Vonage quality in Vonage http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r20921029 en Wed, 11 Nov 2009 01:48:52 EDT Wed, 11 Nov 2009 01:48:52 EDT Re: Vonage quality http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21042330 vxbinco : I have had Vonage for 4 years. I started when they first introduced the PAP2 adapter, which I use. It is now behind a linksys WRT54Gv2 router with a zoom modem on comcast. In the past I had a RCA modem and a netgear router.

Initially, there were some minor problems that have been worked out but it always worked good. Today, it works consistently well. It rarely goes down attributable to vonage, but more often in a power failure or comcast goes down. It really all depends on the stability of that bandwidth and Comcast is much more improved than years ago with rare disruption of the service. I now run more than 8/2 with comcast and there is no problem with talking and doing a big download at the same time. Previously with lower bandwidth of less than 4mb down/256k up, that would sometimes be a problem. I would not suggest this system with a low bandwidth DSL.

I think the feature set that they offer is far superior to Comcast digital voice. The online web page has extensive information and ability to set numerous parameters. Comcast digital voice web page is just plain garbage. My parents have this service and I am surprised that they have not been able to supply a good web experience.

I have not a problem with billing. All is smooth and the information provided on the web is extensive. I do worry about cancelling the service, when that day will come, as I see numerous complaints.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21042330 Mon, 01 Sep 2008 21:26:10 EDT Re: Vonage quality http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21007448 Mediocrates : I think it's fantastic. The features are fine but more importantly it is brainless to setup and 100% rock solid. It's as clear, simple and reliable as POTS, which, at the end of the day is really the only criterion that matters. At all.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21007448 Tue, 26 Aug 2008 00:45:41 EDT Re: Vonage quality http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21005971 dellsweig : Could not be happier - 5.5 years with 2 vonage lines and no phone company..

Quality is only as good as 1) your ISP and 2) your home network.

All routers are not created equal and it may take some time/research to get the right combination of a Qos or congestion control router.

I would have to say my service is set it and forget it. I cannot remember tha last time I had an issue that required any intervention on my part.

My cable company has been trying to convince me to switch but even at their teaser rates - my Vonage has more features and is cheaper.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21005971 Mon, 25 Aug 2008 19:53:38 EDT Re: Vonage quality http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21005940 ophelus : Vonage call quality and faxing = still great/good

I can't really indentify any issues within a long while I remember I had crazy stuff going on for a small period in 2006 (maybe twice) where I would receive calls that were 30 minutes delayed and no one was there.. I use vonage for business so besides for these (that I know off) *rare* hiccups works fine for me..

I will say they've gotten greedy (cancelling fee.. my way of canceling and I may do that within a year is to make sure my credit card is cancelled) I will say they haven't added a single useful feature since 2005 when I signed up (accept today I found you could actually remove virtual numbers that I ordered.. this is new I don't think it was there a year ago)

The one feature I think is crucial for any voip to succeed in the future is "call blocking" but they have nothing for it.. the 2nd feature I think is crucial is when you have virtual numbers like I do a simple ability to track based on which ones are called and which ones use more minutes (maybe that's just a business thing) My Dashboard seems to have the ability to display that information but "doesn't" cause it's screwed up somehow and I don't feel like even attempting to talk with customer service about it..

In addition if you want to pay a "fair" rate for phone service you have to call and pretend you’re going to cancel to get it..

So why am I leaving vonage (hopefully)
- Price.. Same features for less with a provider I'm likely to go with futurenine (these guys aren't perfect yet.. but there getting there)
- This company is likely thinking of the future and will implement the features vonage could have added/fixed years ago..]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21005940 Mon, 25 Aug 2008 19:46:40 EDT Re: Vonage quality http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21002738 rradina : I've had Vonage since what seems like forever. (4 or 5 years now) and until six months ago, it was a superb telephone service. I've used the Cisco ATA 186 for the entire time.

Call quality is generally good but as some have said, that's entirely dependant not on Vonage but on the quality of your ISP connection. If it has low latency and little if, any packet, loss when connecting to the real-time data packet (RDP) end point, the quality will be good.

What I've noticed lately is that the call connection has gone to unacceptable. It seems to take a very long time to connect a call when dialing. Furthermore, we use the simul-ring feature to ring my wife's cell phone and our home phone at the same time. Her cell phone will ring three or four times before our home phone rings once. This used to occur in complete unison. This leads to her cell phone always getting voice mail because it will only ring our home phone once or twice before her cell phone voice mail picks up the call. It's very annoying and there isn't much we can do about it. Even if we turn off simul-ring, it still rings three to four times from the caller's perspective before it rings our home phone once. It also takes a couple rings before the caller ID shows up.

This has lead us to recently cancel our Vonage service in favor of cable telephone. Our service switches next week.

I wonder if the new "call setup" quality is due to lost lawsuits dealing with the interaction of VOIP and the legacy telco switched network. I know no other Vonage customers to call to determine if it is the interconnect.

I'm also ready to get off the "Internet has weather, phone quality stinks" regimen. VOIP is great but any time there is a hiccup in the Internet, it can lead to terrible call quality. I used to put up with it to save money but Vonage is now over $30/month with all the fees they add and our cable company recently provided us an offer of $14.99/month for the first 12 months. After that it goes back to $24.99/month. I know there will be taxes and fees on this but I couldn't pass up that price. I'm also hopeful the call setup quality will be fast and reliable -- unlike Vonage.

Sorry Vonage. I really wanted you to succeed because I dislike the legacy telco service but something has changed with your service and I no longer consider it acceptable for the amount of money you charge. If you truly saved me money, I would stick with you but alas, that's no longer true.

I recommend Vonage reduce the price of their service by $10/month. They might then retain customers because the value proposition would be too great. Heck, we might even keep our Vonage line and get a second line with cable. There's still nothing wrong with our Vonage line for casual voice communications. It's just no longer suitable for our primary residence line. There's a certain level of call quality, reliability that must be there in order to feel that people can contact you without concerning yourself with whether or not the phone is working. Vonage used to fulfill that purpose but it no longer does.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21002738 Mon, 25 Aug 2008 09:27:00 EDT Re: Vonage quality http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20934457 mahermusic : Best phone service I've ever had. Going on 5.5 years now.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20934457 Mon, 11 Aug 2008 15:55:20 EDT Re: Vonage quality http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20932620 priller :
said by EnquiringMinds :

Have they added new features like simultaneous-ring

They've had that for years.

said by EnquiringMinds :

What about the ability to route to a different phone if the network is down?

That has been there for the 5.5 years I've been a customer.

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Like others have said, Vonage is only as good as the Internet between you and them. I'm on Comcast and have zero issues.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20932620 Mon, 11 Aug 2008 10:13:43 EDT Re: Vonage quality http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20930951 Gandalf1315 : Call quality is only going to be as good as the quality of your internet connection.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20930951 Sun, 10 Aug 2008 21:55:26 EDT Re: Vonage quality http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20930653 Mediocrates : Ditto. It is not worse than the best of standard AT&T or MCI POTS.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20930653 Sun, 10 Aug 2008 20:54:53 EDT Re: Vonage quality http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20922125 King P : I've been with Vonage since 2005 and I've not had any problems with voice quality. I still think they have a great product.
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My Music blog:
»www.zunetracks.net]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20922125 Fri, 08 Aug 2008 20:47:54 EDT Re: Vonage quality http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20921419 mb : In my experience the service quality has been superb. Check their web page for any features that may have been added since you left. Obviously, the most important variable is the latency and jitter to their server. This is solely dependent upon your ISP.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20921419 Fri, 08 Aug 2008 18:24:45 EDT Vonage quality http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20921029 anon : Hi

I was a Vonage customer more than 2 years back and would like to switch back to it. Back then, i don't remember having many issues with the quality (dropped calls, choppiness etc). How has the service quality been of late?

Have they added new features like simultaneous-ring etc ? What about the ability to route to a different phone if the network is down?

Would appreciate objective replies, not religiously zealous ones.

Thanks in advance!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20921029 Fri, 08 Aug 2008 17:06:12 EDT