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VOIP SunRocket Internet Phone Service $199 for 15months = $13.27/month

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nice going and attempt to manipulate the situation georgepa 🙂. I recommend you to look at your own profile (total of 66 messages membership started April 03 of 05) before making such a comment. Lawyer approach huh? I can not attack from the subject perspective so I attack her/his credibility .. nice going ..

1. I use SR to do business overseas since the international call rates are low. So being $17 is an important part of the deal maybe the most important for you. So is the second line for me. One for home and one for work. Anyhow, I do not expect you to understand it any further.

2. VoIP is not the only option or maybe the SR gizmo or servers suck but I'm not sure. Analog world is still rocking. SR is no where close to that quality and "consider your move before you commit" is my point.
 
yawn... such piddley arguments about isolated incidents. Why would you try to discredit VOIP in a hot deal thread? Post your issues on dslreports.com and you might get some help there.
 
I'll take $199/year over the $600/year or so I was paying for my local landline any day. 🙂

Besides, the international rates for me to call my parents rock.

Anyway, where's someone who's tested this click-to-call/call-forwarding thing? I wanna try this but won't have a chance to tinker with it until the weekend!!
 
M00T-

Why some of these folks don't realize that what is happening to them is not at all typical for the service is beyond comprehension. They must think that all those here who report pretty much smooth sailing are paid lackeys.


bulletpr00f-

Look, it is cool if you like analog. I realize you don't have a good argument to my point that for your setup of 2 outgoing lines with some decent features you would pay Sunrocket $33 while you pay POTS over $100. BIG difference, no, HUGE difference. I guess I am asking you again: Are you aware that for the 2 outgoing line setup SR at $33 is by far the least expensive option. Plus, you get 2 signature lines in the process.

My "point" with the 6 posts was not to go after your credibility, but come one. You write "our old friend georgepa may be a paid....bla bla bla" as if you were writing on this site forever. You are not, I barely remember seeing a comment of yours in the past. Makes sense?


 
Call from anywhere using your Sunrocket service (in theory) :

* Sign in and choose 'Call Forwarding' option...
* Click on the radio button 'Find Me' option and list the PHONE NUMBER OF THE PERSON you want to dial (normally you would use this field to forward to yourself if you are not home etc...)
* From ANY phone dial YOUR sunrocket number... it should be rerouted to call that person on your 'Find Me' list.
* Their phone will ring (great use for international calls when you can not be home to make a call)

:::Caveat:::

i have tried this on my cell phone and the caller id lists the actual phone number making the call, NOT your sunrocket number when it forwards the call. There may be a danger that it just forwards the call and you may be billed on the line that you initiated the call.... actually this is what we're hoping will not happen.

If someone can test this out it would be appreciated.
 
Originally posted by: georgepa
M00T-

Why some of these folks don't realize that what is happening to them is not at all typical for the service is beyond comprehension. They must think that all those here who report pretty much smooth sailing are paid lackeys.


bulletpr00f-

Look, it is cool if you like analog. I realize you don't have a good argument to my point that for your setup of 2 outgoing lines with some decent features you would pay Sunrocket $33 while you pay POTS over $100. BIG difference, no, HUGE difference. I guess I am asking you again: Are you aware that for the 2 outgoing line setup SR at $33 is by far the least expensive option. Plus, you get 2 signature lines in the process.

My "point" with the 6 posts was not to go after your credibility, but come one. You write "our old friend georgepa may be a paid....bla bla bla" as if you were writing on this site forever. You are not, I barely remember seeing a comment of yours in the past. Makes sense?
Click to expand...

First let's get the facts straight.

* Your "it is only happening to you" attitide is what is going to bring this company to closure. Learn to listen instead of being aggresively defensive.

* Being a 25 a month (or 17 if you buy it for a year) service does not qualify SR to lie abot their commitments or to deliver a crappy service. Apperantly u think differently.

* The difference in between 17 a month service and 30+ a month service is the difference in between a bycle and a sports car. Do not compare.

* From your comments I think you are finally admitting the fact that there are problems (whole bunch of them as per my previous messages) but claiming it is still ok because SR is cheaper.

Second : my final message on this topic and I apologize from all of you for the chain of messages. My intentions are not harmful and to let everyone know that grass is not that green here in SR world at all.

Due to problems I had and others I have personally heard
1. I do not recommend SR if you are a home working person where you would be using the phone a lot for local, long distance and international calls
2. I do not recommend SR if you have a semi complex home network with router/firewall etc. setup and you would like to place the gizmo behind the router
3. I do not recommend SR if you have public webserver running within your home network
4. I do not recommend SR if you are interested in multiple lines.





 
Originally posted by: bulletpr00f
Due to problems I had and others I have personally heard
1. I do not recommend SR if you are a home working person where you would be using the phone a lot for local, long distance and international calls

2. I do not recommend SR if you have a semi complex home network with router/firewall etc. setup and you would like to place the gizmo behind the router

3. I do not recommend SR if you have public webserver running within your home network

4. I do not recommend SR if you are interested in multiple lines.
Click to expand...

1. Why not? Are you considering it to be an unusable phone system? Myself and thousands of other people would disagree.

2. Hmm... here's my current scenario: Cable Modem > Linksys WRT54G --- wireless connection --- ubuntu firewall > IP masquerading > gigabit switch > gizmo. Works just fine. Do you have a more complex setup?

3. My ubuntu firewall has a webserver, and it works.

4. Well, you paid $25 for one line. A second line from SR would be a freebie, but you demand it? It took Vonage a while to offer a second phone line.



-- Now, something else to consider. You seem to think all of these problems are isolated to Sunrocket. Take a look at the Vonage forums... same problems, same gripes, same complaints. VOIP is a baby still. It is very useful, but it's not going to please everyone just yet.

Same problems over at Vonage.

Same problem w/ every VOIP company in fact.

99% of the issues are localized to the home network, a shoddy internet connection, or customers who demand a certain feature is the most important thing in the world.
 
I still have a problem with echoes that people hear when they try to leave a message on my physical answering machine. Has anyone found a workaround for this??
 
bulletpr00f-

Look, guy. The agression comes from your end. I could care less about your experiences. I have had very good ones, so have a bunch of other people. Sorry you didn't. Why would I care about it? You are free to go to any service you want or none at all without any penalty whatsoever. Some of your points needed a little correction, as they were utter nonsense. However, you are free to write whatever you want to, even if it makes no sense (as in "SR promised a second line at no additional cost, dammit.") Anyone here is free to respond to your posts anyway they wish.

Bottom line is that your "experience" is highly unusual, which is why the company is growing by leaps and bounds. I am sure you'll attempt to deny that as well, so it is all good. Since they are now close to 30k it is obvious that 5 who "stick" replace one who doesn't like it for one reason or another. I had a Honda Civic once, many people like the car. I somehow couldn't get myself to fully fall for it, didn't like this or that with it. I got into Toyota and never looked back. SR is not for all. Some just like expensive landline and don't mind paying $100 a month. Others like the features Broadvoice has for even cheaper international. There'll be a hat out there that fits you, I'm sure.
 
Good grief! Is it obvious to no one else that Bulletproof is on the Vonage payroll?
Why else would he break in here with the obvious intent to sow discord from the start.

It is also obvious that Georgepa has tried from the start to assist Bull****!!!

Bull****, would you mind taking your piddly-assed problem somewhere else? BFGs 😀😀😀
 
Originally posted by: RideFree
Good grief! Is it obvious to no one else that Bulletproof is on the Vonage payroll?
Why else would he break in here with the obvious intent to sow discord from the start.

It is also obvious that Georgepa has tried from the start to assist Bull****!!!

Bull****, would you mind taking your piddly-assed problem somewhere else? BFGs 😀😀😀
Click to expand...

What's obvious here is that this was a conversation between A and B, and you need to C your way out. Just because you started the thread doesn't mean you are the thread police. People should feel free to disagree about the quality of the service, and although bullet is not exactly coherent at times (as george said), he has every right to come here and state his views if he doesn't think it works for him. As does george in pointing out the flaws in what he's saying. I happen to agree with george in this case and think that bullet has a problem with gizmo firmware or settings and/or a router/modem/ISP issue, because the stuff he's talking about is not at all common. Not to mention that the 2nd phone number was never promised as a full 2nd line, to my knowledge.

This is not, and should not, be the 'I worship the SR god' thread, no matter how well it works on your piddly-assed account. It should be a reasonable discussion of the SR deal, all points considered.
 
GTFan-

Honestly, Ride4free has a point. There is definitely a smell with this one. It is just that in my business I have seen people do the darndest things and click or erase where their mousepointer doesn'n belong, then impatiently blame the service or computer or software, so I give "benefit of the doubt" that user error or wrong perception are at work here, not anything sinister.

It would buttress bulletpr00f's point if he could point to a single discussion about these issues on any forum where posters hang around. In absence of that it becomes more of an exercise in and a battle of semantics. Nobody can truly disprove that some SR rep did NOT tell him that the free second-line option was coming by the end of June. Given my experience inquiring about the issue several times (and posting about it here and elsewhere) it is highly doubtful, but truly disproving I can't. Still, that post as well as some of the previous ones in which it got somewhat "heated" show that there may be less "true, honest" bad will against the service rather than posters "popping up" out of nowhere, bashing, then disappearing as quickly as they came, undermining their credibility and critique point to an extent. Not that there aren't any true issues with the service, but some of the stuff that has been written in the past was as far-fetched as the current "issue" we are dealing with.


My score chart from my point of view:

Name Caller ID - fixed

Call Logs - fixed (unfortunately for me)

Voicemail notification to cell - fixed

Uptime - we'll see, but I am cautiously optimistic that the capacity upgrade to triple did a world of good on that score, even though implementation led to the worst outage SR has had to date.

Fax issues - A thread on BBR shows how the gizmo setup can be tweaked for very good fax success

Failsafe/Failover option - still missing Supposedly in the works

2nd line port open up - in the works. I was told after the summer, possibly, but nobody knows if it comes with a small fee or free.


"It just works." 🙂
 
Originally posted by: GTFan
What's obvious here is that this was a conversation between A and B, and you need to C your way out.
This is not, and should not, be the 'I worship the SR god' thread, no matter how well it works on your piddly-assed account. It should be a reasonable discussion of the SR deal, all points considered.
Click to expand...
Thank you for lowering yourself to the level of the Thread Police.
Did you happen to notice that all of Bullit's posts were to this thread? (And AFAIK, quite recently - also, there is also no profile for him so I don't know when he registered.)
Did you notice that I did not wade into this until Bullit started the mud-slinging at George?
It's not that George needed the help, but it seemed to me that Bullit might be a shill.

If you had said the same words as bullit, I would probably not have commented as you've been a regular contributor to this thread since the beginning. But Bullit just burst upon the scene and his style made me very suspicious...but, hey, I'm a conspiratorialist.

Let Bullit fight his own battles...he seems quite capable. 😀😀😀
 
Originally posted by: RideFreeLet Bullit fight his own battles...he seems quite capable. 😀😀😀
Click to expand...

That's all I'm asking, and my comments about what the thread should contain were just my opinion, not an attempt to police what anyone says. I'm not the one that asked the dude to get out.

Back to the thread - my service has been working well since the big outage. No more dead air or fast busy outgoing calls so far. I've had a couple of times, however, where I've had to power-cycle the gizmo to get service. No voice light, no dial tone. I don't know why because my net connection was fine both times, and it's only happened a couple of times in the past month. Might be something goofy with their servers or with the latest firmware. Could even be my router since my gizmo is behind the router.

If they can fix the last remaining issue for me, reliable VM rollover for outages, I'll be very satisfied. They've come a long way since the first of the year.
 
Originally posted by: georgepa
Fax issues - A thread on BBR shows how the gizmo setup can be tweaked for very good fax success
Click to expand...

Can you give a link to this thread? I've had a heck of a time trying to FAX, I've had success once with a 1 page fax, but when I tried a multiple page one, I always had errors, even on the first page.
 
gibster-

The bottom post in this thread gives the gizmo tweaks that for some make faxing more reliable. I have had no issues with my older HP Laserjet 3150 All-In-One but I implemented the exact same tweak on a Brother Intellifax that was more or less "hit or miss" and it works well now. Try the gizmo tweaks and, if you could, let us know here how you fared with it. Keep in mind this works only if you have expanded access to the gizmo, not the "Welcome" screen.


http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,14031947

I'll just quote the appropriate section here so others (who kept expanded gizmo access) interested in tweaking for their faxes may benefit:



_____________________________________________________________
The settings that I saw(before the password change) that were modified by SR upper level tech support that made faxing work were:

Sip tab:
Uncheck T38 fax support

Codecs tab:
Turn silent suppression on for all codecs
Use fixed jitter buffer at 80 ms

On your fax machine:
Disable error correction mode(SR actually told me to turn on error correction and it did work. I turned it off to test if it would work without error correction. It did and was much faster without the error correction)

Reboot gizmo after changes!

This is what was done to correct my faxing issues....each fax and SR line is an individual and the results may vary.

My setup:

Linksys cable modem w/Charter HSI(3/256)>Gizmo>Router
Gizmo Line 1 to HP 7210xi all in one fax machine line in
Fax machine Line out to Panasonic 2.4 Ghz wireless expandable phone system w/8 stations

Fax number is set to double ring and fax machine is setup to answer double rings on the first ring.
_________________________________________________________________________

The posters "erikw2" and "mph300" had SR customer service perform these tweaks for them, but since mph300 noted and reported the changes you could go in there and make the changes yourself to avoid waiting. From previous posts, however, I understand that erikw2 simply called CS (Level 1) and someone performed the fax tweaks for him right on the spot without the need to open a ticket for upper level techs, so if you are uncomfortable making changes to your gizmo setup you may want to try that route.
 
Originally posted by: GTFan
Originally posted by: RideFreeLet Bullit fight his own battles...he seems quite capable. 😀😀😀
Click to expand...

That's all I'm asking, and my comments about what the thread should contain were just my opinion, not an attempt to police what anyone says. I'm not the one that asked the dude to get out.

Back to the thread - my service has been working well since the big outage. No more dead air or fast busy outgoing calls so far. I've had a couple of times, however, where I've had to power-cycle the gizmo to get service. No voice light, no dial tone. I don't know why because my net connection was fine both times, and it's only happened a couple of times in the past month. Might be something goofy with their servers or with the latest firmware. Could even be my router since my gizmo is behind the router.

If they can fix the last remaining issue for me, reliable VM rollover for outages, I'll be very satisfied. They've come a long way since the first of the year.
Click to expand...

Wow, GTFan, you have come along way as well with Sunrocket. I remember you having many a gripes and its good to see that your service is getting better. But I do notice as well that since the outage service has been near perfect. I wonder if the tripling capacity is a direct cause of this. Regardless, I agree that Sunrocket has really improved since first signing up.

So I am going to pound this question out one more time. If a call is forwarded using the find me feature, who is charged in the end? Sunrocket, for connecting both locations or is it a direct connect from the caller to the find me location? Is the caller ID on the find me number proof of the origin of the call?
 
laketrout-

Forwarding via the find-me feature is billed to Sunrocket. However, using the "FindMeForwarding" feature will not work when using the Contact Manager. Pressing "Call" next to one of the contacts assumes that you are calling directly from your computer and that you do so for added convenience. Any forwarding is turned off during those Contact Manager calls.

The only way to make the type of phone calls you envision is really to have someone at the SR phone location transfer the call. In other words, if you want to make an international call from your cell phone while driving home for an hour have a family member or roommate call your cell, then hit "Talk" or "Flash" and call the other party, then simply hang up. The call is transferred to the two called phones and you can talk with the international party on your cell at low SR international rates. Remote calling via Contact Manager does not seem to work, as it just rings your home number endlessly (it does not even go to voicemail after a preset number of rings.)
 
Originally posted by: Jlensbo
I still have a problem with echoes that people hear when they try to leave a message on my physical answering machine. Has anyone found a workaround for this??
Click to expand...
Sorry that your ? seems to have been lost in the shuffle.
My Panasonic answering/fax machine has had no problems as you have described.
1. Is there a "duplexing" feature that you might try & turn-off on the message mach.?
2. Is there another machine that you might borrow and try temporarily?
 
george -

I thought I was on to something. Ho hum.

I ended up calling SR tech support after I posted because I really wanted to know and they told me the find me feature basically forwards the connection so its like the original caller dialing your find me number or cell phone for instance. So close! (btw - I have called sunrocket on many occasions just to talk about weird things like this, and I noticed this time, they always pick up within like 1-2 rings and are always really cool and helpful. I am impressed that they deal with these things so politely, A+)

Thanx for that other way around. Seems with so many features that the combinations are endless...🙂
 
Laketrout-

I agree. I sometimes call SR up to ask about stuff like "When will the second # be programmed in the gizmo" or "How many customers does SR currently have." I figure it is free, so what the heck. They are usually helpful and very polite. I have not had the tech support issues others have had. Then again, I like tweaking things myself inside the gizmo, with the phones and supporting hardware. I don't need a lot of hand holding.
 
Originally posted by: bulletpr00f
I have been using sunrocket for the last 4-5 months and unfortunately i can not say good things about it. Below are the shortcomings:

1. Connection drops out in the middle of your conversation (received the same comments from other people as well)
2. Connectivity gets really worse. People can not hear me especially when there is VPN connection (might be a shortcoming with my router since the gizmo is behing the router but i do not believe so)
3. Voice mail controls (over the phone) are very primitive and lots of things are just wrong
4. Company does not meet their commitments (e.g. back in Feb, they said second line will be available by the end of Q2 and here we are at the end of Q3)
5. Two line thing does not work at all due to
5.1. you can only have one number appear as the caller
5.2 certain services are only available to primary number

Conclusion
If you have a cell phone and buying the sunrocket voip for international or long distance calls only, it is still a good deal
if you are going to use the phone daily basis, just forget it. Let me give you an example, you are on the phone with let's say comcast support and you have been waiting for 30 mins. On the 30th minute Gizmo decides to drop your connection. I was not a happy customer. Above all this happens at least 3-4 times a week. I also have the the deal from comcast where my connectivity speed is 8mbps download and 768kbps upload.
Click to expand...
I surely don't mean to restart a dialog about this... but I do want to bring it up for the people on the verge of jumping into this deal.
I think it's obvious, but let me just say that peoples experiences should start with "My experience has been..." -- and not something like (paraphrased) "Sunrocket sucks!"

Now, on to MY experience...
Issue 1: I have frequent calls lasting 1hr+ and have not had a connection drop.
Issue 2: "connectivity" has not been an issue for me -- except for the limited periods of downtime about a month ago, plus a couple hours a few weeks before that. "...gets worse" sounds like a router issue to me, but I may be wrong. I'd try moving the gizmo in front of the router before dissing on sunrocket.
Issue 3: "primative and lots of things wrong" ? Don't really know what advanced features I've missed out on all my life, but it works very well for me. Maybe a sophisticated business needs more options.
Issue 4: I've only heard rumors of the "second line" -- and have done enough research on the gizmo to guess that it will likely happen someday. It will be cool if/when it comes. If you're life/business depends on it, it might be best to wait till it's actually a stated spec. of the service.
Issue 5: My 2 lines work fine and as promised. It may be confusing what the "signature line" is. It is NOT a true second line that can be used for a second outbound call while the first line is in use. It's just like having 2 different phone#'s that will ring your ONE phone (but better, because you can manage the second number seperately -- like forward it to another number and set up different mailboxes).

I'll also note that my internet service specs. are roughly 1/3rd of what bullet's are -- and my experience has been excellent. Sound quality is excellent for me, and I have none of the issues the minority of others do.

Bottom line is; if the idea of paying only $199/year for an experience like mine sounds good to you, you don't have anything to lose in trying it. I really have no problem at all recommending SR to anyone, with any experience level (even my parents!). If you are one of the unfortunate minority that can't get acceptable performance and are unwilling to ask for help (either here, BBR, or SR tech support), then box it up and send it back. SR offers a worry-free return policy, so you've got nothing to lose.

hth
 
To add to ttown's post:

I don't see how anyone can go wrong going with SR, at least to try it out. It is not just the service that gives you the most features of any VOIP service, and that at the lowest price of them all for unlimited service (assuming you went with the $199 prepaid-for-one year plan.) They also give away a cordless speakerphone system from Uniden with 2 handsets, a $65 to $70 value, which is the customers to keep just for trying out the service. Even if you decide to cancel the service after one week of trial you end up with a $70 phone system while paying absolutely nothing out of your pocket. How is THAT not the best deal in any "Hot Deals" forum? To make it even more of a deal the customer pays not a dime out of pocket to get going, zero shipping cost, no startup or setup fee, and if one does not care for it after all, absolutely no cancellation fee. If the service is to your liking you can tell friends, co-workers and family and receive $25 in either Best Buy cash, Amazon.com cash or www.giveanything.com cash for each referral. There is a $3 "allowance" for international calls each month, so for some who use that up the actual price of service comes to only $13.58 per month for unlimited calling in the US and Canada for 2 incoming lines with 2 separate voicemail boxes.

Those who worry about a fairly new company taking $199 from you and then possibly folding, remember that you are getting the $70 phones plus the ATA adapter (Telco's Access 211) which usually goes for $150. Even ebay has it currently at $120 plus $17 shipping here:

http://cgi.ebay.com/VOIP-BROADBAND-CABL...1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Therefore your risk is basically at zero. You start saving money from the moment you get the equipment. SR is growing rapidly, they are not going anywhere but further up.
 
Originally posted by: georgepa
Laketrout-

I agree. I sometimes call SR up to ask about stuff like "When will the second # be programmed in the gizmo" or "How many customers does SR currently have." I figure it is free, so what the heck. They are usually helpful and very polite. I have not had the tech support issues others have had. Then again, I like tweaking things myself inside the gizmo, with the phones and supporting hardware. I don't need a lot of hand holding.
Click to expand...

Its not so much about hand holding as I am sure you mean. Its more so that what company do you know that you can be in the situation where you kinda want to know something and actually think, "Hey, I'll give them a quick call." Its just an unusually cool feeling to have with a company to know that you will be answered quickly and politely.

And I will chime in in support of ttown's words. I feel very similar about Sunrocket. If you are willing or intereste din voip, Sunrocket is very much a player I think, one that should be considered for the benefits we have all come to enjoy.
 
laketrout-

One of my best clients has been on Sunrocket for 2 months now. She is all excited about what she can do with it as far as customizing it, monitoring her voicemails, getting voicemail notifications, etc. She got both of her sons in Tampa on it, several of her associates. Her son in Orlando wants to get it as well, but there are no Orlando numbers with SR for the moment. She can't believe that not more people are on it. She calls it a "no-brainer" because of the free $70 phones and the savings over POTS. She used to pay Verizon $150 a month for 2 business lines, but not anymore. I agree with her. The phones make it a deal that can't be beat for anyone. If someone is apprehensive about VOIP in general why not get it at least to try it out but keep your POTS line while bringing the POTS cost down to a minimum. For instance, SR for all outgoing calls is $16.58 per month. A metered POTS line (generally for incoming only and 911 - unless the VOIP is down in which case outgoing calls can be made at metered rates) is about $8.50 plus tax. So, for less than $30 per month one would have 2 incoming VOIP lines, all the long distance, local and intrastate calling one would want, free international minutes (100 minutes to most countries) with many advanced features plus a landline POTS for another incoming line, possible emergencies, power outages.

I don't see any justification to stick with a sparsely featured POTS-only line, quite frankly, if the above combination gets you the best of both worlds plus free cordless phones at a much lower cost than POTS-only. It is indeed, IMO, a no-brainer.
 
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