Anyone here ever VONAGE phone service?

[matako 0]

Ideas welcome.

[eric&gen 0]

here we go again who let this idiot get a free pass out of the state hospital.

[DeadPoolX 9]

As much as I hate to "feed the troll," I'm going to answer.

Yes, I have Vonage and with it (not to sound like one of the commercials), I get free calling anywhere in the United States, Canada, and to select countries in Europe. The downside is that you need a fast high-speed Internet connection for it, and it eats up bandwidth like a fiend, so it's not recommended that you do anything intensive (i.e. downloading or uploading files, IM chatting, etc) while using it as the call quality could degrade.

If you have any REAL questions about Vonage, just ask. I've been using them for over a year now.

[Heracles 417]

Yes 100%. Their service works so well that I actually took it to Australia and it never ever missed a beat. Customer service can be a bit iffy though..

You can also look at using Sunrocket. These guys are similar to vonage but much cheaper. Their prices actually include taxes, which vonage adds on their service. With their current special, it works out to be $13.30 per month for unlimited calls anywhere in the US and Canada. Their service is not as reliable as vonage but at that price I would not worry unless you make lots of calls on your landline.. You also get $3 worth of Free international calls included every month.

Edited February 6, 2007 by Infidel

[matako 0]

Thanks for the answer.Am considering using them, but did not know anyone using them,hence the question.Their site has bandwith tests aand my connection passed.How are they on customer service?I hear they outsource to India to some rude guys?

As much as I hate to "feed the troll," I'm going to answer.

Yes, I have Vonage and with it (not to sound like one of the commercials), I get free calling anywhere in the United States, Canada, and to select countries in Europe. The downside is that you need a fast high-speed Internet connection for it, and it eats up bandwidth like a fiend, so it's not recommended that you do anything intensive (i.e. downloading or uploading files, IM chatting, etc) while using it as the call quality could degrade.

If you have any REAL questions about Vonage, just ask. I've been using them for over a year now.

[DeadPoolX 9]

Customer service is okay. It's not the greatest, but it's better than AT&T (where their website doesn't even HAVE a customer service phone number -- they make you e-mail them each question!). Yes, I believe they do outsource, as I think I have gotten some service reps on the phone from India before.

In general, most technical issues have to do with either the speed of your connection or your router/phone adapter having problems. I know a lot of people have trouble with outgoing calls (i.e. the person on the other end has trouble hearing them, but the caller can hear just fine). With me, however, it's the opposite...mostly because my so-called high-speed Internet connection sucks. That's not Vonage's fault, however.

[jordanianprincess 0]

I have vonage too, actually I sent it to my fiance in Jordan and no longer pay for calls! It works great, we haven't had many problems, most have been very minor and fixed quickly. Some of the problems we have had are from his ISP and not from vonage. The customer service is ok, not too bad. They definitly outsource because most of my calls are routed to India. If you ask for someone in the US office they will transfer you.

[GaryC 7]

Since it seems you are sincere in your question then I will throw in my comment. I have had them for over a year. Luz has one also that is programed to a area code local to me. (They will give you any area code you want regardless where you live) The quality is great. You can't beat the price when you consider I can now talk unlimited to the Philippines without any additional charge. And I can call anywhere in the US and talk all I want. My router went bad a few weeks ago and I had a new one 3 days later to replace it. Yes you are talking to someone in India when you call, and it's obvious that they are reading a troubleshooting by the numbers book but they did come through with a replacement. I would recommend them.

[natty bumppo 297]

I've had vonage for 2+ years. Used to travel lots for work and took the adapter with me on the road. Made calls to brazil easy. Also, had one router in Brazil but cancelled the first of this year and are now using skype. Figured if we have broadband and computers, why not just use them. If one of us isn't online, a .03 cent phone call can quickly get the other person to turn on the PC. Figured it will take a lot of .03 (answer the computer) phone calls to equal the cost of the second vonage phone. A little coordination for scheduling calls goes a long way too.

Problems with vonage, none. Still use at home for US, Canada, UK.

Problems with reliable bandwidth in brazil, lots, mostly with upload speeds. Many times she could hear me clearly but I couldn't understand her at all. (skype reports a much lower bandwidth usage and we have not experienced the same problems).

btw: there are lots of BT or wireless headsets and other options for skype phones if you are worried about being "glued" or wired to a PC (This was a concern of ours, losing the freedom to move about the house(s). We basically decided to use as much technology as was already in our homes to cut costs for the next few months.

[matako 0]

I will sign up for the service,based on your pieces of advice. Thanks to all.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

I've been using Vonage since 2004. I have never called for support. Never had to.

[Robor007 0]

WTH...? Who hijacked matako's account and posted civilly? I've had VOIP for about 3 years now and I've had 3 different providers.

In my experience Vonage is the best in quality and reliability but they're just too expensive compared to other VOIP providers. I was paying like $27/month. I don't know if it's changed or not but at the time I had them Vonage didn't pass the name (your name) in outbound CallerID. It was either just your phone number, Vonage Holdings, Unavailable, or Unknown. The last 2 usually resulted in my friends anti-spam kicking in and denying my call. Note that Vonage charges $40 if you cancel before your contract is up.

I tried SunRocket - twice - and the service was so bad I usually had my phone forwarded to my cell phone. I gave up on them and got a refund. Speaking of that, SunRocket has *by far* the best contract. You can quit at any time and they don't nick you for an early cancel fee and you get all of your unused contract back. They're usually offering a 2 years for $200 deal with a free VOIP adapter and there's no risk involved so they're definitely worth a try..

I'm now with ViaTalk. They're not bad but they're not perfect. I'd say much better than SunRocket but not as good as Vonage. I got a 2 years for $200 deal (+ ~$40 for shipping and VOIP adapter). One word of warning is they only offer a money back guarantee for 30 days. After that you only get * 1/2 * of your remaining unused contract back.

[Fandango 1,440]

Dave has it...it's awesome with the virtual number...what a Godsend!!!