PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum - View Single Post

bhatt · #11 03-21-2006, 12:20 PM

Have had them for about a year & a half.. Will quickly share some useful tips I've found (and experienced) by doing a LOT of research:

-Get the service with a new phone number and try it out, THEN port your existing phone number over. Just use it for outgoing calls (don't give anyone the number) and make sure you like it before porting your number. It's INCREDIBLY hard to get Vonage to switch your phone back like it was once they have your number. Also, some ports have taken upwards of 90 days if there are problems.
-Wait till your phone # is ported before cancelling your old service. If you call AT&T/SBC/whoever and make any changes, it will screw up the porting process
-Calls to Canada ARE free. Not sure what happened, but whoever mentioned they were being charged, call Vonage ASAP and have them fix it!
-There used to be a $40 charge if you cancel and don't return the ATA (adapter) that they send you. It's useless if you keep it, since it won't work elsewhere. Just send it back.
-If your ATA dies, they send you a new one and IMMEDIATELY charge the $40 non-return fee to your credit card for the old one. When you send it back, they credit you. Just keep this in mind because it is a shock when it happens. As long as you send the old one back, you're OK.
-Customer service has been non-existent for a long time. I've heard of 2+ hour wait times on hold. Send them an email to open a case, or (big secret here..) call them at 2am. Pick a weird time and you'll get right through.
-Definately play with the call routing feature. You can have it ring several phones at once, or one phone after another (ie. try my cell, then try me at home). It's useful to have your cell & home ring at the same time. Remember that whoever "answers first" gets the call, and this includes answering machines. So if you want all your messages stored on your home answering machine, make sure that if your cell goes to VM in 4 rings, you set your home VM to 3 rings! Otherwise the cell may take a message..
-Vonage VM is great.. it sends the voicemail to your inbox. You can use your cellphone's SMS address as your email address, and you'll get a text message that there is a voicemail waiting at home.
-Overseas calling free: If you have relatives overseas, buy them the Vonage service (your credit card & address) and ship them the ATA. Note: Vonage does NOT support this, nor do they want you to do this! Once they get the ATA, they can plug into broadband and have a local number in the US where you can call them toll free. Remember Vonage to Vonage calls are free and don't count towards your 500-minutes if you have the 500 min plan and not unlimited.
-Check how many minutes you use before selecting the 'Unlimited' plan. I thought I was on the phone a ton, but remember 1/2 of the calls are incoming and 1/2 are outgoing. I ended up using only 200-350 mins a month. So the 500 min plan was the best deal! You need to be on the phone 1000 mins (incoming/outgoing combined) just to run out of minutes in the 500 min plan. Remember that 1000 mins = 17 hours a month or 35 minutes a day! Toll free numbers, checking your voicemail, and Vonage-to-Vonage minutes don't count against this total!
-See if you can get an ATA that does NOT have wireless (or use your own wireless router). If the router dies, you won't have any internet OR phone! Keep them separate..
-Get a cheap UPS (500VA) from Office Depot or Staples and plug your Cable Modem, router, and ATA into it. I tested mine and I get about 4hours of phone time if the power goes out. Note that your cable provider or phone company may NOT have backup power on their end. So your cable or DSL line may drop if there is a power outage affecting your entire neighbourhood. I haven't had this problem.. the only reason the phone could die in the 1st 4hrs is because I don't have power for the ATA or modem!

Any questions, let me know and I'll be happy to help out...