Vonage

[Jsme]

We switched to Vonage phone service about 6 month ago. We love it. I pay $28 a month to be able to call anywhere in the USA, Canada or PR. I was able to keep my same phone number. We re very pleased with them.

Just thought some of you guys might be interested.

 

[robinb]

We have DSL and also changed to Vondage on one of our lines. Honestly, I don't like it much. The other caller's voice lightly cuts in and out if I am "surfing". If I am downloading somthing I cannot hear the other person at all.

 

[Jsme]

That is not good. We have never had a problem with Vonage. We love it. We have Road Runner and it seems to work wonderfully together.

 

[thelittlemermaid]

We got rid of our landline and went with Vonage. We also have RoadRunner and haven't had any problems with it so far. But I have noticed when I am on the phone and trying to look something up on the net, it gives me "Page can not be displayed". Then as soon as I hang up and try again, the page comes up. Really no big deal, but wanted to mention it.

Vonage is a STEAL compared to what we were paying for our landline. We were paying anywhere from $60-$70 a month and there were times where it would just sit there for weeks. The extras that we get from Vonage for free, we were paying out the butt for when we had our landline.

 

[branv]

We ordered Vonage just this year! LOVE IT! Only occasionally will I get a crackily or popping noise, but if I hang up and call back, it's usually gone. I've never had any issues with it while using my computer, but my DH pretty much re-wired our house for networking/internet/wireless/etc. so that may be why. Even though this is a brand new house, we've discovered that here and other places we've lived that the people they tend to hire to wire-up houses/apts seem as though they either don't know what they're doing or cut corners. Obviously this can cause some phone/internet issues.

What did Vonage say about y'alls issues? I know if you have your phone reception power set really high, it takes away from your internet speed. We have ours set midway, so maybe that's also why we don't have phone/internet conflicts.

 

[rflorek]

I don't use Vonage, but I kow that you have to ask to register for 911 service when you sign up or you will not be able to dial 911 through their service. I don't know if this costs extra, but I think it's definitely worth it.

 

[Jsme]

We have the 911 service. I am not too sure but I think it might be an additional .99 if you use it. I for one do not mind paying .99 to use the 911 service. Think about it, if you have to use this service I am sure you would not be upset over the cost to make the call. I am be wrong though that might be the 411 service. But I never use 411. I use the internet to look up phone numbers. It is free on here.

We have never had a problem with being on the phone and being online at the same time. thelittlemermaid, you might want to check what branv said. Or call VOnage or Road Runner.

I love this service. It has been really great for us. I hardly ever use my cell phone. I am thinking about gettting rid of it all together. Before I normally used my cell for long distance. But this has been a saving to us. We were paying about $45 for phone landline service and this was not including long distance bills.

 

[Shagley]

This may be a stupid question, but if you have DSL and then get Vonage, do you still have to keep an active phone line for the DSL to work? If so, do you still have a fee to pay for the active phone line? I am not technically inclined, so if this is a very basic, stupid question, please be gentle with me

 

[JerJan]

We have had Vonage for over a year and we LOVE IT TOO!!!!! We have roadrunner and have never had any problems at all. If our roadrunner goes out for any reason we will lose phone service but we remedy that propblem by having the phone than automatically roll over to my cell phone! It's also great for international calling, TALK ABOUT CHEAP! My DD13 was inAustralia last month for 3 weeks and when I would call to talk to her it was ony $.04 CENTS A MINUTE!!!!

 

[oogieboogie]

I've had Vonage since December last year and so far I've been very happy with them. They had an outage early this week that was resolved in less than a day.

I'm really happy since I have one month free from a referral that I did. Can't get any better than that.

 

[branv]

This may be a stupid question, but if you have DSL and then get Vonage, do you still have to keep an active phone line for the DSL to work? If so, do you still have a fee to pay for the active phone line? I am not technically inclined, so if this is a very basic, stupid question, please be gentle with me [/QUOT

I would call Vonage and see what they can tell you. We have cable internet ergo, we don't have to have a phone line to access internet.

 

[stczt]

The thing FIL likes about Vonage is that when we signed up for it we got a local Chicago number for 5.00 a month so he never has to call us long distance. And he can call the grandkids in atlanta anytime.

 

[drakethib]

We have had vonage for about 5 or 6 months and have had no problem with it.

A+ in my book.

 

[NoelGypsy]

I have Packet8 and it is $22 a month.. I have no problems with it at all.
But I think I am going to switch to SunRocket... you pay $199 at the beginning of the year and your phone bill is done. You can keep your current phone number. All the reviews I read say that the service is better than Packet8, which I have no complaints about, and Vonage. Got to save all the money I can for the next Disney World trip... LOL

 

[dawnball]

This may be a stupid question, but if you have DSL and then get Vonage, do you still have to keep an active phone line for the DSL to work? If so, do you still have a fee to pay for the active phone line? I am not technically inclined, so if this is a very basic, stupid question, please be gentle with me

The answer in your situation is "probably". If you get DSL from your phone company, they usually won't do a "dry line" (sometimes called "dry pair") DSL line. You may have another DSL provider in your area who will do a dry line connection for you. However, you'll (almost always) pay a higher monthly fee than via your phone company, and some of that higher fee goes back to the phone company to pay the charges for that line.

 

[Letsbgoofy]

This is an interesting thread. Right now, I have digital phone tied in with my cable/road runner package. It is $39/month for all your calls in the US and Canada. This also includes call waiting and caller ID. Do you get these features with Vonage?

 

[JerJan]

We have call waiting, caller ID and answering service. We can call all of USA and Canada as well. Look around at their website, we have very cheap international rates to other countries as weel.

 

[drakethib]

This is an interesting thread. Right now, I have digital phone tied in with my cable/road runner package. It is $39/month for all your calls in the US and Canada. This also includes call waiting and caller ID. Do you get these features with Vonage?

YOu acutally get more.

try www.vonage-forum.com

They have the good, bad, and ugly there.

 

[powellrj]

DS has vonage and its great because he can keep a local # anywhere he goes without doing anything except getting his computer hooked up. The people at home call him more than the people where he is stationed at so he just uses pre-paid cell phones for his local calls, and his vonage # for his girlfriend and us!

 

[NoelGypsy]

Here are some reviews on VOIP Services http://www.dslreports.com/forum/voip
this is a very handy site to have around
When I started using VOIP I was torn between Packet8 and Vonage. I ended up ordering Packet8 and very happy I did. It is cheaper than Vonage and has all the same features, and you can keep your phone number.
Like i said in my previous post, I love the Packet8 service, but for $199.00 a year and your phone bill is done, you can not beat Sunrocket (www.sunrocket.com). If you look around online you can get a code to get a free set of phones from Sunrocket. After all of my research on VOIP services, I am calling this week and switching over to Sunrocket. Another good thing I read on DSL reports is that this one person who has Sunrocket and travels alot, said he brings his "Gizmo" (That is what Sunrocket calls their modem box) on vacation with him and in Hotel rooms that have High Speed internet hookup he uses his own service...how great is that??!!?? No more Hotel fees for calling anyone

Here is some things that are included with Sunrocket:

SunRocket Annual Edition gives you a year's worth of Internet home phone service, everything included for $199. Cancel anytime and receive a refund for unused months.

Unlimited calling – U.S. and Canada
Free international minutes ($3.00 allowance every month)
Free extra phone number - Local or AnyWhere Number
Over 10 enhanced calling features
Two free Directory Assistance calls each month
All the necessary equipment to get started
No charge to activate - includes free shipping
No hidden fees
Taxes included in the Bottom-Line price
No cancellation fees
31 day risk-free guarantee