j0ly
join:2007-03-22
Calgary, AB
| reply to redshift
Re: [Other] Allo.com
Welp, Ive made up my mind, im not going to go with Allo.com.... all outbound calls have a bad echo using a pap2 device for the 1 week trial. I contacted support via the online chat, and they did figure out something for me, however, the echo continued yet today. there is no ticket system for the the problems that customers may have, so no way to track if someone actually fixed anything.
Ill try them out again, when they seem to fix these issues, or other users report success.
If anyone from Allo.com can chime in on the echo issues, i would love to know, or when you think you may introduce some of the other features im looking for.
Cheers,
Scott |
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priller
join:2000-10-20
Gainesville, VA
 ·voip.ms
·Callcentric
·Vonage
·callwithus
2 edits | reply to priller
Re: Initial Observations
said by priller  :* I'm getting fast busies on calls to area code 571. Contacted support via web, see how long they take to respond. * The called party only gets "unknown" on CID. Updating these issues I reported.
* The problems calling 571 have been resolved.
* "Unknown" on CID: Jacq and other's at Allo were very nice and made a serious effort to work on this, but I'm still unable to set the outbound CID. We were able to set it using the X-Lite softphone, but couldn't make it happen with the spa3102. Looks like there is a "coming soon" feature on the user portal where you can set your outbound CID, for non-Allo ATA's. Apparently, much like Vitelity and Teliax let you do. This is a show stopper for me.
On my brief test calls, I never experienced any voice quality issue.
I seriously do not like having two different buckets you have to put pay-as-you-go money into. There is "local", for US and Canada calls. Then you need to pay into another bucket for International calls.
Bottom line: Allo is defiantly worth a look. But, like any new provider, there will be a few issues to sort out. |
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deskjockey
join:2005-04-17
Charlotte, NC | reply to priller
Re: [Other] Allo.com
Update, I just got off the phone with Allo.com and they are charging for the 2 yr deal the $199 base fee and $72 in recovery charges. |
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Taker
join:2003-11-11
Costa Mesa, CA
| reply to redshift
Signed up for the 2yr/$199 deal and all I can say is that I'm having troubles!
I decided on BYOD, and purchased a PAP2T-NA and I believe I have everything set up correctly. I can make outbound calls fine but incoming calls will automatically go to voicemail!
It seems to be my router (DI-624) as I have tried connecting directly from the PAP2T to the cable modem and voila! Incoming calls now come through like they're supposed to!
I have forwarded the UDP ports 5060-5061, RTP 10000-20000, changed the ringtone from sinusoid to trapezoid with 90/20 but still no luck. The DI-624 is also set to gaming mode as I have been informed that the router in gaming mode is CONE NAT.
I haven't tried a stun server yet (any recommendations? Are these stun servers free?) but will try that next.
I have contacted customer support which of course is hardly any help ever! They continue to read from the script but I was finally after several days and hours able to obtain information that they are having technical difficulties on their end...Yet this doesn't seem to be related to the issues that I am having since VoIP works fine as long as I keep my ATA connected directly to the cable modem. Of course, I can't keep it like this since I need to have internet access and the PAP2T only has 1 WAN port! AAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!
Very, very frustrating -- especially since this technical difficulty has been going on for a week now...
I may cancel with them and try ViaTalk and if that doesn't work then I guess I'll try digital cable phone. |
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stefanp
join:2007-07-12
New Westminster, BC
| reply to redshift
I am surprised you got any success getting in touch with their customer support.
I'v signed up for their pay-as-you-go plan about 2 weeks ago.
I like the fact that I can connect with Asterisk or my own adapter - both work fine. Being able to control my own caller ID it's a very important feature for me.
Bu I haven't been able to receive any calls although I can place outgoing calls ok.
So I have contacted the customer support via their support form on the website about 3 days ago but I haven't heard anything back since.
I also tried their live chat but there is nobody there ever although it says they're online.
Called their 1-877 number but there is just a voicemail.
The next day after I signed up with them I got an email from a certain Christina Michael from Bangalore asking me to give feedback on their service. The email contained just a table where you supposedly should probably retype the whole thing and reply back as there was no form to submit.
I emailed her back yesterday asking her for help with my incoming calls but no reply so far.
The bottom line is that their customer service is inexistent, I would not use them for my main phone line or business. |
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priller
join:2000-10-20
Gainesville, VA
·voip.ms
·Callcentric
·Vonage
·callwithus
| Ya, I submitted 2 general inquiries, unrelated to the issues I noted above. Never got a response to either.
Then I got the same survey. I didn't fill it out because it was so poorly formated and I could believe they sent a survey for something nobody ever got back to me on. |
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Taker
join:2003-11-11
Costa Mesa, CA
| Sorry to hear that you guys are having a hard time with customer support. I totally relate and feel that pain too.
Forget emailing them since that doesn't work too well. Best thing is the online 'chat' or to call in to their customer support. Oh, and don't bother giving them your username since they'll just look at your account to see how many times you've contacted them and then they'll proceed to tell you that a tech will call you back. --Utter & Complete Bullshiat!
Continue to repeat your question until they are forced to deviate from their script and answer your question...--This will take several minutes (which ultimately leads to losing a few hours). Lots of times, they'll give you utter bullshit as the answer. Like when I asked them which RTP ports I needed to forward for my router and the online rep answered with '3600' -- That's the 'reg expires' which is the default number in the ATA already!!!!!!!!!!!
BTW, I have been able to solve my problem. NO THANKS, to customer support!
I was able to use a STUN server to bypass my NAT problem on the DI-624 and now incoming calls come through fine. Only thing I've noticed is that if I'm downloading 5-8 files on a P2P, forget it! The sound quality is awful; it sounds worse than a tin can as it's very tinny, hollow, with voice drops between the caller and recipient - almost like using a cellphone underground/through a heavy concrete tunnel - I also dropped a call this way -- very much like a cellphone.
However, if I close the P2P app then the sound quality is decent. Still doesn't sound like a landline as there is just a slight lag (maybe .5 seconds but it is noticeable) and there is a muted echo (yes, I have 'more echo suppression' turned on in the PAP2T).
But for $8.29/mo (via the $199/2 year deal), I think the sound quality is quite decent. It's just a matter of if you're lucky enough to get things to work. However, I don't think I'd be willing to pay over $20/mo for VoIP if this is the sound quality. I'd probably stick to POTS at that point.
Way too much hassle...Everything should have been PNP but oh well...at least it works. I'll play with the codecs later I guess to see if that helps sound quality further. Everything I've researched says to use G711u but I think G729a sounds better...yes, 'use preferred codecs only' is set to no. I've also increased Win XP's bandwith by 20% by altering the gpedit.msc to improve voice quality.
I'll tweak further and see if I can get better voice quality and report back here later.
Good luck to everyone else! |
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stefanp
join:2007-07-12
New Westminster, BC | So, could someone summarize what forwarding ports should be setup on the NAT to make incoming calls work? |
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stefanp
join:2007-07-12
New Westminster, BC
| reply to stefanp
Allo.com going out of business ?
That's the message I just got from stella@allo.com a few min ago:
This message is from the Allo.com Management Team regarding your account # xxxxx.
We regret to inform you that starting 1st of August of the current year, our company will cease commercial activities. . Our network will remain up until July 31st, 2007. After this date, we will regrettably no longer offer service to our customers. |
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