dmolavi
Premium
join:2005-04-11
Sewell, NJ
 ·Verizon FIOS
 ·Comcast
 ·ViaTalk
1 edit | reply to unknvoip
Re: [Equipment] Old, scratched, scribbled Linksys box shipped fo
said by unknvoip  :My guess is that any adapter that has been in a customers home is a 'refurbished' unit. If you were to BYOD, wouldn't you still have an activation fee? according to what i've been told, no. only VT provisioned adapters are subject to the activation fee. i'll try to dig up the link.
edit- here it is: »Re: Two year customer coming up on renewal...
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NukedGallery.net
TheMolavis.com |
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unknvoip
WWJID?
join:2006-07-25
Rochester, NY
·ViaTalk
| Thanks dmolavi for the info. When I signed up over 3 years ago, they were doing no shipping/activation fee.
So I guess now the advantage to having their adapter over one of your own is like what happened to me last year. A lightning strike in the neighborhood took out one port of my (then) router and my ATA. VT will replace a failed unit, so after a phone call, I had a 'new to me' adapter in 3 days at no cost. Had I been BYOD, I would have been self-insured, that is, I would have been on my own for a replacement or had to pay activation and shipping to get a 'new' VT unit.
Come to think of it, maybe a refurbished unit would be like my old one - repaired after a failure of some sort. |
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xkey
join:2007-08-24
Herndon, VA
| It was clear from new user sign up web page that both activation and shipping fee will be waived for BOYD customer. Customer service also confirmed this via phone.
The main thing I do not feel happy about is about expectation. It was claimed that this "refurbished" gateway is widely accepted by this industry and a leased device. I might have failed to catch this caveats, but I was not aware of that, and still am not sure if that's the case. At least I was expecting a higher standard of "refurbish" with some sort of documentation, or plastic wrap something, and at least a clean device. Esp. I paid more than what a brand new one might have cost.
Anyway, another caveat is that the replacement is one per year. While I can understand the reason why VT is doing this, in order to reduce the cost, I certainly hope with > $40, this shabby equipment can last longer than 8 months by average. This can cover the 2 years' contract. |
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unknvoip
WWJID?
join:2006-07-25
Rochester, NY
·ViaTalk
| I believe the PAP2 and PAP2T devices to be rather robust. Other than extreme circumstances like the lightning strike in my neighborhood, I don't know of any occurrences of them failing, off hand.
I absolutely agree that you should have received a clean device, but not necessarily a new one. A few scratches are fine, but not dirt and tape stuck to the unit!
I am not sure where you would buy a new PAP2T for less than the activation/shipping cost VT charges. The lowest price I see for a retail device is $44 and that has a $10 shipping fee. I believe it to be generally accepted here that a new PAP2 costs around $50. |
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dcurrey
Premium
join:2004-06-29
·ViaTalk
1 edit | reply to xkey
My unit has been working for 3+ years now. No issues. Unless you get some knock off unit you should be fine providing you don't expose the unit to say fire lighting water or nuclear blast. But then with a nuclear blast I don't think you will need to worry about the replacement.
I keep it on a UPS to help protect it. |
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xkey
join:2007-08-24
Herndon, VA
| reply to unknvoip
A simple search of new PAP2T at ebay with "buy it now" yields lowest price of $35 + $5.15, with 8% bing cashback (at this time), it comes to $37.35.
If every one agrees this lasts more than 3 years, the annual cost is $12, while it is $20 from VT if stay for 2 years.
Anyway, a few bucks really does not make much difference, all I am complaining about is their hidden "refurbished" term. |
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dcurrey
Premium
join:2004-06-29 | Isn't it on Ebay that people are getting the cheap knock off ATAs that die in a few weeks if they last that long. |
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PX Eliezer
Premium
join:2008-08-09
New Jersey
1 edit | reply to xkey
There are many posts on this forum (actually, the main Voip forum) dealing with the problems of buying ATA's on ebay.
I would NOT do it.
Too many counterfeits and/or duds. |
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ptrowski
Got Helix?
Premium
join:2005-03-14
Putnam, CT
clubs: | I might have a spare PAP2T-NA laying aound. If I can find it I might be able to part with it just for the shipping costs. |
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