The other Ooma (Core) device was installed using AT&T DSL with number porting. This was a “Nightmare and a half” and I hope that I can gift some pointers to anyone reading this review as a step in the right direction. If you want to keep your existing telephone number, you need to request a “number port” from Ooma. This is a basic form that you fill out and complete, pay a $39 fee and wait a minimum of 6 weeks. This is the time that it takes for Ooma to port your existing number from AT&T as they had mentioned to me that the FCC is involved and this is why there is so much bureaucratic wait time.

Unfortunately, there is no easy way to keep DSL and operate an Ooma device. AT&T recommends a “dry loop” service. This means that your phone line will be disconnected and you will have an internet connection through a non-working phone jack. DSL works by your existing telephone number attached to your internet connection. Believe me, AT&T will give you the “run-around” for days and days and tell you how impossible this is to do and by the end of all of this calamity…you’ll just want to return this Ooma device back to Amazon and forget about “free” phone service forever.

Persistence pays off and this is what you would have to do. Step one…disconnect your internet DSL service, but request that your telephone number remain active. Your phone number must remain active in order for Ooma to port this number and it must remain in active status for at least 6-8 weeks. If for some reason you lose the number…there is about a week or so time frame to get your number back before it may be released to someone else. You will also lose your internet service…I would recommend finding another internet service in the meantime and go back to AT&T after your commitment is over. I went with Comcast as they are having a sale. Step two…wait for your number to port over and you’re done.

If you don’t care about losing your telephone number with this changeover, then you should have lesser problems. Just request for a “dry loop” change.

I received an email from Ooma in regards to their changes in terms and conditions. What was suppose to be “free” forever has some “hick-ups”. Phone calls up to 5,000 minutes are “free”. Anything after that, you will be charged. That’s over 80 hours of calling per month and well over what I will ever use, but if you see yourself needing more…this plan is not for you. Ooma Premier has decreased to $9.99. 411 calls are now $0.99. Ooma encourages you to use “800-GOOG-411″ or “800-FREE-411″ as these are both free calls.

Ooma customers who bought through a “club store” or the Telo: You get 5,000 minutes per month. Premiere subscription rate is also $9.99/month. If you pay the yearly $119.99 fee, your number port or Telo handset is free. After your first full year of service…a $11.75 per year regulatory fee will be charged to you. You get 60 days of free support and after that it will be $39.99 per year.

Overall, this is still an awesome product. I think that with Amazon and the “club stores” pushing this business as much as they have…Ooma became bigger than they knew possible. I think that the FCC may have imposed stricter guidelines on them and this may be where the extra charges are stemming from. Ooma to Ooma calls are quite clear. I had a complaint from the AT&T representative on the other end that she was having a hard time hearing me…but that was only after I had revealed to her that I was calling using Ooma already.

I recommend Ooma. If you have DSL…disconnect your internet and find an internet service free of a phone line. If the power goes out in your household…you’re not going to have a telephone as your internet will be down. My Comcast went down unexpectedly for a few hours twice last year and I was without a phone both of these time. Ooma Core has free Caller ID and this is helpful.

I hope this helps…
Rating: 4 / 5

Once setup there is a unique dial tone. Call are very clear. It is definitely as good as a land line or cell phone. I have mine connected to a Panasonic dect 6.0 phones. Works absolutely great. Both incoming and outgoing caller id works great.

I also made an international call to cell phone and it worked great. So far so good. I just started the port process for my number which they say takes 3-4 weeks. I haven’t had to call customer service yet so I can’t comment on it.

My overall experience is great. The MY OOMA section of the website works great. You can see call logs, check voicemail. pre pay for international service and manage your premier or basic.

A few things. The premier service is 119.99 for the first year which includes either a free port (39.99) or free dect 6.0 phone (49.99). It’s at least worth it for the first year my opinion of course. Also after the first year there is a 12.00 per year surcharge. Other than that it’s a great product that works well for the money. My phone bill used to be 80$ per month. Now if you calculate over the course of 1 year 30$. The ooma pays for itself in no time and from then on its all cash in your pocket.

Rating: 5 / 5

For those who don’t know, Ooma is an internet telephone company. This means it uses the Telo to make and receive telephone calls, instead of using your local phone company and its wired network, Ooma uses your internet connection. Companies that use internet to make and complete telephone calls are using Voice Over Internet Protocol usually referred to as VOIP. Older phone technology to a home is often referred to as POTS (plain old telephone service). With Ooma you can replace your current home phone, or you can use Ooma to supplement it. Ooma lets a customer decide how they want to use their service with respect to existing POTS service.

[...]. This will allow the Telo to make and receive calls using your current home phone number. Your number will be switched to Ooma, but still be in your name (you can port it to any other phone company if you want). Ooma becomes your host.

A reason people purchase a product like the Telo is to have low cost phone service. Most VOIP (including Ooma) do not discriminate between long distance and local calls. Ooma permits up to 5,000 outgoing minutes of calls within the U.S. per month at no charge. Incoming calls are unlimited and not timed.

Ooma has established itself as a high voice quality company with its first product (the Ooma Core). The Telo continues to build on that tradition. With any Ooma product voice quality is usually as good as a problem free home phone. The Telo builds on this, by offering higher quality voice than any traditional phone company, and better voice quality than most other VOIP companies by using a proprietary wireless handset. This looks like a traditional land line type wireless phone, but has much better call clarity than is possible for most other providers. This is one of the new, improved features of the Telo.

Ooma is also very easy to set up and operate. Many people report setting up an Ooma device within 10-20 minutes from the time they open the box. This means they can make and receive calls literally within minutes of getting their Ooma device home. Set up involves a physical set up, where the Telo is placed between the router and cable / dsl modem or behind the router. [...]and follow the step by step instructions for a free activation. Part of the activation usually includes selection of a local phone number. Once you have completed the online activation, the Telo should be able to send and receive calls in minutes.

The Telo IS a work of art, it looks very nice, and has a wonderful aesthetic appeal. There are pressure sensitive buttons, and just about every button, plus a lot more is lit up with beautiful blue LED’s. When a line is busy, or the hub isn’t working properly the color of the appropriate indicator changes from blue to red. For example if you pick up the phone, the line 1 button will no longer glow blue, but will turn red to indicate line 1 in use. If there is any connection problem, the Ooma trademark symbol will glow red, this is very easy to see even across a large room. It usually indicates an internet failure.

The Telo works with wireless Ooma proprietary handsets which are optional. These handsets will support high quality (better than regular phone quality) calls between Telo users. The Telo continues to support traditional phones as well. You do not need a Telo handset to make and receive calls, your old phones will work just fine. In my home, I have disconnected the phone company wires outside the house, and plugged my Ooma Telo into one of my jacks. This permits the Telo to run all the existing phones in my home as if they were still attached to the phone company. The difference is not getting a monthly phone bill.

The Telo has a more advanced processor and is overall a more capable device than the older Ooma Hub (the Hub is the primary component of the older Ooma Core system). Ooma has promised new features to be released, which will be restricted to the Telo alone. This makes the Telo a natural upgrade path from the Core in terms of overall capability.

Current Ooma Core customers can upgrade to the Telo, and switch their account entirely to the new Telo device. The older Core / Hub can be sold or discarded. The old Ooma hub can be reactivated for a $[...] one time fee, at which point it will be considered as a new service.

The Telo is superior in almost all regards to the older Ooma hub.

The Ooma Telo will continue to provide free voicemail as the older Core systems did. This means voicemail will be supported by the Telo adapter, by your phone or online via the Ooma website. However the basic Ooma Telo plan will not include incoming caller-id name (it will include incoming caller-id number). This is a change from the older Ooma Core system. Ooma has indicated the cost of incoming caller-name lookup was significant, and that by eliminating this expense on future basic plans Ooma will be more viable.

As with all Ooma devices, Ooma Premier is free for the first 60 days. During the first 2 months, a new user will be able to make free calls to Ooma technical support. Thus any set up issues can be handled by a live Ooma customer service representative. After 60 days, Telo users are put on a Telo basic tier, where future support is handled via email and through the Ooma forums which remain free.

In summary, the new Telo is a great product. In years 2 and beyond there will be a $[...] per year regulatory recovery fee for Telo users. This is new for the Telo, those who bought new Ooma Core systems do not have to pay an annual fee ever. The fee is to cover regulatory costs Ooma is charged, not to charge for making or receiving calls.
Rating: 4 / 5