dslreports logo

Review by nooner See Profile

  • Location: Roswell, Fulton, GA, USA
  • Cost: $16 per month (month by month)
  • Install: about 3 days
Low price; 1-minute installation; initial call quality very good
None yet
VoicePulse made a good first impression
Web-site:
Ease of Installation:
Call Quality:
Reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:

I ordered the unlimited local plus 200 minutes long distance plan for $14.99/month. I placed the order online late at night on Monday 4/18 and received the Sipura SPA-2000 today. VoicePlus communicated well during the ordering process, emailing order confirmation and later UPS tracking info.

Setup was very simple - it took longer to unpack the box than to connect cables, get the SPA-2000 synched, and place the first test call. Sound quality is good (better than cellular) and the basics such as voicemail were easy to setup on the website.

I rarely use fax anymore, but I was able to both send and receive faxes using my PC's modem. I didn't change any modem settings.

I use a cable modem for internet access with Charter. I have a 2Wire gateway device acting as router/dhcp server/firewall/bridge with a 10/100/1000 switch to connect to the SPA-2000 and other ethernet devices on the LAN.

So far, so good. We have multiple mobile phones within the household, so I'll seriously consider porting our phone number from Bellsouth and dropping Bellsouth entirely - if I'm still happy with VoicePlus during the next several weeks.

UPDATE July 02, 2008:

Shortly after posting my initial review, I ported our home number from BellSouth (now AT&T) to VoicePulse. After 3 years I'm still extremely pleased with VoicePulse - call quality, price, billing and customer service - all are excellent. I've come to really appreciate the web tools for call management. Any call quality problems have been due to Charter's mediocre ISP performance. We have family and friends overseas, and the international rates are as cheap as I've seen anywhere.

All in all, VoicePulse has given us good technical service and a great value. I would recommend them to anyone looking at similar VoIP plans.

member for 22.8 years, 443 visits, last login: 1.4 years ago
updated 15.7 years ago


Review by te1006 See Profile

  • Location: Daleville, Dale, AL, USA
  • Cost: $24 per month
  • Install: about 7 days
easy easy easy
none so far
great service
Web-site:
Ease of Installation:
Call Quality:
Reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:

I've just switched from Packet8 to VoicePulse after reading reviews on dslreports. The final decision was that VoicePulse offered local numbers. The linksys adapter arrived and it took less than five minutes to hook it up and the phone worked immediately. It took longer to cancel my account with Packet8 than it did to setup VoicePulse.

I would not hesitate to recommend either voip provider.

member for 19.2 years, 171 visits, last login: 14.6 years ago
lodged 16.1 years ago


Review by gigahurtz See Profile

  • Location: Palm Coast, Flagler, FL, USA
  • Cost: $14 per month
  • Install: about 11 days
Features! Great cal quality, excellent customer service..
Claimed to have E-911 - did not
$15 a month gets you great quality calls, excellent customer service and a number of features
Web-site:
Ease of Installation:
Call Quality:
Reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:

++UPDATE: 3/29

I canceled my service yesterday (3/28) and I'm happy I did so. When I signed up, I was informed I had E-911 service. A couple of weeks later, I attempted to call 911 to test and received a busy signal. I put in a request to VoicePulse and they looked into it immediately. A couple of days later I received a call only to be told that E-911 isn't available in my area (why did you tell me it was then) and that i'd just be forwarded to my non-emergency sheriff's department number.

I've also been having call quality issues when uploading large files/using full upstream. I forwarded ports, used DMZ, used QoS (software based, 3rd party firmware, etc) and nothing, I repeat nothing resolved this problem all together. I didn't want to purchase more hardware and did have one outage in the short time I had service.

Overall, for $15, the problems aren't worthy enough to complain. Their customer service was EXCELLENT, always responding immediately and the service was not bad at all. I was not happy with being told I have E-911 only to find out after I signed up that I do not.

I do appreciate the fact that they honored the 30 day guarantee even though I was on day 31. They stated they wouldn't as I placed the order on 2/13 and technically my 30 day guarantee ended 3/13. I informed them that I didn't receive the adapter until 2/27. They honored the 30 day guarantee and we're both happy.

If E-911 isn't that important to you, VoicePulse is the way to go.

Call Quality: 4 out of 5 (lowered from 5 to 4 due to occasional echo and break up; you can blame my ISP [8/512] but I don't think that's the case)

Tech Support: 4 out of 5 (lowered from 5 to 4 due to the fact that they informed me that I would have E-911 available and that I could signup when in fact I did not. I didn't know where else to deduct this.)

-----------------

I've been waiting for VP to offer E-911 service in my area (or in general for that matter) for quite some time now. I contacted customer support in November and received a response within a couple of hours. I was put on a contact list to be informed when service would be available to me. I was told somewhere in January 2006.

I e-mailed customer support on February 13th, 2006 and was informed that service would be available to me. I quickly signed up and received the confirmation e-mail. I e-mailed a couple of days later to follow up and was informed that my information was being sent to E-911 addressing and that i'd receive a shipping confirmation shortly. I ended up receiving my confirmation a couple of days later and then my adapter.

I received my adapter on February 27th and hooked it up right away. The service was instant. Call quality is amazing and the features are GREAT! I can't believe how many features are included in this line (all for only $14.99 a month!!!!). I've been calling everyone and telling them about the service. No one even mentioned that I sounded like I was on a different line.

Customer support is by far the best thing about this company. I e-mail customer support and receive a phone call (no matter what the issue) in a matter of a couple of hours (sometimes less). The issue always gets resolved and I receive a follow e-mail confirmation afterwards.

My next step is porting my number from Bellsouth. I'll post an update when that is complete.

If your in the market for VoIP and VoicePulse is available to you - go for it and don't look back. This is by far the best VoIP offering around. It doesn't get any better than this.

member for 22.4 years, 7302 visits, last login: 1.3 years ago
updated 16.1 years ago

Uly0815
join:2005-09-09
Burke, VA

Uly0815

Member

You have E911??!!

I've been constantly bugging VP about E911, but they keep pushing back the date of when they'll provide it (at least in the DC Metro/Northern VA area). Their price is great for the features they provide, and their tech support is unmatched... but not having 911 service and their repeated delays are really starting to bug me!

gigahurtz
Premium Member
join:2001-10-20
USA

gigahurtz

Premium Member

Re: You have E911??!!

I live in the Palm Coast area of Florida (Northeast Florida). I couldn't sign up until they did offer E-911. I haven't tested it yet but plan to this weekend.
Lenagainster
join:2005-01-07
Silver Spring, MD

Lenagainster

Member

Update 2/10/08

What was updated in this review reposted on Feb 10, 2008?

Review by jmirabella See Profile

  • Location: New York, New York, NY, USA
  • Cost: $26 per month
  • Install: about 7 days
Works every time I try to use it
Not the cheapest
More reliable than the others
Web-site:
Ease of Installation:
Call Quality:
Reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:

I am going to give VP the benefit of awesome support, since I have not had to contact them.

The service is great, I dial a number, and the other side actually rings.. and I am using the same setup that other voip companies tell me was faulty.

Overall I am very happy.. it works, bottom line...

the one drawback for me is not being able to see/hear voicemails from the web page/control panel.

update: 1/29/08

I have had to contact support a few times and what a difference from the other companies I have dealt with.. they call you back almost immediately after submitting a ticket to help you resolve your issue. then they call you daily if they are waiting on information from you such as troubleshooting steps / testing / etc..

I am very impressed with their support department.. sets the bar very high for everybody else I talk to.


member for 20.4 years, 5128 visits, last login: 9 years ago
updated 16.1 years ago


Review by kieranmullen See Profile

  • Location: Portland, Washington, OR, USA
  • Cost: $11 per month
  • Install: about 1 days
Good custoemr service, good rates $11 for 4 lines of service
Adding more than 3 lines is more expensive than getting another 4 on another number
Great for small business. Reliabile too.
Web-site:
Ease of Installation:
Call Quality:
Reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:

Great for small business. Reliabile too. Would suggest to anyone running asterisk or anyone who has a line linevoip adapter.

member for 18.3 years, 917 visits, last login: 3.3 years ago
lodged 16.2 years ago







Review by music4praise See Profile

  • Location: Big Rapids, Mecosta, MI, USA
  • Cost: $16 per month (month by month)
  • Install: about 5 days
Month after month, it just keeps working
Voicemail does not date/time stamp
Great value
Web-site:
Ease of Installation:
Call Quality:
Reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:

I first got Voicepulse in September 2004. At first I used it as a second line for testing, long distance, and a throw away number to give to mail order companies. There were some issues getting it to work with the old Belkin router I had but it worked great with a Linksys one. Since then I replaced my router with another one that had QOS settings which helped keep the phone going when someone in my family was doing file downloads.

Customer service has been terrific. The issue gets taken care of and I get a phone call to check up on the work order. Over 3+ years I think I have had only five issues.

Most of the time, calls are as good or better than a pots line. Occasionally there is a little echo. It seems to be isolated to a few troublesome local exchanges. Long distance is nearly always flawless as are calls to/from my own exchange. There was a period of about three weeks this November that occasionally callers complained that they our voices were breaking up. Pingplotter showed some serious issues with some routing in Chicago. That seems to be resolved. It was not a Voicepulse issue.

In January 2006 I ported my landline number and since I have used Voicepulse and cell phones exclusively. Except for the period mentioned in the previous paragraph, it has worked great.

Even though Voicepulse has not rolled out any new features in a while, they still have more than most other voip carriers. I particularly like the anonymous call blocking. It gets rid of most telemarketers effectively. If other numbers get to be a nuisance, I block them individually.

There are only two things that I would like improvement on. First off, the voicemail really needs to have date/time stamps. If I am gone for a few days it is difficult to know which calls are which without a timestamp clue. Secondly, I wish they would set outgoing calling id name. Since we ported a number, the name is still showing up in some cases but we do get the occasional complaint from people we call. Incoming calling id name works just fine.

member for 18.1 years, 2909 visits, last login: 7.1 years ago
lodged 16.2 years ago

Lenagainster
join:2005-01-07
Silver Spring, MD

Lenagainster

Member

Regarding voicemail

We solved the voicemail/timestamp issue by getting a digital answering machine. Much more convenient to get the calls off the answering maching either at home or remotely. Voicemail is only used for ignored call waiting calls.

Or, with a bit of plodding, you could check the incoming calls on the call log against the voicemail and get the time of the call that way.

Or you could have them send you an email every time you get a voicemail, and the time information will be on the email.

The Caller ID thing is 'iffy'. Some see our name, others don't. I guess it depends on what data source the person receiving your call has with their service.

I agree with your assessment of VoicePulse. I've only been with them for a year and have been very pleased. With all the features for a mere $15.89 per month, how could we go wrong?
music4praise
join:2006-02-22
Big Rapids, MI

music4praise

Member

Re: Regarding voicemail

I appreciate your attempt to provide us with a workaround to the time stamp issue. To me the time stamp has the most use when you are actually listening to a message. I have used the call log from the website a few times when it was really important to track down the time a call came in. It just shouldn't be necessary.

My wife and I think it is rude to interrupt someone's call with call waiting so we have it turned off. We want voice mail in particular for those occasions. Going back to an answering machine is not desirable since it cannot take a message when the phone is "busy."
Lenagainster
join:2005-01-07
Silver Spring, MD

Lenagainster

Member

Re: Regarding voicemail

Well, I certainly won't 'attempt' to make any suggestions to you again. You seem to have your mind made up.
music4praise
join:2006-02-22
Big Rapids, MI

music4praise

Member

Re: Regarding voicemail

My use of the word "attempt" was not intended disparagingly. I'm sorry you took offense at it.

Review by dba See Profile

  • Location: Colorado Springs, El Paso, CO, USA
  • Cost: $16 per month
  • Install: about 3 days
Easy to signup, easy to setup, straight forward instructions, excellent.
None.
Highly recommended!
Web-site:
Ease of Installation:
Call Quality:
Reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:

November 30 2007 Update:

Moved to Colorado, while settling down and getting some other things taken care of, I was still using my service with my old number without any issue. Once ready, I requested a new number for the area I moved to. I got my new number the day I called them. Didn't have to do anything from my part and didn't cost me anything; within minutes I was using my new number.

Everything is still working great and I have not had any problems what so ever.

May 16, 2006 Update:

Excellent service, excellent support.

VP provides an excellent VOIP service with crystal clear calls and features galore. There is no going back to POTS as long as I have broadband and VP.

Actually I have to commend this company for their dedicated and excellent support people.

There has been once or twice that I have had to get in touch with Support. I sent them an email through the VP website and within a few hours or so, I got a reply asking for some more info to troubleshoot my problem. By the next day whatever problem I had was resolved to my satisfaction. At times they even called me to make sure that they understand the problem and to offer some solution.

The one problem I have had was that the firmware to my Sipura got corrupted and I couldn't make or receive calls and couldn't flash with a new firmware. Got in touch with VP and after support couldn't remotely reset/upgrade the firmware, they told me that they will send me a new ATA and in return to send mine in when I receive the new one.

Two days later I got the new Sipura, plugged it in, worked like a charm and returned mine. The best part is that I own the ATA and they did not have to replace it for free.

A+ company.

I just wish other companies could learn from VP on how customer service should be provided.

Original Review:

Within 3 days of placing my order online, I received the kit, followed their 5-step instrcutions and I was up and running in no time. It's only been one day, and I haven't had any problems so far.

No need to say that the monthly cost is excellent compared to my previous company [what a rip off they were!!!]

All the questions that I emailed to their CS or support was answered promptly within a day. Keep in mind also that they only offer support through email, but their promptness in answering the emails more than makes up for the lack of phone support.

I highly recommend the company, as they offer some slightly different call packages compared to the other VOIP companies.

member for 20.1 years, 2070 visits, last login: 8.9 years ago
updated 16.3 years ago


FiosFiend
join:2001-12-06
Flower Mound, TX

FiosFiend

Member

Customer Support IS available over the phone

You stated that they only provide customer support via the web page. This is not accurate. You can call them and get phone support, I know, I've used it. Their customer support people are located in NJ...I think. They all speak very good english!!

This is the notice that is on their support page.

NOTICE: Contact Customer Support by dialing 1-732-339-5100 between 9am-7pm M-F.

Review by Camelot One See Profile

  • Location: Austin, Travis, TX, USA
  • Business customer Business customer
  • Cost: $34 per month
  • Install: about 6 days
Personalized tech support (same rep every time), very reliable
Outgoing Caller-ID Number only, unless porting from a major carrier
Absolutely the best VoIP service out there, if you care about reliability as much as price
Web-site:
Ease of Installation:
Call Quality:
Reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:

I've been with Voice Pulse for 2 years now. They've been reliable enough that in addition to my home phone, they also have my business lines. The service has been great, and anytime there is even a hiccup, they are very quick to address it. The personalize tech support is a VERY nice touch, you always get the same rep. (and English is not a second language for them)

I highly recommend VP.

member for 22.3 years, 12897 visits, last login: a few hours ago
lodged 16.4 years ago


Review by rx100 See Profile

  • Location: Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, CA, USA
  • Cost: $14 per month
  • Install: about 2 days
Web-site:
Ease of Installation:
Call Quality:
Reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:

A++ service. Best voice quality and I think its even better than a POTS connection. 0 downtime in last 3 or 4 months. Sofar I had to call the tech support twice once for setting up the acoount and to fix e911 issue. Both the times the isssue was resolved pretty quickly. If you have any issues either talk to Ryan or Martin, they know it all and they do followup on open issues. You cannot go wrong with voicepulse.

Cons:
No caller id with name on outgoing calls
No timestamp on voicemail
No feature to play the VM from my online account
No feature to record the voice calls
For the metered plan/local unlimited plan, call forwards are charged additionally.

member for 21 years, 1550 visits, last login: 363 days ago
lodged 16.4 years ago


Review by amourai See Profile

  • Location: Miami, Miami-Dade, FL, USA
  • Cost: $15 per month
  • Install: about 1 days
Excellent tech support, low rates, reliable, open standards, U.S.-based customer support
Call quality (FL) is acceptable not as good as landline; support is during working hours only.
Most features and most scalable offerings for Asterisk prepay service. Best tech support.
Web-site:
Ease of Installation:
Call Quality:
Reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:

I'm paying for the basic local service at just under $15. Ordering and installation was fast though since I used my own SPA3000, it took a bit of tweaking of my LAN to let them have remote access. This is for the residential service (not the prepaid "Connect"/Asterisk service I have previously reviewed).

Good points: 1. very decent (not excellent) audio quality, 2. reliable server, 3. cheap rates per minute, 4. decent website (but needs an ergonomic and design renovation) and 5. "most excellent" technical support in the retail end of VOIP. You speak to a US-based person who is knowledgeable and responsive; though only during working hours; that's fine by me, preferable to 24h/7d service that not US-based, slow to respond and not always knowledgeable. You get the impression that the technical support agents have little need to "escalate" to a higher tier of engineer.

Improvement is needed in audio quality (callers can tell a difference from a landline call) but with everything else going for Voicepulse, I put up with it.

Keep up the good work.

member for 20.7 years, 66 visits, last login: 12.9 years ago
updated 16.5 years ago