears that this pricing is only good for one year and then what happens? I certainly don't want to sign up with a good old approved provider only to see my plan disappear or my monthy voip pricing double this time next year.
One of the issues with voip in general is that companies seem to come and go and every several months you are either waiting for a lengthy number port, seeing pricing go up and down like a yo-yo or having to change and reconfigure everything.
Does anyone know if there is any type of pricing guarantee once a obi customer jumps to one of these preferred providers or is this just a gimmick to get you on board and keep you from throwing your obi device out the window??
I understand your concerns rla0001.
I am also concerned about what will happen a year from now with my PhonePower plan.
If for some reason they decide to raise the cost of the plan more than I can handle, I will simply find a cheaper provider. Lots to choose from.
I think that fact alone will keep their prices at a reasonable level.
Whether or not you port a number or forward a number to these Obi approved providers, you can always port to another one or it's even easier to forward to another one, if you decide to change providers a year from now.
The prices and features that these providers are offering are really hard to beat.
A year from now?
Who knows what will happen.......................
I agree with the last post. It's so easy to switch companies tahtbim not too worried about next year either.
On the topic of pricing and promotion, I took the advice of Brandito and had a web chat with PhonePower. I wish I had thought to take a screen shot, but didn't. Anyway, the rep did say that the price would continue even after the first year for OBi owners. But you have to sign up by May 15. And now reading the last comments on here, yes it is true there are plenty of providers and a lot of good pricing, if I have to switch again I can. The only thing that would bother me is that you can't always port your number. The number I have right now can't be ported by Anveo, but supposedly PhonePower can. I would hate to switch numbers every year or two.
Looks like I'll be back to MagicJack or on to BasicTalk through Walmart. The Anveo PunyMinutes™ plans are a farce.
Quote from: nicmart on March 24, 2014, 10:10:14 AM
Looks like I'll be back to MagicJack or on to BasicTalk through Walmart. The Anveo PunyMinutes™ plans are a farce.
Depends on how much you talk. It's been good for me.
If you don't like the Anveo plans don't write off PhonePower. Of course you may have missed that because Obihai really hid it in the forum.
Decided to cancel service with PhonePower.
Didn't care for how they handled a few things.
I signed up for the lite plan at $34.99. Will they refund the entire amount since I don't have any of their hardware?
It's within their 30 day guarantee so we'll see.....
Quote from: Johnny on March 31, 2014, 12:18:19 PM
Didn't care for how they handled a few things.
Such as?
Quote from: c3c3 on March 31, 2014, 12:27:46 PM
Quote from: Johnny on March 31, 2014, 12:18:19 PM
Didn't care for how they handled a few things.
Such as?
Well, without going into intricate details, let's just say I didn't care for how some billing and support issues were handled.
The service itself seemed fine, I just thought they could have handled my other issues better. Probably just me. ;D
As long as the refunds come through, I'll be a happy camper.....
Anveo has upped the minutes in their plans (and given them new names).
http://www.anveo.com/anveoforobitalk.asp
They have also included additional countries in the $84/year plan.
I've been on Anveo for a month now and very happy with call quality.
Quote from: AlanB on March 31, 2014, 06:58:41 PM
Anveo has upped the minutes in their plans (and given them new names).
http://www.anveo.com/anveoforobitalk.asp
They have also included additional countries in the $84/year plan.
I've been on Anveo for a month now and very happy with call quality.
Whoa, that's tempting especially for those of us already paying the E911 fee.
Quote from: CLTGreg on April 01, 2014, 09:28:22 AM
Quote from: AlanB on March 31, 2014, 06:58:41 PM
Anveo has upped the minutes in their plans (and given them new names).
http://www.anveo.com/anveoforobitalk.asp
They have also included additional countries in the $84/year plan.
I've been on Anveo for a month now and very happy with call quality.
Whoa, that's tempting especially for those of us already paying the E911 fee.
Ok so how exactly do you get this deal? When going to Anveo from the link on Obitalk - I don't see these plans.
Quote from: jesseasi on April 01, 2014, 10:15:40 AM
Quote from: CLTGreg on April 01, 2014, 09:28:22 AM
Quote from: AlanB on March 31, 2014, 06:58:41 PM
Anveo has upped the minutes in their plans (and given them new names).
http://www.anveo.com/anveoforobitalk.asp
They have also included additional countries in the $84/year plan.
I've been on Anveo for a month now and very happy with call quality.
Whoa, that's tempting especially for those of us already paying the E911 fee.
Ok so how exactly do you get this deal? When going to Anveo from the link on Obitalk - I don't see these plans.
If you go through the signup process it presents the new plan. I just did and 1000 minutes show on my dashboard.
Quote from: CLTGreg on April 01, 2014, 10:22:55 AM
Quote from: jesseasi on April 01, 2014, 10:15:40 AM
Quote from: CLTGreg on April 01, 2014, 09:28:22 AM
Quote from: AlanB on March 31, 2014, 06:58:41 PM
Anveo has upped the minutes in their plans (and given them new names).
http://www.anveo.com/anveoforobitalk.asp
They have also included additional countries in the $84/year plan.
I've been on Anveo for a month now and very happy with call quality.
Whoa, that's tempting especially for those of us already paying the E911 fee.
Ok so how exactly do you get this deal? When going to Anveo from the link on Obitalk - I don't see these plans.
If you go through the signup process it presents the new plan. I just did and 1000 minutes show on my dashboard.
Excellent - I just discovered the same thing. Now next dumb question - It takes me to a point where I have to assign a number - how do I go about porting in my google numbers?
Quote from: jesseasi on April 01, 2014, 11:12:44 AM
Excellent - I just discovered the same thing. Now next dumb question - It takes me to a point where I have to assign a number - how do I go about porting in my google numbers?
Anveo has a FAQ for porting.
https://www.anveo.com/faq.asp?code=faq_did_portin
You will need to first unlock your google voice numbers before starting the port with Anveo.
Quote from: jesseasi on April 01, 2014, 11:12:44 AM
Excellent - I just discovered the same thing. Now next dumb question - It takes me to a point where I have to assign a number - how do I go about porting in my google numbers?
In addition to the response you already got, I suggest you check out this forum topic as well for additional useful info on your plan.
http://www.obitalk.com/forum/index.php?topic=7391.0
I was having a similar issue signing up for the Obitalk special with Anveo using my existing Anveo account. The account was established so that I could have an account to reference when porting my number from Vonage (and to tinker while waiting for the port). I followed the links for Anveo on the Obitalk ASP page and Obitalk said that my device was re-provisioned but I was never transferred to an Anveo page for payment nor was my account updated to reflect the plan change.
The workaround is to sign up for the Obitalk special with Anveo with a new account then contact customer.support@anveo.com stating that you want your phone number and account balance to be transferred to the new account number. Surprisingly, this request was completed within a few hours.
As an aside regarding my number port from Vonage, it was complete in 7 days.
Just looking for a service that has unlimited incoming calls I can use with my Obi100. Not bothered about calling out - I can do that using gmail.
Quote from: StanAdams on April 14, 2014, 10:39:37 PM
Just looking for a service that has unlimited incoming calls I can use with my Obi100. Not bothered about calling out - I can do that using gmail.
callcentric Free NY DID has free incoming minutes and zero cost for the phone. No outgoing.
Good. Ok, thanks.
Quote from: MikeHObi on April 01, 2014, 12:50:28 PM
Anveo has a FAQ for porting.
https://www.anveo.com/faq.asp?code=faq_did_portin
You will need to first unlock your google voice numbers before starting the port with Anveo.
This might be a stupid question (first time poster here), but is it really necessary to port my google voice number? Can't I just use any old number that Anveo (or whatever voip provider) gives me and then (1) spoof the caller ID to show my GV number on outgoing calls, and (2) forward calls made to my GV number to ring the assigned Anveo number?
I just want to be sure I'm not missing a reason why porting a GV number is necessary.
Thanks,
Dan
Quote from: danielbliss on April 15, 2014, 08:02:01 PM
Quote from: MikeHObi on April 01, 2014, 12:50:28 PM
Anveo has a FAQ for porting.
https://www.anveo.com/faq.asp?code=faq_did_portin
You will need to first unlock your google voice numbers before starting the port with Anveo.
This might be a stupid question (first time poster here), but is it really necessary to port my google voice number? Can't I just use any old number that Anveo (or whatever voip provider) gives me and then (1) spoof the caller ID to show my GV number on outgoing calls, and (2) forward calls made to my GV number to ring the assigned Anveo number?
I just want to be sure I'm not missing a reason why porting a GV number is necessary.
Thanks,
Dan
You do not need to port your number. There are pros and cons for doing so and are discussed throughout the forum. Easiest short term answer is not to port.
Another plug for Callcentric - great suite of services. I love their forwarding, multiple phone ring, many other features.
Quote from: danielbliss on April 15, 2014, 08:02:01 PM
This might be a stupid question (first time poster here), but is it really necessary to port my google voice number?
Google has had and continues to have
some problems with completing calls to
some phone numbers held by a number of VOIP providers. The problem started sometime around November of 2013. Many numbers are unaffected and many numbers are. You never know if yours will be affected until you try.
I ported because I had numbers that were affected with 3 different voip providers. If you can forward without problems then there are no compelling reasons to port.
While I answered that you don't need to port, I did as well. My call quality on incoming calls has improved.
Quote from: MikeHObi on April 16, 2014, 02:15:54 PM
Google has had and continues to have some problems with completing calls to some phone numbers held by a number of VOIP providers. The problem started sometime around November of 2013. Many numbers are unaffected and many numbers are. You never know if yours will be affected until you try.
So it is your understanding that it just affects some numbers and not others?
The reason I ask is that I got a free Callcentric DID a week ago and use it as a forwarded number in GV. My understanding is that this affects the free CC DIDs but not the paid CC DIDs. Yet I have tested my free CC DID as much as possible and so far it has worked perfectly with no dropped/incompleted calls and with correct CID passed every time. Based on your post I'm trying to figure out whether I may have lucked out with a "good" DID number that doesn't suffer from this issue or is it more likely I just haven't run into it yet and it's just a matter of time?
Thanks, all. I just successfully registered an outbound account with circlenet.us (taking advantage of their $2 credit offer) and will, as of May 15th, switch to circlenet for outgoing calls and will continue to rely on my free callcentric did for incoming calls (using GV number forwarded to callcentric). I prefer the pay-as-you-go approach, especially given circlenet's extremely inexpensive prices (I never make international calls, and my outbounds probably don't amount to more than 300 min. per month).
The callcentric number has served me well for over a year now for inbounds without dropped calls. I migrated to an Obi202 from a Linksys PAP2T - GV - sipgate - SipSorcery combination for many years (got a bit weary of programming dial plans in ruby, though!).
Quote from: Taoman on April 16, 2014, 03:47:17 PM
Quote from: MikeHObi on April 16, 2014, 02:15:54 PM
Google has had and continues to have some problems with completing calls to some phone numbers held by a number of VOIP providers. The problem started sometime around November of 2013. Many numbers are unaffected and many numbers are. You never know if yours will be affected until you try.
So it is your understanding that it just affects some numbers and not others?
The reason I ask is that I got a free Callcentric DID a week ago and use it as a forwarded number in GV. My understanding is that this affects the free CC DIDs but not the paid CC DIDs. Yet I have tested my free CC DID as much as possible and so far it has worked perfectly with no dropped/incompleted calls and with correct CID passed every time. Based on your post I'm trying to figure out whether I may have lucked out with a "good" DID number that doesn't suffer from this issue or is it more likely I just haven't run into it yet and it's just a matter of time?
Taoman reached out to me privately, but I might as well respond here, too, for other readers' benefit.
I brought this issue to Google engineering months ago, and it was eventually fixed, as far as I know. I also use a CC free NY DID as a GV forwarding number, and it has worked fine for months now. YMMV, of course. The reason being, VoIP service providers use various carriers to route calls, on a least-cost-routing basis if possible, and one or more of those carriers may block or mangle the call during routing. Sometimes, the failing carriers need to be identified and blacklisted to solve it. I can't disclose any more than that, but if individual users continue to experience failures with a large percentage of their forwarded GV calls to a CC/Telengy DID, please open a post over on the GV forum, and we'll try to resolve it. There's no point to nagging CC about it at this point.
Quote from: Taoman on April 16, 2014, 03:47:17 PM
So it is your understanding that it just affects some numbers and not others?
The reason I ask is that I got a free Callcentric DID a week ago and use it as a forwarded number in GV. My understanding is that this affects the free CC DIDs but not the paid CC DIDs. Yet I have tested my free CC DID as much as possible and so far it has worked perfectly with no dropped/incompleted calls and with correct CID passed every time. Based on your post I'm trying to figure out whether I may have lucked out with a "good" DID number that doesn't suffer from this issue or is it more likely I just haven't run into it yet and it's just a matter of time?
There have been reports from people with Free Callcentric DID's that have not had problems with google voice and those that have paid numbers with Callcentric that have had problems.
Thus my only assumption is that whatever the problem is, it only affects some areas and not others. It has some thing to do with routing of the calls. Personally I could call my home from my office any time and the call completion was perfect. But if I called from my cell phone or if family members called there would be call completion issues. What causes that? I don't know, but the problem is on Googles end.
I have experienced problems with Free Callcentric DID's in general, so I don't think it's specific to GV.
Don't forget that IPKall still provide free DID's for those that decide not to port their numbers out of GV.
I have been using Google voice with my OBIs for a couple years now, never had issues
I have three OBI devices, 1 - 202 and 2- 110 they all work great.
I signed up for PhonePower a few weeks ago, started with their $35/yr plan but found the 300 mins/mo was not going to cut it so I upgraded to the $60 unlimited plan.
Phonepower spoofs the Google voice number so people can still see that number when you call. I have forwarded my Google voice number to the new PhonePower number. Phonepower also has setting for low bandwidth if that is an issue for you. They also have a BLOCKED LIST for "those people you want to block" ;) and SELECTIVE FORWARDING. I have found the calls crystal clear with PhonePower and very feature rich.
I have one of the OBIs in the Philippines setup with a local number which makes for very cheap international calling. I have been able to keep the firmware up to date from here which I really like.
Anyway PhonePower gets two thumbs up from me so far.
Does anyone know how much PhonePower will cost after the 1 year special through Obitalk is over? When I go direct to their site their current plans look almost as bad as my old Vonage that I dumped. Special pricing offered through ObiTalk looks good for at least a year, but if they go up after that... I'll be on the hunt again.
I've only had free service for 10 months and then got caught up in this May 15th Google change. So far they have not discontinued my service (as of May 16th 2:45PM West Coast). But I need to make the switch before it kicks in (or out). Whichever service I go with, I plan on keeping my number with GoogleVoice and forwarding to the new service.
My current setup is the Obi100 using GoogleVoice (ported home # to T-Mobile temp SIM then into GV). Outbound calls are pure GV through the Obi100. Inbound GV calls are forwarded to a CallCentric free DID (NY Prefix) where I pay $1.5/month to add E911 and have it process CNAM since GV doesn't provide inbound Caller ID.
I know it seems to make sense to stay with CallCentric since my inbound calls are already set up and only cost $1.50/month, but their lowest outbound plan is $7 a month whereas PhonePower is just $2.92.
Bottom line - I rarely use this phone number but have had it for 25 years. Though it is not used often it is the official house number for bills, school etc.; so I want to keep it, but at the lowest cost possible.
Quote from: G-Man on May 16, 2014, 02:36:45 PM
My current setup is the Obi100 using GoogleVoice (ported home # to T-Mobile temp SIM then into GV). Outbound calls are pure GV through the Obi100. Inbound GV calls are forwarded to a CallCentric free DID (NY Prefix) where I pay $1.5/month to add E911 and have it process CNAM since GV doesn't provide inbound Caller ID.
I know it seems to make sense to stay with CallCentric since my inbound calls are already set up and only cost $1.50/month, but their lowest outbound plan is $7 a month whereas PhonePower is just $2.92.
Bottom line - I rarely use this phone number but have had it for 25 years. Though it is not used often it is the official house number for bills, school etc.; so I want to keep it, but at the lowest cost possible.
If you barely use it, why not just use the CallCentric Pay Per Call plan. http://www.callcentric.com/rate/plans/pay_per_call/
It doesn't have the cheapest rates but if you barely use it that shouldn't matter. Or sign up with CircleNet for outgoing calls. They have good rates and customer service.
Keep your incoming as you have it.
AlanB, thank you for that tip. I am currently looking into that (and the fine print). I had no idea CallCentric offered pay-as-you-go since I only ever used their free DID I had blinders on.
Quote from: VoIP2Go on May 06, 2014, 08:56:51 AM
I have experienced problems with Free Callcentric DID's in general, so I don't think it's specific to GV.
Don't forget that IPKall still provide free DID's for those that decide not to port their numbers out of GV.
I wonder what kind of problems you encountered with the free NYC DID's from Callcentric- maybe you want to be more specific. I have not encountered one single issue since inception except things like no/fake CLID from garbage providers which have nothing to do with Callcentric/Telengy.
I think that the free NYC DID program from Callcentric is excellent, making it possible to use advanced and quality CC services and features on pay as you go basis without any financial commitment. An excellent idea from an otherwise relatively expensive provider which should be IMO praised, not criticized.
Signed up for Anveo 3 months ago in preparation for May 15th. Rock solid in and out. 1/10 cent per min outgoing free incoming. Seems reasonable.. Ironically my GV voice number continues fine with Obi202 and it's May 17th.
Quote from: Richierich on May 17, 2014, 08:44:19 AM
Signed up for Anveo 3 months ago in preparation for May 15th. Rock solid in and out. 1/10 cent per min outgoing free incoming. Seems reasonable.. Ironically my GV voice number continues fine with Obi202 and it's May 17th.
I only see 1c a minute (333 minutes for $3.33). When did they offer 1/10 cent per minute outgoing calls?
Quote from: malahal on May 23, 2014, 05:02:47 PM
Quote from: Richierich on May 17, 2014, 08:44:19 AM
Signed up for Anveo 3 months ago in preparation for May 15th. Rock solid in and out. 1/10 cent per min outgoing free incoming. Seems reasonable.. Ironically my GV voice number continues fine with Obi202 and it's May 17th.
I only see 1c a minute (333 minutes for $3.33). When did they offer 1/10 cent per minute outgoing calls?
I signed up three months ago as well. I never saw 1/10 cent per minute either. I suspect Richierich made a typo.
Let get back to basics, Free is what Obi has been in the past and for the foreseen future it's still free, however that could stop any minute. $50.00 a year for the average residential plan seems fair anything more than that is just plain robbery. The so called lite plans that run $35 to $40. seems about right and fair considering Obi customers are paying for their own voip equipment, however the outgoing calling minutes per month is a little stingy 500 hours would seem to be a better fit. $80.00 a year is simply insane. Hang in there everyone before long someone will come up with a better solution, it may 6 months or so but a better plan and or configuration will emerge. Even Magic Jack and Net Talk are getting a little expensive, but there again something will come along and uproot them. Basic Talk from Walmart advertises unlimited domestic calling for $9.99 a month so why would anyone consider paying an outrages price for a voip service that you BYOD?
I've applied for the Anveo "approved" services program. Somewhere in the process. I've lost the capability to "bridge" from another SIP-account to my Anveo channel. It is only possible to call to a fixed number (or dial a number from a direct connected phone). Is this intentional, or a problem in my configuration? Also the ability to bridge to another (non-Anveo) channel has been lost. Anyone a clue?
Heleen
I would suggest you start a new topic with this question.
Quote from: squiggy on February 11, 2014, 05:46:38 PM
I'm surprised this was not a more competitive package--especially the limited # of outgoing minutes. There are way to many better options out there. usa today (https://dailycrossword.onl/usa-today/) protonmail (https://mailsafe.onl/protonmail/) As much as I like my Obi I would dump it and use netTalk before I would take this option.
Today, we would like to inform everyone, Obihai have partnered with Anveo to deliver the first such offering as part of the launch of the public-facing OBiTALK Approved Service Provider (ASP) program. We are excited to announce it first to OBiTALK forum readers, to anyone visiting the OBiTALK portal and soon (as the word spreads), to those who notice related discussions and future promotions we are planning that highlight the best and smartest BYOD VoIP solution available today.
Does anybody know if Skype will work with Obi110? Skype has a service for $2.99 a month subscription with unlimited calls to USA and Canada...I want my Skype number to ring on my house phone instead of just my computer...also so far I have to leave my computer on...must be a way...does anyone know about Skype internet phones...need something to plug into router instead of computer...thanks...aud
Does anyone know why Anveo registration is no longer available and is it going to be available at all and when?
Pricing is available but there is no sign up button ???
https://www.anveo.com/anveoforobitalk.asp?sid=217e91058a1b84b8252c4b87ed320e15