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

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RideFree

Diamond Member
Jul 25, 2001
3,433
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Originally posted by: dchakrab
Eventually my patience snaps and I yell at him. Was this a tech support person or just some neanderthal that wandered in from the jungles and decided to answer the phones that day? -Dave.
Dave, I hate to be critical of this but, "neanderthal" should really be capitalized.

PS Send your extra Gizmo to Robor.
 

tanman

Junior Member
Dec 8, 2004
7
0
0
Can anyone PM me with password besides "welcome" to get into the gizmo? My service
is working fine and has been since April, I just want to look at
the confiuration. Thanks in advance.
 

GTFan

Senior member
Jan 11, 2001
642
0
76
Originally posted by: jjm
My wife tells me she had to reboot the gizmo twice again yesterday because the gizmo had slowed things to a crawl. I still don't have the time to trouble-shoot this sort of thing, but I am at the point now where I will just pull the plug on SR if it continues. It's just not worth the time and effort. In my experience, SR is a novelty and still is not ready for prime time.

So put the gizmo behind the router, and either get a Linksys WRT54G with QOS so you can give the gizmo priority, or don't do heavy uploading while you're on the phone. I've never had a prob with the gizmo behind even when downloading a lot of stuff, but I'm also not into P2P.

Don't give up on it until you move the gizmo. I wouldn't run it in front of the router, ever. Have heard too many problems with their recommended setup.
 

GTFan

Senior member
Jan 11, 2001
642
0
76
Bostonkarl, I have to agree with George on the 'there are other free VOIP providers' argument. You have to put up or shut up here and not just claim that they're easy to find.

As George said, you have to show one that gives you a hardware adapter for free and has no activation or cancellation charge and no junk fees or taxes. And remember that SR is a flat $16.58 a month, no tax, no junk, and is an unlimited plan, so your provider must meet or beat this price for the plan. Providers like Voipbuster, Callpacket, Skype, FWD, Stanaphone, Sipphone, etc. don't count because you have to use their app on a PC or buy an adapter.

Of the ones that provide hardware, show us one that signs you up for nothing, not even shipping, and allows you to cancel with a full prorated refund at anytime. This rules out anyone with a contract, of course. Most everyone charges either an activation or a cancellation fee if they provide hardware.
 

astrosfan90

Golden Member
Mar 17, 2005
1,156
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Meh, I've never had the slightest problem with international calling, and I've called cell and landline numbers in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, England, and Russia. *shrug* Works fine for me. :)
 

dchakrab

Senior member
Apr 25, 2001
493
0
0
Originally posted by: ttown
Originally posted by: dchakrab
...snip...
Ideas?
...snip...

Yes. Remove your gizmo and get everything working back the way things were.
Then, attach the gizmo onto your router or modem.

It should be:
coble-in-->(wan)modem(lan)-->[(wan)router(lan)]-->(wan)gizmo(lan)--->pc

Attach a phone to the gizmo line#1. Assuming no dial-tone, pick up the phone and dial ##333258. The mgmt light should blink a few times on the gizmo, and within a minute or two you should get a voice light.

If there's still no voice light, attach a PC to the gizmo and try getting normal web-access on your PC. If you can get on the web, but don't get a voice light -- then it is probably an issue with your router/firewall.

Try the above. If you still have problems, post as much info (or PM me) and we'll help as much as we can.

PS- Sounds like you had quite a run with some entry level tier 1 techs.... :(

Thanks, but this is where it gets complicated. My desktop is on the second floor, the router's in the basement, over a wireless link. The gizmo, ideally, should be downstream of my computer with ICS, but we'll dream about this later.

For now, I can take the gizmo down to the basement and connect it to the router, up or downstream, but I can't connect a PC to it or to the router directly down there. I have to run back up here to log in to the router, and bring the gizmo back up here if i want to change anything on it. Sucks, yes?

I'm waiting to get a power cord for my powerbook, and then I'll take that downstairs to the basement and try this out again. No help from SR, of course...it's been a couple of days, and I still haven't received any callbacks or follow-up emails. They seem perfectly content to ignore customers who're having problems and just focus on signing up as many newbies as possible. I've got very bad vibes about this company so far.

They will undoubtedly feel the wrath of my many blogs.

Dave.





 

Robor

Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
16,979
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Originally posted by: tanman
Can anyone PM me with password besides "welcome" to get into the gizmo? My service
is working fine and has been since April, I just want to look at
the confiuration. Thanks in advance.

You have a PM. :)
 

dchakrab

Senior member
Apr 25, 2001
493
0
0
I'd love a PM with the master / admin password for the Gizmo as well. I'm thinking some further tinkering could fix my problem, or I can find an alternate use for the Gizmo, perhaps :)

Anyone?

-Dave.
 

bostonkarl

Member
Nov 24, 2003
27
0
0
GTFan --

It seems as though you eliminate the softphone option out of hand to try out VOIP. But that's okay, because some folks don't like softphones while others who travel a lot, like me, find them indespensible. I travel with my laptop, not my gizmo :) Different strokes for different folks. We all can live happily doing different things.

Again, I'm really not interested in going down the path of such-and-such service doesn't provide such-and-such features or free phones or such-and-such hardware. I took issue with the original claim that SR is the only VOIP that could be used for free. The original quote was:

"...unlike all other VOIPs Sunrocket has no fees that would get lost or cancellation fees that need to be considered"

This is just wrong. One doesn't need to sign up for SR to try out VOIP free. The above quoted statement, to which I took issue, is terribly misleading. It is written in advertisement-speak (TM).

Factor in two things: soft phone and limitted plans. You'll find that there are many completely free options out there. One very very obvious option doesn't even require a credit card to sign up and to make calls. Hint #1: it was on hotdeals recently. Hint #2: there has been a name change recently. Hint #3: 100 outgoing free; incoming free.

(I make the reasonable presumption here that anyone with broadband has a computer and electricity to power it :) )

'"As George said, you have to show one that gives you a hardware adapter for free and has no activation or cancellation charge and no junk fees or taxes."

I'm not trying to pick on you, but that's really not what I have to show. I have shown that his original quoated statement was incorrect bcause that's what I called out as incorrect. During the several postings since he has placed in various qualifiers that I have no interest in addressing.

And back to the original topic, I'll say it once again. SR as a service is an OKAY deal. You get freebies, and it is cheap for an all-you-can-eat, but beyond that the service hasn't been as reliable as it should be lately and tech support is the pits. Don't believe me, but go over to DSLReports and take a look at the 100+ reviews by people from all over the place. Ignore the bashing; ingore the hype. Be informed.

For some reason, SR=OKAY has become bashing on this board. Saying things like "read the reviews" has become bashing on this board.
 

laketrout

Senior member
Mar 1, 2005
672
0
0
Report from China

1 - Avian Flu girl definitely reported to have pnemonia in Shanghai Daily paper. I learn now that it is not necessarily true.

2 - Bulkhead seat makes all the difference in the world.

3 - SunRocket appeared to be working correctly but the Uniden phone needed a convereter and I borrowed one from someone that appeared to not work. I tried the hotel phone but it was really whacky (I was actually in the graduate dorm so there stuff was uber-crappy). The internet was up and down and I was out so much I never succeeded in getting it working though the gizmo appeared to fire up just fine. I guess this is a too be continued.

4 - Thanx for the power strip and adaptor idea bulletpr00f, I powered everyone's stuff in the room and it allowed me to listen to tunes everyday.

 

GTFan

Senior member
Jan 11, 2001
642
0
76
Originally posted by: bostonkarl'"As George said, you have to show one that gives you a hardware adapter for free and has no activation or cancellation charge and no junk fees or taxes."

I'm not trying to pick on you, but that's really not what I have to show. I have shown that his original quoated statement was incorrect bcause that's what I called out as incorrect. During the several postings since he has placed in various qualifiers that I have no interest in addressing.

IMO you're being pedantic here and ignoring what George has explained as his basis for the statement; i.e., you can ignore his 'qualifiers' all you want, but you're also ignoring the true statement by doing so. You're right, you can get Callpacket for free, among others. But this is an apples and oranges comparison to SR. George in no way meant to imply that there were no free VOIP services. He meant as he explained, that there is no comparable service to what you get with SR, hardware included.

I don't think anyone here except you thought that he was literally saying that SR was the cheapest deal around, bar none. I think you just want to argue the point because you don't like what he's saying here (and elsewhere).
 

georgepa

Senior member
Apr 3, 2005
498
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The funny thing is that the CallPacket thread in HOT DEALS BK is referring to was started by myself.

Callpacket HOT DEALS thread


I HAVE CallPacket as well as Stanaphone as VOIP backups. BK is, once again, misrepresenting true facts here. CallPacket has indeed undergone a name change, but also a "Deal" change. The current deal gives users a free incoming phone number, albeit be it not necessarily in your area code. Still, I got a free incoming number from somewhere in the Midwest, good enough. Stanaphone gives me a number in NY, so, incoming is incoming. However, what he does not explain is that if someone who does not have CallPacket and calls in to your "free" incoming line you actually are charged by the minute.

Anyway, VOIP as it is being discussed here is true home VOIP. BK is trying to sell P2P netphone as same, a rather disingenious method of argumentation to "prove a point" that is nonsensical. NOBODY in their right mind would compare services like Sunrocket, Vonage, Voicepulse, ATTCallVantage, Voicewing, Packet 8 (and the fees associated with those services) with free services like Skype, Net2Phone, Dialpad, FWD, etc. Heck, being the tech geek I am, I tried the service Dialpad for fun to make crappy sounding calls over the internet almost 10 years ago, if I remember.

Comparing crappy peer2peer services or "free" services that charge incoming by the minute and on top require the purchase of expensive equipment (either ATA adapters or laptops with headset or USB phones) seriously diminishes the credibility of the writer.

BK, it is not the fact that service is considered "so-so" or OKAY in your book, you actually have a better review than Robor in that regard. However, unlike Robor and others who decided (completely understandably) that the service was not worth their time, given their particular situation, you appeared here immediately accusing those disagreeing with you as being "company shills" or having a "referral agenda" without shred of proof, in fact, entirely illogical given the absence of posts you can show that outright pimp for referrals or link to personal "buy now" banners. You have made accusations that you simply can't back up with proof.

I see you are puzzled at your reception here, given that you actually have an OKAY assessment. Maybe the above explains that a little.
 

georgepa

Senior member
Apr 3, 2005
498
0
0
Astrofan-

If you recall bullitproof issued a challenge to see if one can reach two intl' phone numbers from SR, one in India and one in Greece. I found it easy to call both, and he seemed satisfied that I met his international call challenge. Nobody else cared to participate, so the section about international calling he is referring to is at the very least inconclusive. Like yourself I have had no problem calling international numbers all over the globe.

GTFan-

You are absolutely correct. You can certainly not be called a huge fan of SR, but you see BS when it is presented. That is definitely appreciated and helps respectful discourse in this thread amongst those who choose to become "regulars" of this place, even if experiences or opinions differ somewhat amongst us all.

Laketrout -

Please report further on this. First-hand reports are invaluable. I hope you can find a stable, high-speed internet connection and perhaps get a phone to give it a good trial. I have one customer who is actually Chinese and is travelling to his country in December. He wants to stay in touch with his employees here, and I would like to hear more about your experience to give him a first-hand account of how it works over there.
 

bostonkarl

Member
Nov 24, 2003
27
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Not pedantic, but accurate. If one is going to state something as fact, it should be true. For example:

"The point is that SR is the ONLY provider that does not require even a dime's worth of investment in the trial."

This is advertisement-speak (TM) and I really don't think it serves well on this forum. It is incorrect and misleading. There is nothing in the context of the post containing this statement that talks to "comperable features", etc. It simply is a untrue statement made in the context of someone trying out VOIP. Someone might argue might be that a better VOIP trial would be one that doesn't require giving out a credit card number. I don't make a value judgement here however I point out that there are other options available. Your mileage may vary as they say.

How about this as a constructive proposition? Let's rid this forum of the advertisment-speak (TM) and trolls alike. A guideline should be that posts contain factual information and no product bashing.
 

bostonkarl

Member
Nov 24, 2003
27
0
0
Oh, and to set the record stright, I'm not "selling" anything on this forum. Perhaps that choice of terminology was projection by the poster. Or not. Whatever.

I'm the first one to say, "don't believe me!". Don't listen to what I, personally, have to say about my experience with this deal. However, it might be interesting to see what 100+ other folks think, and not just the regular posters here -- me included -- have to say. (Remember the strong law of large numbers from probability?)

Let's review opinions of SR:
1. Dead last for reliabiliy
2. Tied last in a three-way tie for value.
3. Scored pooly for tech support. I think we can all agree that SR Tier 1 is currently a disaster
4. Overall ranking of 13 out of 15.

I post this for some balance to the "SR is fantastic" posts and the claim that people that aren't having a flawless SR experience are just a couple of vocal complainers.

Know the facts! Be informed. There are other options out there for VOIP service. SR is an okay deal for VOIP service (beyond the freebies) for someone interested in all-you-can-eat.

I've said my peice on this for the time being, and I wish folks new to VOIP well. Base your decision based on fact, not on what one or two prolific posters have to say.

 

RideFree

Diamond Member
Jul 25, 2001
3,433
2
0
How about this as a constructive proposition? Let's rid this forum of the advertisment-speak (TM) and trolls alike. A guideline should be that posts contain factual information and no product bashing.
Agreed!
Gentlemen,
Let's get back on track and everyone quit discussing the minutia of, "He said! She said!"
Let?s all agree that S/R is a love/hate, good/bad, use it/lose it, POS/better than sliced bread dealio and leave it at that. It is what it is, and what it is, is perceived differently by everybody including, me, bostonkarl, george, gtfan etal.

It is a communication device. . . and we are all doing a poor job of that, namely communicating. We are all suffering under communication snafu.
 

laketrout

Senior member
Mar 1, 2005
672
0
0
Originally posted by: georgepa
Laketrout - Please report further on this. First-hand reports are invaluable. I hope you can find a stable, high-speed internet connection and perhaps get a phone to give it a good trial. I have one customer who is actually Chinese and is travelling to his country in December. He wants to stay in touch with his employees here, and I would like to hear more about your experience to give him a first-hand account of how it works over there.

My gut guess is that it would work. However, I was in an institute dormitory and never got the phone to work along with SR correctly. I hooked it up, all the lights came on and it looked "ready" for me to use but as I said, no phone. I hooked it up again just to check out the lights and it was intermittent on second try but I think this had to do with the internet connection being shotty as it was throughout the trip for me and my roommates.

A real shame I couldn't confirm... I feel like I let everyone down... :(
 

RideFree

Diamond Member
Jul 25, 2001
3,433
2
0
lake,
I doubt that it was "you" that failed, rather other forces - possibly censorship.
If it were censorship, how could you know? Even the true cause of the failure is probably being kept from view. Electrons behave the same way over there as here...
 

astrosfan90

Golden Member
Mar 17, 2005
1,156
0
0
Looks like SunRocket is making an advertising push. Anyone else seeing their banners all over the internet?
 

GTFan

Senior member
Jan 11, 2001
642
0
76
Originally posted by: banditt414
Would a MOD please lock and close this topic. Obviously some members can't be mature.

Heh, that's funny. This coming from a 34-post member that's contributed exactly one comment to this thread before now.

Nothing to see here, move along...
 

georgepa

Senior member
Apr 3, 2005
498
0
0
BK-

For the umpteenth time, you are not only trolling but also misrepresenting the truth, AGAIN. It is getting extremely tiring to argue with the trolls here, but I can't let this stand unanswered:

"The point is that SR is the ONLY provider that does not require even a dime's worth of investment in the trial." is a 100% true statement. You can't come up with a single one, and when you finally attempt to shlep one over here you are proven wrong. Even though CallPacket does not require a credit card it does require an investment, actually monetarily a significant one. CallPacket requires either the purchase of an ATA or a computer with a headset. There is definite investment any way one slices it. As said before, you are misrepresenting here, and it makes you definitely look like a troll.

Enough with this garbage. Geez. :(

Sorry, ridefree, but this guy has gone overboard and I'll have to answer this obvious attempt at trolling.
 

RideFree

Diamond Member
Jul 25, 2001
3,433
2
0
Geo.,
I weigh the good with the bad and am not quick to judgement. That's why I don't think of bostonkarl as a warmonger. Some of his arguments are credible.
As GTfan will be quick to note, if you happen to do something bad, I will be among the first to notice. :D:D:D
 

jjm

Golden Member
Oct 9, 1999
1,505
0
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Georgepa - You complain about others stretching the truth, but I have shown irrefutable proof that you have contradicted yourself and stretched the truth as well, all within this same thread. Methinks thou doth protest too much.

Update on my problems:

Thanks to some who offered suggestions on how to clear up the problems I have had. Unfortunately, they do not seem to have helped. We just continue to have to reboot the gizmo at least once each day. I am not willing to spend anymore time fixing SR stuff. Even the suggestions of how a customer needs to trick or bully SR's tech support people to kick you up to the next level provide me with proof positive that all this effort is not worth it. Since I always considered SR a toy anyway, I will probably just let it sit there until I get around to canceling it in a week or so. Some seem to have had better luck, and some seem to be more tolerant of the problems. I suppose my threshold of pain might be lower. To each his or her own.
 

Robor

Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
16,979
0
76
Here's an update on my situation. I know it's not directly related to SunRocket as a deal but it does give a comparision of Vonage and SunRocket in an identical situation (mine).

I hooked up my Vonage adapter in about 5 minutes. Most of the time was spent untangling the mess of power, speaker, and network cables behind my desk. :p Anyway, installation was a snap just like it was with SunRocket. Then I called my friend and asked him how it sounded. He said, "a lot better than that SunRocket crap you had before". I should note that my friends/family hate SunRocket because of the fast busys, drops, and poor voice quality. Anyway, my friend said it sounded great so I three way called another friend and he said it sounded clear as well. Couldn't tell it was VOIP. I ran a download test while on the line with both of them and they said they heard a few short drops but nothing terrible. So far I'm happy. I have to say that the quality on my side sounds better than SunRocket did and so far the callers agree. Now it's a matter of seeing how stable the device is. It is in front of my router BTW. We'll see if I start getting intermittent drops like before.

EDIT: One thing I should note is that my in/out CallerID works perfectly right out of the box. It took several calls to tech support and several months for SunRocket to get it working.