Ooma Hub $100 (VoIP) - deal dead

[Zap]

http://www.frys.com/product/6464282

Ooma Hub (refurbished with 1 year warranty)
$99.99
Free Shipping
+$20 credit on international calls

The cost of the service starts at around $3.50/month for domestic calling.

Ooma is a VoIP service like Vonage. The Hub (and newer Telo) are the hardware devices that you plug into your broadband connection, which you plug your phone into. It is roughly comparable to Vonage (and your cable company's VoIP service) but is cheaper. They do allow you to keep your phone number in most cases (if you're with a major carrier).

If buying new, you would be getting the newer Telo model which MSRPs for $250, so $100 is pretty good.

 

[einstein4pres]

I picked up one of these from Fry's recently for $120, apparently with $20 credit. Taxes and fees cost me $3.47 a month. Service has been fine so far (I don't use it much), and installation was simple.

You can find out taxes and fees here:
http://www3.ooma.com/tax_calculator.php

 

[cubeless]

got one a month ago at costco for $169 to do conf calls with offshore folks... works great by itself, but is noisy with my (overpriced) plantronics headset for some reason...

 

[Rassi]

Did they change these to institute a monthly charge? We have one from about 18 mo ago and other than the original $230 or so to buy it, we haven't paid a dime for having it since then....free phone!

 

[einstein4pres]

Did they change these to institute a monthly charge? We have one from about 18 mo ago and other than the original $230 or so to buy it, we haven't paid a dime for having it since then....free phone!

Yes, I think when they started, there were no state/fed taxes, so it was free. When they started taxing, they honored the agreement with the old customers (aka still free), but pass on the charges to new customers. It still pays for itself in relatively short order (~6 mo).

The nicest part about this system is that you can plug in regular phones, and the monthly costs are cheap. You can even plug the output back into the wall jack and provide service to all your other jacks, though I'm not using that functionality.

 

[master7045]

. You can even plug the output back into the wall jack and provide service to all your other jacks, though I'm not using that functionality.

I am using the Ooma Telo this way and it works great. I pay 4.97 for unlimited phone calls to the US. I hardly ever use a landline, but my wife talks to her mom with it occasionally so it's nice to have. I was paying $25 a month for phone service with ATT Uverse, so it'll take about a year to fully regain my investment, but overall I have been very happy with the service. I also ported my number which costs $40, just a FYI. If you pay for their premier service (I think it's $120/yr), they waive the $40 port fee.

 

[steelodon]

I'm thinking about going to Ooma. Is the service just as good as a landline?

 

[Zap]

No. However, it should be just as good as any premium VoIP service meaning it is as reliable as your broadband connection. If you have perfect broadband, then yes it probably is as good as a landline.

 

[hal2kilo]

got one a month ago at costco for $169 to do conf calls with offshore folks... works great by itself, but is noisy with my (overpriced) plantronics headset for some reason...

I've seen those at Costco and almost pulled the trigger. Maybe I'll finally pull it out of the holster.

 

[rivethead]

It's $199 at costco.com. Not the best deal since there would be sales tax......

 

[Zap]

It's $199 at costco.com. Not the best deal since there would be sales tax......

It's not bad because I think MSRP is $250, plus this is the new version Ooma Telo. This thread is about the older version Ooma Hub, plus refurbished.

 

[hal2kilo]

It's not bad because I think MSRP is $250, plus this is the new version Ooma Telo. This thread is about the older version Ooma Hub, plus refurbished.

I was wondering about that since the picture looked different from what I remember the one Costco was selling.

 

[vi edit]

Since this is a refurb hub, there's a good chance that it's tax free. My refurb from Fry's was one of them. So it really is a "free" service after the initial hardware purchase.

It's a well constructed device that offers excellent sound quality. I would dare say that it's even "cleaner" than some landlines and beats out a cell phone easily for sound quality.

My only complaint is that it's "local" numbers have limited choices if you are in a smaller population area. I live in downstate IL and had to settle for a chicago area number. It's fine for making calls to family and customer service lines but I don't really give it out as a true "home" line because you get odd looks from people.

 

[Rassi]

You can port your existing number if you sign up for one of their yearly plans, or for $40 (I think) if you don't. That's what our family did as we had a very simple to remember number. It took them a bit to get it ported, but no problems after that and we haven't paid a cent for home phone in the 18+ months since.

 

[rivethead]

I didn't know a damn thing about ooma until I came across this thread. Now I'm convinced it's the right product for my limited home phone needs. Thanks Zap!

Now I'm shopping for a Telo or Hub. My local Frys has a refurbed Hub for $169.....well at least that's what their website says, but their website has lied to me many times before......

 

[einstein4pres]

Since this is a refurb hub, there's a good chance that it's tax free. My refurb from Fry's was one of them. So it really is a "free" service after the initial hardware purchase.

It's a well constructed device that offers excellent sound quality. I would dare say that it's even "cleaner" than some landlines and beats out a cell phone easily for sound quality.

My only complaint is that it's "local" numbers have limited choices if you are in a smaller population area. I live in downstate IL and had to settle for a chicago area number. It's fine for making calls to family and customer service lines but I don't really give it out as a true "home" line because you get odd looks from people.

My refurb hub isn't free per month. My understanding is that the core (hub + scout) is free monthly service, and the hub isn't. But it isn't clear:
http://www.ooma.com/blog/how-oomas-terms-conditions-affect-current-new-ooma-customers/


$3.47 is still a lot less per month than any POTS service, so I'm ok with it.

 

[Zap]

My refurb hub isn't free per month. My understanding is that the core (hub + scout) is free monthly service, and the hub isn't. But it isn't clear:

It was my understanding that the fees started after a certain manufacturing date.

I was on the fence with the $99 refurb Hub, but missed out. Now to wait for the next deal.

 

[vi edit]

It was my understanding that the fees started after a certain manufacturing date.

Correct. It's based upon manf date and it's really random luck if you get one that's fee free or not. I lucked out and my hub refurb from Fry's last fall was one of them.