Vonage Help

[MONKEYMAN]

Tonight, I was told by my landlord that she was going to switch to Vonage and cancel here AT&T phone line. According to her she was told she could use 5 phones with Vonage. Her main reason for getting it was to talk to a friend in Holland. She gave me a box from Vonage with a quick start guide. She told Vonage she uses cable for her internet connection. She forgot she is connected to my AT&T DSL (through a 2Wire Wireless Gateway and about 50 feet or so of Cat5 run through the basement). I looked at the instructions and do not see how this will be reliable. I think a while back I read some posts about Vonage and told her it was not for her (she forgot that conversation). If there is any hope for this set-up please let me know. She want's to keep her 5 phones from one end of the house to the other. It seems like you would need to run some phone line where AT&T connects into the house for all phones to work. She said the Vonage rep told here it was easy to set up. She also has a ADT security system that uses her phone to test things and work properly. I can only imagine problems if Vonage is not working. So, let me know what you think. I told her it would not work without a lot of fiddling and may not be reliable or even doable.

Also, are there alternatives to talking to her friend in Holland? She does not like to use Skype a lot. She had a plan she paid $6.00 a month for and I think 21 cents per minute with her phone line and it does not work. However, I don't know if it is a problem with the plan or the problem operator if you know what I mean.

 

[tomcat27]

Vonage is pretty popular for all of the foreigners we had at work - they send a unit to their families in their home country and talk cheap. theoretically, as long as you disconnect (unplug, actually) the outside line from the box on the side of your house, then you can make all of the phone jacks in your house "live" by running a phone cord jumper from the output on the Vonage box to a phone jack nearby.


Vonage worked fine for us, some neighbors had problems with their ISP "filtering" the Voange packets - which would give them poor quality sounds upon occassion. The ISP would deny it, but after calling, suddently everything worked well again.. that same ISP got fined by some govt agency for interfering with network traffic.

getting rid of Vonage can be very difficult - especially if you have auto withdrawal. they like to keep charging you after the service is stopped. almost everryone I know who has stopped vonage had this problem. they gave us the run-around: the vonage account was in my name but was billed to wife's credit card - so they would not let me cancel the service because it was billed to my wife; and they would not let her cancel the service because the account was in my name. seriously! it was crazy!

as with all VOIP services, you need to register your nbr and address with a 911 registry so they know where you are.

 

[labman]

You run an ethernet cable to the analog telephone adapter. You plug in the phones to the ATA. You do need a router to separate the computers from the ATA. Some of the boxes combine the ATA and a router. Nothing to it. Even with cable problems, I have had less down time since switching to Vonage 6-7 years than I did with a land line. I would never go back.

It is possible with a DSL and a few computers, you could run out of band width.

For about $60/mo, I have high speed cable internet and unlimited phone calls to half the world.

 

[MONKEYMAN]

She described AT&T needing to disconnect wires running into the house, then Vonage would work with all phones. So, it must be something like you described.

The problem I see is what if I need to reset the wireless gateway or if there is a power outage. I work a lot and currently have a sick parent 75 miles away. The landlord is not capable of pretty much anything technical. So, she may be out of a phone if things need to be tinkered with.

 

[MONKEYMAN]

Originally Posted By: labman
You run an ethernet cable to the analog telephone adapter. You plug in the phones to the ATA. You do need a router to separate the computers from the ATA. Some of the boxes combine the ATA and a router. Nothing to it. Even with cable problems, I have had less down time since switching to Vonage 6-7 years than I did with a land line. I would never go back.

It is possible with a DSL and a few computers, you could run out of band width.

For about $60/mo, I have high speed cable internet and unlimited phone calls to half the world.


I think if she had cable for her internet I would be more hopeful. I see a logistics problem with my set-up in the basement. Right now I don't have a lot of time to troubleshoot or even set-up a system.

 

[labman]

I have all my boxes on the UPS. Yes, the phone is dead if the modem or router needs reset. The cable now has UPS for their boosters. I fire up my generator, plug the house in and have phone, internet, lights, etc.

I use what was the dial up line to feed phone out to where the old network interface was. The rest of the phones connect to it there.

 

[MONKEYMAN]

I have my wireless gateway hooked up to a UPS so one upstairs and I may be able to deal with power outages. I do have to reset my wireless gateway occasionally. I can see it will need to be reset when I am at work or out of town. Murphy's Law.

 

[StevieC]

You guys share phones? Or you have separate phones under the same Carrier?

Couldn't you get a cell phone and be done with the whole Vonage thing? I mean in the US there is great plans compared to where I live...

 

[tomcat27]

true - but how often does your router lockup? I know what you mean tho - any time the wife calls with a problem we both cringe...

 

[StevieC]

Originally Posted By: tomcat27
true - but how often does your router lockup? I know what you mean tho - any time the wife calls with a problem we both cringe...
You could put a timer on it like I did with my old D-Link. It would just turn it off for 15 minutes a night (lowest setting) and then turn it back on.

Did this every night and reset the cable modem, router and switch. Never had a problem with lockups after that! Set it for like 4am when no calls are expected to come through.

 

[MONKEYMAN]

Right now I have my own land line AT&T and a family plan with AT&T for cell phones. Basically, I am paying for my landlords cell phone and my parent's cell phone. I was just looking up international calling plans for my cell phone. That looks like a better option. However, I have no idea how much she calls her friend. You know those women can talk...

My brother has worked for AT&T for almost 30 years. Years ago my landlord had cable for her high speed internet connection. My brother said I would be crazy if I did not install a router for my internet connection. Long story short, it was buggy. One day I was asked to tinker with things because her internet was not working. I was busy with leaves. I took off my glasses to work on the computer, went outside to work on the leaves. Forgot to put my glasses on. Got to close to a burning bush and got a stick in my right eye. I have only partial use of my right eye. Moral of the story. If it needs tinkering, skip it. I am having a bad feeling about Vonage. Not that it can't work, but it will take more doing than I need at this time.

 

[StevieC]

She needs a Skype Phone for her and her friend connected to her computer or router (depending on what she gets)... Way cheaper...

 

[MONKEYMAN]

Originally Posted By: StevieC
She needs a Skype Phone for her and her friend connected to her computer or router (depending on what she gets)... Way cheaper...


I was just looking at that! I believe a plan to call Netherlands was about $6.00 a month. Skype phones are about $25.00. You may know better or guide me. It seems like you know everything!

 

[labman]

There is no tinkering with Vonage. As long as you have a router with an ethernet port, you just plug things in.

 

[StevieC]

Originally Posted By: MONKEYMAN
Originally Posted By: StevieC
She needs a Skype Phone for her and her friend connected to her computer or router (depending on what she gets)... Way cheaper...


I was just looking at that! I believe a plan to call Netherlands was about $6.00 a month. Skype phones are about $25.00. You may know better or guide me. It seems like you know everything!


I don't know everything but have done a lot for my age and crave knowledge and like to play with things... Guess this is where I get it from.

You can get a Skype phone that is a WiFi cordless phone and it connects over the internet (without needing a computer) to the person on the other end. The person on the other end can have the same phone or a computer. It is free no monthly cost.

Logitech makes a Skype phone that a friend of mine has and it works great. He calls his friends/family in Spain on it and it's crystal clear and like a real phone.

They both have these Logitech Skype phones and a Wireless router. The guys in Spain have cable and my friend has DSL that is 512k down and 128k up.

The only time that there is a monthly fee is if you "Skype Out" meaning you call from your computer to a real phone line on the other end. If both of you have "Skype phones" hooked into high speed internet it's completely free.

http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/438/233&hub=1&cl=ca,en

 

[MONKEYMAN]

This info is very helpful. My concern is what happens if the router bites the dust. Her 5 phone lines and alarm system would be affected. I had an idea. I use my phone about 15 minutes per week. She is going to be charged to cancel Vonage (I think). Canceling my phone line and running a dry feed for DSL (Internet Direct) may be a good compromise. I could run some phone line along the Cat5. The hangers I have have room for it. That way, if there is any problems, it would not effect her phone and alarm. She just may not be open to the Skype phone. I could monitor everything from my room if there would be a problem with Vonage or my router.

 

[Oldmoparguy1]

Originally Posted By: MONKEYMAN
This info is very helpful. My concern is what happens if the router bites the dust. Her 5 phone lines and alarm system would be affected. I had an idea. I use my phone about 15 minutes per week. She is going to be charged to cancel Vonage (I think). Canceling my phone line and running a dry feed for DSL (Internet Direct) may be a good compromise. I could run some phone line along the Cat5. The hangers I have have room for it. That way, if there is any problems, it would not effect her phone and alarm. She just may not be open to the Skype phone. I could monitor everything from my room if there would be a problem with Vonage or my router.


I'm using Magic Jack and have similar issues, (multiple phones, house wiring, router
reliability, etc).

I solved my phone problem by buying a Uniden 3 phone wireless system, that way I don't have to mess with the installed phone wires. I haven't canceled the land line yet, but will as soon as I'm satisfied with the new setup.

There are some issues with the new setup as well, but I think the overall $$ savings will make it worthwhile.

Hope that helps some.

Wayne

 

[wander2039]

We've had Vonage for about 6 months now. In the beginning we had alot of problems with dropped calls. Why I didn't call customer service I have no idea but one quick call and had no more problems. The only time it goes out is when the cable go out and that's only once or twice a year. We have it set at the lowest level with Roadrunner lite. Since you have it on a UPS I'd trust it for the alarm also. We also have skype we use for video calls through the computer. Haven't had it long enough to comment.

Guess I don't understand what your doing with the wiring. Wiring is pretty simple but most of the time wiring is my forte'.. if you have a jack close just plug in it. Undo the landline first. If the phone lines in the house have been installed in the last twenty years should just work.

 

[labman]

My house is 40 years old and the only thing I changed is installing modular jacks.

 

[MONKEYMAN]

Well, I looks like I will be doing nothing. After talking about some of the info here she said she is sending it back. Basically, she has no clue how a computer works, a router, etc. The person on the phone made it seem very simple. If she still had her cable modem upstairs I think it would be different. If a router would need to be reset at this point I am not sure she could do it. I don't want a repeat of the stick in the right eye, so it is probably good that she is not going through with it. I have about 75 trash cans of leaves to fill in the next 6 weeks, I was told mid-month my social work position of years was elimated and start a new caseload Nov.1, and my mom is dying. Vonage is not something I want on my plate at this time. I appreciate all the help. The little I do know computer wise has mostly come from this forum.