confused on products

Posts: 3 · Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2006 10:03 am Post subject: confused on products

I presently have 2 desktop computers at home. I have them hardwired. I want to get Vonage for phone service. I would like to ultimately get a laptop. I was trying to save some money on this project but do it right the first time. Is there a Vonage product that will allow me to keep the desktops hardwired but add wireless phone so the phone could be used anywhere in the house while also allowing me to add a wireless laptop? It seems the more I read the more confused I get. Also I do not fax mich , but it seems I will lose that too. Please do not talk over my head if at all possible. My internet is cable. I am trying to learn. Thanks in advance for any and all input.

Posts: 1424 · Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2006 1:52 pm Post subject:

No, the cordless phone that works with Vonage is not also a wireless access point for a laptop. The wireless access point that has Vonage capabilities works with standard phones. There is a Vonage WiFi phone that could work with a wireless network, it would require a wireless access point.

Your simplest option would be to get a Linksys WRTP54G. This would give you a wireless access point and a phone port to which you could connect a standard cordless phone and a fax machine. It also provides a four port switch to connect your desktop computers. It would connect to your cable modem.

My personal preference would be to get a stand-alone wireless router and a separate Vonage adapter (either the Motorola or the D-Link). Except for having two devices instead of the one in the above scenario, the configuration is the same.

A third alternative is to get a wireless access point and the F1000 phone from Vonage. The F1000 works through the wireless access point. In this case you would not have fax capability.

I know you are trying to save money, but budget for a small UPS if you can. Even if your cordless phones don't work in an outage it will provide an extra level of protection for your equipment.

Posts: 59 · Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2006 2:25 pm Post subject:

Honestly, don't switch over. I understand that Vonage will save you money, but is there a price on your sanity? If so, it make come in monthly installments of $24.99. If your network is functional and is something you are happy with, I would just suggest looking about for another phone company that isn't a Voice over Internet Protocol service.

Posts: 3 · Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2006 4:57 pm Post subject:

Would that be the plain wrtp54g or the Vonage one?

Posts: 3 · Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2006 5:53 pm Post subject:

So then I can only have one phone on the house as well? Is there an option that lets me have more than one phone in the house?

Posts: 59 · Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2006 6:01 pm Post subject:

Actually, there is a way to do so.

If you own your home, you can get what called a Profession Installation. You can call out Customer Care department and see if you are in an area in which we have a sub-contractor that will come out and do the Pro Install for free, but you have to call in and speak with sales about qualification and scheduling.

Other than that, the only other option is an expandable phone system, meaning that you have a base phone with multiple handsets.

Those are all the potions I know of being a Vonage Tech.

Posts: 1424 · Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2006 7:40 pm Post subject:

jalrn57 wrote:

Would that be the plain wrtp54g or the Vonage one?

The plain WRTP54G is for Vonage. I believe there is a "-ER" model for Earthlink.

Posts: 1424 · Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2006 7:48 pm Post subject:

jalrn57 wrote:

So then I can only have one phone on the house as well? Is there an option that lets me have more than one phone in the house?

Nidae213 is correct. There are two ways to have multiple phones connected to your Vonage service. The easiest is to use a multihandset system, this consists of one cordless base station connected to your Vonage adapter and multiple cordless handsets.

The second is to connect your house wiring to your Vonage adapter. There is a whole forum dedicated to that topic as well as some helpful introductory material located via links at the bottom of this page. This is especially useful for people with devices that need phone system access such as TiVos, alarm systems or satellite receivers.

However Nidae213 is also incorrect. Most people (over a million) have very little problem getting Vonage up and running on their network. I for one have had TiVos and faxes working well with Vonage for years and in addition to saving money I have a lot of features I could not get from a traditional phone service or would not pay the price they charged.

Posts: 59 · Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2006 7:49 am Post subject:

Well obviously you aren't taking the calls to fix the thousands of problems that my call center alone handles a day.

We, on average, take 900-2000 calls a day. I've been doing Vonage tech support for 6 months. All of the people I work with have been here just as long. If you calculate the 40 agents taking 1,100 calls a day for roughly 30 days for 6 months, you get 7,920,000 calls. Most of which are installation calls because out call center specializes in installation. Please, tell me that there isn't a generally tough time getting Vonage set up. If you didn't have a rough time, consider yourself lucky. Very lucky.

And as for TiVos and faxing, those are some of the highest call drivers next to installation. You'd be surprised how many 'I can't fax' calls we get. And how may of them lead to account cancellation. And I applaud them, in fact, encourage them on a regular basis. I want my conscience clean at the end of the day.

And just because there are a few people who haven't had any problems doesn't mean you should tout that it's generally easy to get started. Yeah, it's easy when you are giving your credit card information away and to get the box, but heaven forbid if the sale rep didn't explain everything.