Questioning Vonage phone service

[mancub]

Received phone call today about vonage - a long distance phone service that offers unlimited long distance, call waiting, caller id, etc. for $27.99/month. Has anyone heard of this company, utilized services, know anything about this. The deal sounds too good, so wary to open account. Help!

 

[BrianMonk]

Check the website http://www.vonage.com/

I believe it's phone service through the internet but works exactly as your current phone service does.

 

[oogieboogie]

I've had Vonage since December 04, and so far I really don't have any complaints about them. They've been around for several years now.

The service is thru the internet so you will need broadband internet access either DSL/cable. They give you a router that you attach between your modem and computer, then connect a phone to that router. Then you make your calls as usual. You can pick a new phone number or transfer your existing number.

Yes, the cost is $27.99/month. The reason they can provide the service that cheap is because they don't have to pay federal taxes, or universal connectivity charges, or any of that crap. You do get caller ID, voicemail, call waiting, call forwarding, etc.

Now, that being said, IMO the quality of Vonage is highly dependent on the quality of your internet. If you've experienced a lot of internet outages/downtime, then Vonage isn't right for you. But if your internet provider is stable (we use Roadrunner and very rarely have an outage), then Vonage is a good thing to try.

You can keep your regular landline phone while you try out Vonage. I did that for awhile until I was comfortable enough to cut myself from the landline.

If you do want to try Vonage, make sure you read the fine print, especially about the 911 dialing service. If you decide to still try Vonage, PM me and I can get you a referral.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Be wary of the 911 service. It functions differently and may not function at all. Our local news had this on just this evening. Your call gets routed to a center during "business hours" and after "business hours" it goes nowhere.


The news story focused on a woman who's 3.5 month old baby died and she feels it is b/c she could not access 911.

 

[mom23boys]

My friend just got rid of hers. She thought it was a good deal, but the static on the line was really bad. Also, there were many interuptions in service not only on her land line but through her computer as well.

She decided to go back with Verizon.

 

[disneydreamer98]

We started using it 2 months ago and so far so good! We got our first bill and there were no hidden charges or anything to cause alarm. The monthly rate includes all long distance and local phone calls as well as voice mail, caller ID and call waiting. It is run through your internet and the most phones you can hook up to the outlet from the computer is 2 so we went out and bought a Uniden phone system where you can add additional headsets for all the rooms. The monthly rate will pay for the phones in no time! We were used to $100 - $150 phone bills a month! All our family and friends are long distance for us. So far I have no complaints and nothing but good things to say about it!

 

[jekajekalynn]

Yeah, I would be weary of it like someone else said because of the 911 service. Our local news also had a story about it, and ppl who did have it reported the 911 service was really messed up (IE the news said a 911 operator in Oakland county here in MI got a call from Oakland , CA!) . I believe our news even said that the state of Michigan is filing a lawsuit against Vonage and other telephone services like that because of the stinky 911 service.

 

[drakethib]

Received phone call today about vonage - a long distance phone service that offers unlimited long distance, call waiting, caller id, etc. for $27.99/month. Has anyone heard of this company, utilized services, know anything about this. The deal sounds too good, so wary to open account. Help!

I have been having it for a few months and i love it.

I have saved a good deal of money using them.

Check out www.vonage-forums.com for more inside info.

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

Yeah, I would be weary of it like someone else said because of the 911 service. Our local news also had a story about it, and ppl who did have it reported the 911 service was really messed up (IE the news said a 911 operator in Oakland county here in MI got a call from Oakland , CA!) . I believe our news even said that the state of Michigan is filing a lawsuit against Vonage and other telephone services like that because of the stinky 911 service.

I don't have it yet, but am looking into it and I think the reason there is an issue with 911 calls is because either people don't follow the instructions clearly stated on the website to register for 911 and read the related info. or they don't change their address on the 911 registration when they move which determines where your 911 call goes to. The website is very clear on all of that information, though, it's not hidden or anything.

 

[asaj]

I was pretty fired up to try it a few months back, kills me to pay what I pay for local phone service...

Anyway, long story short, we tried it out, and ended up getting rid of it because of the call quality. We have a very good, extremely fast broadband connection, but a good portion of our calls were not clear.

I also found it to be a pain to return the gear and get my refund back. Customer service was poor, but that may have been because it was a very busy time for them. I figure I'll wait and see how the call quality improves as the technology advances. We may try it again in the future, but I am not sure it will be through Vonage, mostly because of my poor experience with customer service.

Andy

 

[mancub]

Thanks for the input - keep the comment coming, though. We definitely need to continue finding information. Thanks for the link to the forum for vonage!!

 

[wtpntigger2]

We're still waiting for our original number to be transferred (almost two months now, but they're having issues with our current phone service) so we haven't used the Vonage service for more than one day to test sound quality (it was good for us). If the number switching doesn't get worked out soon, we may drop it and just resort to using our cells and no landline or take a new number although I hate the thought of contacting everyone to give them a new number.

 

[ducklite]

We use Vonage and are VERY happy with it. We registered our 9-1-1 info online so our 9-1-1 calls WILL go to a local emergency services number. The difference is that they will not have our address and phone in front of them like regular 9-1-1 does.

In all honesty, if I had a true 9-1-1 emergency, I'd use the panic button on my alarm which immediately notifies the police, fire, and/or ambulance depending on which button I push.

Anne

 

[goofyfatherof2]

I recently switched after hearing many good things about them from friends that have used them for over 1 year. It only took 14 days from start to finish. I was able to disconnect my old phone line outside the house and all 4 of my phones work instantly. I did need to call for support when my voice mail wasn't working. It was along wait to find out my service wasn't totally turned on. It was all set a few hours later. They make a big point of registering your name and addrss for 911. Make sure that you get a referral from a friend. You get one month free and your friend gets 2 months free. I have had bad phone service from regular phone companies and so far Vonage is great. I will take the long wait for support for they one time I needed it since they save me at least 50%.

 

[Minnie116]

We use Vonage and are VERY happy with it. We registered our 9-1-1 info online so our 9-1-1 calls WILL go to a local emergency services number. The difference is that they will not have our address and phone in front of them like regular 9-1-1 does.

In all honesty, if I had a true 9-1-1 emergency, I'd use the panic button on my alarm which immediately notifies the police, fire, and/or ambulance depending on which button I push.

Anne

So did you have to keep a land line because of your alarm? We have an alarm system that uses our phone line, can we still use Vonage?

 

[Alicnwondrln]

it sounds great and we looked into it
but we dont have cell phones and i have heard about there issue with 911
so we decided against it but only for that reason
i have heard great things about the service so...
hopefullt they will fix that

 

[drakethib]

So did you have to keep a land line because of your alarm? We have an alarm system that uses our phone line, can we still use Vonage?

'
I had the alarm company put in a "cellular backup"

Works great.

 

[KirstenB]

We have it. For long distance calls, sometimes the reception is decent, sometimes I have to hang up because it's so poor. Very frustrating. Our monthly phone bill was a huge issue for my husband, so he's a little hard-headed about us switching back. Sigh...after 15 years, we both pick our battles. I'll let him win this one for now.

 

[FonFon]

We have had it for about a year now and love it. Originally, we used it with a couple of regular phones and split the lines (which meant running phone lines everywhere), but now we have one of those phone systems where you just plug the extra receivers into an outlet (not a jack) in the wall.

Really can't beat a $30/month phone bill with unlimited long distance.

The thing that took the most getting used to was having to dial the area code when just calling down the street, but you get the hang of it eventually.

As to the 911 service, I'm still trying to figure out what happened in Florida - Vonage makes it pretty clear that you need to set up the 911 service - it's in the manual and online in big red letters. We did that when we initially set up the service, and have had to call 911 a couple of times and never had an issue with it. Maybe that varies depending on where you live?

Circuit City occasionally has the box on a "free after rebate" deal - we got the box for free, and just set up the service and were good to go.

 

[summerrluvv]

We have had it for about a year now and love it. Originally, we used it with a couple of regular phones and split the lines (which meant running phone lines everywhere), but now we have one of those phone systems where you just plug the extra receivers into an outlet (not a jack) in the wall.

Really can't beat a $30/month phone bill with unlimited long distance.

The thing that took the most getting used to was having to dial the area code when just calling down the street, but you get the hang of it eventually.

As to the 911 service, I'm still trying to figure out what happened in Florida - Vonage makes it pretty clear that you need to set up the 911 service - it's in the manual and online in big red letters. We did that when we initially set up the service, and have had to call 911 a couple of times and never had an issue with it. Maybe that varies depending on where you live?

Circuit City occasionally has the box on a "free after rebate" deal - we got the box for free, and just set up the service and were good to go.

I don't have to dial the area code to call local numbers. Are you sure you have to? I know it said you could if you wanted to, but I don't think it's a requirement to being able to dial out.

I have used my 911 service on the Vonage line and it works fine. My number didn't come up though but once I gave them the number my address showed up in their system.