Ooma Telo

[jbbrown]

I am looking into buying Ooma Telo in the next couple months. Overall, it has gotten good reviews and I know several people that have and they have not had any issues.

I am currently with Frontier (was Verizon prior to July 1st) for phone and DSL. Has anyone switched to Ooma from either Verizon or Frontier recently? What has your experience been? I would also port my phone number and just from reading around, it doesn't sound like Verizon/Froniter make it easy.

Thanks for the help!


1/24/11 Update:

I got the Ooma Telo and our number was ported several days ago. It actually went more smoothly than I thought it would. About a week before our number was to be ported, I called Frontier and they told me not to do anything...getting dry-loop was not necessary before the port. I was told this by several Frontier reps and a supervisor. I was skeptical and pretty much assumed something was going to go wrong. The next week, the number was ported and all I had to do was call up Frontier, confirm the phone line was cancelled and setup a new DSL plan. And to my surprise, I did not lose my internet connection at all.

So, now I am just paying a little over $3/month for home phone! It is definitely worth it! The quality has been excellent as well!

 

[muskie32]

I have never used one, but i heard about then a little while ago, they look cool

 

[Zap]

I'm actually considering going to one of these things. Currently have both a traditional landline and a MagicJack. I've done a bit of research. These things are an ARM powered embedded system running open source Asterisk. Quality is supposedly on par with the typical VoiP service like Vonage and your cable companies.

How the service works is it plugs into your network, and you can connect your house phone to it and even connect your house wiring to it. You can also use wireless handsets of theirs (optional, required for HD audio and maybe for second line) and connect to Bluetooth headsets and BT enabled mobile phones (also optional). The device can also reside between your router and modem, and in such a position performs QoS for your network. Obviously while you are in a call the device will eat up some of your bandwidth. You need decent broadband to support the bandwidth requirements, so those on super basic DSL with 128k up may not be able to use this.

The device has an MSRP of $250, but can be had for around $200 (Amazon). Here is the basic cost breakdown.

~$3.50/mo give or take per month for taxes and regulatory fees (can vary)

$9.99/mo optional premium service gives you a second line and call filtering (you can block/redirect incoming calls after they've called you once)

$40 one time fee for transferring a number. I've never transferred a number but as I understand it regardless of who you are transferring to or from you need to keep paying for the old service (don't cancel it), then tell new service to transfer it, then AFTER new service is working with your old number, cancel old service. If you prepay a year of the premium service, this $40 fee is waived. Transferring a number can take anywhere from hours to days.

Additional per-minute fees apply for international calling.

 

[Hal_]

I just completed porting to Ooma Telo last week. I used it for 60 days (free premium). During that time I had my Time Warner phone forwarding all calls (*72 I think). It worked flawlessly. After 60 days, I signed up for Premium, with the free porting. Premium isn't necessary but it has a lot of nice advances features. I like the simultaneous ring on my cell and forwarding messages as MP3 to email. The only downside I found is a very slight delay (mSec) but I suspect that may be inherent in VOIP

 

[Zap]

Hello Hal, and welcome to Anandtech Forums.

I just remembered another charge. I think it is $70 to activate a used Telo. A new one gets activation included in the price, so if buying a used one, mentally add $70 to the cost and see how it compares to Amazon's $200 price which includes activation.

 

[Hal_]

Hello Hal, and welcome to Anandtech Forums.

I just remembered another charge. I think it is $70 to activate a used Telo. A new one gets activation included in the price, so if buying a used one, mentally add $70 to the cost and see how it compares to Amazon's $200 price which includes activation.

That's very interesting. I wouldn't have thought of that but it makes sense that it would need to be re-registered to a new owner. I assume it's something like the MAC address tied to the phone number and owner info. I live in NY and planned to take it to Florida in the winter. Hopefully, there's nothing I missed on that. I'm hoping to set it up with a local number in each location.

 

[jbbrown]

How the service works is it plugs into your network, and you can connect your house phone to it and even connect your house wiring to it. You can also use wireless handsets of theirs (optional, required for HD audio and maybe for second line) and connect to Bluetooth headsets and BT enabled mobile phones (also optional). The device can also reside between your router and modem, and in such a position performs QoS for your network. Obviously while you are in a call the device will eat up some of your bandwidth. You need decent broadband to support the bandwidth requirements, so those on super basic DSL with 128k up may not be able to use this.

Do you know how to get it connected throughout the house? Do I need to rewire anything?

I have heard that their handset is not very good (awkward to hold, poor battery life), so I have been looking around for that as well. Is there anyway to tell if a phone is HD compatible?

 

[Zap]

I live in NY and planned to take it to Florida in the winter. Hopefully, there's nothing I missed on that. I'm hoping to set it up with a local number in each location.

That sounds like a great idea, using the second number included with the premium service for your second home.

Do you know how to get it connected throughout the house? Do I need to rewire anything?

They have a FAQ on their site. I'm a bit hazy about how it is done. I know that you plug the phone port of your Telo to one of your wall jacks, however I don't know if you need to find the incoming landline and disconnect it from your house wiring.

EDIT: I think I recall something about using the second pair. A single phone "line" requires a copper pair. Most houses built in the past couple decades plus the standard RJ11 plugs/jacks use four wires, thus two copper pairs. The center two of an RJ11 is the default line, while the outer two is if you ask the phone company for two lines to the house and use two line phones.

I have heard that their handset is not very good (awkward to hold, poor battery life), so I have been looking around for that as well. Is there anyway to tell if a phone is HD compatible?

They advertise requiring their handset for HD audio. Other than that, I know little about it. I mostly researched the Telo itself.

 

[Hal_]

Do you know how to get it connected throughout the house? Do I need to rewire anything?

I have heard that their handset is not very good (awkward to hold, poor battery life), so I have been looking around for that as well. Is there anyway to tell if a phone is HD compatible?

When I got my Time Warner Cable phone they disconnected the Verizon Line-in to the house, a requirement so there's no feedback he said. Then they just connected their line to a convenient wall jack near the router and the whole house was on the cable phone line. When I got the Ooma, I moved the cable phone line to a dedicated phone for access to the cable phone number and forwarded it to the new Ooma number. I just plugged in the Ooma line to the same wall jack that the Time Warner line was in. Simple.

The handset hasn't gotten good reviews but it does offer some features not available with a normal phone. I forget exactly what, I don't have a handset.

They said HD is only available with their handset or handsets capable of HD but they didn't name any. Both sides have to be HD capable.

For what it's worth, they sent me a refer a friend link. $229 for Telo and Handset bundle. I think it's a good deal if you're getting the handset. But Telo alone is available for $199.
Ooma Inside Deal

 

[Zap]

Both sides have to be HD capable.

That's good to know.

BTW I'm not sure referral links are allowed here.

 

[jbbrown]

When I got my Time Warner Cable phone they disconnected the Verizon Line-in to the house, a requirement so there's no feedback he said. Then they just connected their line to a convenient wall jack near the router and the whole house was on the cable phone line. When I got the Ooma, I moved the cable phone line to a dedicated phone for access to the cable phone number and forwarded it to the new Ooma number. I just plugged in the Ooma line to the same wall jack that the Time Warner line was in. Simple.

So it sounds like I will have a little work on my end to get this setup throughout the house since Frontier will not be coming over and doing this for free.

 

[JeepinEd]

I switched from Verizon to Ooma basic, about a year ago. Verizon gave me a hard time with switching my DSL line to Dry Loop DSL. First they told me it wasn't available, after pushing them, they admitted it is available, but only up to 3mbps. I had to talk to about 4 different support reps, before I settled on an 8mbps dry loop connection.
I purchased a wireless phone system from Costco for about $120. It came with 4 handsets and a base station. All I needed to do was connect the base station to the Ooma, and put the wireless handsets in different rooms. No phone jack required. It has worked great until this week, when I started having issues with my DSL line. Hopefully that will be rectified on Monday.
The best part is no more $50+/month phone bill. The Ooma paid for itself in just a few months.

 

[jbbrown]

I switched from Verizon to Ooma basic, about a year ago. Verizon gave me a hard time with switching my DSL line to Dry Loop DSL. First they told me it wasn't available, after pushing them, they admitted it is available, but only up to 3mbps. I had to talk to about 4 different support reps, before I settled on an 8mbps dry loop connection.
I purchased a wireless phone system from Costco for about $120. It came with 4 handsets and a base station. All I needed to do was connect the base station to the Ooma, and put the wireless handsets in different rooms. No phone jack required. It has worked great until this week, when I started having issues with my DSL line. Hopefully that will be rectified on Monday.
The best part is no more $50+/month phone bill. The Ooma paid for itself in just a few months.

Ok, that is what I need - something with multiple handsets, that sounds like the way to go! At what point did you contact Verizon about the dry loop connection? Was it before or after you ported the number (if you did that)? Did they charge you anything extra for making it dry loop?

I am definitely looking forward to buying this and saving some money!

 

[JeepinEd]

Ok, that is what I need - something with multiple handsets, that sounds like the way to go! At what point did you contact Verizon about the dry loop connection? Was it before or after you ported the number (if you did that)? Did they charge you anything extra for making it dry loop?

I am definitely looking forward to buying this and saving some money!

The rate didn't change much. Maybe just a few $$ more per month.
As far as the number porting, it's done in conjunction with the switch to dry loop. You are basically setting up a whole new account. They will even assign a non working phone# to your DSL line. The process can take a day or two, so there is a chance you will be without DSL or your ported phone# for a short period of time.

As far the phone, I purchased something similar to this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16876101290

Just plug the base unit to the back of the Ooma and put the handsets wherever you want. No hassles.

 

[jbbrown]

The rate didn't change much. Maybe just a few $$ more per month.
As far as the number porting, it's done in conjunction with the switch to dry loop. You are basically setting up a whole new account. They will even assign a non working phone# to your DSL line. The process can take a day or two, so there is a chance you will be without DSL or your ported phone# for a short period of time.

As far the phone, I purchased something similar to this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16876101290

Just plug the base unit to the back of the Ooma and put the handsets wherever you want. No hassles.

Thanks for your help with all this - I like the handsets.

I want to make sure I understand you correctly as far as setting up the dry loop. So did you get the dry loop connection up and running (after calling Verizon) and then you port the number with Ooma? I know you said it's done in conjunction, so I guess I'm trying to understand how that looks.

When you called Verizon, did they know what a dry loop was or did you use another term with them?

Thanks again!

 

[JeepinEd]

Thanks for your help with all this - I like the handsets.

I want to make sure I understand you correctly as far as setting up the dry loop. So did you get the dry loop connection up and running (after calling Verizon) and then you port the number with Ooma? I know you said it's done in conjunction, so I guess I'm trying to understand how that looks.

When you called Verizon, did they know what a dry loop was or did you use another term with them?

Thanks again!

They know what a Dry Loop is.
If I recall correctly, you need to let them know that you want to cancel your phone service and go with dry loop. Also advise them that you will be porting your phone#. The switch to dry loop needs to be made before you port your phone#. If you port your number first, you will lose your DSL connection until the switch to dry loop is completed. The Verizon tech should be able to advise you on the timing of it all.

Good luck.

 

[jbbrown]

They know what a Dry Loop is.
If I recall correctly, you need to let them know that you want to cancel your phone service and go with dry loop. Also advise them that you will be porting your phone#. The switch to dry loop needs to be made before you port your phone#. If you port your number first, you will lose your DSL connection until the switch to dry loop is completed. The Verizon tech should be able to advise you on the timing of it all.

Good luck.

Ok, that makes sense. Did Verizon charge you for going with a dry loop?

Thanks, you've helped me sort all this out!

 

[JeepinEd]

Ok, that makes sense. Did Verizon charge you for going with a dry loop?

Thanks, you've helped me sort all this out!

I think the monthly rate went up by a couple of dollars, but that's about it.
If they try to tell you that dry loop is not available, don't believe them. Ask for someone else.

 

[jbbrown]

Alright, just wanted to give an update.

I got the Ooma Telo and our number was ported several days ago. It actually went more smoothly than I thought it would. About a week before our number was to be ported, I called Frontier and they told me not to do anything...getting dry-loop was not necessary before the port. I was told this by several Frontier reps and a supervisor. I was skeptical and pretty much assumed something was going to go wrong. The next week, the number was ported and all I had to do was call up Frontier, confirm the phone line was cancelled and setup a new DSL plan. And to my surprise, I did not lose my internet connection at all.

So, now I am just paying a little over $3/month for home phone! It is definitely worth it! The quality has been excellent as well!

 

[Zap]

Thanks for the update! I'm still interested in it. My MagicJack is pretty much dead in the water because the only machine I want it on has problems with the software (keeps saying "no audio device" even though system has a sound card and a phone is plugged in - can't switch to phone). There has been a couple of Ooma refurb deals, but I'm still hoping to score a brand new Telo for cheap.

 

[420benz]

I am about to dump ATT. I have phone and uverse DSL with them. Just received mu ooma tilo today.my plan is to first get Xfinity installed then install Tilo. I guess after Tilo is installed should I call AT&T and ask to port my phone # and ask for a dry loop. Is that the proper procedure ?

 

[mfenn]

Closing necro thread.

mfenn
General Hardware Moderator