what are some disadvantages in using VOIP services such as vonage?

Question

im thinking of getting vonage or some other voip provider but all i can find is the "great" things about them. i just want to know some disadvantages like not being able to recieve calls or make calls and the like. thanks

Answer 1

Voip is undeniably cool. You can do so much more than with a regular phone, but you're smart not to let yourself get carried away before weighing all the pros and cons.

Things you need to know:

1. If your broadband connection goes out for any reason, your phone won't work at all.
2. If the power goes out, your phone won't work unless you have a backup power supply (a Uninterruptible Power Supply, or UPS).
3. The call quality may be less than a regular phone if your connection is really busy, or it might be way better if your connection is fast enough.
4. You may experience a lag in gaming or browsing while making or receiving voip phone calls. Again, this is totally dependent on your connection speed.
5. It may not be compatible with a home security system.
6. You could have trouble faxing.

All in all, there is so much you can do with voip that it's hard to count it out. Many of the disadvantages have pretty easy workarounds, like UPSs for power or backup landlines for home security. I use voip.com's service and it really changed everything for us.

We pay $19.95/mo for unlimited calling in the US, Canada and Puerto Rico, which is nice, but the best part is that when we have to travel out of town for our son's medical visits, we can basically take our home phone with us. It really helps keep things from getting too crazy.

Answer 2

Is your VoIP provider SIP (consultation initiated protocol) and/or is your hardware SIP compatable? If the two are, there should not be a situation... I extremely have SIP VoIP engaged on a instant router with DSL, yet at first, I had a cable modem and the Linksys PAP2, and it labored fantastic for me. additionally, your VoIP provider might ought to do some configuration on your ATA, which they are able to frequently do remotely once you get tech help on the line (mine does, see source field for extra documents.) BTW, in case you have 2 ports on the Linksys - did you attempt plugging your telephone into the two? One may be lively an the different not (this happend to me as quickly as...) one extra element to attempt; means down the Linksys and wait a minute in the previous plugging it lower back in. Tech help had me try this as quickly as by way of fact in spite of if my provider labored, the ringer on my digital telephone does not artwork - tech had me re-set the Linksys and all labored fantastic after that. good success!

Answer 3

I use Vonage and Love it.

The ONLY problem I have had is when I am uploading a file to my webserver adn try to use the phone at the same time. I get intermitten breaks in the conversation. Other than that, for the price and features, it cannot be beat.

Answer 4

viop may make your broadband connection slower when using the phone. house alarms may need special filters to use the phoneline and tivos. yuor inet goes down and so does your phone. so they wont work in blackouts. tech support is a long process at times. and sometimes you ahve to configure the router and network to make it work.

Answer 5

If you were to have disconected internet due to line faliure or cause of ubnpayed bills your phone would also go out(packet 8) is better anyway.. thats what i have... its cheaper than vonage
:)

Answer 6

-When the power goes out so does your telephone