Vonage?

RangerX · Post by **RangerX** » July 26th, 2006, 7:29 am

Anybody here use Vonage?

I'm thinking of getting it to replace home service. I'm interested in call quality, consisitency, dropped calles, etc. I have cable broadband with 4 mbps download and 384 upload. I am in the process of getting that upgraded to 8 mbps download and 768 upload.

Any info would be appreciated.

rum_snuggles · Post by **rum_snuggles** » July 26th, 2006, 7:34 am

Ranger X,

Vonage is a great service. You can even keep your original phone number. My grandmother uses it to speak with her friends from Chicago. Unfortunately, Vonage's customer service is absolute trash and if you have a problem, I can guarantee many frustrating hours coming your way.

BadMuther · Post by **BadMuther** » July 26th, 2006, 7:37 am

No problems with it here. I do suggest however that you go to costco, sam's club or BJ's and buy the 4-phone cordless set. Vonage only gives you the one outlet, so the 4-phones off of a base works perfect for it.

Nomad · Post by **Nomad** » July 26th, 2006, 9:19 am

I use it here in the box and it rocks. Not a bad thing about it. As soon as I return to the US, I am getting it hooked up at the house.

old13bm5 · Post by **old13bm5** » July 26th, 2006, 9:29 am

Rangerx I have used Vonage for about a year. I like it a lot, but I would like to warn you about a couple of things.

1. Customer service does not exist for this company. If you are comfortable working with phones, and computers then you can usually resolve any issues on your own. There is a very good support forum that can help also. (Note Forum is not provided by Vonage)

2. There are a lot of complaints about moving old phone numbers over. I decided to go with a new number to avoid any issues there.

You dont have to use cordless phones if you dont want to. Below is a link that shows how to connect the Vonage box to your existing jacks. This is also the support forum I mentioned above.

To sum things up Vonage is great if you are willing to provide your own support.

Install notes

Splat · Post by **Splat** » July 27th, 2006, 5:56 am

I use vonage also.

I tried using the lines in my house, but they are old and the call quality tended to suck. I switched to a mulit-handset cordless unit and it works great. Get an echo every once in a while, but I had that with the wired service as well.

I like being able to check voicemail and manage my account online. As was mentioned previously, customer service sucks. I haven't had alot of need to contact them though.

Mr_Handsome · Post by **Mr_Handsome** » July 28th, 2006, 10:40 am

I have Vonage. It's been ok. However I recently found out about http://www.skype.com. Might be worth a look into.

Flesh Thorn · Post by **Flesh Thorn** » July 28th, 2006, 10:52 am

Ask T0000009 about vonage. He had some major issues with the customer service. For those with the club house keys:
http://www.armyranger.com/bb/viewtopic. ... 34&start=0

RangerX · Post by **RangerX** » July 28th, 2006, 11:01 am

Hmmmm.

Tech support for my end is not issue. I've done plenty of wiring and I've supported phones systems before, so that is not an issue. As for support, it still sounds like BellSouth is worse. I think I will have to take a strong look at alternatives before I make a decision however.

Thanks for the input folks, it's just what I was looking for.

Edit-

Skype is out for now, as they are PC-to-PC or PC-to-Phone only. I specifically need to be able to utilize my current handsets as my wife is computer illiterate.

Lazy P · Post by **Lazy P** » July 29th, 2006, 10:02 pm

Used it a while back and gave it up b/c the 911 service was fucked up. Check in your area. If you have E911 and a GPS enable dcell phone use it for emergencies. The VOIP phones have to program your 911. Its unverified and may send you to the wrong dispatch center (in the wrong state if you move and don't update it).

Otherwise I had no complaints from the service itself.

Looon · Post by **Looon** » July 30th, 2006, 5:11 am

Im getting ready to make the switch to it. FUCK Verizon!!!

RangerX · Post by **RangerX** » July 30th, 2006, 5:16 am

Ranger Luna wrote:Im getting ready to make the switch to it. FUCK Verizon!!!

Between here and what I've read at the www.vonage-forum.com website, it seems that a lot of people have been frustrated by Vonage's lack of customer service.

It speaks volumes that so many of the dis-satisfaction stories I've read include statements that they still wouldn't go back to their local copper providers.

All phone companies suck!!!!