Can I Use My Answering Machine With VoIP?

Q: Will my digital answering machine still take messages from incoming callers with VOIPo service?

Image: Pen Waggener via Flickr

A: Provided you use the correct settings in your VoIP account, yes, your current digital answering machine should work just fine with VOIPo service. However, you might find you don't want to use it, and here's why:

VOIPo, like almost all the VoIP services we review, includes free voicemail with your account, which means that the VOIPo system will take messages on its own. You can then listen to these messages through your phone, online, or in your email. You can even have VOIPo text an alert to your cell phone when you have a new voicemail or email you a transcript of the message.

With all of these options, VoIP voicemail can give you far more functionality than a traditional answering machine without a single piece of extra equipment. That said, if you'd still like to keep your existing machine, you'll just need to set your VoIP voicemail so it doesn't pick up before the answering machine, which should be fairly simple to do.

Got more questions about VoIP service? Ask us in the comment section below, or take a look at the FAQ section, comparison chart, or some previous blog posts.

• Tweet

Can I Get Internet From My VoIP Company?

Q: I currently get both my internet and my phone service from the same company. If I switch to VoIP, will I be able to get my internet service from my VoIP company as well?

Image: Kevin Byrom via Flickr

A: This is one of the big differences between VoIP and traditional phone service. While traditional phone providers are utility companies and generally offer other services like cell phone plans, internet access, or television service, VoIP providers usually only provide VoIP service. This means that you will need to continue getting internet service from a separate company. Usually, you can keep using your phone company's internet offerings even if you don't have home telephone service, or you can choose to get your internet service from another company.

Note also that VoIP companies cannot replace your cell phone service: While some providers offer apps or other ways to take advantage of your great VoIP long-distance rates when placing calls on your cell phone, you will still need to have a traditional cell phone plan with a wireless provider.

Currently, VoIP service requires broadband, wired internet. This means that you will need a high-speed connection like a DSL line, T1, cable, or satellite internet. You can test your internet connection's speed with a number of free online tools (google "internet speed check"). Most VoIP services agree that minimum speeds between 90 Kbps and 256 Kbps for upload and download will provide you with high-quality VoIP service. Check with the provider you have chosen to find out their specific requirements.

Got more questions about VoIP service? Check out our FAQ, the comparison chart, or some previous blog posts. You can also leave us a question or comment in the comment fields below.

• Tweet

Will Reverse 911 Work With VoIP Service?

Q: I recently learned about reverse 911 service. Is it available with VoIP? How about regular 911?

Image: Derek Key via Flickr

A: Let's start with standard 911 service. All VoIP providers are now required to provide their users with E911, or Enhanced 911 service. This means that not only are VoIP subscribers able to call 911, but the companies must also do their best to transmit the caller's physical address, just like a traditional phone system would. In order for this to work, customers must register their physical addresses with the VoIP company each time they move. The provider maintains this registry, and transmits the relevant information to emergency services when necessary.

Not all cities or counties currently provide reverse 911 service, but where it is available, reverse 911 service allows emergency services providers like the police or fire departments to contact residents of an area in the event of an emergency requiring caution or evacuation. For example, in the case of a large gas leak, the fire department might call all the residents of a particular neighborhood to begin an evacuation or warn them against going towards the leak. Like regular 911 service, this relies on emergency providers having some information about which physical addresses correspond to which phone numbers.

Unlike standard 911 service, reverse 911 registries are maintained by each individual county. In order to receive reverse 911 notifications on your VoIP line or mobile phone, you must register your number with emergency services in your area. Contact your local police or emergency services department to find out if this service is available in your area and how to register your phone number if you would like to opt in.

Remember that VoIP service will not function in the event of an internet or power outage, so you may want to keep a cell phone nearby as a backup in case of emergency.

• Tweet

Which VoIP Services Offer Both
Call Hunt and Call Transfer Features?

Q: Does VOIPo offer Call Hunt and Call Transfer?

Image: Marc Lagneau on Flickr

A: First, for readers who aren't familiar with these features, some brief explanations.

Call Hunt: This VoIP feature helps you make sure you receive important calls, no matter where you are. With call hunt, the system will ring a series of numbers in a specific order if you don't pick up the phone. This means, for example, that if someone calls your home number and you don't pick up, the system could be programmed to try your office number next, and then perhaps your cell phone. This way you won't miss calls to your home phone when you're out.

Call Transfer: Call transfer with VoIP lets you transfer a call to another number if you need to leave the house or pass a call to someone who's not at home. For example, if you were on the phone with someone and needed to leave the house, you could transfer the call to your cell phone, or if someone called to speak to your roommate who was out of town, you could transfer the call to that person's cell phone.

Different features can go by different names with each company, and sometimes companies offer slight variations on common features. In this case, VOIPo offers a close substitute for Call Hunt. For Call Hunt, VOIPo suggests their Simultaneous Ring feature, which will have several numbers ring at the same time when your VOIPo number is dialed. You could also have VOIPo forward calls to a second or third number if the first is busy.

If you're set on those two specific features, a number of our top VoIP providers DO offer them. Providers with four or five star ratings and both Call Hunt and Call Transfer include:

• Vonage
• Phone.com

If you only need Call Hunt, the following providers also provide that feature, but not Call Transfer:

• Phone Power
• via:talk

Got more questions about VoIP service or features? Check out our FAQ section, the reviews, or the comparison chart. You can also leave us a question or comment in the fields below.

• Tweet

Which VoIP Service Is Best for Calling
the U.S. from Overseas?

Q: Our family is planning to move to Senegal, West Africa with a non-profit organization. Which VoIP service would you recommend for calling back to States from overseas? Our city does have wireless available.

Image: o5com via Flickr

A: In Senegal, provided you have a strong enough wired internet connection, most of the VoIP services we recommend should allow you to call back to the United States. We really like VOIPo for its very low introductory rates, great customer service, and easy setup.

Since you will effectively bring your US number with you, you will not need any special international calling plan unless you also plan to use your system to make local calls within Senegal, in which case you should look for a good calling rate to Senegal. You can generally find information about rates to a specific country with each provider on the provider's website. For more detailed instructions, check out this blog post about finding specific calling rates with our favorite providers.

You mention your city has wireless available, and while that's great for most purposes, VoIP adapters do require wired internet to function. Check out this previous blog post for information about what kind of connection you'll need. While you may have success with somewhat lower speeds, most services agree that you will have pretty high-quality sound with 256 mbps both upload and download. You may want to get in touch with members of the non-profit group who are already in Senegal to get more information about the internet connection you will have access to.

For more information about VoIP service, you can read some previous blog posts, check out the FAQ section, or compare services with our detailed chart. You can also leave us questions or comments in the fields below.

• Tweet

How Does Ooma Stack Up Against
Standard VoIP Service?

Q: I just read your response to a FAQ you received in 2007 regarding Ooma. If your opinion of Ooma is still the same, could you please explain why you say that more "standard" VoIP services are a better option (than Ooma) for consumers that are looking for a true land line replacement?

A: Ooma has changed its business model somewhat since its founding, but yes, we still think most consumers can get more value for their money out of a traditional VoIP service. Ooma's pricing may look great on the surface, but when you read the fine print, there are a couple of catches. First, let's deal with the differences in service. I'll use VOIPo here for purposes of comparison.

SERVICE

Ooma: Ooma offers very stripped-down service: Free calls to most US numbers, caller ID, voicemail, and call waiting. If you want additional features, like voicemail to email, a cloned second line, three-way calling, call blocking, free calling to Canada, or access to international calling plans, you'll need to pay for Ooma Premier, which costs an additional $119 per year or $9.99 per month. Ooma will also charge you $39.99 to port in your phone number, unless you sign up for Ooma Premier, which waives that charge.

Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

How Do I Set Up My VoIP Adapter?

Q: I have a Motorola modem that attaches to my Linksys wireless router which provides wireless to my home computers. The modem and router are about fifty feet from my nearest computer. With VOIPo, where would the VoIP adapter go in this system? Would be it at the router or on my desk with the cordless phone base? Is there a diagram of the setup available online?

A: The setup of any individual VoIP system varies depending on your home network, the ATA (VoIP adapter) your VoIP company sends you, and your phone system. For precise information about how to set up your system, please refer to the support materials provided by your VoIP company. VOIPo provides a number of different ATAs, depending on your particular home system. The company provides information about how to connect each with your equipment and online in their help center.

In general, a VoIP adapter goes between your modem and your router. This means that most systems will look something like this, with solid arrows indicating a physical connection with a cable, either ethernet or phone, and hollow arrows indicating either a physical connection or a wireless connection:

If you do not have a modem, but instead connect your router directly to an ethernet port in the wall, you would connect the VoIP adapter to the wall port and then connect the router to the VoIP adapter. Some VoIP adapters will work with the positions of the router and the adapter swapped, ie, with the VoIP adapter receiving its connection from the router rather than the modem. Again, please refer to the installation instructions provided by your VoIP company.

In your case, this setup means that you will either need to run a long phone cable from the area where your router sits to your desk to connect your phone, or run a long ethernet cable from the modem to your desk, and move the router and VoIP adapter there. Alternately, you could find a place near your modem, router, and adapter to place the base station of your phone system, and have one of the wireless handsets on your desk. Think of it this way: with VoIP, your internet connection becomes your phone jack by way of the VoIP adapter. One way or another, you must have a physical connection from your internet connection to your phone. You can do this by moving the phone or moving the adapter, but you will have a physical cord of some kind connecting all the way from the wall to your phone.

Considering VoIP service? Check out our FAQ, the comparison chart, and previous blog posts. You can also leave us a question or comment in the comment section below.

• Tweet

The Legality of VoIP Abroad: Where You Can Access It

Q: I hear VoIP is blocked or illegal in some countries? What does that mean? Can I still use my VoIP service to call international numbers? Can I take my VoIP service with me when I travel?

Source: kreg.steppe via Flickr

A: As VoIP service has gotten more fully-featured and reliable, more and more people have switched over from traditional telephone service. In countries where the government has a monopoly or strong control over national telephone service, this can pose a threat to revenue for the state. Some of these countries have placed restrictions on VoIP service and VoIP use, sometimes even going so far as to make using VoIP illegal.

So what does this mean for users?

For VoIP users calling from the United States:
VoIP should work just like any other telephone service for you, regardless of which country you are calling. Once you place your call, it will be routed just like any other, no matter which country you call.

For VoIP users living or travelling abroad:
Depending on the country in which you live or plan to travel, you may have difficulty connecting with VoIP. There are a few workarounds, including VPNs, for using VoIP in countries where service is blocked, and even in countries where VoIP is illegal, it may be possible to connect intermittently. There is no great concrete list of which countries have outlawed or restricted VoIP, so if you are not sure if your destination will allow VoIP, you might want to check with your VoIP provider to see if they are aware of any potential issues. Users in the following countries have reported restricted VoIP usage (your experience may vary):

VoIP service restrictions are handled by the Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in each country, and VoIP providers have little control or influence over how it works. Sometimes, computer-to-computer VoIP, like Skype works better than phone-based VoIP service. If you are living or traveling in a country with strict rules about VoIP, be aware that your service may vary depending on government rules and enforcement.Got more questions about VoIP service? Check out our FAQ, the comparison chart, and some previous blog posts.

• Tweet

Which Countries Can I Call With VOIPo's 60 Free International Minutes?

Q: Which countries can I call with VOIPo's 60 free minutes of international calling per month?

Source: paukrus via Flickr

A: This is a great question. VOIPo provides a searchable index of international calling rates on their website, but it is quite difficult to find a straightforward list of the countries included in their free international calling. The following table shows the countries where some or all calls are included in the plan. If a country is not shown on this list, at this time, no numbers in that country are included. Often, rates (and therefore whether the number is included in your free 60 minutes per month) vary from city to city and mobile provider to mobile provider. If you need to be sure that a specific phone number will be included, click through from the review to VOIPo's site and click on the "International" tab at the top of the page. Then you can look up individual numbers, countries and regions using their interactive chart.

If your number or country is not among those you can call with your 60 free minutes per month, it might be worth it to look it up anyhow, as VOIPo offers low international rates for many additional locations.

Countries With Eligible Numbers:

Note: This table is accurate as of 4/4/2012. Offerings may change over time, so please confirm this information on VOIPo's site before ordering, particularly if significant time has passed since this post was written.Got more questions about VoIP service? Ask us below in the comments, or check out the FAQ, the comparison chart, and previous blog posts.

• Tweet

What is The Cloud?

Many of the services we review, including online backup, VoIP and Internet fax  function in "the cloud." But a question we get a lot is, what does "the cloud" actually mean? The easiest way to put it is that the cloud simply refers to the Internet. Thus, all of these services that work in the cloud are operated and stored exclusively on the Internet — no software to download or hardware to buy.

There are many benefits to using cloud-based services. For example, some people opt for backing up their computers using an external hard drive. But what if they accidentally delete a file from both their computer and hard drive? Most online backup services keep a file for a month after you delete it from your computer. With online backup, you have the peace of mind that your files are stored securely in the cloud, leaving a lot of room for deletion accidents. Online backup even gives you the ability to access multiple versions of the same file — the ultimate "undo" button.

Using cloud-based services also provides more of a hassle-free experience. Take faxing, for example. The need for machine cleaning, constant repairs and misplaced papers can leave you frustrated and not to mention, inefficient. Thus, when you combine faxing with the simpleness of the cloud, you get the convenience of Internet fax. All of your faxes will be right there in your Internet fax program, digitally organized for you. With cloud faxing, you can send multiple faxes with just a couple of clicks, and even use your own email account. Not to mention it's cheap.

Other basic services are simplified by the cloud too, such as phone service, better known as VoIP. By looking to the cloud for your calling needs, you can actually save hundred of dollars a year, and in most cases you don't even have to get rid of your original phone number. Other cloud-based services include web hosting, cloud storage and even online meetings. Get acquainted with the cloud, it can simplify your life.

• Tweet