arjan

Calling between vonage numbers is free also I think. Phoning to european landlines is definately cheaper through skype. I use that also.

CynicX

Verizon is rippin you off...which sucks....I have HTC NetRacer DSL, but I didnt get HTC phone because, like you said, I live on my cell phone. I dont have a dial tone or anything, no phone bill at all...just a DSL bill....

Corey

iTrader: (1)

As seen by my router post in the PC section, member jrallan26 sent me a Linksys RT31P2 (P2 as in two phone ports on the unit) router as seen on the Vonage website which is used with their service.
My Netgear RP614 router was crapping out on me, so I hooked up this one and my surfing now goes uninterrupted.

I decided to give Vonage a try the other day, but they can not hook me up with this router as its MAC address was tied to John's phone #, and they require that you use a new router that has not had its MAC addy used before, and they input the MAC addy with your new Vonage telephone #.

They are sending me a new router which should be here in a few days.
My account and telephone # are already active, and I tested out the voice mail feature this morning by calling my new number.
This rocks, as you can access your voicemail 4 ways.
Use your Vonage phone line by calling:
*123 to access your voice mail,
use any other phone and call a certain number and punch in your Vonage number and pin,
access your voicemail from their website when you log in,
or get the WAV files delivered to your email account as an attachment.
This is really cool, as I did that earlier this morning testing it out.

By the end of this week I will post back here what I think of the quality of their service.

At a later date I will replace this router with a Linksys wireless one like John has so I can have wireless access for my laptop.

jrallan26

Glad to hear you like it! Thought you would be impressed.

arjan

I've all the messages emailed to me. I put them in a vonage folder in my email program so I can keep them on file. I always delete them through the website, works great. I have the vonage box hooked up directly to the broadband connection, and my router plugged in to to vonage box. That way the vonage box throttles (? spelling, it sunday morning) your internet connection when you're phoning.
I guess we can all phone eachother for free, since vonage to vonage calls are no charge.

Corey

iTrader: (1)

The only thing I will be concerned with is if using the phone is going to effect the Internet, mainly for gaming.

Currently when member Drew and I are playing in the same game either hosted by one of us, or we join a main server hosting the game, we game also using the telephone and headsets so we can communicate during game play.

Since my tele will now be operating over the Internet, I hope it does not make a game laggy, and send my ping rate high.

Good news though for those of us on Comcast is they are upping their current 3 mbps download and 256 kbps upload to 4 mbps and 384 kbps upload, so this should help in the above situation.
Beware of pop ups
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?n...d=465812&rfi=6

SP2 blocked them all for me, I only heard the WAV file play letting me know about 2 or so were being blocked.

jrallan26

I like all the free features........ caller id, voicemail, etc.etc.

Corey

iTrader: (1)

John, do you just plug a caller ID unit inline with your telephone before the cord enters the Linksys?

My phone has caller ID on the handset, but if it is charging or off, it does not display.
However I have a regular caller ID unit that runs on 110v plugged inline with my phone now.

jrallan26

Corey,

The caller id is already installed in the cordless phone. It worked automatically.

Corey

iTrader: (1)

Cool, I am thinking an external one then will work too.
I have one mounted on my wall between one of my speakers and the Logitech control module, and one in the living room.

I should be able to hook them up then.

firemedic

For those of you with Vonage, how is the call quality? My main concern is if there is a "digital delay" like on digital cell phones? It can get annoying especially if both parties are on a digital cell.

Corey

iTrader: (1)

So I am pulling down phone line extensions that have been hanging on my walls and ceilings since my old dial-up days at my home.
Been on broadband cable now since around '99 I think.

Anyway...I am stringing the lines out to the living room and back to my bedroom where the Linksys router/adaptor is on my PC desk.
Just getting it ready for when my new router with my phone # tied to the MAC addy shows up sometime this week.

For the heck of it I plug in my cordless phone to the extension cable which is already hooked up at the other end to the router.
I decide to see if I get a dial tone, and sure enough I do.

I decide to call up member Drew who is about 10 miles from me.
We are talking and he sounds crystal clear when all of a sudden the phone starts beeping.
I figure it is Vonage doing this as my service is not tied to the MAC addy on this router.

I look at the caller ID I have with QWest my local telco, and the caller ID built into my handset.
It says incoming message, but does not display the telephone # until I push the back button.
It is a 310 area code, so I tell Andy I must hang up and see if I can connect with the other caller.

Sure enough, I push the flash button on my phone and some guy asks if John is there.
I ask who are you, and it turns out to be John's (jrallan26) dad

Apparently the MAC addy on this Linksys is still tied to John's home phone number.
I explained to his dad what was going on, and told him to call John back in a minute after I unhook my phone from the Vonage system.

This was a trip indeed.
I can attest the Vonage system sounds great, but it was hard to get Andy's attention, as he was in a heated round of online Counterstrike, and his attention was on the game and not my incoming call

John, we need to figure out how to take your telephone # out of this MAC address.
I can PM you the MAC address and you should call up Vonage and tell them to decommission your # from being associated with the MAC addy on this router you gave me.

jrallan26

Okay,

I was wondering why I havent been getting any phone calls........... Its been nice.

jrallan26

Ben,

Corey and I both have Vonage. I have been using it since November. Its awesome! My parents dont even notice the differnence betweeen the landline and the Vonage.

The one downside I have noticed I do have to reboot my PC more often. I do not notice any changes to my download speeds.

Corey

iTrader: (1)

My new Linksys Vonage router came today.
Sound quality is perfect, but I have it hooked up to an old 900 GHz phone.

My good phone is still hooked up to ma bell for now.

Probably after I get back with Boeing I will drop it, or perhaps before if I can get my land line # transfered to Vonage, but I really do not mind having a new #.

This router is the same as any other Linksys NAT firewall router except it has two phone ports on the back for the Vonage service.

This rocks, and you can log into your account via a web page and see all incoming/outgoing calls, check voicemail, call forwarding, ect, it totally rocks.