Should my parents get Vonage?

[archcommus]

My parents currently have phone through Comcast and pay for two lines plus all the features like caller ID, etc., and their total monthly bill is around $56. Vonage advertises $24.99 with all the features and unlimited long distance. Seems tempting but would we run into any problems? My parents like things to be simple and if something as simple as their phone service didn't seem as good as they've been used to for the past 40 years, they wouldn't like it. Any downsides besides losing phone service when the power goes out? We'd be using it over Comcast cable internet.

 

[whalen]

If you ran the modem/router and vonage adapter on a UPS, then only an outage by comcast would bring down the phone. If they have a cell phone that works in their house, it really shouldn't be an issue.

You can always try vonage for 30 days i think and if it doesnt work well you can return it for a full refund.

 

[ATLien247]

Let's assume you have all their devices running on UPS...

Should their internet connection go down and then come back up in such a manner that it required the VoIP adapter and/or the cable modem/router to be power cycled, would they know what to do?

And knowing how bad Comcast can get in certain areas of the country, would they have a problem doing this several times a day?

 

[archcommus]

Originally posted by: ATLien247
Let's assume you have all their devices running on UPS...

Should their internet connection go down and then come back up in such a manner that it required the VoIP adapter and/or the cable modem/router to be power cycled, would they know what to do?

And knowing how bad Comcast can get in certain areas of the country, would they have a problem doing this several times a day?

We hardly ever have issues with Comcast around here, and usually all a power cycle involves is unplugging the power and plugging it back in, I think my dad could handle that.

But it looks like I'd have to replace my current router with the Vonage "adapter" (looks bsaically like a router to me)? And then how do all the phone jacks in the house hook up to that adapter? That sounds like a mighty pain, as currently all the jacks in the house run to a box in the basement by the electrical panel.

 

[tw1164]

I bought vonage for my folks, they were spending way too much for home phone service. They haven't had any troubles yet *crosses fingers*

 

[SampSon]

My parents asked me the same thing.

My retort was "well, do you trust adelphia enough to rely on it 100% for your telephone needs?"
The answer was "no".

 

[SoulAssassin]

Check out the sunrocket thread over in HD, $19.99/mo or at least 12 months for $199 (possibly up to 15 months), two free 2.4Ghz phones, I've had it for almost a year and have been very satisfied. Unlimited LD plus vmail and all the other fun stuff included.

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=40&threadid=1471134&enterthread=y

Let me know if you need a referral.

 

[AmigaMan]

I have Dish Network that requires a phone line so it can dial out periodically. Can I use these VOIP providers with it?

 

[nsafreak]

Depends on the VoIP provider. My Dish boxes work fine with Vonage but they may not work with other providers.

 

[ATLien247]

Originally posted by: archcommus
We hardly ever have issues with Comcast around here, and usually all a power cycle involves is unplugging the power and plugging it back in, I think my dad could handle that.

But it looks like I'd have to replace my current router with the Vonage "adapter" (looks bsaically like a router to me)? And then how do all the phone jacks in the house hook up to that adapter? That sounds like a mighty pain, as currently all the jacks in the house run to a box in the basement by the electrical panel.

I wasn't trying to bash Comcast or anything, I might add. I have had Comcast HSI myself for several years, and have not had many problems. Although there was a period of time last month where it seemed like I had to do the power-cycle routine at least once a day for a week or so. I didn't really try to figure out who was at fault, Comcast or Vonage, but the problem is gone now.

To give you a clearer picture of what you might face (or might not, as this could just be specific to my situation), it would help to explain how I've got things set up. I have a wireless router, which plugs into the VoIP adapter, which plugs into the cable modem. I haven't gotten around to buying a UPS, so I need to worry about both power outages and cable outages.

On the rare occasion where there is a power outage and things don't come back up all the way on their own, I normally have to unplug the power to my wireless router, power-cycle the VoIP adapter, then plug the wireless router back in once the VoIP adapter has finished initializing.

I have to do all that because it seems as though my wireless router is sometimes quicker to initialize than the VoIP adapter. I suppose I might be able to mitigate the problem by moving my wireless router up the chain, so that the setup would be cable modem > wireless router > VoIp adapter. But I like my VoIP service having priority over my LAN, and I haven't really wanted to mess with figuring out the QoS on my wireless router.

On the other hand, if I added a UPS into the mix, then I would only have to worry about cable outages. When my cable goes down and comes back up, I lose LAN connectivity more often than VoIP. I think this may have something to do with DHCP. Anyhow, then all I have to do is power-cycle the wireless adapter. But in the case where I've also lost VoIP, then I have to do the routine I explained above regarding power outages.

Again, this could all be just a problem specific to me.

All that aside, in order to connect the VoIP adapter to all the phone jacks in the house, you first need to disconnect the POTS line at the demarc. Mine is in a utility box hung on the side of my house, but it sounds like yours might be in the box in your basement that you described. Then all you need to do is plug the VoIP adapter into any wall jack, and the rest of the jacks in the house will be live.

There is a FAQ somehwere on Vonage's website that explains this in more detail, but I can't seem to find it at the moment. The FAQ has been linked before in other Vonage threads, so you might want to search AT first.

 

[DidlySquat]

Originally posted by: SampSon
My parents asked me the same thing.

My retort was "well, do you trust adelphia enough to rely on it 100% for your telephone needs?"
The answer was "no".

don't they have cellphones as well like most people ?

 

[laketrout]

If they are going to heavily scrutinize the service and have the potential to not be satisfied then I would strongly suggets trying sunrocket first. Sunrocket doesn't have actviation or cancellation fees and is very straightforward with their billing whereas vonage has extra fees and taxes. So though both have a 30-day free trial, SR is always a better first try for those reasons and you can get free phones that you can keep regardless of whether they keep service. Just have them keep their normal phone, try it out and see if they can handle it.

 

[FoBoT]

Originally posted by: AmigaMan
I have Dish Network that requires a phone line so it can dial out periodically. Can I use these VOIP providers with it?

i have dish and sunrocket and it works

 

[speg]

I've been thinking about doing the same. But what I'm unclear about is, can you only have one phone connected? Or can you run a phone line from the VoIP box into a phone jack - and then every phone in the house can use it as normal?

 

[Dulanic]

Originally posted by: speg
I've been thinking about doing the same. But what I'm unclear about is, can you only have one phone connected? Or can you run a phone line from the VoIP box into a phone jack - and then every phone in the house can use it as normal?

Yes you can do that, you just have to disconnect the phone line coming into the house originally.

As for the OPs question on power cycling if there is an outage.... I have yet to do that and I've had Vonage for 6 months I think now.

 

[JS80]

I have vonage bc i'm cheap. Quality is definitely lower than copper and cell phones. Reliability is horrible. My shvt goes down a lot.

 

[FoBoT]

i would not recommend VoIP to anyone that doesn't have mobile/cell phone service as a backup

 

[Dulanic]

Originally posted by: JS80
I have vonage bc i'm cheap. Quality is definitely lower than copper and cell phones. Reliability is horrible. My shvt goes down a lot.

Sounds like your net connection has issues, I havent had any downtime that Ive ever noticed with Vonage, and the quality is deff better then my cell, about equal with a normal line.

 

[Kelemvor]

Anyone have any experience with bandwidth throttling and VoIP? Liek maybe with the Linksys WRT54G with some 3rd party firmware?

If I'm downloading a huge torrent or uploading something or whatever, I'd want to give the phone priority if it had a call coming or going, but would want to give everything to the computer if the phone wasn't trying to use anything...

 

[JDrake]

I have it, its cool
but it takes up one of your 5-6 Comcast spaces

 

[LeadMagnet]

I have Vonage on Comcast and it works ok as long as you have a DOCSIS 2.0 compliant cablemodem, but you will notice dropped calls and poor voice quality between 5 and 7 pm EST

 

[manlymatt83]

Originally posted by: archcommus
My parents currently have phone through Comcast and pay for two lines plus all the features like caller ID, etc., and their total monthly bill is around $56. Vonage advertises $24.99 with all the features and unlimited long distance. Seems tempting but would we run into any problems? My parents like things to be simple and if something as simple as their phone service didn't seem as good as they've been used to for the past 40 years, they wouldn't like it. Any downsides besides losing phone service when the power goes out? We'd be using it over Comcast cable internet.

I find it funny how much my world has changed. When I read "long distance", to me it was "International Calling". Because any phone I use now has free long distance, I never even think twice about paying for a call to another state........ odd. I remember now 5 years ago when that was a big deal.

 

[DidlySquat]

I'm considering Vonage, and have a couple more questions ?

1. I understand that if I switch my current landline number to Vonage, but then decide to cancel Vonage, I will need to get a new number from my phone company ? Is it possible to sign up for Vonage without transferring the landline number immediatly, and only transfer it after a month or two, after I decided if I'm want to keep vonage ?

2. Would you recommend the PAP2 VOIP device or the WRTP54G router/VOIP device ? I already have a router (D-Link DI-624) but I don't think it has QoS settings and anyway a combined router+VOIP sounds like a good idea. Is there any advantage to getting the PAP2 except for cheaper price ?

 

[laketrout]

Originally posted by: speg
I've been thinking about doing the same. But what I'm unclear about is, can you only have one phone connected? Or can you run a phone line from the VoIP box into a phone jack - and then every phone in the house can use it as normal?

Yeah, it is really simple to do, just make sure you do it right. The other option is that sunrocket comes with two free cordless Uniden phones that are the satellite phones that only need power to work, not an actually telephone jack (only the base unit needs to be connected). Its a good jump start to getting around house wiring....