VOIP, Discussion, questions and answers

Randomizer

Wammer wrote: »

I am brand new to VOIP and haven't installed any software yet.

I had obviously heard of Skype, but read some of this thread and see that there are alternatives.

I read some of the links on Page 1 of this topic, but many of them date back to 2005 so I don't know if they are out of date.

I am considering signing up with VOIPBuster and would appreciate any feedback.

I would only be using it to call from the US to the UK. Probably just to landlines because, as far as I can see, it is expensive to calls mobiles at 16p/min.

To dial from the US do I just need 0044 before the number or do I need the code to make calls from the US which is 01144?

I would be using a netbook with a webcam to make the calls, no headset. Will this work OK?

What is the minimum amount of credit you can buy?

There will be echoes if you just use the built in Mic and Speaker of your laptop but it will work. Remember everything the other person say will get out of the speaker and go back to the mic so he or she will hear what he/she just said.

If you're VoIP provider is based in the US, you will need to dial 01144 but if its UK based then dial it like you are in UK (without the 44 or the 00)

I use Onesuite VoIP and it's US based so that what I do when calling numbers, overseas or not. Rates to UK landline is 1.9c or 1.3p and to UK mobile at 17.5c or 12p.

Minimum credit you can buy at Onesuite is $10 and its good forever as long as you use it once every 6 months.

Wammer

Thanks for the reply.

I ended up installing Voipbuster and was very happy with it. Didn't want to shell out on a headset until I tried it out and knew it would work.

It worked perfectly for calling the UK. So much so that I called every day and spent very little. The people I called said I could have been standing next to them it was so clear.

It came into its own when I had to call my credit card company in the UK. Last time I called them from the mobile and it cost almost £60 as I was kept on hold for so long. This time it cost pennies.

bbmike

paulofessex wrote: »

That is exactly the phone/s we have. We also have the addititonal handset. Infact that was the same company we purchased it from. Don't forget to have a look at the user guide (pdf) on that page before you purchase just to see how easy it is.

Help me please, can this phone be used to roam ie. in Spain etc or must it always be used in conjunction with it's base station. Is it possible to use the handset only in a cafe etc. which offers free WIFI to make calls. Sorry if this seems like a stupit question but I have never used one of these and dont understand a lot of the terms so any help would be appreciated. Also where do I get details of charges to phone landlines from a skype phone?

philipcooper

Has anyone ever used vonage voip ? Looking at getting it and just want to know there views ?

Graham1

philipcooper wrote: »

Has anyone ever used vonage voip ? Looking at getting it and just want to know there views ?

Plenty of past comments about Vonage in this thread.

Rather expensive, main advantage is a "plug in and go" solution so you don't have the hassle of configuring the adapter yourself.

achan891

We are soon moving into a shared house with WiFi (cable) but no landline. However, parents (living in Europe/Australia) aren't tech-savvy enough for skype-to-skype! Also it is a pain to miss calls when we are offline. So we would like to have the option for:

(1) people in UK/abroad to call us from their landline, preferably without requiring us to be online at the time (or where we'd get a message/short forwarded call e.g., to mobile if we are offline so we could then come online to take the call).

(2) us to call a landline abroad either from a phone (preferable) or from laptop.

We had thought about paying for a landline in the new flat, but seeing as the other housemates won't use it, we would need to pay for it ourselves.

I had thought of getting a skype subscription with call forwarding to a mobile when offline, but having sifted through various threads on this forum and others, it seems there are cheaper / better alternatives. But I am now a bit confused as to which option is actually best for achieving the above goals.

For example, should we get a UK landline number using sipgate.co.uk for incoming calls when on laptop? Should we buy a sip phone (whatever that is) for both incoming and outgoing calls? If yes, do we then use such a phone in conjunction with voip services like voipcheap etc? What's the cheapest reasonable quality such phone? Could we get such a phone for parents abroad and send it to them and then have them use voip services with the phone to get free calls (though obviously the initial outlay on such a phone could be high-ish)? Should we upgrade our mobiles and using skype on them when not on laptop (currently we have prepaid phones as we use them so little - around £5/month)?

If anyone can give advice about these sorts of questions, that would be much appreciated.

Many thanks,
Achan

p.s., also would using any of these services mess up our housemates' broadband access or speed or be likely to take us over any monthly limit?

buglawton

A real voip WiFi phone is unlikely to be worth the cost. A real voip SIP phone requires that you connect something special to the router.

KISS - keep it simple: Have them make a short call to your mobile then call them back via Skype. A Skype all-you-can-eat monthly subscription is around £8/month - unlimited calls to landlines in UK, Europe and Aus.

Also, many smartphones can have a Skype WiFi app installed - the phone will even ring if you use a Skype IN number - but leaving that app on all day would drain the battery.

tonyhamm

Bought a Nokia e72 mobile phone - it has a full SIP stack (i.e. VOIP hardware built into the phone) and have now sucessfully setup a betamax VOIP account and nearly setup a SIPgate incoming account on it (unfortunately could not recieve incoming calls I think people have had better luck with the e71).
VOIP all built in and nothing to connect to the router.

Went down to Mcdonalds in town, used their famous free wifi and was stunned to call my mate using VOIP over free WIFI with it no problems.

If I was roaming around Europe this could be very useful.

I also use the mobile inside the house over the WIFI to call out VOIP not too bad even without QoS setup on the router with its IP address.

Amazing! Bit of a shame I can't recieve VOIP calls on it, but made up anyway.
(The big mobile phone companies must have pressured Nokia to drop the SIP VOIP stack, because its not instantly available on the phone, and you have to download and install the software from Nokia to make it work)

buglawton

Had skype Lite on my ancient Nokia n78 for ages, works a treat on any Wifi, used it in Japan for example. If I subscribed to a Sype IN number it would ring if somone called that number. But I think that the idea of having an incoming number that works only if you are connected to a WiFi is a bit silly if travelling! I think Skype Lite is also avail for Android, you just install the app and log into Skype with a user name and password.

Jucky_Mucky

VOIP is just great, but today it is not working, have to blamt BT...