Router or Vonage Phone?

Posts: 2 · New Forum Member Joined: Apr 03, 2007 Posts: 2

Looking for some advice as a soon-to-be new Vonage subscriber...

I already have an oldish router but was thinking about replacing it. Now I'm signing up for Vonage I can't decide if I should get the new Motorola VT2542 Wireless Router and plug in a standard cordless phone, or if I should keep my existing router and get the Vtech IP8100 cordless phone.
As cost is around the same, which solution would give me better performance (technically)?

Thanks !!

Posts: 4777 · Vonage Forum **MVM** Joined: Aug 30, 2005 Posts: 4777

Frankly, I wouldn't get either. If your current router is still meeting your needs and has QoS settings that allow you to favor one device, then keep the router in service. Get the D-link VTA, plug it into the router, and plug any phone you want into it. Set QoS to favor the D-link.

If your router needs to be replaced, replace it with a good one with QoS, and go with the D-link. Exception: If your router needs to be replaced and you no longer need wireless, and your routing needs are minor (low throughput, usually one computer using the network at a time), then get a VT2142 or VT2442.

Posts: 2 · New Forum Member Joined: Apr 03, 2007 Posts: 2

Thanks for the reply.

I appreciate the suggestion, but I'm confused why you would recommend the VT2142 and VT2442 but not the VT2542. Looking at the specs the 2442 is the same as the others excpet includes wireless.

Is this known to have worse performance than the 2142?

Thanks.

Posts: 414 · Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2007 8:10 pm Post subject:

The VT2542 just came out, literally a few days ago. So, not many people have it. Personally, I usually wait to hear others reactions about a device before I would advise someone to go for it. With the 2542 I haven't hear anything either way about it as of yet. I personally use the 2442 behind a WRT54G with QOS on, which suits my wired and wireless needs perfectly. If you don't need the extra ports on the 2442, or 2142 I would go with the VTA. I would not recommend the VTech IP8100 just because it does not have any external phone ports and only supports one line. This hampers the devices ability for future growth. If you decide to add a new line, have to buy a new device, decide you want to hook up a fax or new phone, yup - new device. Thats just my opinion though, its a good device for some, but not one that I would be comfortable purchasing.

Posts: 17 · Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2007 8:37 pm Post subject:

I highly recommend NOT using your VTech 8100 as your network router. I have this same phone with 3 wireless handsets and you will not be happy with the performance using that as your network router.

Instead, I use a D-Link DI-724U wireless router which provides QoS. I have been extremely pleased with the QoS feature built into this router and I can now use my phone and the internet at the same time without issue. Just plug the 8100 into one of the ports on the D-LInk and your done. No special ports to open or anything.

Hopefully this helps!

Posts: 164 · Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2007 8:55 pm Post subject: Re: Router or Vonage Phone?

Mundo wrote:

Looking for some advice as a soon-to-be new Vonage subscriber...

I already have an oldish router but was thinking about replacing it. Now I'm signing up for Vonage I can't decide if I should get the new Motorola VT2542 Wireless Router and plug in a standard cordless phone, or if I should keep my existing router and get the Vtech IP8100 cordless phone.
As cost is around the same, which solution would give me better performance (technically)?

Thanks !!

I have the VT2142. Flawless performance. It was a replacement for a stolen older Vonage box. I would go with the VT2442 if I had a choice because it includes a router and 4 ports. For wireless I use a Belkin wireless router with my VT2142. No problems whatsoever.

Posts: 28 · Vonage Forum Junior Joined: Feb 14, 2007 Posts: 28

When I first started with Vonage, I used the Linksys WRTP54G with a cordless phone. I had no real problems. When I read about the Motorola VT2542, I decided to switch. I have only had it about a week. With only a week of service, I have not noticed a major difference. I switched because I assumed the newest device would probably have the newest and latest technology integrated in it.

Posts: 4777 · Vonage Forum **MVM** Joined: Aug 30, 2005 Posts: 4777

Mundo wrote:

Thanks for the reply.

I appreciate the suggestion, but I'm confused why you would recommend the VT2142 and VT2442 but not the VT2542. Looking at the specs the 2442 is the same as the others excpet includes wireless.

Is this known to have worse performance than the 2142?

I agree with the other comments. Also, the basic reason that I wasn't recommending the VT2542, in addition to it being very new, ties to my comment about routing needs being minor. The combination phone adapter/routers are not very robust as routers. That's OK if your needs are modest. When you get to the point where you need wireless, I figure it's time to go to a device that's designed for just your routing needs and stick with a very simple stand alone phone adapter.

Posts: 208 · Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2007 12:35 am Post subject:

The 2542 runs off the same software the other Motorola 2100 models do, just with a wireless feature.

I went to a 2542 from a VWR and I think it's operating a lot better now. My VWR was plagued with issues.

However, I like redundancy in the network. While simplifying is great, I know my way around a network and can easily do portforwarding/DMZ/static IP assignments and the whole nine yards. I'd rather have every device separate in case it broke.

The only reason I got the 2542 is because when I called them and said my VWR wasn't working at all with Vista, they did a device change for me and sent me the 2542. They said that it just came out of beta, but it had undergone an extensive testing phase for about 4 or 5 months.

So, hopefully, this'll do the trick. No complaints here, and I'm pretty sure the majority of Vonage users use a Motorola 2100 series, especially because of the popularity I see here on the Forums with the 2142.

Posts: 6

I'm new to Vonage, but not Voip or routers. When I signed up earlier in March, I decided to pay the $60 upgrade and go with the all-in-one solution...so I thought.

I disconnected my wireless TrendNet and installed in it's place the Motorola VT2542 wireless router. The setup was a snap and when the voice service was established, I ran a few Voip speed/quality tests and made a few calls. So far so good Very Happy

Next was to test the wireless functionality. For the initial setup, I kept it simple - broadcast SAID and no encryption. I got a link quick enough, but the signal strength was poor. My quality % was high but the strength would float from good to poor. With my TrendNet, I was getting very good to excellent. The real kicker is that we're talking only 30-40 feet indoors.

I checked the antenna and tried my laptop, my wife's laptop, and my pocket pc. All had signal; but poor strength. This was OK for web browsing but I would loose VPN connections every other minute or so.

In the end, I returned the router for the "free" VT-2142. I first put it in front of the router but got better results putting the TrendNet router first. So I agree with the people that say let your router handle the QoS if it has that feature versus the Vonage devices. I use this setup with Uniden whole house cordless phones.

Good luck!