Does anyone use VONAGE for the phone carrier?

**Mom23boys** · 12-27-2007, 11:13 AM

I am searching for advice on Vonage. I am thinking of switching from our local carrier to Vonage because I could save a little over $50 a month. I am just wanting to know if the service is reliable. If you do have it, have you had any problems with reception, phone calls, etc? What do you like and dislike about it?

Thank you in advance for all your input.

**AmyBoz** · 12-27-2007, 11:16 AM

We actually just switched away from Vonage to Verizon FIOS. We never had any trouble with Vonage, but we are saving $30 a month by having our tv's, internet, and phone service all with FIOS.

**Denvergirlie** · 12-27-2007, 11:16 AM

I have a girl that works for me and she works from home. Vonage is her provider. I hate her provider. It works sometimes, the voicemail is awful, the sound is awful.

She did just move from central LA out to Riverside and it does seem better, but most of the time (90%+) it's forwarded to her cell phone, since her cell phone works.

I hate Vonage service, but admit I like the commercials. From my understanding it really can vary a lot by location. You most likely want to talk to peopel in your immediate area that have the service and not a poll of the nation that have ht service.

good luck

**mmy2grls** · 12-27-2007, 11:18 AM

I have it. With taxes I only pay 30.02 every month.

The only complaint I have is that my service usually goes down once every 3 months for about 3 hours due to their issues.

**Missy** · 12-27-2007, 11:20 AM

I have it. I actually really like it.The only thing i wish is that they had call block. Eventually they will. and they do have a lot of other options.

**Kitten20** · 12-27-2007, 11:31 AM

I did not have a good experience w/ Vonage. First off, I never had any idea at all that I would be signing a contract with them. Nowhere in the paperwork did it say anything about a contract b/c it would have stuck out and I wouldn't have signed up! So when I was moving and called to disconnect (b/c I got a cell phone and didn't need a house phone anymore), I was told that I'd be charged $400 to cancel my contract!

The service in my area was pretty bad. It was down a lot. The sound quality was pretty terrible and if I was downloading anything online (which is pretty often for me), forget using the phone b/c the sound quality was so terrible. I suppose if you are aware that you are signing a contract, it might be okay. It also probably depends on your area... Just my two cents.

**Mom23boys** · 12-27-2007, 11:54 AM

Thank you for your input. I am going to check on Verizon FIOS that Amy posted about.

**Vegreenmom** · 12-29-2007, 11:26 PM

I wanted to put my two cents in here.

I had vonage and loved the service. Cancelling the service (because of being given my DHs cellphone that his dad pays the bill on) is another story. They tried to talk me into doing everything from keeping it to giving my system to a friend and having THEM pay the bill that was still in my name (WTH! I'm not stupid...). I tried to tell them that I didn't care about the fee and I would pay it, but that the card they had for my account was no longer usable (I had moved to an account with my husband) so they'd need to send me a bill through the mail. They said that they "couldn't" and that what they would have to do would be to bill the card, and when it was rejected it would go on my credit and I could pay it from there.

....um NO.

**Daisygirl** · 12-30-2007, 08:05 AM

I do not have Vonage but I have a similar plan through my cable company. I LOVE it. I am saving $200 a month with it, as I have my entire family down in the US. I pay $105 a month for cable, unlimited long distance and high speed internet. This is FAR lower than my bills used to be, and I have been very happy with the quality of service provided.

This is probably similar to what Amyboz was talking about.

**Jamauk** · 12-30-2007, 11:25 AM

We have talked about getting it, however the only high speed compatible with Vonage in our area is very expensive (through the cable co and we don't have cable). So, we go through the local phone co instead for our internet & phone.

My good friend has it and so far they are pretty happy with it. One word of caution, if your electricity goes out - so does your phone (because its connected through the computer) - which means unless you have a cell phone, you have no way to call for an emergency.

Also, with Vonage, you have to register with your local 911 service, as they will not recognize your phone number unless you've registered with them.

**Mom23boys** · 12-30-2007, 03:12 PM

Thanks for your input ladies.

Jessica, I never thought about the 911 thing. I will have to remember that. I knew about the power outage and we have cell phones that would be our back-up.

I am still undecided on whether to go with Vonage or someone else. I have done research and have had mixed reviews. I am going to keep searching before transferring over to VOIP.

**Telephus44** · 12-31-2007, 03:34 PM

We have BroadVoice, a local VOIP alternative to Vonage. It's cheap (we pay $12 a month, including taxes) and it's like a cell phone plan - we have 100 minutes per month, free long distance, if we go over its so much per minute. We decided to go this way since we NEVER use our phone.

The quality is terrible, and the echo is really annoying. If the phone service can't find a line out, it gives you a busy signal (making you think that the person you're calling is on the phone) instead of saying that it can't connect. This happens once or twice a month. DH likes it because he's a wicked phone geek, so he has the voicemail hooked up to download into a sound file that's emailed to you, and he can put a phone on his desk at work that can pick up the calls here at home, and whatever else other cool stuff he likes.

Personally, I deal with it because it's cheap and we almost never use it. But if decent phone service is important to you, I wouldn't use it.