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Review by PDX_Mark See Profile

  • Location: Portland, Multnomah, OR, USA
  • Cost: $10 per month
Low rates , lots of features
No tech support, No process to correct failed ports, false promises, other problems
Best to avoid
Web-site:
Ease of Installation:
Call Quality:
Reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:

My Other Reviews

·VBUZZER
·les.net
·Callcentric
I have used VoIP.ms for many years. I am perhaps among their oldest customers. Over the years I have sent them countless clients and even configured clients asterisk phone systems to use VoIP.ms. Full disclosure , after I sold my VoIP business of many years, I did do some asterisk support for VoIP.ms for a short while.

Recently I have had issues with outbound call routing where calls seem to go to a "fake" or "spoofed" destination. Sometimes this is an ad for TV service, sometimes it is a fake voice mailbox that seems to say the dialed number but is not the voice mail of the recipient. I have also had other issues when using failover with IVR which is completely non-sense that you can not use both (grey out those options on page if they do not work together) .

Over the years I had ported my own numbers and clients numbers, some to VoIP.ms, and some to other carriers. Sometimes these were VoIP numbers and sometimes cell numbers. I have only EVER had problems in a porting process when VoIP.ms was involved, as one failed a few years ago too that I gave up on (at least with voip.ms). after at least hundreds of ports, it seems odd that VoIP.ms ports were the ONLY ones that failed. It seems to me like something is wrong there.

Recently, I had to port a copper line number and the nightmare began! First the web page does not allow entry of the account number as required by the copper line provider , as their web form will not accept dashes. Century Link wants to see a number formatted like XXX-XXXX-XXXX-YYY where X represent phone number and Y is a numeric code. So after a few porting attempts my number was never ported. I do not want to have success with "some" of the numbers I want to port , I need success with "all" of the numbers I want to port. It seems VoIP.ms does not understand this and does nothing. In fact I had two different phone numbers for the losing carrier that VoIP.ms could have called and resolved the issue but nobody at VoIP.ms would make the call nor would they join a conference call. The losing carrier insisted the port was never submitted with the proper account number. Even Philipe Thieffalt one of the managers claimed he would "see my port through personally", but I was never able to speak to him again and he never called me back Failed port and they did not even notify me that they gave up, instead I believed they were re-trying. All along it was denied (as both them and losing provider noted) for "incorrect account number". I gave them the correct account number even in the format the losing carrier wanted it, AND the losing carrier generated a 4 digit PIN, which VoIP.ms was also provided! They are pretty useless and far from honest.

They really need to fix some minor details (that can cause big problems) on their web site like allowing dashes in account numbers, and greying out options that are incompatible. They also need to work harder on porting numbers and what is going on with these spoofed destinations where a call goes to an ad for TV service or goes to a Voice Mail box that recites the correct number but is not the voice mail of the user.

They also are not complying fully with STIR/SHAKEN apparently. This may become an issue in the very near future.

So overall my experience recently with VoIP.ms is VERY BAD.



member for 3.6 years, 206 visits, last login: 100 days ago
updated 1.5 years ago


former qwest
Premium Member
join:2014-01-04
out there

former qwest

Premium Member

i read about your troubles in the VOIP forum

thanks for sharing your review!

hapollo
join:2007-05-13
WesterOS

1 edit

hapollo

Member

voip.ms review

you're better off anyway

given all the hacked accounts in the past, the DDOS fiasco and lack of transparency with all that, I'm not surprised.

With their history, I would never sign up for voip.ms if they were the last VOIP provider around but there are many on the forum who love voip.ms for whatever unknown reason. probably a reseller crowd.
FraidyMan
join:2018-06-29
Laval, QC

1 recommendation

FraidyMan

Member

VoIP.MS service is fine, if you ask.

I have used their services for 10 years, ported perhaps 20 numbers to them for myself, my company and friends, and have only had problems caused by the telco being left. VoIP.ms is technically challenging to set up, but once you get it right, it sticks forever.
PDX_Mark
join:2020-08-21
Portland, OR
·VBUZZER
·les.net
·Callcentric
·voip.ms

PDX_Mark

Member

Re: VoIP.MS service is fine, if you ask.

Problem s when you get into advanced settings like reseller interface on their web site many things do not work or do not work together with other options. It is kind of hit and miss even if you know and understand VoIP systems , because its all their own mess.

Review by dewdude See Profile

  • Location: Manassas, Prince William, VA, USA
  • Cost: $7 per month
Very affordable DIDs and per-minute transit - friendly to advanced/PBX users
Best for advanced users who just need SIP trunking.
If you run your own PBX, or want to learn; voip.ms can make real world interconnects affordable.
Web-site:
Ease of Installation:
Call Quality:
Reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:

I started playing with Asterisk last year; and the cheap per-minute rates made voip.ms a no-brainer for something to use while learning. Loading the minimum $15 in to my account was enough to let me get a number and last for a couple of months. The setup fee for a per-minute number was 40 cents; calls are .9 cents a minute; 85 cents a month for the number. That's a less than 2 bucks a month for me per number. Each incoming number comes with 20 channels...so your PBX can go nuts. Of course...rates change when you get in to other countries. I pay $4.99/month for a UK number; but that number only comes as unlimited inbound with 2 channels. Outbound rates of course depend where you call; US is about a penny per minute, Canada is half a cent a minute on basic routing, calls to the UK cost me .8 cents a minute.

They seem to have a good customer and technical support system. Being an advanced user I glanced at their Wiki to make sure the trunk configuration between the PBXs was correct; but they do offer a good bit of documentation for various endpoints.

Can't speak for features other than I needed a SIP trunk; and they gave me one without any hassle. The service has been reliable.

member for 14 years, 294 visits, last login: 19 days ago
lodged 1.5 years ago

OzarkEdge
join:2014-02-23
USA

OzarkEdge

Member

pricing

Ignoring the initial DID setup fee and any call charges (and any $1.50 e911 fee), it's $0.85 per DID per month (some DIDs may cost more).

I believe the pay-per-minute call rate includes unlimited channels, if you ask them to enable it... they want you to use as much as you can when you pay by usage. The flat call rate is limited to two channels.

OE
dewdude
pfSense on xcp-ng Asterisk geek
join:2010-03-27
Manassas, VA
·voip.ms
(Software) pfSense
(Software) DD-WRT

dewdude

Member

Re: pricing

The last US DID I bought was $0.40 setup and $0.85 a month. Yes, flat rate is limited to 2 channels; per-minute comes with 25, though they may do the unlimited for asking; have no reason for it.

My UK number costs me a LOT more than my others and is flat-rate only, but at $4.99/month it's not a deal breaker, yet.
VoIPms
join:2022-06-09
Terrebonne, QC

1 recommendation

VoIPms

Member

Thanks!

Thank you very much for your honest input dewdude, we are flattered to know your thoughts after giving our service a try. We hope to continue providing you with quality service at a great cost in the future to come.
PDX_Mark
join:2020-08-21
Portland, OR
·VBUZZER
·les.net
·Callcentric
·voip.ms

PDX_Mark

Member

Re: Thanks!

said by VoIPms:

Thank you very much for your honest input dewdude, we are flattered to know your thoughts after giving our service a try. We hope to continue providing you with quality service at a great cost in the future to come.

Is this a joke? "Quality service" should include REAL tech support, which VoIP.ms is falling VERY short on
dewdude
pfSense on xcp-ng Asterisk geek
join:2010-03-27
Manassas, VA
·voip.ms
(Software) pfSense
(Software) DD-WRT

dewdude

Member

Re: Thanks!

Everyone has a different idea of what "quality service" is Mark. I, for example, have not had to deal with tech support; and even then...with the way I work any support I'd need would be more administrative.

I buy a trunk. They send calls down my trunk. Beyond that I'm my own tech support.

Anon21134
@68.237.26.x

Anon21134

Anon

Re: Thanks!

I buy a trunk as well, dewdude, but am struggling with their tech support to get calls down my trunk since the trunk won't come up. YMMV.

In my case, I sent tech support a wireshark trace showing them that when they reject a SIP INVITE because they need me to authenticate, they appear to be formatting the 401 message incorrectly. Instead of someone who understands SIP, I've been told things like "try factory resetting your PBX" and "enable TCP as a transport". Previously I was told to delete and rebuild my trunk. That's not technical support, IMO

I'd like this to work, am using a PBX they claim to support, have working trunks with other providers, but am unconvinced they can effectively troubleshoot.
PDX_Mark
join:2020-08-21
Portland, OR
·VBUZZER
·les.net
·Callcentric
·voip.ms

PDX_Mark to dewdude

Member

to dewdude
I am not saying I NEED tech support to make my trunk work. When I NEED tech support is when they have rejected my port several times for "account number" then for an undisclosed reason. Especially when I have a direct phone number to a supervisor at CenturLink that they simply WOULD NOT CALL, who consistently claimed they submitted the port with the wrong account number EVERY TIME. When I NEED to talk to a human is when they leave me with a problem that is out of my hands not when there is something I can change on my end to make it work. That also holds true that I had the supervisor at Centurylink willing to receive, my conference call with VoIP.ms, or a direct call from VoIP.ms and they would do neither.
PDX_Mark

1 edit

PDX_Mark to VoIPms

Member

to VoIPms
please delete

Review by cdn_dsl See Profile

  • Location: undisclosed location
  • Cost: $4 per month
  • Install: about 7 days
Feature-rich, convenient, economical, prompt support
Reluctant level 1 support out of Mexico with a lot of pushback
Recommend to technically advanced users who can set up their own ATA/SIP client
Web-site:
Ease of Installation:
Call Quality:
Reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:

My Other Reviews

·B2B2C High-Speed..
After first using an ISP's voip, then abandoning that ISP and using 2x separate VOIP providers, I realized that it was costing too much when I found out about voip.ms.

By that time I owned Linksys PAP2T ATA and Linksys RTP300 router/ATA combo at 2 different locations and was comfortable setting up both devices.
voip.ms ported the phone numbers in just a few days and once I received emails about complete port, activated the lines and was up and running.

Switching to voip.ms provided the advantages of $0.99 plans with 1c/min (never using even close to 3500 min/month) on 6-second billing, which was cheaper than the other providers I used.

Big advantages are:
- sub-accounts (very convenient, can use 3-digit extensions dialing between lines/locations)
- call blocking can play 'number is not in service' message, which is a perfect deterrent against the spammers.
- multiple servers in North America and the UK allow to choose the best ping and switching to a specific server for dialing to a specific location.
- fax over 711 actually works out of the box, while it did not want to connect when using other providers!

They will send an email when account balance goes below specified value and I know to re-fill from Paypal.

Using for 2 months and so far so good.

Update: 2+ years down the road I am still more than happy with VOIP.MS. Kudos, guys, you are a solid A+ provider!

Update: 8+ years down the road, the support suddenly became abrupt and apply a lot of pushback. Unless overpowered and/or forced to escalate, they deny issues and refuse to solve them. Once escalated to Montreal, some issues get solved. Usually, such drastic change means that the company is going out of business, which is quite possible considering how many customers they have lost, during the recent DDOS attack.

member for 13.2 years, 182 visits, last login: 5 days ago
updated 2.4 years ago


NetworkMan
join:2016-01-11

NetworkMan

Member

Agreed -- VOIP.MS a mess

There is essentially no tech support. The best way to contact them is via CHAT. If you reply to their reply in a ticket you will not receive another message until the following day. Really sad.
PDX_Mark
join:2020-08-21
Portland, OR

PDX_Mark

Member

Re: Agreed -- VOIP.MS a mess

MAYBE you will receive a reply the next day and that reply might even not address the issue as they have dome on some of my tickets.

It is really sad as they used to be one of the best . They should be ashamed of what they have become

Review by cuptea See Profile

  • Location: undisclosed location
  • Cost: $8 per month
Usually worked fine
They cancelled my DID of 11 years
I do not trust them
Reliability:

I live in Germany and have acquired a German DID from voip.ms 11 years ago. I have used this number all these years and it has been widely circulated and I relied on it.

A few days ago I received an email from voip.ms informing me that their carrier will only provide DID numbers to businesses in the future and if I wanted to keep the number, I would have to submit my business incorporation paperwork as proof. Of course I am not a business, and voip.ms of course knows that since I have a personal account with them. This email arrived 3 weeks before the cutoff of the DID.

So, since I am not a business, I ended up losing my number that I have used the last 11 years.

I am disappointed with the fact that this happened in the first place, but also that voip.ms did not offer any other alternatives or help to keep this number. There was no "Service" in the Customer Service I experienced. It continued that way when I had to argue with them over receiving a refund of my remaining account balance. I asked for the issue to be escalated to a manager - which did not happen.

After this experience I feel that DID's are not safe with voip.ms, as they could send you an email at any time, all of a sudden requiring documentation that simply does not exist. And poof - DID cancelled. Interesting that they are still selling German DID's within the same area code but would not work with me to keep mine.

This was an absolutely horrible experience, which cost me quite a bit of money and time to switch to a different DID within just a few days lead time and having to notify several dozen contacts.

Trust in this company is completely gone.

PS: Yes, I am a new user. I have been lurking on this forum forever and just signed up, just to post this review to inform and warn others.

member for 2.6 years, 177 visits, last login: 2 years ago
updated 2.6 years ago

PX Eliezer
join:2021-08-03
Tranquility, NJ

2 recommendations

PX Eliezer

Member

German

You said that the e-mail just arrived a few days ago, providing a 3-week notice, yet that you already lost the number. That seems contradictory.

Germany does have number porting (transfer to another company). Did you try to port the number?

Here (in German) is some porting information that may or may not be useful.
»bit.ly/Dein-Handy-portab ··· emplates

Callcentric and Anveo (among others) also provide German numbers. They do enforce the German government requirement that you have to provide proof of a local physical address. They do not (yet) seem to require what Voip.MS told you about (being a business). Maybe that is new or maybe it is just Voip.MS

Germany has many cellular providers (including being the home base of T-Mobile of course). Maybe you can port (transfer) your number to one of those companies.

Voip.MS is a low-cost provider, with some regular phone companies you would pay far more. But with the low prices (probably the reason you were using them) you are not going to get much in the way of personal-class customer service.
cuptea
join:2021-08-07

cuptea

Member

Re: German

No, I did not port the number and canceled it shortly before my renewal was coming up - which was before their 3 week cutoff. The link you gave me deals with German cellphone numbers, that's different from landlines.

Maybe you are correct with saying that I cannot expect much in terms of customer service, which voip.ms clearly demonstrated (I seem to remember though that their service was much better a few years ago). However, a number cancellation is not something I ever expected.

kevinds
Premium Member
join:2003-05-01
Calgary, AB

1 edit

2 recommendations

kevinds

Premium Member

Re: German

said by cuptea:

No, I did not port the number and canceled it shortly before my renewal was coming up

But you said that voip.ms cancelled your number, that you lost it. That they are unreliable and you don't trust them.

They gave you notice of an upcoming change, with plenty of time to react to it, instead you cancelled the number.

Everything I find, Germany, landline numbers can be ported.
Stewart
join:2005-07-13

2 edits

2 recommendations

Stewart

Member

Posted a few weeks too late

I'm not a VoIP.ms customer, but am pretty sure that they are a Voxbone reseller for DE DIDs. Voxbone (Belgium based) was recently acquired by Bandwidth (a US company). I've worked with Bandwidth on a disputed DID and was successful. If you originally bought this DID as a new number, it's probably still with Voxbone and you can likely still get it with another Voxbone reseller. Depending on your traffic volume, what city you need, number of channels required and whether you have a PBX with a static IP address, good choices may be Voxbeam (UK based, no relation to Voxbone), Localphone (their retail brand), AnveoDirect (US based) or Anveo (their retail brand). If you still want the number but none of the above providers meet your needs, post details and we can likely find better choices.

If you originally ported this number from DT or another German carrier, it has probably been returned to them and it's likely impossible or very expensive to get it again.
cuptea
join:2021-08-07

cuptea

Member

Re: Posted a few weeks too late

Thanks, but I already went through the task of notifying all my contacts, so I have no desire recovering this number at this point.

The number was originally purchased from voip.ms and I checked the number's owner, it is "Median Telecom". On their website they specifically state that they work with both retail & wholesale markets, so I am not sure about the validity of voip.ms's statement regarding business customers only.

Anyway, I have acquired a new number through Anveo which is a DT number, hopefully that will be more reliable than voip.ms
Robaye
join:2015-06-20
Royal Oak, MI

Robaye

Member

DDoS Attack Article

»arstechnica.com/gadgets/ ··· srupted/
iamhere
join:2013-01-26
canada

iamhere

Member

Avoid them. Do not recommend.

Long time customer. The DDoS has killed any faith I had in them. Even then they say something is fixed, it still isn't working. Tickets logged and they respond with utter nonsense.
Seeley
join:2009-01-31
Eatontown, NJ

Seeley

Member

Still having quality issues

I loved this company. Advantages are you can change your outgoing caller ID and record important calls.

Even though they indicate the attack on their system has been resolved, there's still call quality issues (newyork7.voip.ms).. voices breaking up and calls dropped. Just before this attack, I reloaded my balance. So I'll give them more time. Never had an issue in the 13 years I've been with them.
OzarkEdge
join:2014-02-23
USA

OzarkEdge

Member

Re: Still having quality issues

said by Seeley:

I loved this company. Advantages are you can change your outgoing caller ID and record important calls.

Even though they indicate the attack on their system has been resolved, there's still call quality issues (newyork7.voip.ms).. voices breaking up and calls dropped. Just before this attack, I reloaded my balance. So I'll give them more time. Never had an issue in the 13 years I've been with them.

Their Reason For Outage (RFO) report states that the DDoS event timeframe was 9/16-9/29. But a footnote adds:

"Attacks resumed intermittently throughout the week of October 4th and escalated during the weekend but were contained. As of the date of this RFO (10/13), all attacks have ceased."

You posted here on 10/8. How has your service been since 10/13?

OE

Review by Safemaster See Profile

  • Location: Loxahatchee, Palm Beach, FL, USA
  • Business customer Business customer
  • Cost Contract price not specified.
  • Install: about 1 days
very good
Web-site:
Ease of Installation:
Call Quality:
Reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:

1/2/2020

Move all my DID from Callcentric to Voip.ms since September 2018, I think 1 year plus of using their services is enough time to give a fair and honest review. Voip.ms has very reliable and solid for the past year+ and their tech support is very fast at replying to open tickets and fixing any issues I had. Their voice quality is excellent and their pop server uptime has been very reliable. Recently they have upgraded their pop server with G722 codec and TLS WITH SRTP encryption. Even in Beta I noticed no quality of service problems.

Since out of beta I moved all my DID on all my trunks to use TLS with SRTP and G722 codec on all my Free PBX system and its so far rock solid. Oh and their PPM prices are cheaper than Callcentric and I think voice quality is better using any of the two codec ulaw and g722. IP phones and pbx system currently in use with Voip.ms

Freepbx's VPS with Vultr using vpn on every phone and usding PJSIP driver not chansip exept for the trunks.

All ip phones are Grandstream from GXP2130's, to GXP2170's. I also use there extension GXP2200EXT's. Also their wireless WP820 and their IP Video phones GXV3380's.

In the end Im satisfied with voip.mw service and will continue to stick with them. I highly recommend Voip.ms. My next update will be 1 year from now.

member for 20.2 years, 5126 visits, last login: 345 days ago
lodged 4.2 years ago

PX Eliezer0
join:2017-01-15
Ho Ho Kus, NJ

PX Eliezer0

Member

Tough grader.

You "highly recommend" them yet gave them scores of only 75 in each category?

I had some professors like that.

They are indeed an excellent provider, but I do believe that their G722 codec is still in beta. It's not listed on their main options.

odinb
join:2001-11-26
Frisco, TX

1 recommendation

odinb

Member

Re: Tough grader.

He is leaving room for improvements! If he scores everything 100%, how can you tell if they improved?

Safemaster
Premium Member
join:2004-01-18
Loxahatchee, FL

Safemaster to PX Eliezer0

Premium Member

to PX Eliezer0
Yes, score of 75 would be 4 stars. Its hard to give 100% in anything related to voip and trunk service. Their G722 is still in beta but honestly I haven't had any audio issues at all. Their tls and srtp just came out of beta recently and its solid. Believe me that Im not one to hold back if shit goes sideways with them in review.

Out of 10 stars I give them 7 and 8 or maybe 9 If I want to give a rave review about them.

N9MD
Too busy to chat
Premium Member
join:2005-10-08
Boca Raton, FL

1 recommendation

N9MD to PX Eliezer0

Premium Member

to PX Eliezer0
Improvement?!?! The OP did not offer a single weakness, drawback, complaint or negative comment. How does one improve on that?

Yes, additional features might be added in the future … but that wouldn't necessitate a change in a rating of 100%.

If I were a newbie looking at a 75% across-the-board rating, I would look elsewhere for a VoIP vendor.
[Just my opinion)
OzarkEdge
join:2014-02-23
USA

OzarkEdge

Member

Grading aside...

This review echos my VoIP.ms experience since 2014 except I don't think I can do anything VoIP-related in one day.

OE
Robaye
join:2015-06-20
Royal Oak, MI

Robaye

Member

Sweet Just Enabled

Just enabled in the settings. It is indicated as a beta feature.

Review by Maxx2006 See Profile

  • Location: Cambridge, ON, Canada
  • Cost: $3 per month
Extremely easy setup, good quality.
None
Great Product
Web-site:
Ease of Installation:
Call Quality:
Reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:

I set this up as a secondary line on a cisco ata 122. I added $ 25.00 to the account and ordered a DID using premium routing for Canada. Was up and running in under 1 hour.

Spoke to tech support on voice mail and call display setup via live chat. Extremely helpfully tech support.

I will be back to update my review in a couple of months.

Edited: Cost probably $ 2 - 3 / month, not the $ 1 / month i inserted originally.

Dec 10, 2014
Ported our main line over without any issues. I just love the IVR setup. Added E911 to the main line

Dec 2015

Still extremely happy with Voipms. It works well and no telemarketing calls thanks to the IVR

March 2016

Continues to run flawlessly, could not be happier with the service.

January 31 2017

Added another DID recently for selling stuff on kijiji. Extremely easy to setup and forward to a cell. Still happy with the service.

Dec 2018 Working extremely well!

August 2019

Extremely pleased it works well. Three numbers ran through a Auto Attendant. No telemarketers, got to love it.

member for 11.1 years, 3384 visits, last login: 1.2 years ago
updated 4.6 years ago

OzarkEdge
join:2014-02-23
USA

OzarkEdge

Member

Reviewed cost

DID costs $0.99/month plus $0.50 setup fee. e911 costs $1.50/month. PAYGo US/CN Premium costs $0.01/min. Minimum deposit costs $25.

VoIP.ms can only cost $1/month if you don't use it for 212.5 years.

OE

Maxx2006
join:2013-02-02
Guelph, ON

1 edit

Maxx2006

Member

Re: Reviewed cost

I do not require E911 as this is a secondary line at this moment to meet some requirements. I have edited my costs to between $2 - $ 3 / month.
grand total
join:2005-10-26
Mississauga

1 recommendation

grand total to OzarkEdge

Member

to OzarkEdge
said by OzarkEdge:

VoIP.ms can only cost $1/month if you don't use it for 212.5 years.

Huh?

Review by Samoa_Cookie See Profile

  • Location: undisclosed location
  • Cost Contract price not specified.
Decent Selection of DIDs to Choose From
Worst VOIP Customer Service I've Encountered Out of Half Dozen Vendors
Distracted, Dismissive, Obstinate and They'll Never Apologize
Web-site:
Ease of Installation:
Call Quality:
Reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:

Exceedingly poor customer service.

I needed to call a US embassy this week. INTL calls are blocked on all accounts until you submit your ID to their online form. Form says they'll unlock INTL calls within 24 hours. That was Thursday. Still ignored through Wednesday, I had to go into chat but INTL calls were now clearly unlocked to make INTL calls.

When I went to make the call, their servers were not configured to allow service. I'm not a novice at SIP clients and following their setup guides. The problem really was they hadn't configured routing correctly on their server. I informed them and they blamed the inbuilt Android SIP client and asked I used Zoiper. Same problem with Zoiper because they hadn't setup the routes in their server. I even sent them a screen recording and screenshots making it all unmistakable the problem was on their end.

A day later, without apologizing for not acknowledging the problem was on their end and wasting a bunch of my time, they messaged back "it's possible to enable the routes to your account for the destination you've reported, however, please note that calls to this destination will have a rate of $0.34" That's interesting because their call rate sheet advertised $0.06. I say go ahead and do it because I don't expect them to lose money and I just want it working finally. They promise they've "enabled the routes."

Another day later, nope, yet again they failed to actually do it. I inform them. The say they'll fix it.

Another day later I try a final time. Nope still not fixed. I sign up for Google Voice which works immediately and just say they handled fixing it exceedingly poor. Their response...not an apology but suggesting I was using the incorrect dial codes which was demonstrably wrong given our correspondence and the screen recording I'd sent them.

member for 4.8 years, driveby review (so far)
updated 4.8 years ago


suppafly
Premium Member
join:2009-11-27
97000

4 edits

8 recommendations

suppafly

Premium Member

Something doesnt add up

I would love to hear the other side since VoIP.ms generally is regarded well when it comes to the level of customer support. (I know it, I worked there until 2014).

I somehow have this feeling like we are not seeing the whole story in your post. Remember that companies need to have a balance between security and customer freedom.

Also your 0% rating on most aspects of the service only makes it look like you are being obstinate and unreasonable, trying to make a damaging review only.

Good luck with your future providers.

(Edited X3: one small typo, replaced i for I)
Stewart
join:2005-07-13

6 recommendations

Stewart

Member

Calling (Western) Samoa?

Based on your moniker and that the VoIP.ms current rate card shows $0.344, I assume that you are calling Samoa.

If you looked at rates from other companies, it should have been obvious that the state-run telecom charges exorbitant termination rates and there is no (legal) way to call there inexpensively. A rate of $0.06/min. just doesn't make sense. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. I'm guessing that they made a simple mistake, because their rate to American Samoa landline is $0.059. Like most VoSPs, I assume that their system checks for buy rate > sell rate and blocks such calls. In response to your ticket, they somehow came up with $0.344, which also seems pretty low.

For comparison, we have:
GV: $0.72
CallWithUs: $0.605
Callcentric: $0.60
AnveoDirect: $0.73
Betamax (usually cheapest): €0.407

Either they came up with a 'grey' route that didn't work when you tried it (as often happens with grey routes), or they made a second mistake and 0.344 was still less than their buy rate.

You can't expect such calls to just work; with a little more patience I'm fairly sure that VoIP.ms would have fixed the problem.
PX Eliezer0
join:2017-01-15
Ho Ho Kus, NJ

4 recommendations

PX Eliezer0

Member

Is there Samoa to the story?

I think that suppafly and Stewart have made good points.

Aside from other issues, I think that anyone needing to make mission-critical calls and/or International calls, should have more than one provider in place.

As well, I would not attempt to do something mission-critical International with ANY provider where I was a brand-new customer.
Steve VoIPms
Premium Member
join:2011-01-04
Terrebonne, QC

6 recommendations

Steve VoIPms

Premium Member

Investigated the case

Hi Samoa_Cookie,

We've tracked down your case. We're high on privacy, so without going into too many details, if you would like to discuss it further we can do it via private messaging so we an accommodate you. I see nothing wrong with how the staff handled it. They were polite and trying to fix a risky destination but there was no follow up to the last question.

We're known to help customers to the best of our abilities but I feel you didn't let us a chance.

Best,

RobThompson
Caution - VoIP Challenged Alert
Premium Member
join:2012-02-14
J8G 0C9

8 recommendations

RobThompson

Premium Member

A rant is not a review...

I have never had a problem with voip.ms support.

This review is a "Rant", not a review.

It should be struck.

suppafly
Premium Member
join:2009-11-27
97000

7 recommendations

suppafly

Premium Member

Re: A rant is not a review...

Personally I like to call them drive-by reviews. They usually have similar aspects like 1) New account just opened! 2) No other interactions in the forums 3) No replies to comments on the review they just posted.
RadioEng
join:2016-06-13

2 recommendations

RadioEng to RobThompson

Member

to RobThompson
I agree just a rant. I have been with them for many years and never had an issue. They helped me setup calling to the UK in no time since I didn't know what the hell I was doing. I did all this through chat which was great. Maybe the OP just had an unfortunate incident and I know if it is their fault they take care of ya. It happened to me once and they made it right.

Review by ajhaji See Profile

  • Location: Toronto, ON, Canada
  • Cost Contract price not specified.
Tons of features, unlimited sub-accounts, very reasonable prices.
No automatic failover, reliability improving but still not the greatest.
A cheap, full-featured provider that has a few reliability issues.
Web-site:
Ease of Installation:
Call Quality:
Reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:

I've been a VoIP.ms customer for many years.

VoIP.ms has one of the most full-featured offerings I've seen. Other companies like Anveo may offer more features, but Anveo's confusing control panel is a bit of a turn-off. I am a big fan of VoIP.ms' control panel.

VoIP.ms is definitely for those who know what they're doing with VoIP. It's a BYOD provider, which means you need to bring your own VoIP device, such as an ATA or a SIP phone. You can create unlimited sub-accounts, which is a huge benefit of the service. That means you can have unlimited phones and ATAs configured to a single VoIP.ms account, all sharing the same phone numbers.

Call quality is quite good. Using the G.711 codec it sounds better than any landline I've ever used. I have noticed, however, that certain servers sound better than others. Audio quality on the Chicago server is notably richer than on the Montreal-2 server. (Those are the only 2 servers I've tested extensively.)

VoIP.ms' tech support has been very responsive the few times I've had to use them.

Over the past couple of years I've experienced some reliability concerns with their service. In the last several months, however, things seem to be improving, and I have bumped the reliability score up one notch. In the past, I've experienced intermittent issues with incoming calls to Canadian DIDs (callers receive a fast busy tone, or calls are dropped seconds after being answered), and intermittent issues with the Toronto and Montreal servers.

VoIP.ms needs to implement automatic POP failover ASAP. They offer dozens of servers across the world, but if the server you happen to be on is having issues, you're dead in the water. Once they implement DNS SRV, your ATA will be able to automatically fail over to a working server. Then, on their end, they need to set up a system that automatically routes your incoming calls to whichever server you're connected to.

member for 22 years, 7486 visits, last login: 1 day ago
updated 5.2 years ago

PX Eliezer704
Premium Member
join:2008-08-09
Hutt River

PX Eliezer704

Premium Member

Excellent review.

Thanks for an outstanding and objective review of this fine provider.

XANAVirus
Premium Member
join:2012-03-03
Lavalette, WV

XANAVirus

Premium Member

Re: Excellent review.

Agreed.

N9MD
Too busy to chat
Premium Member
join:2005-10-08
Boca Raton, FL

N9MD

Premium Member

Yes ... there is a failover feature ... a darn good one!

Nicely done review ... but Voip.ms certainly does have a classy failover feature.

• Under the DID Numbers option, click on Manage DID(s).
• Put a check-mark in the box on the line you wish to edit.
• Click on Edit Selection - All Settings at Once.
• In the left column next to the Additional Failover Options, click on Click here to display.

This presents three failover situations:
1) Routing if destination busy.
2) Routing if destination unreachable.
3) Routing if destination no answer.

The options within each of these failover situations are many, allowing forwarding to a SIP sub-account, IVR, Calling Queue, Call Forwarding to another DID (PSTN, Cell, VoIP), Call Forwarding to a SIP-URI, Ring Group, Pre-recorded Message, DISA, Voicemail, or Call Rejection (hangup, busy signal, "number not in service", "number disconnected".

Keep in mind that failover does not work when the problem is at the VoIP provider's end or its upstream provider (CLEC). Failover kicks in when the VoIP provider's server cannot complete the connection to the end-user's ISP or the home's/business' connection.

ajhaji
Premium Member
join:2002-03-02
Etobicoke, ON

ajhaji

Premium Member

Re: Yes ... there is a failover feature ... a darn good one!

This is true. However, the issues I was experiencing *were* at the VoIP/CLEC level, so any failover options I set in the control panel wouldn't have helped at all.

N9MD
Too busy to chat
Premium Member
join:2005-10-08
Boca Raton, FL

1 recommendation

N9MD

Premium Member

Re: Yes ... there is a failover feature ... a darn good one!

said by ajhaji:

This is true. However, the issues I was experiencing *were* at the VoIP/CLEC level, so any failover options I set in the control panel wouldn't have helped at all.

We are on the same page ... but do we also agree that no VoIP provider can provide failover under the circumstance you have presented.

Some VoIP providers do have the ability to switch their end-users from one server to another during a VoIP provider's "server down" situation ... but in general usage this does not come under the specific title of failover In fact, that's why most providers recommend using a SIP-URI rather than an IP address. This allows them to redirect end-users from one server to another effortlessly ... assuming the provider recognizes the server failure.

[I post this stuff knowing that Andrew and other knowledgeable posters are aware of the technology under discussion ... but lurking newbies might benefit from this information.]
Bamit
join:2001-06-25
Bushnell, FL

Bamit

Member

Best VOIP service I've used.

I've been using voip.ms for about 2 years now, and I've never had a problem. The service so far as been great and the quality of connections (for me) has been no different then that of a typical POTS line. No jitter, lag etc.
As far as a fail-over, they have servers in several cities. My primary is in Tampa, and my secondary is in Atlanta. So far, I've never needed to use any other.
You cant beat the price either. Can't comment on the technical support, because I've not needed it yet, but I can say that they stay in contact via email if they have any scheduled maintenance that may affect my service.

Review by deafmonkey See Profile

  • Location: undisclosed location
  • Cost: $5 per month
  • Install: about 1 days
Best Provider For a cheap hearing impaired/deafblindness landline, lots of features, Just works.
not for the inexperienced
Best alternative to Bell/Rogers deaf/deafblindness lines
Web-site:
Ease of Installation:
Call Quality:
Reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:

My Other Reviews

·Start.ca
I have been using this VoIP provider for about 11 days.

Thanks to the cheap rates, I now have a landline using the montreal.voip.ms server,
with zero problems, using Telco AC-211. ATA.

I have been using this provider on recommendation from a Friend. I am incredibly
happy with the service as I can use my Clarity Phone on it, I have yet to test
the Text Telephone via VoIP.ms - Though I'm certain it can work.

I highly recommend it to hearing impaired/deafblindness like mine(usher syndrome/refsum disease) friends of mine. even with 80% bell-relay accessibility discount, it still can't beat voip.ms rates - I don't see myself going back to POTS services
after my recent pleasant experience with VoIP.ms along with Start communications which is very very stable for VoIP.ms

UPDATES:
Sept 13, 2018:
I have made some recent changes to my DID, I now use virtual fax and the # costs $1.99/month and rates are a little higher compared to voice I think, however its still very cheap for sending faxes as it can be done via the web interface or E-mail. I have not tried E-mail to fax as I have used their faxes for some medical stuff and only do it off their website(upload a file for fax) and it has consistently worked very well for me. I bumped my rates up to about $5/month as that includes voice and faxes and currently still using the 1 DID I had since the beginning, Tech support has always been responsive and polite to me within the hr or two when I have used them(Maybe 6 times in my entire span with them.).

I have also picked up a new amplified phone system however it's still based on Clarity products(Clarity E713CC) for my low vision and deafness and has worked superb on their network(I am using premium routing for the most part this days). Product manual located online at: »shop.clarityproducts.com ··· RevA.pdf

They have made some changes such as being able to do automatic billing when you fund runs low which is nice to avoid funds low messages and they have lowered the min payment to $15USD instead of $25USD as well.

I don't think that I have ever experienced any downtime using their montreal server.

I'm still very much happy with this VoIP Service.

March 20 2015:
VoIP.ms has no downtime at all for me since my last review and everything has been working just peachy. I have recently reloaded with another $25 and only use one DID at this time as I was not using the other often enough so the savings should last me for awhile as I generally use less than $1/month for this service. - The quality is still pretty good and I'm using the value plan and not have any issues at all with VoIP.ms keeps me happy as I would not want to switch to another VoIP provider at this time.

July 4 2014:
VoIP.ms continues to work super well for me and they are online 99.99% of the time pretty much for me that I continue to be very impressed with their services for the past year for 2 DID #'s currently in operation. $30 for me goes a long ways $50/year approximate at this time for my use.

Many thanks goes to the VoIP.ms team for their stellar work that I will keep this one around as a premium VoIP provider for the price/quality that just works fine with my current ATA setup. - I think the web interface could use a bit of work however for the stellar service I receive I cannot complain about the interface much.

Oct 1 2013
Support has been very helpful on a ticket I processed earlier so it
definitely works when I have made my ticket requests.

I will likely be keeping this VoIP provider around for awhile with some
of their cool features to keep telemarketing out.

Sept 26 2013

I have had less than 3 bad calls a month on the value plan, so the quality has been fantastic using the value plan, and now down to my last dollar on the Original $25 deposit. So it has been a great ride, and will definitely reload my VoIP.ms soon For 2 DID in operation.

-DM

member for 10.9 years, 2233 visits, last login: a few hours ago
updated 5.5 years ago


Review by alainle See Profile

  • Location: canada
  • Cost: $7 per month
  • Install: about 7 days
Très peu dispendieux, beaucoup de fonctionalités
Demande un peu de connaissances techniques et du temps pour apprendre à faire fonctionner tout ça
Web-site:
Ease of Installation:
Call Quality:
Reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:

J'utilise voip.ms depuis 2 ans. C'est un très bon service. La qualité est très audio est bonne et il y a beaucoup de fonctionnalités pour un prix très très bas. Cependant, nécessite l'installation et le maintient de notre propre équipements. Donc, ce n'est pas un service pour tout le monde. Demande un connexion internet fiable et stable. Également, un routeur avec QoS est grandement recommandé.

Je ne pourrais pas retourner à un service plus traditionnel qui offre 10 fois moins de fonctionnalités pour 5 fois le prix.

member for 6 years, 1735 visits, last login: a few hours ago
updated 5.9 years ago


whocares256
''Hardware Junkie''
Premium Member
join:2002-03-10
Motorola MB8600
Netgear SRX5308
EnGenius EAP1750H

1 recommendation

whocares256

Premium Member

VOIP.MS Rocks

I've had them for 10 years in some form or another. They rock.

English Translation. Thank You Google.
»translate.google.com/tra ··· &act=url