how-to block ads
|
Review by gbh2o  - Location: Greenville,Pitt,NC
- Cost: $12 per month
Good "Quality residential services, great features, and high quality support."
Bad "Addictive!"
Overall "Built to provide _service_ to the customer, and make lots of money. ;-)"
| Web-site:
Ease of Installation:
Call Quality:
Reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:
(ratings above consensus)
|
UPDATE 20131004 - Solid value for the residential customer. Features galore to make life interesting. Multiple 'lines' all work fine and Beta tests can get really interesting.
UPDATE 20121117 - UPDATE- Just keeps plodding along testing new features and looks while maintaining great value and reliability for residential users. I keep getting more for less as VOIPo grows!
UPDATE 20120522 - UPDATE- Yawn! See below... I keep forgetting them since it just keep working.
UPDATE 20111209 - Yawn! New features and options that all work the way they say they do. Inexpensive for their level of solid service. A keeper.
UPDATE 20110823 - Grrr.... I can't find anything to complain about.  VOIPo just keeps working the way they claim they do, although with various improvements and additions. Great value, great service and support. Darn it! 
UPDATE 20101112 - Still enjoying the flexibility that comes with each account to make it work the way that serves me best! Strong and responsive support easily available.
UPDATE 20100301 - VOIPo is rapidly developing into a well-rounded major VoSP concentrating on top-quality Residential services. Exceptional feature development continues at a strong pace, and supporting services continue to be improved. This is a company here for the long term, with really big ideas and plans, and infrastructure.
UPDATE 20090109 - Developing into a solid, long-term national provider in the large scale category. Constantly looking to add features to an already solid line-up of services. Extremely responsive! Look for VOIPo to be around for a long time!
UPDATE October 20, 2008
I must now admit to being a VOIPo addict. I now have two dedicated residential accounts as well as 7 DIDs pointed to pbx servers (1 toll-free number, 1 toll-free fax number and 5 low-volume 'local' DIDs for family members.) When I need something for lower 'residential' volume inbound traffic set up fast, I find myself at the VOIPo login. A few seconds later the new service is live.
VOIPo does limit itself at present to providing standard residential volume products, primarily intended for single household use. So, I also must confess to happily using several other providers for my higher volume out-bound termination from the asterisk-based systems where I need greater flexibility and control. Nothing bad against VOIPo, it's just their choice for a sound and stable business model (darn it).
UPDATE July 15, 2008
I'm now a _paying_ customer... because of the confidence I have in VOIPo's products. So, I put my $ where I've talked about!
ORIGINAL REVIEW
The companies name is correctly VOIPo.
My disclosures:
This is a review of a service currently in pre-launch status.
I am biased, I participated in the alpha and beta cycles of development with this company for well over a year. Please see my periodic updates I post at the end of my evaluation.
The evaluation.
VOIPo has been built as a company according to the vision of owner Timothy Dick. The company has been committed to developing a high quality, stable and reliable service for customers. At one point, he discovered that his development team had failed to follow his vision of quality; I watched as he replaced the whole team with other professionals in the field, and basically started development over. With this new team, he has produced what I find to be an extremely secure and reliable VoIP service, coupled with features easily controlled from within the users 'vPanel.' BEWARE, controlling available features from this simple and straight-forward interface can become almost addictive! Call quality has been exceptional throughout development, partially attributable to concentrating on US service. Downtime I've noticed to date has amounted to perhaps two hours, primarily during announced hardware/software upgrades and modifications. At this time, VOIPo services will appeal primarily to the residential customer who just wants to plug it in, have the phone work, and have all the bells and whistles too.
The primary offering is a Residential plan, designed for customers in the U.S.A. It is intended to use a simple and reliable standard GrandStream analogue phone adapter, that was chosen for the ease of VOIPo remote diagnostics and maintenance. There is also an allowance for a softphone to be used when traveling. Customers use the “vPanel” to setup and control their account in real time. Failover, Call Waiting, 3 Way Calling, Caller ID with Name, Call Waiting ID, Anonymous Call Rejection, Caller ID Block, Call Return, Call Forwarding, and Voice mail are standard included features. The voice mail feature is on of the slickest I've seen. There is an ability to notify one or more email accounts of receipt of a voice mail including the Caller ID (CID), size and date and time of the message. You may elect to include a .WAV file of the message on an account basis. You may also elect to send an SMS with just the CID, size and date/time information (i.e. To your cell phone). An elaborate contacts management system is fully integrated into the other features like Custom Caller ID, Call Routing, Click to Call, Do Not Disturb and much more. You may associate unlimited phone numbers with the contact and also assign n your contacts to groups like family, friends, enemies, work ,etc. Once a contact is added, you may assign a nickname or 'custom CID name' that will be used to override the default network provided Caller ID name. Having your CID display “Dad” instead of a generic “PA Cell Phone” makes life a lot easier. You may also like the neat click-to-call feature within the contacts system. User selectable Custom call routing criteria (including wildcards!) allows unlimited manipulation of inbound calls to reach your phones, get a busy signal or a disconnected message, or be forward to another number or straight to voice mail. You can setup unlimited routing options and manage them all in real-time from the user console. Similarly, you may route outbound calls! You can create your own 'speed dial' features for example, by routing outbound '111' to your tennis partner's phone if you like. If you disapprove of your minor son calling the local escort service, just send that number to a busy signal, or better yet to your cell phone for confession time. Only your imagination can limit how outgoing calls from your phone are handled!. VOIPo supports dialing 7, 10, or 11 digits for ease of use. The entire system is designed support using SIP addresses for both inbound calls and as destinations. A user may also elect participation in a 'Community Powered Telemarketing Block' program, or to block all international calls. Users can easily add residential virtual local numbers from rate centers throughout the country, or even virtual toll free numbers.
member for 12.8 years, 4466 visits, last login: a few hours ago
updated a few hours ago
Comments:
| Review by mobilelawyer - Location: Spanish Fort,Baldwin,AL
- Cost: $9 per month (24 month contract)
- Install: about 7 days
| Web-site:
Ease of Installation:
Call Quality:
Reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
|
I have had the service for a little over two years. The days to success number may not be correct, because I simply do not remember. I had to have an AT&T number ported, so that delayed the process a little, and may have taken slightly longer than 7 days.
I do not remember any hiccups. The only thing that has cut my service off is an internet interruption, and that would not be VOIPO's fault.
I perceive the voice quality to be excellent, and certainly equal to landline quality. Does anyone have a landline any more?
The VOIPO provided device is the Grandstream HT502. I did have to make a call to technical support, not on initial set-up, but some weeks later with a home networking issue. They were efficient, but, unfortunately, only available during business hours. That is a detriment, because you need to be at home when you are one the phone with them. There is a user forum that appears to be monitored by company reps, but you may have to wait awhile for an answer.
I also recently had an issue when I changed my ISP and had to move my cable modem and router into another room. I had some audio blanking problems when I tried to connect the Grandstream via a powerline adapter. I had to move the device back into the room where the router is located to make a direct Ethernet connection to fix the problem.
But the positives far outweigh the negatives. The service is seamless. You never think about it. I use a Panasonic base station that has an answering feature, and, of course, it is plugged directly into the Grandstream. The Panasonic has 4 wireless extensions. It you are going to use your existing POTS wiring to connect all your house phones, you may have some additional work, particularly if your house is older. For the average user, unless you are very patient, or are willing pay someone to properly wire the house phones, it is far easier just to connect a base station with the wireless extensions, and I suspect that is the most common set up.
Once the service is up, and your phone system is plugged into the device, the service is just like the POTS you had before in many respects-- and better. The phone rings, you answer it; you pick up your phone to make a call, hear a dial tone, and dial the number. Same as it ever was.
But let's say you had a power failure for two hours, and during that period, you had no internet. What if 5 people called you? Would you know they had called? Yes you would! If your device is offline because of a power failure, or your isp is offline, the automated VOIPO front end answers the call and allows the caller to leave a voice mail. You set up the front end initially to forward the voice mail to your email address. I look at my smartphone and note that an email has been received, and listen to the attached .wav file to hear the message, and call them back on my smartphone. I like that feature. I have two answering machines: the hardware answering machine that my Panasonic provides, and a backup answering machine that VOIPO provides if, for any reason, the system cannot connect to my Grandstream.
So, I am a satisfied user of the service. I have the same telephone number I have used for 32 years (my old landline number ported to VOIPO); the voice quality is good; The service has been very reliable; I make unlimited domestic calls; and it all costs nine dollars a month (as opposed to the $49.95 that I was paying AT&T for POTS).
The two-year cost is $199, but with taxes and fees my renewal was $216. The original sign up cost was only $149, and that is an even better deal. They periodically make that offer to existing customers for a two year renewal. I just never took advantage of it, and wound up paying the full price at renewal.
member for 8.6 years, 193 visits, last login: 28 days ago
updated 28 days ago
Comments:
| Review by Red Hazard - Location: O Fallon,Saint Clair,IL
- Cost: $7 per month (48 month contract)
- Install: about 3 days
Good "Price and Reliability"
Bad "VOIPo ATA does not support home wiring according to VOIPo support."
Overall "YMMV"
| Web-site:
Ease of Installation:
Call Quality:
Reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
|
Update 08/29/2013: Service still remains reliable. I recently upgraded to a BYOD OBi202 due to sporadic OSD of CID/CNAM info from a DirecTV HR24 STB. It now displays consistently probably due to the 1 ampere power supply as compared to the HT502/702's 0.5 ampere power supplies. This was the only issue I had with the HT-702 used for the past ~9 months. Also the OBI installation went very smooth using the OBI-VOIPo pre-configured installation wizard and took only a few mins. Accordingly the Ease of Installation rating has been upgraded.
_____________________________________________________
Update 12/02/2012: I was able to register my BYOD ATA after determing that the DIR-655 B1 router, after F/W 2.07 and 2.10 updates and maybe 2.01, mandates that ALG SIP be ENABLED in order to register in the BYOD configuration. I verified this with a Grand Stream HT502 and HT702.
_____________________________________________________
Update 11/15/2012: Service has been very stable. If I had to make a SWAG, I would guess that the previous reported problems had something to with asymetrical registration that now is no longer an issue. However Voipo support indicated that I needed t purchase another ATA which was wrong, but I must admit that I also thought the ATA was faulty (though I knew it was not my CAT 5e wiring causing that "issue"). O/A 10/13/2012 I updated the firmware of the DIR-655 from version 2.00 to 2.07 and I think that increased the reliability as occasionally numbers had to be re-dialed and that is no longer a problem. Accordingly, the reliability rating has been changed to max.
______________________________________________________
Update 10/2/2012: I give up. The VOIPo HT-502 is now working properly and is in it's initial physical/electrical configuration. Since the service is working properly and has been recently reasonably reliable, I am upgrading my review to reflect this fact for the past 2-3 weeks. Also the comments from Tim indicated that they do support BYOD (at least the same ATAs they issue) required my BYOD non-support comment to be removed. (Their site needs to be upgraded regarding BYOD IMO). I have ordered a phone line compatible multimeter for checking the ringing current, currently in the mail, and will take measurements if the ringing problem returns. FWIW, the ATA is powered by an APC HS-500 UPS.
______________________________________________
Update 09/12/2012: This morning my 2-line desk phone rang on FXS 2 while FXS 1 was on-hook. I checked VOIPo VPanel and noted under Devices that only FXS 2 was registered which I fixed with an ATA reboot. With both ports registered, I then verified incoming calls would ring on FXS 1 first and then left it off-hook to see if FXS 2 would ring. It did, but still has the weak ringing current symptom. This definitely has to be a VOIPo HT-502 issue. Why was the FXS 2 ringing current OK when FXS 1 was not registered? I dread contacting VOIPo support after their "home wiring causing the ringing problem" diagnosis.
_______________________________________________________
Update 09/10/2012: This is bizarre. The VOIPo HT-502 now rings on FXS 1 as it should (good ringing current and rings first when both lines on-hook). However, if FXS 1 is off-hook, FXS 2 attempts to ring but ringing current is too weak to even ring a single phone with a REN of 0.1. This is vice versa from the problem that initially occurred (I use the USOC color code for Cat5 and FXS 1 port is back on the blue pair). This does however prove once again that my home wiring is not causing the ringing issue. With my bad experience using VOIPo support, I am reluctant to try again and need to make sure the problem does not reverse again because my base station phone has several wireless phones throughout the house that are primary usage and currently on FXS 1.
___________________________________________________________
Update 8/28/2012: Attempted to use my own device (PAP2T this time) with the same results as my HT-502. Incoming calls work fine on both lines but outgoing calls more often than not result in a fast busy. When I look at the simple instructions of other VOIP providers that encourage or require BYODs, the setup looks simple. However, there must be some tricky BYOD settings that VOIPo requires and I don't know the secret handshake. So I am back using VOIPo's ATA with line 1 still having ringing problems.
___________________________________________________________
Update 8/19/2012: Essentially no change. I attempted using my own HT-502 and incoming calls rang fine on both lines. However, outbound calls consistently received a fast busy. I have something incorrect in the advanced settings and am unable to find help on the internet. I am back using VOIPo's ATA with line 1 still having ringing problems.
_________________________________________________________
Update 8/2/2012: No change. I probably will go the BYOD route if I can find some known good settings for VOIPo service on the internet for my owned HT-502 and empirically prove that my home wiring did not cause any problems. Since I no longer have an operable cloned second line, I am knocking off another point for value.
________________________________________________________
After 6 months, Line 1 of HT502 stopped working and calls started coming in on Line 2. Determined Line 1 had weak ringing current. Went to VOIPo chat for help. Advised that my house is wired with Cat5e and uses a DMT-16 Telephone Distribution Module. Was told by VOIPO that I HAD TO CONNECT MY PHONE DIRECTLY TO THE ATA. VOIPo tech said they DO NOT support home wiring. They claimed my home wiring degraded their used HT502 and wanted $50 to send me another one. I have 3 phones connected with a total REN of 0.3. If I had connected a single dial phone (REN 1.0) directly to their ATA, meeting VOIPO installation requirements, the load would be more than 3X than what I have now. Saying my home wiring degraded their used ATA does not support the common sense test.
Currently I am using HT502 Line 2, which behaves like Line 1 did previously, and have Line 1 disconnected as I do not want to spend $50 to replace their defective, used ATA. How do I know the next one would not also malfunction before my contract expires and get stuck with another $50 charge 2 or 3 times more if history is an indicator? Also, the HT502 supports a REN up to 3.0 which indicates that it is designed to support a number of extensions thus requiring home wiring with a bridging arrangement. Further, on the Grandstream internet site, in the HT502 user manual on page 11 of 50, Figure 2, it SHOWS 3 PHONES CONNECTED TO LINE 1 AND ANOTHER 3 ON LINE 2 JUST LIKE MY CONFIGURATION!! That's the final commentary on VOIPo policy and tech support.
member for 1.2 years, 30 visits, last login: 1 days ago
updated 37 days ago
Comments:
 | | Great Choice I just switched from another "voice over" provider to Voipo and was amazed at how easy the set up was. Voice quality is excellent and I think the calls go through faster...no echoes and no dropped calls...What more could you ask for?
I did have one minor glitch with the # of ports on the voice modem but they took care of that right away so I can actually call them the friendly phone company just as they describe themselves.
I signed up for the two year package for a total of $165, including all fees and taxes for both years, unlike my other provider who hit me up with additional fees and taxes at the start of the second year.
Of course only time will tell but I have a really good feeling about my switch to Voipo! | |
| VOIPoTimVOIPo.comPremium,VIP
join:2006-06-06
Newport Beach, CA
kudos:2 | VOIPo I'm the owner of VOIPo and have seen your review in several places. Sorry to hear that you are frustrated with our service.
As you've stated, our support team determined that the device was damaged by house wiring and should be replaced.
We offer free replacements for devices that fail, but unfortunately we are not able to offer free replacements for devices that are damaged due to something like household wiring.
Since the device was damaged due to household wiring and this is not covered by our replacement policy, we offered a replacement device for $49.95 which you declined.
I do understand that you feel we should replace the device for free, but unfortunately we're not able to do that since it would not have been damaged if it had not been connected to household wiring.
At this time based upon the information that I have, it seems that everything has been handled in accordance with our policies and support handled all of your issues appropriately.
I notice you keep updating this review quite often (many times without any changes) so I'm not sure if this is being done to draw attention to it or if you have other issues with VOIPo that makes you frustrated with our company. If you would like to move your service to another provider, I can certainly make sure you get a full prorated refund since it seems like you have an unusual amount of frustration here.
As a gesture of goodwill, I would be willing to issue a replacement at our cost to meet you in the middle if that is something you are interested in. We could also provision any Grandstream ATA that you have if you'd like to purchase your own elsewhere.
If there is something I am missing or something that wasn't handled properly and in accordance with our policies, feel free to e-mail me directly at tim @ voipo.com and I'll be happy to look into it for you and get things resolved. Similarly if you'd like to take up my offer to provision a third-party device or buy one at our cost, just send me an e-mail.
Best Regards,
Timothy Dick
Founder/CEO
VOIPo.com | |
| | Reviews:
 ·VOIPo
| Re: VOIPo With the detailed symptoms I have reported, I do not understand how anyone can conclude my Cat5e home wiring is causing the problems I am having with your HT-502. I also note that most customers use their home wiring, according to my research, without problems. My updates show the different configurations I have tried and the changing symptoms I have incurred. There is only one update that only indicated "no change" AND in that, I indicated troubles finding the required advanced settings for MY BYOD HT-502. I therefore don't understand the comment about updates being "many times without any changes".
What I do not understand is why when problems started initially, port 1 would not ring properly and now it does and port 2 now has the problems port 1 had (weak ringing current symptom). They were on the same blue pair when they "failed" and port 1 is now working properly on that same cable pair. This does not indicate a hardware electrical issue to me. I am going to experiment more with different phones directly connected to your HT-502 before I take you up on your offer to let me use my HT-502 and have your tech folks provide the correct advanced setting that have alluded me. FWIW, if my HT-502 fails within a year (not just 6 months) using the same wiring configuration, I'll gladly pay the $50 for damages and document the results here. | |
| | | VOIPoTimVOIPo.comPremium,VIP
join:2006-06-06
Newport Beach, CA
kudos:2 | Re: VOIPo said by Red Hazard:With the detailed symptoms I have reported, I do not understand how anyone can conclude my Cat5e home wiring is causing the problems I am having with your HT-502. I also note that most customers use their home wiring, according to my research, without problems. My updates show the different configurations I have tried and the changing symptoms I have incurred. There is only one update that only indicated "no change" AND in that, I indicated troubles finding the required advanced settings for MY BYOD HT-502. I therefore don't understand the comment about updates being "many times without any changes".
What I do not understand is why when problems started initially, port 1 would not ring properly and now it does and port 2 now has the problems port 1 had (weak ringing current symptom). They were on the same blue pair when they "failed" and port 1 is now working properly on that same cable pair. This does not indicate a hardware electrical issue to me. I am going to experiment more with different phones directly connected to your HT-502 before I take you up on your offer to let me use my HT-502 and have your tech folks provide the correct advanced setting that have alluded me. FWIW, if my HT-502 fails within a year (not just 6 months) using the same wiring configuration, I'll gladly pay the $50 for damages and document the results here.
For BYOD, we don't really require any special settings. If you own another 502 and want us to provision it we can do so without locking you out of the device (we'd just put whatever password you want in the provisioning file). Maybe that would work so you could compare our settings to what you use? Then if you want to stop using our provisioning, you just remove our provisioning URL from the device. Just e-mail me if you wanted to do this (include the MAC address) and I'll get it setup and send you back the provisioning URL to put in the device.
I'm not really a technical guy so I'm not going to get into technical details of the troubleshooting that's already been done. I have to defer to our tech guys for that.
I'm more than happy to try to help you out though as outlined above either with provisioning your personal device or meeting you in the middle on the replacement policy.
E-mail me at tim @ voipo.com if you want to discuss either of those of if there's something I'm missing where our techs didn't handle things without policy.
Timothy Dick
Founder/CEO
VOIPo.com | |
|
Reviews:
 ·Cox HSI
·VOIPo
| Having same issue of de-regiserting adapter... Hi Red,
I've recently been plagued with the same problem of the adapter un-registering from VOIPo's servers the last couple of months. That you see it too makes me thing it's some new bug between servers/adapters, or prone to fluctuations in ISP service.
FWIW - VOIPo have changed some values in my adapter to address this issue, though that testing is ongoing. The items changed were the "registration cycle" and/or the "Registration Expiration."
Might be worth having VOIPo try those to see if they help you.
Dave
--
Cox Preferred HSI 12/5~SB6120~Grandstrem HT502~FVS318G~WAP54G
OTA (...and proud of it!)
VOIPo | |
| | | | Re: Having same issue of de-regiserting adapter... Thanks for your help but the registration issue seems to be OK now. I've checked VPanel over a dozen times the past 2 weeks or so and no longer see that issue (?) | |
|
| |
| Review by dbmaven - Location: Highland Mills,Orange,NY
- Cost: $13 per month (12 month contract)
- Install: about 7 days
Good "Price/reliabilitiy/call quality"
Bad "Currrent: None"
Overall "I'll renew"
| Web-site:
Ease of Installation:
Call Quality:
Reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:
(ratings above consensus)
|
Decided to replace a 2nd POTS line, used for some business calls and the occasional fax, due to significant price differential versus VoIP providers.
Have a MagicJack, and while it works OK, doesn't provide the kind of service that I require for this 2nd line being that a computer needs to be on and running 24 x 7, so I went looking for an ATA device based VoIP solution. I don't have the time or inclination to mess with 'Bring your own Device' (BYOD) services, so I wanted one that would be plug and play.
VOIPo, although new and just coming out of an extended beta period, fit the bill, had good ratings by the testing team which frequents the VOIP TECH CHAT forum, and a very good price.
Setup was truly plug and play once the ATA arrived (Grandstream HT502). And it worked well.
As has been well documented in the forums, they had a series of problems with the HT502 during January/February 2009. They ended up replacing the 502 with Linksys PAP-2T devices. That led to a separate set of issues - not VOIPo's problem - that can be reviewed in my post here: »[VoIPo] If you have a Linksys router...
Since that time, I've had zero problems, 100% reliability and could not be happier with the service.
You can get better 'value for the money' if you're a tweaker/geek and do BYOD with another service provider, which is why I rated that attribute a "4". If you're a plug-and-play/I just want it to work type person, it's really a "5" at this time.
Update 26-Oct-2010
It just works.
Call clarity is better than anything else I've got - cell or POTS.
Zero issues in what seems like forever.
Update 12-Aug-2013
Can't believe it's been this long since I updated this review - but that's a testament to a service that has just worked for me, whenever needed it's there. I've got it set up on Zoiper (iPhone 5), the built in Internet Calling on my Galaxy Nexus, and on laptop with X-Lite. The PAP2T ATA just keeps humming along.
It's not the cheapest, it's not the most feature laden, but it's perfect for my needs - and has been "perfect".
member for 13.9 years, 7458 visits, last login: a few hours ago
updated 53 days ago
Comments:
| Review by user17600 - Location: Boston, MA
- Cost: $7 per month (24 month contract)
- Install: about 5 days
Good "All you can eat, one price"
Bad "Porting snafu, but resolved"
Overall "So far so good"
| Web-site:
Ease of Installation:
Call Quality:
Reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
|
Recent residential move led to need for something other than a pay per minute approach (which I have for several other providers). After researching, selected VOIPO for it's $149 (+ taxes) for 2 year promo. For the price you get "unlimited" residential calling, porting, LIDB, CNAM and 911.
The only snafu was the porting. We were porting a GV number in the new area (one that we had for some time), and got the FOC date from VOIPO. But on the day after the FOC, callers were getting a "not in service" message. VOIPO claimed the number was released too early by GV, but this was the day after the FOC, so I called BS.
Tim and his team did sort it out that same day (in a matter of hours) and service since has been very good. I'm using a combo of their Grandstream device and BYOD service via my OBI-110. I actually find the call quality a little bit better on the OBI than on the GS, but I get a slight bit of latency on the OBI that doesn't seem to happen on the GS from VOIPO. So the jury is out on which approach I will take going forward.
The family doesn't notice any difference from VOIPO and their old POTS service, so that's good, really all that matters.
Now I wish that VOIPO had a way to test 911 so I could have some confidence it's set up correctly...
Update Aug 2013:
Running smoothly, updated my router which removed any connection glitches that might occur.
Still getting the occasional drop at 18 minutes (this seems to be a VOIPO thing... see other internet comments on drops between 15-19 minutes), but since this is in a non-business setting, and I am only paying 7 bucks, I'm willing to tolerate a few drops.
Still no way to test E911, hope I don't need to anytime soon.
If the renew for 2 years at the price of one is offered again, might re-up for another couple, it's been that stable.
Updated and increased my scores based on 5+ months of service.
member for 11.1 years, 480 visits, last login: 1 days ago
updated 58 days ago
Comments:
| Review by bird95134 - Location: Henderson,Clark,NV
- Cost: $7 per month (12 month contract)
- Install: about 14 days
Good "Great support, communications from VoIPo, call quality, steady - consistent service"
Bad "None"
Overall "Great price, Great tech support when needed. BEST value for service and features, period....."
| Web-site:
Ease of Installation:
Call Quality:
Reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:
(ratings above consensus)
|
UPDATE: 7/11/2013
Continued my service for another 2 years -- $159 for two years, so about $6.65 per month!! Unlimited calling/LD. Really do not use the service much as everyone in the house uses cellular services now. However, when I do use the service -- always works. Still Highly Recommend this service.
UPDATE: 1/16/2012
Continued my service for another year due to another great year of reliable, consistent service. I want my dial tone to be a "non-issue". Excellent service, call quality has exceeded my expectations. I receive high value for the amount I pay. I continue to HIGHLY RECOMMEND this service.
Update: 6/25/2011.
Continued my service. Excellent service, call quality is very, very good. I will say, as I used vanilla Tomato (on a Linksys router), Tomato USB variant has made this service ROCK SOLID -- i.e. it can recover automatically from any network glitches. This is the overall, best value for Voip services -- period. All other complaining must have a technical problem, which the Voip consumer industry, as a whole, must just deal with. HIGHLY RECOMMEND this service.
UPDATE: 7/29/2009.
Service continues to be excellent. Issues seen during late 2008/early 2009 are history. If you plan to use Tomato or DD-WRT, expect to have to modify some settings to handle a router reboot. I run Tomato and found I had to make modifications to UDP packet timeouts, with the excellent help from the VoipO support team (and help from Wireshark).
Clearly the best service/value combination I have found. Couple things people need to understand. If you need to fax -- get a POTS line from your local, traditional provider for 'basic lifeline services', add a dial-around plan for LD calls. Don't even think you can get by with faxing on Voice over IP service -- if you can, consider yourself lucky. If you can't, and you complain, you are simply a fool. Lastly, make sure you have a clean network at home. I recommended VoipO service to a few people and a couple of them had problems. I personally looked into their problems and found they had packet loss on their local network because of bad cables. Garbage in gets Garbage out.
Original Post:
Very good service for the price level paid. Genuine concern for their customers. Excellent communication by management to customers. Problems are resolved fast when encountered. Excellent call quality.
member for 5.7 years, 135 visits, last login: a few hours ago
updated 86 days ago
Comments:
 dfrandinPremium
join:2002-06-14
Las Vegas, NV | Faxing over VOIP?? Don't know what this VOIP vendor is doing to prevent/hinder faxing, but I regularly fax, both send and recieve, over Vonage with absolutely zero problems.. | |
|
| |
| Review by N9MD - Location: Boca Raton,Palm Beach,FL
- Cost: $8 per month (12 month contract)
- Install: about 1 days
Good "Set it and forget it"
Bad "Nada, niente, nichts, rien, nil"
Overall "Plug it in and forget it"
| Web-site:
Ease of Installation:
Call Quality:
Reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:
(ratings above consensus)
|
July 9, 2013 ---
VOIPo continues to perform brilliantly. The recent changes to their website have made negotiating the site child's play. The addition of SMS texting, allowing the outgoing CallerID for any given text to show any of the account's DIDs (in most cases), even fax DIDs, is greatly appreciated ... given the uses I have for texting. My recent contact with customer service to request info on linking my iPhone's BRIA app to my VOIPo account resulted in a quick, helpful and accurate response.
======================================================
November 15, 2012 ---
I've deleted my prior comments, begun in 2008 after a period as an alpha-tester and subsequently a beta tester. Â Because the past is the past. it is more appropriate at this juncture for me to report my current views about VOIPo.
Over the last 4+ years, I have updated my reviews every 6 months or so. Â My prior comments chronicled the initial development stages and steady improvement in the areas of quality, reliability, service and support. Â For the longest time, my only reservations concerned the website appearance and functionality. But now, with the website "up spiff", I have nothing left to complain about.
For those who want a provider-provided pre-set ATA (adapter) ... no need to fiddle with the technical aspects of setting up the adapter ... and a fixed annual cost with no surprises ... VOIPo fits the bill nicely.
member for 7.9 years, 3076 visits, last login: 1 days ago
updated 87 days ago
Comments:
| | terrible terrible service You get what you pay for! I warn you do not i repeat do not get this product. Yes, its a few dollars cheaper but the product is crap.
I recieved my modem in mail it didnt work. I was on the ph with customer service for 2 hrs they were clueless.
They sent me another one (they wanted me to go to ups and send them back first one!!! How rude and unproffesional!).
Wait its not over the second one didnt work either!!!
Get Vonage now!! | |
| BinkVillains... knock off all that evil
join:2006-05-14
Denver, CO
kudos:4 | "Almost unlimited" What do you mean by "almost unlimited?" What's the limit? | |
| | |
| |
| Review by dlarkin_dc - Location: Alexandria,Fairfax,VA
- Cost: $9 per month (12 month contract)
- Install: about 5 days
Good "Responsive customer service, great price, great features."
Bad "Call connection issues occasionally, but fine 7 months now."
Overall "Amazing value, getting more reliable all time."
| Web-site:
Ease of Installation:
Call Quality:
Reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
|
Update 9/21/2012
Woah! Sorry, an update is so overdue!
A serious tech issues came back in November 2012, sometimes incoming calls were immediately directed to voicemail. VOIPo worked with me and in late November updated the firmware. Since then there's been no instance of anything not working correctly.
I've update the ratings to reflect the new reliability and the support.
Update 9/21/2012
Ahhh, I'm getting so burned out on these technical issues!
Since the update to the FW I've been getting partial breakdowns every few weeks. What happens is the VOIPo servers loose the registration of my internet/phone adapter. I'm left with a dial tone and can dial out but all incoming calls go straight to VOIPo voicemail.
VOIPo have asked me to take the adapter off UPS in case dirty UPS power is causing the problem. I have plugged it into the outlet direct but the issue reccurs. My UPS logs show the power has been clean and my modem shows the ISP connection has been stable during these "events."
On their part VOIPo have been responsive to support tickets, though the responses are getting more and more terse. In response to the current issue they have changed a value in the adapter firmware that will make the adapter more tolerant of server connectivity fluctuations. Time will tell if that resolves this latest issue.
With so many good reviews of VOIPo I suspect some of these problems are ISP related, so it's not a wholely bad reflection on VOIPo... but it's just one issue after another!
Another update coming in a month, or sooner.
Update 8/9/2012
After raising another support ticket for one-sided calls (even with modem before router) VOIPo support flashed a new firmware in my phone adapter. Since then, a few weeks ago, it's been working flawlessly.
Let's hope this sticks.
Update 7/3/2012
Well , not much has changed. We're still getting one-sided calls happening. Sometimes the rate of this peaks to well over over half the calls, but usually stays lower, about 1/4th of all calls. I've also had disconnects if I'm using the mute on my phone.
Despite the perfect pricing plan that VOIPo has for my usage pattern, the service just hasn't been reliable enough to keep. I can't tell if the issue is with Cox (my ISP) or the ATA hardware, or VOIPo's service/servers but I do know VOIPo service, as responsive as it is, hasn't resolved or pin-pointed the problem.
VOIPo has fantastic plans, pricing, and features, but it just ain't reliable enough. I am shopping around now for alternatives.
Updated 1/17/12
Sorry, this is so overdue!
Been having some issues, like others in these reviews, about calls not connecting and one sided calls. This has been going on for months.
VOIPo support has been responsive to every ticket. I've been put on different VOIPo servers, had two ATA devices, ran diagnostic internet performance tests, moved devices on my LAN, setup porting/routing on my router, had call routes provisioned, traffic switched to just VOIPo servers...
But, I'm still getting call connection issues.
This may not be VOIPo's fault, there is still my Surfboard, Cox Communications ISP, and the Internet at large in the mix.
I will update again... soon.
_______________________________________________________
Had VOIPo for a year now, just renewed for another year.
Well, there's not much to say really. It works, it's reliable if your ISP, modem and router are reliable. (I'll qualify that later.)
They provide a telephone adapter, it goes after the modem/router and you plug the phone line right in, standard phone jack... and off you go.
The package I find suits me best is the 1year, it includes 60mins/month international landline calls, never any charge to any number in the US.
The fax line was additional $25/year, it works using document upload/e-mail and it works great.
Voice mail can be received in e-mail as well as accessed via the phone handset.
The online account management is great, easy to use and all the features are there. And there are tons of features there.
The support is mind-bendingly fast, informative and humane. The best I have ever, ever, experienced.
I have had infrequent trouble with my router that caused the VOIPo service to be unstable,... BUT it was 100% all in my router, not VOIPo.
Porting my old POTS number was messy because Verizon & MCI were pointing fingers at each other. Once I got them sorted out VOIPo porting was fast and easy.
If I had more then two thumbs they'd all be, "Way up!" for VOIPo.
member for 4.1 years, 136 visits, last login: a few hours ago
updated 124 days ago
Comments:
| | | Having Difficulties Also I'm really disappointed with the service. It has become unreliable. I experience the same trouble as everyone else. I have no complaints with tech support. They are responsive. I have followed their instructions for port forwarding but the intermittent problems still exist. Problems started to surface about 6 months ago. Some days I may only get 50% of the incoming calls, the rest of the time the callers - as well as on my end, will get dead air after picking up the phone when it rings. The other regular problem is calls routing to the failover number for no apparent reason. We can't all be crazy. It has to be their service. Prior to Voipo I was with Vonage and had maybe 3 service issues in 4 years. I am running out my 2 year pre-paid plan and if there is no improvement I will regrettably go elsewhere. | |
| | | Reviews:
·Cox HSI
·VOIPo
| Re: Your firewall Yep, tried all those. Different routers, port forwarding and putting the ATA after modem-before router. No difference. Plus, VOIPo have put me on different servers, updated my ATA firmware and swapped out ATAs. Still no difference.
Apart from Cox as my ISP with a SB6120 modem everything has been changed up and tried!
But tell me...
What logs are you referring to that showed no port blocking? Where was your port blocking occuring?
What is the other story about In-network calls?
TIA!
--
Cox Preferred HSI 12/5~SB6120~Grandstrem HT502~FVS318G~WAP54G
OTA (...and proud of it!)
VOIPo | |
|
maugott
join:2006-01-27
Sunnyvale, CA | port forwarding did not solve no-ring problem when outgoing no-ring became a problem, VOIPo support talked me through port forwarding for my 2wire router/modem. It took under 10 minutes. Now, a few weeks later, the problem is back. Also, dialing my VM gets me a busy signal [VM emails arrive, though].
power cycling the Voipo adapter usually makes things work, but not for long. My AT&T uverse internet connection seems solid when I browse the web.
I sent another email to support after hours today.
Ultimately, reliability is more important than saving $$.
AT&T uverse voice was overpriced but reliable | |
| | maugott
join:2006-01-27
Sunnyvale, CA | Re: port forwarding did not solve no-ring problem As usual a VOIPo technician responded promptly to my email and said "I have changed the command ports your adapter is using along with updating the server your adapter connects to in order to fix the busy signal issues. Please power cycle the adapter for these changes to take affect."
I power cycled and VM now works fine. | |
| | | | | Re: port forwarding did not solve no-ring problem That's a laugh! (and I did)
The same old routine... it gets tired after a couple of years.
Hope it sticks this time! | |
| | | | maugott
join:2006-01-27
Sunnyvale, CA | Re: port forwarding did not solve no-ring problem It's been 3 weeks since the fix and all works well. | |
|
 linicxCaveat EmptorPremium
join:2002-12-03
United State
 ·CenturyLink
| The biggest problem I biggest problem I ever had with a VOIP phone is the uplink.
1 Mbps is barely enough to support it most of the time. 2 Mbps is much better.
I firmly believe the VOIP phones work much better in large cities than it does in rural America where the Internet is not nearly as dependable.
A engineer friend in Dallas had a 3 year pre paid contract with VoipO.When it started the same problems you talk about he disconnected. Now he is using Straight Talk for home. There are some volume issue but it works.
I had Vonage. It was okay until their equipment failed 9 months into the contract. For 90 days I had a wannabe phone. It wasn't until I quit they offered to replace it. I gave them a scathing review that is now missing. .
--
Mac: No windows, No Gates, Apple inside | |
| | Reviews:
·Cox HSI
·VOIPo
| Re: The biggest problem 1 MBPS could be enough, but if it's not stable then, yeah there's nothing you can do. The location of these service providers servers can be critical, and can directly affect stable connection speeds. I have used VOIPo's east and central servers and never had a bandwidth or jitter problem with either.
The issues I got have always been some systemic technical glitch that got fixed, eventually. | |
| | | linicxCaveat EmptorPremium
join:2002-12-03
United State | Re: The biggest problem The only time my provider cares is when I mention my Commerce Commission. Otherwise they hope I will die or blow away.
--
Mac: No windows, No Gates, Apple inside | |
|
| |
| Review by djrobx - Location: Valencia,Los Angeles,CA
- Cost: $6 per month (48 month contract)
- Install: about 10 days
Good "Great value!"
Bad "Website/UI is very primitive"
Overall "Fantastic value, great call quality. Very happy!"
| Web-site:
Ease of Installation:
Call Quality:
Reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
|
5/20/2013 Update
I've lived with that call connection problem for a long time now. The most common mode of failure would be I'd answer the phone and hear dead air. I finally figured out that many of the failed connections were the result of the ATA crashing instead of completing the call.
I brought this to VOIPo's attention. They first tried updating to the latest firmware, then they agreed to ship me a new ATA. Plugged in the new ATA, and now all is well. Finally I'm getting the reliability that I'm supposed to get!
VOIPo appears to have issued me a service credit for my trouble. That was very nice of them. I'm changing my ratings now that I know most of my service issues were with the hardware, not actual service. Back to being happy!
7/3/2012 Update
Unfortunately, the 1 way calls have steadily gotten worse. It got to a point where I was only able to make or receive calls around 50% of the time. Once established calls are clear and stay connected, its just getting there that's been a problem. When it's acting up I'll miss inbound calls too - I'll just see voicemails from people, and the phone will not have rang.
It seems like a capacity issue of some sort, perhaps worse in the evenings. Fortunately I haven't had a lot of trouble getting though to work's teleconference number in the morning, which is what I need this service for the most.
I've created a support ticket. They said they switched me to a different network or something, but it hasn't had any effect.
I hope this is just a temporary growing pain because I'm otherwise happy with the service.
Previous update:
I was previously a happy PhonePower customer. PhonePower offered a great "second year free" promo, which I enjoyed for the full duration. When those two years were up, they wanted full price to continue service.
To me, that's just begging for customers to look at other options. And so I did. People around here seemed to like VOIPo, and the feature list seemed to meet my requirements. I also wasn't using the land line nearly as much, so I was willing to take a risk for some savings.
Turns out they use the exact same ATA as PhonePower. Call quality, like PhonePower, has been excellent. I was also very pleased to find that emailed voicemail attachments have the CALLER ID NAME in the email, something I had been complaining to PhonePower about for years.
On the negative, PhonePower was slightly more solid, at least while connected to AT&T's U-verse service. Every once in a great while (maybe 1 every 100 calls) something odd happens with the VOIPo service (caller can't hear me, failed call, etc). It always resolves itself upon a subsequent calls. PhonePower never did anything weird like that. Once connected though, the calls are always crisp and clear, and I have always been able to get through hour-plus conference calls without any hiccups or trouble.
Comparing BYOD credentials, PhonePower was using a SIP proxy. VOIPo seems to use a direct connection. It's quite possible that AT&T's gateway is responsible for these (VERY MINOR) glitches. I've just recently switched to Road Runner internet. It will be interesting to see what effects this has on my VOIPo service.
My favorite thing about VOIPo so far is that they offered their EXISTING CUSTOMERS a "Black friday" deal for $150 to extend their contract for another two years. FINALLY, a company that actually WANTS ME TO STAY WITH THEM. Bravo, VOIPo!
My monthly cost reflects my initial $185 for two years, plus my $150 to extend the contract. Extremely happy with them.
member for 13.3 years, 6545 visits, last login: a few hours ago
updated 137 days ago
Comments:
| Review by billys9319 - Location: Bear,New Castle,DE
- Cost: $149 per month (24 month contract)
- Install: about 4 days
Good "Great call routing so I can block or send to voicemail unwanted calls."
Overall "Great service at a great price"
| Web-site:
Ease of Installation:
Call Quality:
Reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
|
Easy to install and just works. The best part is the call routing for in coming calls. You can send numbers to voicemail, give them a disconnect, etc. Has reduced the number of times my phone rings to a minimum.
member for 11.8 years, 1875 visits, last login: 9 days ago
lodged 204 days ago
Comments:
|
|
·
·
). I forwarded port 5078 from the router to grandstream a few days ago, and it didn't happen yet. Hopefully, this fixes it - but the jury still out
