how-to block ads
|
»next review in page
 Review by dsl_boy 
UPDATED: 2.3 years ago
member for 9 years, 1431 visits, last login: 27 days ago
 undisclosed location
 $2 per month
 "Inexpensive"
 "Unreliable -- fiddly"
 "Great as a super-cheap service -- but you get what you pay for"
| Web-site:
Ease of Installation:
Call Quality:
Reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:
|
I have used both my old Sunrocket AC-211SR and a new Linksys (Sipura) 3102 (purchased from »www.voxilla.com -- which I highly recommend) with this service -- it works great, except that it suddenly shuts down without warning sometimes and e-mail notices are often just wrong. It is definitely fiddly to set up -- for example, their documentation has the wrong SIP server on it, and right at this moment, all calls with Caller ID blocking set are being rejected. But if you are technically able and want a super-cheap service, check out Voicestick's Next2Nothing service.
Followup comments: | Forums » comments on review of VoiceStick |
 | »next review in page (previous review)
Review by Seanster
Posted: 2.3 years ago
member for 4.4 years, 76 visits, last login: 44 days ago
Beverly Hills,Los Angeles,CA
Contract price not specified.
"Super Cheap, Free USA phone number"
"Terrible Reliability, No Server or Network Status Page"
"Use only for pleasure"
| Web-site:
Ease of Installation:
Call Quality:
Reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:
|
I have been using voicestick for a few months March-July 2007. I use if for both incoming and outgoing calls, though lately I just need outgoing which is reasonable at 2 cents a minute.
The software is a voicestick branded version of some old free stuff. I have dropped that. Any of the voip programs will work and currently I am using an spa2100 ata adapter. Their best feature besides the free incoming phone number is their policy allowing people to use their own software and devices.
Incoming call quality is usually acceptable, IF you can establish 2-way communication. Usually you can but too often you can only send or receive or neither. Voicemail on or off, you only get about 4.5 rings to answer the phone. This is a real drag. 25 seconds is nowhere near enough time run and catch the phone.
Outgoing call quality is ok too, if you can make one. Get used to fast busy signals, one-way communication, or people hanging up because while you still hear ringing, the call recipient has answered, hears nothing, and thinks you're a telemarketer. It's like they cheap out by not setting up the call until someone picks up, which is often too late.
Lately the fun is 800#'s. I get ALL my 800, 888 calls dropped randomly, usually by about the time you have navigated the complex menu system and finally got someone to help you. I have to go borrow a real phone for those. Might be happening on regular calls too.
There is no network status. One day the system was down from 8 am until late afternoon. Like really super down. No mention of it anywhere. I did email tech support and they got back to me pretty quick and told me they were having issues but no eta on being fixed.
Yesterday the service didn't work at all. To their credit they did send out and email warning me about the service being down for upgrades. It's just too bad they sent the email 5 hours after they cut the service.
Today I can't make any calls whatsoever. I just get the good 'ol fast busy. So since I have time on my hands I thought I'd write up a little review for 'em.
-Sean
Followup comments: | Forums » comments on review of VoiceStick |
| »next review in page (previous review)
Review by bcerhart
Posted: 3 years ago
member for 5.3 years, 45 visits, last login: 2.9 years ago
Brea,Orange,CA
$19 per month
"Unlimited service not unlimited"
"Fraudulent and misleading"
| Web-site:
Ease of Installation:
Call Quality:
Reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:
|
I signed up for service with i2Telecom in August of 2006 via their website (voicestick.com). On their website the offer "Unlimited USA/Canada" residential calling plans for $19.99/month. On November 9 my service stopped working, and I received the following email:
Dear Mr. Erhart,
We have made a final business decision to revoke your Residential
account with Voice Stick. Our typical residential user is running
about 450 minutes a month and our typical SOHO Business class user
around 1500 minutes.
Your account had incoming and out bound calls of around 6600 minutes
in the last 30 days, along with a high number of total calls.
We invite you to take your business to Vonage, Packet 8 or some other
company that allows for this high amount of usage.
I contacted them and requested a resolution, because I was not notified prior to this email that I was over my minutes on an "unlimited" plan. They offered to switch me to their business plan for $45/month which was not feasible, and I requested a refund for their service. They denied my request so I disputed the transaction with my bank. I am filling this complaint as I believe that this company is fraudulent and unethical. It is very important that the public be aware of their misleading practices.
Followup comments:  
lizawhite
@swbell.net
| www.voicestick.com i2telecom did the same thing to me. i purchased the nextonothing plan they have where i bought 5 dollars worth of international calls. my line was cut when my account ran out. then because i want to try some more, i bought another 15 dollars. i made international calls, which i was so amazed because i've been using it longer than i expected, i wondered why they haven't cut my line, but i thought maybe because i was calling late at night, they have different rates. then i received an email saying that they were sorry that my account ran into the negative and THEY HAVE CHARGED MY CREDIT CARD, and this is without permission from me nor information that they will do this, yes they told me after they charged me.
i emailed the billing dept. asking why, and they told me the same thing that i ran into negative and they charged me because this was what was written in the agreement, i made the calls therefore they will charge me. i am not denying i made the calls, so i asked them once again because they haven't answered the very question i want answered.
what i bought from them is the pre paid services, why i asked them, my line wasn't cut when my account ran out? the first time i turned negative they went and cut it right away? why did they wait for me to accumulate $17.54 worth of calls before they charged my card without informing me? even though it is in the agreement that they could do that don't i, as a customer, deserve to be informed first that i have a bill to pay? it is always a part of good business ethics.
i asked for a full refund in which they denied me saying that i should know about personal responsibility and go look for another company to abuse and they suspended my account in which i was quite amazed, do they think i still want to do business with them after what they did to me? i was appalled.
their customer service needs an overhaul. they don't know how to answer questions nor how to treat customers right.
i made the calls, all i wanted was a bill. | |
| | BruceN
Hi
join:2006-11-17
Roswell, GA
 ·Future Nine Corpor..
 ·AT&T U-Verse
 ·Comcast
| Re: www.voicestick.com You wrote that all you wanted was a bill?
I am the person at Voicestick that took care of the complaint.
You NEVER just asked for a bill, you demanded to get the call for free. You call ran overtime and we don't cut off callers.
You had a remianing amount due to us. Our Terms Of Service you agreeded to says you will pay for the calls you make.
Bruce VP i2telecom (www.voicestick.com) | |
| | | |
| Forums » comments on review of VoiceStick |
| »next review in page (previous review)
Review by canam101
Posted: 3.4 years ago
member for 4.7 years, 454 visits, last login: 17 days ago
undisclosed location
$20 per month (month by month)
"Excellent Voice Quality; easy to set up and test; large selection of inbound numbers"
"problems with 800 numbers"
"Excellent. Best (so far) of the 4 or 5 voip services I have tried"
| Web-site:
Ease of Installation:
Call Quality:
Reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:
|
I've been testing Voicstick for about 2 weeks. Overall, my
impression of it is very favorable.
I don't use it for business, but it seems to have the basic business
needs covered, along with a couple of things that might make it
especially attractive to business users. See
»www.voicestick.com.
They have a $20 unlimited US and Canada, and a $25 unlimited world
plan (i.e., it includes anywhere in the world you'd be likely to
want to call).
Things I like:
A large selection of inbound numbers. I was able to get one that is
local to the towns in which my relatives live, something not always
possible.
BYOD is the default. You can buy a $29 ata from them if you like. I
have a sipura 3000 which I was easily able to get working with the
service.
Simple and cheap testing/usage. $5 for pay-as-you-go, good for a
month and renewable in any amount. And they throw in an extra $5 at
the start.
Very good audio. I've tried 4 or 5 other voip sellers and
Voicestick is as good or better than any of them.
I2bridge. I haven't had occasion to do more than test it, but it
looks like it could be a Godsend for road warriors - call all over
the world via your cell phone for voip rates - that kind of thing.
It's free until July; no idea of cost after that.
I don't need tons of phone features - I just want reliable and
good-sounding connections, and I like what I see as this service's
focussing on getting the basics right: the excellent voice quality
and the simplicity of setup. I was able to get an inbound number by
paying $5 for a one-month, renewable, connection. I didn't have to
sign up for anything. That's something new with voip, as far as I
know.
They do have I2bridge and the voicestick usb plug-in, which, I
believe, are fairly sophisticated in the voip world, so business
users may also like this service.
Things I don't like:
Two occasions on which the call was disconnected. In the context of
voip's current immature status, this probably isn't that unusual.
800 numbers are reachable but the greeting isn't audible because
the sound is so broken up. This is irksome, but I can live with it
for the sake of the otherwise excellent sound quality.
Followup comments: | Forums » comments on review of VoiceStick |
|
|
