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Home Phone Options

M

Macnificant

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Feb 26, 2008
579
114
My wife and I currently use our iPhones as our only phones in the house but we have 2 children 5-7 yr old and they are starting to get calls from friends and we are thinking about getting a landline in our house.

I am looking for suggestions. My mother in law has Verzion Land line so I know that is an option but looking for other idea.

thought?
 
We went “mobile only” (using our iPhones), though to be perfectly honest, 98% of my business related communication is through xOIP services like Skype, Hangout, FT Video (and Audio).

That being said, we still wanted to keep our landline for a few reasons: the number at the time hadn’t been transitioned to our mobile (for some client contracts, etc.), the cellular voice in this area (on Verizon) is _ok_, but I have this thing about having a reliable fallback for emergencies. I specifically didn’t want an internet/IP based backup since that’s not nearly as reliable as good ol’ copper phone tech (in my experience).

So we went to minimal phone, no long distance, no extra services, and tossed an old answering machine on to deal with the occasional legit call - on our old/existing AT&T landline.

Our little girl uses her iPad for “calling”, and we’ve got it setup for just a very select group of friends (including a cousin), and it’s easy to screen, limit, ban numbers, review history, etc. The other caller doesn’t necessarily need an iOS/Apple device with options like Skype - which kind of brings my post full circle :D
 
This is pretty much the opposite of the way technology is heading.
Why not just let them use your phones on the occasion they want to talk? Or get them an iPhone to share that you keep but let them use? 5 and 7 still seems pretty young to be talking on the phone to people...
I used to have verizon home phone but we ditched it because we never used it anymore. We only have fios tv and Internet now no phone. We use our iPhones for the occasional call.
 
Macnificant said:
My wife and I currently use our iPhones as our only phones in the house but we have 2 children 5-7 yr old and they are starting to get calls from friends and we are thinking about getting a landline in our house.

I am looking for suggestions. My mother in law has Verzion Land line so I know that is an option but looking for other idea.

thought?
Click to expand...

http://ooma.com

http://ooma.com/products/basic

http://ooma.com/products/premier

I have been using the VOIP provider Ooma for a couple years and I'm happy with it. If your needs are simple they offer a basic plan where you just pay a few dollars a month to cover the taxes on the line. They also offer a full featured "premier" plan with call forwarding etc.

They just recently integrated the call blocking features of Nomorobo and that has completely stopped the spam callers for me.

You do have to buy the Ooma Telo gadget up front though for about $100.
 
I picked up a MagicJack a few years back when I started doing some work from home and didn't want to use my personal cell phone for business purposes. It's been great and very reliable. We bought a cordless phone system with a standard base and a couple of satellite phones. The base sits in the office with the home computer and the satellites are dispersed throughout the house. It works pretty much like every home phone line I've ever had even though it's a VOIP service. I believe the new model of the MagicJack doesn't have to be plugged into your computer at all so that would make set up even easier.
 
Because of location and no cable, the only provider is CenturyLink, which I use for my landline and DSL. Cell coverage isn't the best, nor is CL - but there's no other choice.

Wouldn't part with the landline because I know it will work during emergencies and power outages. Can't say the same for Internet no matter where one is located.

Technology is great - when it works.
 
If you want reliable landline you want one of the old ma bell providers. And you don't want the wiz bang packaged bundled deals. VOIP won't work if the power goes out, neither will cable.
 
I HIGHLY recommend MagicJack. Been using it for 2 years now. The service costs next to nothing and the call quality is fantastic. Haven't had any issues. Cool part is you can get the app on your iPhone and take your MagicJack calls through your smartphone when you aren't home. It's a very cheap, feature packed, and reliable option. Seriously, look into it.
 
Aspasia said:
Because of location and no cable, the only provider is CenturyLink, which I use for my landline and DSL. Cell coverage isn't the best, nor is CL - but there's no other choice.

Wouldn't part with the landline because I know it will work during emergencies and power outages. Can't say the same for Internet no matter where one is located.

Technology is great - when it works.
Click to expand...

I'm pretty much in agreement with you.

Internet, Skype, broadband, wifi and mobile (cell) phones are all fantastic, - I would find it exceedingly hard to live without them - but I must admit that the reassuringly reliable landline will long have a place in my home for precisely the reasons you set out.
 
i use obihai with google voice its been good and i setup my google voice account to call multiple numbers. There is an option to add 911 calls.
 
Weaselboy said:
http://ooma.com

http://ooma.com/products/basic

http://ooma.com/products/premier

I have been using the VOIP provider Ooma for a couple years and I'm happy with it. If your needs are simple they offer a basic plan where you just pay a few dollars a month to cover the taxes on the line. They also offer a full featured "premier" plan with call forwarding etc.

They just recently integrated the call blocking features of Nomorobo and that has completely stopped the spam callers for me.

You do have to buy the Ooma Telo gadget up front though for about $100.
Click to expand...

How is internet speeds while on Ooma? My wife works from home and is worried about slow internet speeds when someone is the phone while is in working.

Also how do you have it connected? Modem>Ooma>Router or Modem>Router>Ooma?

I have a Motorola SB6141 modem and Apple Airport Extreme router
 
richwoodrocket said:
This is pretty much the opposite of the way technology is heading.
Why not just let them use your phones on the occasion they want to talk? Or get them an iPhone to share that you keep but let them use? 5 and 7 still seems pretty young to be talking on the phone to people...
I used to have verizon home phone but we ditched it because we never used it anymore. We only have fios tv and Internet now no phone. We use our iPhones for the occasional call.
Click to expand...

Or get a third cell phone on a family plan and keep tabs on it. We've had a VOIP phone for about 5 years. It's $20 a month and we are thinking about dumping that.
 
Weaselboy said:
http://ooma.com

http://ooma.com/products/basic

http://ooma.com/products/premier

I have been using the VOIP provider Ooma for a couple years and I'm happy with it. If your needs are simple they offer a basic plan where you just pay a few dollars a month to cover the taxes on the line. They also offer a full featured "premier" plan with call forwarding etc.

They just recently integrated the call blocking features of Nomorobo and that has completely stopped the spam callers for me.

You do have to buy the Ooma Telo gadget up front though for about $100.
Click to expand...
Not having children I have no need for a land line presently, yet a good friend has the setup outlined above. He and his family really enjoy it. They prefer it over the more conventional landline with handsets that were in the home for years. When visiting I was impressed by the call quality and flexibility of the system. It's quite nice.
 
Ooma Telo: new vs older model

Weaselboy said:
http://ooma.com

http://ooma.com/products/basic

http://ooma.com/products/premier

I have been using the VOIP provider Ooma for a couple years and I'm happy with it. If your needs are simple they offer a basic plan where you just pay a few dollars a month to cover the taxes on the line. They also offer a full featured "premier" plan with call forwarding etc.

They just recently integrated the call blocking features of Nomorobo and that has completely stopped the spam callers for me.

You do have to buy the Ooma Telo gadget up front though for about $100.
Click to expand...

I'm looking at Ooma now. Amazon is selling both the latest model of the Ooma Telo (about a year old, I think) and the previous model. The recent model is actually cheaper than the previous model right now ($109 vs $131). Does anyone know the difference between the two - pros and cons of each? I'm guessing that Nomorobo, mentioned above is only on the newer model? Any advantages of the older model?

Thanks!

-Bob
 
Macnificant said:
Also how do you have it connected? Modem>Ooma>Router or Modem>Router>Ooma?

I have a Motorola SB6141 modem and Apple Airport Extreme router
Click to expand...

My parents have a cable modem and an Apple Airport Express router. I also bought the Ooma Telo USB wifi adapter and the unit is set up to work on the home network. The Telo unit is downstairs in the kitchen/family room which is one story down and on the opposite side of the house from the cable access, modem & Airport Express. On occasion it drops but we just reboot the Telo then it's good to go again.

Ideally I would have everything directly connected by cable & no wifi antenna except for the rotten skimpy way my parents' house is wired (one phone jack in the kitchen, one upstairs in the farthest corner of the house, & only one cable upstairs in a guest bedroom/office.

Still, they were able to port their old landline number and only pay ~$4 a month taxes/fees so the occasional drop out is no biggie.
 
Bob-o-Link said:
I'm looking at Ooma now. Amazon is selling both the latest model of the Ooma Telo (about a year old, I think) and the previous model. The recent model is actually cheaper than the previous model right now ($109 vs $131). Does anyone know the difference between the two - pros and cons of each? I'm guessing that Nomorobo, mentioned above is only on the newer model? Any advantages of the older model?
Click to expand...

The newer model removed some of the buttons from the front and according to a rep in the Ooma forums there are some hardware design differences internally, but beyond that they work the same and provide the same features. Either would get you Nomorobo.

CrickettGrrrl said:
I set up Ooma for my parents 2-3 years ago and it works great --except, like everyone else with a phone, they're inundated with scam & sales calls. Is Nomorobo working only for Ooma Premiere ---or for basic as well?
Click to expand...

Nomorobo is for Premier accounts only.
 
gooberq said:
i use obihai with google voice its been good and i setup my google voice account to call multiple numbers. There is an option to add 911 calls.
Click to expand...

I've got the same setup along with a dedicated battery backup in case we lose power. I've been using google voice for a couple of years now. It's been reliable for me.

Forgot to mention I have my google voice number ring my cell phone as well just in case.
 
mscriv said:
I picked up a MagicJack a few years back when I started doing some work from home and didn't want to use my personal cell phone for business purposes. It's been great and very reliable. We bought a cordless phone system with a standard base and a couple of satellite phones. The base sits in the office with the home computer and the satellites are dispersed throughout the house. It works pretty much like every home phone line I've ever had even though it's a VOIP service. I believe the new model of the MagicJack doesn't have to be plugged into your computer at all so that would make set up even easier.
Click to expand...

Just went with Magic Jack. If you feel the need for a home phone, $2 a month is hard to beat.
 
mscriv said:
Cool, I hope it will work for you as well as it has for us. :)
Click to expand...

I had VOIP with Vonage for about 5 years so I was no stranger, but They wanted $24/month. Then we went Suddenlink which they advertised as real phone, except that when Internet went out, phone went out. They were $15/$20 after first year. Magic Jack was $160 for 6 years. What a regular phone runs for 8 months. What's cool is that I can answer home calls on my cell phone with MJ app. Who knows, on the renewal, we might just dump the home phone.
 
Last edited:
We got rid of our landline a few months ago, switching to VoIP (AT&T). Overall, we're paying a bit less than before. Our Internet service has gone out for a few minutes a couple of times, but we have cell phones as backup. I figure that if both go out things have really gotten bad and a landline wouldn't help much anyway. I also considered keeping just our cell service, but the quality isn't quite as good.
 
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