Home Phone Options ?

[Tim Boger]

We cut the home phone line and cable TV almost a year ago and have been fine with the streaming options for the TV use, however, our cell phones get such poor reception at home that we need to set up something better.

I just saw a home phone system that "pairs" to your cell phone ... seems like that would not be an improvement.

What are my choices? What has worked well for you?

Thanks,
Tim

[David Weaver]

buy a republic phone that works on wireless. It's $5 a month and you can port your number to it and use it anywhere you have a wireless connection. The cheapest moto e phone is $100 and you could just leave it in the house connected to a charger. Talk and text are unlimited for $5 and it's standalone (no computer needs to be paired to it).

[William Payer]

Look at Ooma (www.ooma.com (http://www.ooma.com)). It is internet based and the cost is surprisingly cheap ( under $4 per month) We have had it for about 5 years now and the reception is the same as a land line from the bug companies. You do have to buy their box, which can run anywhere from $99 to $179 depending on where.when you get it. Since our land line was costing us $70 per month, we paid for the electronics in 2.5 months and were saving from that point on.

[Larry Frank]

Have you checked to see if other cellphone carriers would give you a better signal. Sometimes my Verizon gets a terrible signal and Sprint is great.

[David Weaver]

That's the beauty of the Republic and other similar services. Cell strength doesn't matter because they go through wireless in the house. Unlimited talk and text with cell coverage is another $5 from Republic ($10 total for in the house wireless as well as cell coverage outside the house anywhere)

[Jim Matthews]

Does your service offer a "femtocell"?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000600341

[Tim Boger]

Jim ... I don't know for sure, I recall speaking with Verizon 'bout a year ago about our reception and they suggested a repeater I think .... I need some time to do some research on all the suggestions here.

I'm leaning towards something using the existing internet signal that we already pay for, our download speed is around
50-55 Mbps

Thanks to all that have commented thus far, I appreciate the advice.

[Rich Engelhardt]

We've had Ooma now for a few months and once I figured out the firewall settings on the internet router, things have been fine.

[Tim Boger]

Thanks for the info Rich .... there is no monthly cost after the equipment, correct?

Tim

[Rich Engelhardt]

Monthly cost is about $3.00 - which is taxes.

The Ooma device itself ran about $129.-- from Amazon and had a $30.00 rebate from Ooma.
I got online with Ooma support trying to get the rebate & they had no clue as to what was needed for the rebate.

I contacted Amazon support to find out what was needed for the rebate, and they wanted to know if I wanted them (Amazon) to cut me a check for $30.00 or credit my credit card $30.00!
I told Amazon the rebate was supposed to be from Ooma, not Amazon. They said not to worry about it - they would fight it out with Ooma!

Total; cost of the Ooma is $99 to $129 for the basic voice over IP (Ooma) device.
Ooma premium runs about $10.00 a month if you want it.
All you are required to pay each month is the taxs on the local services - which in my area runs $3.00 and change.

Our internet connection is through ATT- Uverse and they supply the internet router. The Ooma plugs into that device. That device has firewall settings that required a little tweaking to keep the Ooma from dropping the connection. Once I played around with them, the connection is fine.
Our internet connect is 20Mb.

Anything else you need to know, don't hesitate to ask. I'm sold on the Ooma and regret not making the change years ago.
Our basic landline was running us about $30.00 a month.

[Jim Becker]

If you use one of the major carriers for your wireless phones, get a Microcell from them to provide better service at home. It uses your Internet service as a pipeline to their network when you are at home. I've been running the ATT Microcell for years now because we have nearly zero reception inside our house for several reasons.

[Matt Meiser]

The femtocell/microcell devices work well. My parents had one when they were on Sprint.

We're going into our second year of no landline--no regrets.

[Jim Matthews]

I'm a fan of this solution, as suggested by Rich.

We switched to VOIP for our phone, first with Vonage - now with our internet provider.
When it's out, so is nearly everything else.

We made the switch because of frequent visits from our local 911 responders in our first months, here.
Squirrels nest in the terminal box in our development.

It has worked without a hitch for nearly 7 years.

To test the principle, without buying the Ooma - see if your IP has a cheap starter plan.
If they you can cancel without penalties, it's worth a trial.