OBiTALK Community

Region Specific Technical / Service Provider Support => North America - Including Google Voice, Skype, etc. => Topic started by: mushnut on May 24, 2014, 07:29:27 AM

Title: ring.to will not work with existing OBi devices (purchased prior to 5/1/2014)
Post by: mushnut on May 24, 2014, 07:29:27 AM
Just in case you were wondering, I got an email back from OBi support informing me that existing customers will not be able to use their existing device (purchased prior to 5/1/14) with the free ring.to service. I was disappointed to see that they would disregard loyal customers like that.

When I asked why they weren't allowing existing customers to use the ring.to service for free this is the reply I got:

On May 19, 2014 2:25 PM, "Obihai Support Team" <support@obihai.com> wrote:
You can sign up for our other ASP service provider in OBiTALK (for example
Anveo or Phone Power)
see attached for Phone Power
The Ringto SP is our new addition to OBiTALK 's ASP plan.
The features are what Ringto offer.

-Obihai Support Team

On May 20, 2014 1:58 PM, "Obihai Support Team" <support@obihai.com> wrote:
Unfortunately, that is the term that ring.to has
But don't worry, our other ASP plan with Anveo or Phone Power provides low cost.

-Obihai Support Team

So they are putting the blame on ring.to saying that those were their terms. I find this hard to believe.
Title: Re: ring.to will not work with existing OBi devices (purchased prior to 5/1/2014)
Post by: Kage on May 24, 2014, 09:05:12 AM
That doesn't make any sense unless Ring.to is getting a cut of obi sales as a way of offsetting their costs. Otherwise I can't see why they would care whether older boxes use them or not. I planned on getting an OBi200 anyway but still it seems like Obihai isn't being forthright.
Title: Re: ring.to will not work with existing OBi devices (purchased prior to 5/1/2014)
Post by: vtsnaab on May 24, 2014, 09:50:10 AM
Pardon me - but frankly I do not see anything overly attractive about Phone Power, Anveo OR Ring.to - and the business tactics employed in their ASP efforts do not impress me either.

With so many other good providers to choose from I have chosen to completely ignore the 'officially' endorsed ones and thus far I am very glad for that choice.
Title: Re: ring.to will not work with existing OBi devices (purchased prior to 5/1/2014)
Post by: mushnut on May 24, 2014, 12:50:09 PM
I also have a feeling that they are not being completely forthright.
Title: Re: ring.to will not work with existing OBi devices (purchased prior to 5/1/2014)
Post by: drgeoff on May 24, 2014, 01:02:01 PM
I'm intrigued to know how Obihai, Ring.to or anyone can determine when an OBi device was purchased. Date of first registration at OBiTALK I could understand.
Title: Re: ring.to will not work with existing OBi devices (purchased prior to 5/1/2014)
Post by: giqcass on May 24, 2014, 02:43:10 PM
I suspect they will use the Obion number or more likely the serial number to determine purchase date.  I also believe this is an effort to test the waters without overloading support or overloading the system.  If all goes well they might allow older Obi devices to register as well.  The sister company of Ring.to rolled out the Kit Kat update on their phones in a similar fashion to reduce support cost.  I trust the parent company of Ring.to Bandwidth.com since they have yet to steer me wrong.  Right now I consider the ring.to service to be an experiment that will allow them to develop a productive business model.
Title: Re: ring.to will not work with existing OBi devices (purchased prior to 5/1/2014)
Post by: nitzan on May 24, 2014, 03:40:08 PM
Quote from: giqcass on May 24, 2014, 02:43:10 PMI also believe this is an effort to test the waters without overloading support or overloading the system.
Perhaps. Or more likely this is a business decision to enable Obihai to sell more adapters, lol. Or could be a little bit of both.

QuoteI trust the parent company of Ring.to Bandwidth.com since they have yet to steer me wrong.  Right now I consider the ring.to service to be an experiment that will allow them to develop a productive business model.
See, that's what I don't get - where is the business upside for BW? I can't think of a model where this is significantly profitable, unless they plan to charge for service in the future. If anything- they are taking paying customers and turning them into free customers thereby losing money on this deal/decision. Example: Joe is using VOIPo, so VOIPo is paying BW for Joe's usage. Joe ports his number over to Ring.to and viola - BW no longer gets paid - makes absolutely no business sense.
Title: Re: ring.to will not work with existing OBi devices (purchased prior to 5/1/2014)
Post by: drgeoff on May 24, 2014, 05:14:49 PM
Quote from: giqcass on May 24, 2014, 02:43:10 PM
I suspect they will use the Obion number or more likely the serial number to determine purchase date.
Please explain. Obihai do not supply directly to end-users. They may know the date a particular device was shipped to a wholesaler or retailer but how do they know how long it remained there before purchase by the end-user?
Title: Re: ring.to will not work with existing OBi devices (purchased prior to 5/1/2014)
Post by: giqcass on May 24, 2014, 07:55:04 PM
Quote from: drgeoff on May 24, 2014, 05:14:49 PM
Quote from: giqcass on May 24, 2014, 02:43:10 PM
I suspect they will use the Obion number or more likely the serial number to determine purchase date.
Please explain. Obihai do not supply directly to end-users. They may know the date a particular device was shipped to a wholesaler or retailer but how do they know how long it remained there before purchase by the end-user?
I was thinking that as well but I suspect the date might be more of an approximation   Another option might be to use the date the Obi first called home.  Unless you lock your Obi down pretty tight it will talk to their servers.

Quote from: nitzan on May 24, 2014, 03:40:08 PM
See, that's what I don't get - where is the business upside for BW? I can't think of a model where this is significantly profitable, unless they plan to charge for service in the future. If anything- they are taking paying customers and turning them into free customers thereby losing money on this deal/decision. Example: Joe is using VOIPo, so VOIPo is paying BW for Joe's usage. Joe ports his number over to Ring.to and viola - BW no longer gets paid - makes absolutely no business sense.
The only upside I see for BW is in the R&D process.  I expect them to eventually start charging.  They have deep pockets so they can lose some money developing a new service.  It will be interesting to see how all of this turns out.
Title: Re: ring.to will not work with existing OBi devices (purchased prior to 5/1/2014)
Post by: ceg3 on May 24, 2014, 07:55:54 PM
I would be tempted to order a new one, but my dang OBi just refuses to die. ;D Not my fault Obihai makes a product that lasts! ::)
Title: Re: ring.to will not work with existing OBi devices (purchased prior to 5/1/2014)
Post by: zorlac on May 25, 2014, 06:51:10 PM
Quote from: ceg3 on May 24, 2014, 07:55:54 PM
I would be tempted to order a new one, but my dang OBi just refuses to die. ;D Not my fault Obihai makes a product that lasts! ::)
Mine's tied to my house phone wires driving 6 phones, lets see if it makes it through this summer's lightning season.  :o
I did wrap the wire from the wall jack to the obi through a couple of split ferrite beads to hopefully ward off an early demise.
Title: Re: ring.to will not work with existing OBi devices (purchased prior to 5/1/2014)
Post by: HDFLucky on May 25, 2014, 08:38:52 PM
Quote from: giqcass on May 24, 2014, 02:43:10 PM
I also believe this is an effort to test the waters without overloading support or overloading the system.  If all goes well they might allow older Obi devices to register as well.  The sister company of Ring.to rolled out the Kit Kat update on their phones in a similar fashion to reduce support cost.  I trust the parent company of Ring.to Bandwidth.com since they have yet to steer me wrong.  Right now I consider the ring.to service to be an experiment that will allow them to develop a productive business model.
I tend to agree. Another consideration is that as of May 15, GrooVe IP (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gvoip) switched from Google Voice to ring.to as their sp. This has probably resulted in a massive uptick in new accounts and service requests. Once things settle down, we'll see.
Title: Re: ring.to will not work with existing OBi devices (purchased prior to 5/1/2014)
Post by: drgeoff on May 26, 2014, 12:51:22 AM
Quote from: zorlac on May 25, 2014, 06:51:10 PM
Quote from: ceg3 on May 24, 2014, 07:55:54 PM
I would be tempted to order a new one, but my dang OBi just refuses to die. ;D Not my fault Obihai makes a product that lasts! ::)
Mine's tied to my house phone wires driving 6 phones, lets see if it makes it through this summer's lightening season.  :o
I did wrap the wire from the wall jack to the obi through a couple of split ferrite beads to hopefully ward off an early demise.
Your ferrite beads give absolutely no added protection against lightning. (Nor against lightening.)
Title: Re: ring.to will not work with existing OBi devices (purchased prior to 5/1/2014)
Post by: zorlac on May 26, 2014, 06:47:21 AM
Quote from: drgeoff on May 26, 2014, 12:51:22 AM
Quote from: zorlac on May 25, 2014, 06:51:10 PM
Quote from: ceg3 on May 24, 2014, 07:55:54 PM
I would be tempted to order a new one, but my dang OBi just refuses to die. ;D Not my fault Obihai makes a product that lasts! ::)
Mine's tied to my house phone wires driving 6 phones, lets see if it makes it through this summer's lightening season.  :o
I did wrap the wire from the wall jack to the obi through a couple of split ferrite beads to hopefully ward off an early demise.
Your ferrite beads give absolutely no added protection against lightning. (Nor against lightening.)
Nah, I've been at this crap for decades so I respectfully disagree.
Title: Re: ring.to will not work with existing OBi devices (purchased prior to 5/1/2014)
Post by: drgeoff on May 26, 2014, 08:48:58 AM
Quote from: zorlac on May 26, 2014, 06:47:21 AMNah, I've been at this crap for decades so I respectfully disagree.
I respect your right to disagree but you are wrong.  :)

The telcos have been at it even longer than you and they don't and never have used ferrite beads in their lightning protection devices.

The only sure way to protect an OBi (or any other) device from lightning is to disconnect it during thunderstorms.  ;D
Title: Re: ring.to will not work with existing OBi devices (purchased prior to 5/1/2014)
Post by: zorlac on May 26, 2014, 11:17:50 AM
In effect what you are actually saying is that a series inductance will offer absolutely no attenuation to the common mode AC current induced into my house wiring that's traveling toward the obi box?
It may not be enough, but it's certainly better than absolutely nothing.
If you are talking about protecting against a direct strike well of course there's no protection against that!

I have deer whistles on two of my motorcycles & haven't hit a deer with either of them but I've bounced multiple deer off two automobiles that didn't have the whistles.
Doesn't that prove that the deer whistles work?  ;D
Title: Re: ring.to will not work with existing OBi devices (purchased prior to 5/1/2014)
Post by: Harley on May 26, 2014, 03:20:10 PM
Hey it can't hurt so whats the beef.
Title: Re: ring.to will not work with existing OBi devices (purchased prior to 5/1/2014)
Post by: MikePA on May 26, 2014, 04:05:38 PM
Quote from: Harley on May 26, 2014, 03:20:10 PM
...so whats the beef.

Hey, perpetuating ignorance.
Title: Re: ring.to will not work with existing OBi devices (purchased prior to 5/1/2014)
Post by: YASH on May 27, 2014, 08:18:20 PM
Purchased after May 1, 14  ONLY ::

This also complicates the issue, since,.. say for example,...

If they started selling after the May 1, 14 some particular OBIs-pieces  with their Id nos. suggesting in  a particular way, that reveals that, they were made and sold after May 1, 2014,
But still,.... so many e-bay dealers, neweggs, buy.com and many such net dealers have either a big chunk/load been already bought before that, and hence, even as a customer, if someone bought from them , say,..after May 1, 2014,..... it will be very hard to justify it,.... Unless,.. "ring.to" asks for the actual receipt of having bought that piece.

Or, perhaps,....
in this case,.. Obi may give all ID numbers that were already registered with them before May 1, 2014 and that's how "ring.to" can reject them to make them, eligible them,.. under the free offer.

Now,..
For GV, I think,.. they will stop the service by this May ending or say June or July ending, as May 15, 2014 was not such  a hard n' fast date, but just a guideline,.. for somewhere around the mid of the year 2014.

What I doubt one more thing, that  " ring.to " could also be just a pie in the sky, to tempt the  new customers to not to completely stop, buying these obi pieces, and  once after a period of one year when more customers are used to with them, they also will "pull a  Cat underneath the hat" ( after  a year ) by saying that, we have to also pay the taxes to the Govt, that we are paying uptil now, but now we will charge you, per your state taxes, and hence 4 dollars per month, and again the same story.

Nettalk who started with TK6000 and later nettalk duo
OOMA who stared with ooma classic and later Telo,..
had done the same, of charging you  a later, once you are used to with their products and its services,..
Title: Re: ring.to will not work with existing OBi devices (purchased prior to 5/1/2014)
Post by: Alyson on May 28, 2014, 05:38:59 AM


Nettalk who started with TK6000 and later nettalk duo
OOMA who stared with ooma classic and later Telo,..
had done the same, of charging you  a later, once you are used to with their products and its services,..

[/quote]
Probably why the requirement to obtain e911 separately to keep the service free. 
Title: Re: ring.to will not work with existing OBi devices (purchased prior to 5/1/2014)
Post by: YASH on May 28, 2014, 07:09:58 AM
^^ No. The features were still, all same. ( No addition or deletion of 911 service )

The previous was  a trial/beta  version, with life-time free service,
with not even the govt. tax, being charged to you.

Those who bought earlier, were lucky.

Later, they all now charge,
roughly 3.50 to 4.50 dollars per month, for all of them, now,.. and Now this obihai is also a NO exception.

magic jack / magic jack plus
ooma old model / Telo
Nettalk duo
now,.. obi in this list.


They all charge monthly fee now. So, No free lunch !!

Title: Re: ring.to will not work with existing OBi devices (purchased prior to 5/1/2014)
Post by: YASH on May 28, 2014, 07:28:20 AM
Quote from: giqcass on May 24, 2014, 02:43:10 PM
I suspect they will use the .......................a productive business model.

I read below your post, this line.

Register at e164.org and friends can use Sipbroker to call you from a regular telephone for free from almost any country.

Could you elaborate, please?

I have obi202 in the USA and have relatives in India and UAE.
How they can call me, from there, for free? Or,. I can call them for free using the sipbroker? 

I read that web page, but it's complicated and hard to understand.

Can you pl. explain me step by step, as I am a novice. Thx.
Title: Re: ring.to will not work with existing OBi devices (purchased prior to 5/1/2014)
Post by: dircom on May 28, 2014, 08:57:48 AM
send them an OBi, then you can call Obi to Obi for free
Title: Re: ring.to will not work with existing OBi devices (purchased prior to 5/1/2014)
Post by: Gonzo on June 12, 2014, 02:02:01 PM
I have two obis in two locations.  Was happily using GV. Now that is gone. I had one of my GV numbers ported to ring.to thinking it will be supported by Obi. Now learning that my devices were purchased in 2013 they do not qualify. 

Whatever the reason of this, it certainly does not feel Obi cared much of customers that purchased their products so I decided to not buy any other Obi products EVER. I will likely sell the obis on eBay and go to other brands.  At the end, customers are what makes any company and we have the power to take our money were we thing we will be treated best. This behavior by Obi has left me with too much if a bitter taste to continue supporting or using obis products.  I will ensure friends, colleagues, etcetera also know of this so will do as much as possible to ensure they don't buy Obi devices


Title: Re: ring.to will not work with existing OBi devices (purchased prior to 5/1/2014)
Post by: giqcass on June 12, 2014, 06:24:55 PM
I probably should have posted this in this thread originally but since I didn't I will just quote myself from the other thread.  I consider this positive news for those of us with older Obi devices.  It suggest they are considering expanding support to older devices.


Here is a direct quote (misspelling and all)  from Ring.to. I believe it supports my earlier speculation about the service possibly expanding to more Obi devices.  This does not say it will but it implies they are considering it.  It also implies that this particular limitation was imposed by Ring.to and not Obihai.
Quote
The OBi fanship is huge and for good reason. And though we wish we could, RingTo does not have the ability to support the entire Obihai user base at this time. That's why we're currenting restricting entry to OBi devices purchased after May 1, 2014.

Last Updated 2014-06-12
https://bandwidth.uservoice.com/knowledgebase/articles/379232-can-i-enable-my-older-obihai-device

Obi Ring.to FAQ
https://bandwidth.uservoice.com/knowledgebase/topics/56636-obihai-integration-faqs
Title: Re: ring.to will not work with existing OBi devices (purchased prior to 5/1/2014)
Post by: ceg3 on June 12, 2014, 08:32:14 PM
Keep us posted please. :)
Title: Re: ring.to will not work with existing OBi devices (purchased prior to 5/1/2014)
Post by: Gonzo on June 13, 2014, 05:59:45 AM
I cannot continue to wait for these bozos.  They knew of GV discontinuing their protocol a long time ago and yet, ring.to and Obi seem to point at each other as to the reason their loyal base is left out to hang dry.

I moved one of my Obi to phone power because I absolutely had to but as soon as the year is over I am switching out.  The other I was hoping to use ring.to.  This whole thing has been handled so badly it just left me not wanting to do business with either of these two companies. 

Title: Re: ring.to will not work with existing OBi devices (purchased prior to 5/1/2014)
Post by: Kage on June 15, 2014, 10:45:37 AM
Quote
The OBi fanship is huge and for good reason. And though we wish we could, RingTo does not have the ability to support the entire Obihai user base at this time. That's why we're currenting restricting entry to OBi devices purchased after May 1, 2014.

That's a bit of exaggeration isn't it? How many have already moved to other services so what makes them think they'd be supporting the entire existing user base?

It's free, at least for now and they have a right to make their own rules but it just seems like obi would do more to show loyalty to their customers. 
Title: Re: ring.to will not work with existing OBi devices (purchased prior to 5/1/2014)
Post by: InetUser on June 15, 2014, 11:06:42 AM
Quote from: Kage on June 15, 2014, 10:45:37 AM
... but it just seems like obi would do more to show loyalty to their customers. 

When has Obihai ever shown any loyalty to its customers?

Or support?

Or anything?

They don't even have a presence in their own forum.
Title: Re: ring.to will not work with existing OBi devices (purchased prior to 5/1/2014)
Post by: Talha on June 16, 2014, 06:11:57 PM
Yesterday I emailed OBIHAi to express that frustration over the fact that they will not support Ring.to on old devices. I was shocked when I received their reply, it was extremely and unbelievably rude. I could not believe that any business can treat a customer like that, I receive better service at a convenience store.
For the explanation, they directed me to a link which basically states that Ring.to can not support that many accounts. I believe it's a big fat lie. Groove IP migrated all their customers to Ring.to and it was simple and straight forward.
I was planning to buy several obihai devices but I'm glad that I contacted their customer service before I did that, because I will not buy any now and will probably sell mine on Ebay. I would rather pay a small fee for a company that treats you with a little decency. And there are multiple options available, most of the cell phone companies have unlimited plans. Scratch wireless, for example, is a free service as long as you are in a wifi area, all over the world. Good riddance OBI.
Title: Re: ring.to will not work with existing OBi devices (purchased prior to 5/1/2014)
Post by: dircom on June 16, 2014, 06:44:11 PM
Cell phone quality is not as good as landline quality, so making that comparison is apples to oranges.
It's speculation on your part that they are lying
I don't believe Obihai is the same company as Ring.to, so I don't see how pointing to another companies website is poor customer service.

 If you buy an Obi @ Amazon, Amazon takes a cut.  Don't see how Obihai is making a killing selling these.  I think OBi's are a great technology.  I ported my landline to a VOIP provider and enjoy caller id, call blocking, phone book, , the ability to take my obi to a vacation house and take my # with me, the ability to make two calls at once from the same number (using a 202 or 200 device) + Obi to Obi calling. (at a cost per month less than the cost of taxes I paid my cable provider)  And I still use GV for "extra"
numbers in other cities.

I do wish all the whiners would go away.
Title: Re: ring.to will not work with existing OBi devices (purchased prior to 5/1/2014)
Post by: giqcass on June 16, 2014, 08:23:35 PM
Quote from: Talha on June 16, 2014, 06:11:57 PM
Yesterday I emailed OBIHAi to express that frustration over the fact that they will not support Ring.to on old devices. I was shocked when I received their reply, it was extremely and unbelievably rude. I could not believe that any business can treat a customer like that, I receive better service at a convenience store.
For the explanation, they directed me to a link which basically states that Ring.to can not support that many accounts. I believe it's a big fat lie. Groove IP migrated all their customers to Ring.to and it was simple and straight forward.
I was planning to buy several obihai devices but I'm glad that I contacted their customer service before I did that, because I will not buy any now and will probably sell mine on Ebay. I would rather pay a small fee for a company that treats you with a little decency. And there are multiple options available, most of the cell phone companies have unlimited plans. Scratch wireless, for example, is a free service as long as you are in a wifi area, all over the world. Good riddance OBI.
Lets see, you emailed them and they sent you a link to the answer.  That's poor service because the answer was not what you wanted it to be?  Should Obi twist the arm of another company on your behalf? Hey I have an idea. 
OR
Do more pointless whining to people that can't help you.
Title: Re: ring.to will not work with existing OBi devices (purchased prior to 5/1/2014)
Post by: Gonzo on June 29, 2014, 01:29:19 AM
OBI.  YOU SUCK!!!

Not only does this company care zero for its customers that purchased devices when they were nothing but also limiting the alternatives like ring.to only available for newly purchase devices.  And now, adding to the insult, they are actively marketing to people like me with emails trying to get us to go and buy new devices taunting that they work with ring.to and it is free:).  WHAT A LOAD OF CRAP!!

I will not buy Any Obi devices EVER.   There are alternatives to Obi and when a company makes these crappy "for profit" choices and leaves the customer base hanging, we have the perfect right to go and take our business elsewhere. I am hoping others that feel the same, which I know are many, also make their voices sound loud and clear and act with their pocketbook to make Obi understand you don't crap all over your customer base.

My Obi devices are going on eBay or to the trash.....  Here is an excerpt of their marketing email to me today....

"Free Calling with RingTo

We are happy to announce that RingTo is now available as an OBiTALK Approved Service Provider.
RingTo's Internet (VoIP) phone service provides FREE calling to North American numbers. To use RingTo, you must move (or port) any valid mobile, land line or VoIP service phone number to RingTo. RingTo allows you to untether your phone number from a single endpoint phone and use it freely to ring multiple phones – including the one attached to an OBi device.

...

The RingTo offer is for specific OBi devices purchased after May 1st 2014."


FAT CHANCE OBI.  YOU WILL NOT GET ONE MORE PENNY  OUT OF ME......  

Title: Re: ring.to will not work with existing OBi devices (purchased prior to 5/1/2014)
Post by: Gonzo on June 29, 2014, 01:43:30 AM
And to all of you that think that a consumer valid complaints are whining, I think it is better to speak for what you believe than drinking the coolaid of whatever marketing positioning a company like this one wants to sell you.

If you agree with the way Obi has acted, great, keep buying and using their products and advocate their products.  I will do the opposite because to me it is clear that they made a for profit decision and chose to push their older customers to buy new devices if they want to have a similar level of service as they had when they originally purchased these devices. 

As a product manager in high tech, I will tell you a rule a good product manager has....  You incentivize customers to move to newer products, models by offering new features!.  You don't do it by taking advantage of external limitations (like google discontinuing their protocol) to then limit the choices of customers so they buy a new device.  Get the difference?  Probably not!
Title: Re: ring.to will not work with existing OBi devices (purchased prior to 5/1/2014)
Post by: giqcass on June 29, 2014, 03:45:40 AM
Quote from: Gonzo on June 29, 2014, 01:43:30 AM
And to all of you that think that a consumer valid complaints are whining, I think it is better to speak for what you believe than drinking the coolaid of whatever marketing positioning a company like this one wants to sell you.

If you agree with the way Obi has acted, great, keep buying and using their products and advocate their products.  I will do the opposite because to me it is clear that they made a for profit decision and chose to push their older customers to buy new devices if they want to have a similar level of service as they had when they originally purchased these devices. 

As a product manager in high tech, I will tell you a rule a good product manager has....  You incentivize customers to move to newer products, models by offering new features!.  You don't do it by taking advantage of external limitations (like google discontinuing their protocol) to then limit the choices of customers so they buy a new device.  Get the difference?  Probably not!
I can see no basis for this argument.  Obi did not make the decision to stop Google Voice or limit Ring.to support. Ring.to implied it might support older Obi devices eventually, and Google Voice still works on the old Obi devices.  As I have said before you need to complain to Ring.to if you want older device support.  Based on new tech roll out tactics of Ring.to sister company Republic Wireless a gradual adoption should have been expected from the beginning.  I had to wait around a month for an OS update while a randomly selected few already had it.  This tactic is employed to help weed out bugs during a trial "in the wild" with real customer use.  It reduces what might otherwise be an overwhelming influx of support requests.  It also gives them a chance to create FAQ pages and train support staff.  A device the service was not designed for is a tricky endeavor. 


All of that said if you would like to complain about ObHai there are plenty of actual problems within their power to fix. Whomever/whatever you complain to/about please consider doing it in a way that is constructive.
Title: Re: ring.to will not work with existing OBi devices (purchased prior to 5/1/2014)
Post by: Gonzo on June 29, 2014, 05:21:07 AM
How convenient is as a company that marketed the heck of their devices with a service as google voice now blames others for having limitations with the services and partnerships they bring.

Actually the marketing efforts Obi has been doing promoting ring.to AS LONG as you buy new devices are the most irritating part of this whole PR fiasco.

To be clear, my statements are my comments of dissatisfaction on OBI management of these changes which by seeing the backlash of other soon to be old customers of Obi are not unique.

As you well know, Obi had choices and control on what type of partnership they did with ring.to.  We as consumers do not know who limited who, although there are posts out there with ring.to claiming that Obi put that limitation to new devices.

Finally, as to what ring.to implied or not on future opening to older obi devices, that only is coming out from the stream of complaints that have been coming and I, for one, believe the limitation was set up by OBI.  It is yet to be seen if they will support those older devices. 

I for one, express my opinion and will move on to doing what I preach.  TRASH OBI DEVICES and move to other solutions while ensuring I spread the word
Title: Re: ring.to will not work with existing OBi devices (purchased prior to 5/1/2014)
Post by: Kage on June 29, 2014, 07:10:53 AM
@Gonzo, if OBI management were the ones to put the limitation in effect they wouldn't be the first, companies do such things all of the time. Another example is from several years ago when Creative refused and still does to release official drivers for their Soundblaster sound cards for Windows 7. That was because they wanted people to buy new cards, even though the old ones were still perfectly fine. Finally, a gentleman wrote third party drivers for them and was threatened with a lawsuit, though Creative backed down after the bad pr.

Companies are in business to make money and in most cases previous customers are old news.
Title: Re: ring.to will not work with existing OBi devices (purchased prior to 5/1/2014)
Post by: cluckercreek on June 29, 2014, 10:13:23 AM
There could also be a legal reason behind this as well. We don't know what Obihai may have agreed to with the Evil "G".  :o
Title: Re: ring.to will not work with existing OBi devices (purchased prior to 5/1/2014)
Post by: dircom on June 29, 2014, 11:25:49 AM
Quote from: Gonzo on June 29, 2014, 05:21:07 AM
..... blah blah blah, ....... and will move on to doing what I preach.  TRASH OBI DEVICES and move to other solutions while ensuring I spread the word

What other tantrums will you display?  will you hold your breath? stomp your feet?

perhaps you have some  fifty dollar bills that you are mad at, because they used to fill up a gas tank, and now only half a gas tank..    are you going to throw those away too?

Perhaps you will trash your computer, because your old printer doesn't have drivers for Windows 7?

I wish all the whiners would just go away.  Most people spent $30-$50 bucks for an amazing device, got free service for months or years, GV still works, other VOIP still work.


Title: Re: ring.to will not work with existing OBi devices (purchased prior to 5/1/2014)
Post by: mykmayk on June 29, 2014, 11:59:52 AM
Quote from: Gonzo on June 29, 2014, 01:29:19 AM
My Obi devices are going on eBay or to the trash.....

if no one takes it on ebay, i'll GLADLY take it off your hands.  i'll even take care of shipping it to me -- absolutely no cost to you.  i'll save the earth from electronics going into the trash.

i'm serious.  give it to me instead of trashing it.
Title: Re: ring.to will not work with existing OBi devices (purchased prior to 5/1/2014)
Post by: dircom on June 29, 2014, 12:09:48 PM
Quote from: mykmayk on June 29, 2014, 11:59:52 AM
Quote from: Gonzo on June 29, 2014, 01:29:19 AM
My Obi devices are going on eBay or to the trash.....

......
i'm serious.  give it to me instead of trashing it.

my sentiments are with you mykmayk.... it is morally wrong to just trash stuff when it can be reused or recycled.
Title: Re: ring.to will not work with existing OBi devices (purchased prior to 5/1/2014)
Post by: giqcass on June 29, 2014, 05:59:38 PM
Quote from: Gonzo on June 29, 2014, 05:21:07 AM
As you well know, Obi had choices and control on what type of partnership they did with ring.to.
Should they have told Ring.to take all of our customers or take none?

Quote from: Gonzo on June 29, 2014, 05:21:07 AM
 We as consumers do not know who limited who, although there are posts out there with ring.to claiming that Obi put that limitation to new devices.
I guess you are right we can assume everyone is lying all the time but Ring.to said it was their decision.  Where did you find a post from Ring.to that claimed ObiHai made the decision?

Quote from: Gonzo on June 29, 2014, 05:21:07 AM
Finally, as to what ring.to implied or not on future opening to older obi devices, that only is coming out from the stream of complaints that have been coming and I, for one, believe the limitation was set up by OBI.  It is yet to be seen if they will support those older devices. 
This was taken directly from the Ring.to website. 
QuoteThe OBi fanship is huge and for good reason. And though we wish we could, RingTo does not have the ability to support the entire Obihai user base at this time. That's why we're currenting restricting entry to OBi devices purchased after May 1, 2014.
Obviously they didn't promise to support old Obi devices but they implied they might.  They clearly said it was their decision and there is no room for interpretation on that statement.  Have a little faith.
Title: Re: ring.to will not work with existing OBi devices (purchased prior to 5/1/2014)
Post by: vtsnaab on July 02, 2014, 01:12:52 PM
I both agree AND disagree:
Quote from: Gonzo on June 29, 2014, 05:21:07 AM
I for one, express my opinion and will move on to doing what I preach.  TRASH OBI DEVICES and move to other solutions while ensuring I spread the word
I'm imagining backroom deals galore between ALL parties involved to LOCK IN their profits.
Businesses DO need profits to thrive - BUT backroom deals are just BAD NEWS.

As for trashing a perfectly usable Obi box - no way - it works quite well with other services.
Trashing it would be both silly and wasteful.

As to buying a new Obi box ?!?
Also=> no way.
Too much obvious manipulation for me to ever trust getting long use out of anything like that.

It would likely have 'improvements' (spelled 'r=e=s=t=r=i=c=t=i=o=n=s') limiting its usefulness and the providers it could use as well.
No thanks.

I appreciate what I've had for how long I've had it.

I will not be pushed around just to help some company remain in business at my (greater ??) expense.

In short:
I bought an Obi box ONCE - that alone makes me a customer for as long as I have it.
Buying a 2nd one for the reasons stated would just change me from 'customer' to 'stupid customer'.
No thanks.
Title: Re: ring.to will not work with existing OBi devices (purchased prior to 5/1/2014)
Post by: giqcass on July 02, 2014, 04:10:09 PM
I was hoping that when he made the comment about trashing the devices he meant verbally.  Take away the Google Voice features and these boxes are still well worth what we paid for them.  They are excellent device that are not locked down in any way.  I haven't seen any new restrictions to the devices themselves accept for the brief period of time we couldn't downgrade the firmware but that restriction went away as quickly as it came.  If a bunch of cheap used Obi boxes flooded the market I would surely pick some up.  To be honest however I really want a peek at the new IP Phone they are about to launch. 
Title: Re: ring.to will not work with existing OBi devices (purchased prior to 5/1/2014)
Post by: dircom on July 02, 2014, 06:10:39 PM
interesting
http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r29313091-Obihai-will-introduce-2-IP-phones-next-month. (http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r29313091-Obihai-will-introduce-2-IP-phones-next-month.)