Ooma Phone Update: Another Satisfied Customer
A couple of folks asked me for an update about my Ooma VoIP Telephone system, which I bought for $158 to replace my POTS landline in early December and provides me with unlimited free local and long distance “forever”.
Well, it’s been working great for the last 4.5 months. The best compliment I can give about it is that I never think about it, just like with my old landline. I’ve never experienced an outage yet; The dial tone is always there. (I hope I didn’t just jinx myself. You can follow Ooma on Twitter for status updates.)
Caller ID and all that jazz works fine. I can send and receive faxes. I check my voicemail online from work or when traveling. I have read complaints about dealing with Ooma customer service, but I wouldn’t know because I’ve never had any problems. I already shared my number porting experience.
I don’t have the new Ooma Telo nor do I pay for $10/month Ooma Premier service, which offers things like a second line, better PureVoice clarity, enhanced Voicemail, and other stuff I don’t need. I’m happy for the 25% of customers that reportedly do pay for Premier, because it helps ensure that my service stays free. 
At $158 spread over the last 4.5 months, I’m now down to $35 a month for Ooma and always dropping. As for current pricing, Amazon has it at $245, back up close to full retail. Right now, Radio Shack has it $180 before a $15 off $125 plus free shipping link and plus another 2.4% back, both available from BigCrumbs, for a total net price of $161.
Update: Sold out at Radio Shack… CompUSA.com has it for $200, and you can get 10% back via Bing Cashback for a net price of $180.
Find more in Budgeting, Frugal Living | 4/21/10, 6:02am | Trackback
April 21st, 2010 at 6:08 am
I had never heard of Ooma until your first post. I was a bit skeptical but it perked my interest and I did the research. Recently my local Fry’s reported in their add they had refurbished Hub’s for $140. I jumped on it. So far, so good as well, but my number porting isn’t complete yet.
I even went ahead and picked up a Scout on Ebay for $38, shipped. Spent a bit more than you but not too bad.
First REAL test is today. I have a four-hour conference call and will be using the scout (and thereby the Hub) for the whole time.
April 21st, 2010 at 6:49 am
The ooma telo pricing changed for taxes/fees, it was $12/year but now it’s a monthly cost based on where you live. Around $3.50/month for NYC. It’s still a great deal but just a heads up.
April 21st, 2010 at 7:43 am
The Ooma Hub (pictured here) is likely to completely be phased out soon for the Ooma Telo, so anyone looking to buy now may want to go for the Telo instead unless you find a great deal on the original Hub.
April 21st, 2010 at 8:39 am
I don’t even see the point of having a phone apart from a cell phone?
April 21st, 2010 at 9:02 am
I attempted to use one and had nothing but problems. The device could receive calls but I couldn’t be heard and I couldn’t dial out. After getting the run around from their customer service for 3+ weeks, I decided to return it to Costco. My dad has one and is like you, absolutely no issues. If only I had been so lucky.
April 21st, 2010 at 9:12 am
My wife refuses to not have one, and when you’ve gotten rid of the monthly fee… why not?
Besides, I much prefer to give my home number to business then my personal cell phone number. I don’t want to start receiving surveys or courtesy calls to my cell.
April 21st, 2010 at 9:25 am
I really only have two complaints with Ooma: first, I have had all sorts of trouble faxing. In fact, I have mostly given up and switched to using eFax services because it’s so hard. Second, Ooma announced last year that they were going to support Google Voice Extensions on both the Hub and Telo. I know a number of people bought Hubs on that basis. Then they reneged on that and decided to only support GVE on the Telo, in the hopes that existing Hub owners would upgrade. That knocked their trustworthiness score down several points in my book.
April 21st, 2010 at 10:14 am
What a coincidence! Amazon’s lighting deal in the goldbox section is selling this phone at $179.99 right now. It usually last for about 2 hours. Now I need to determine whether or not to buy one, or stay happy with my Droid.
April 21st, 2010 at 10:27 am
This is an Amazon.com Gold Box deal right now for $179.99!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/goldb.....p_nav_gb27
April 21st, 2010 at 10:29 am
It’s a Gold Box discount on Amazon for the next 90 minutes. $179.99
April 21st, 2010 at 10:56 am
Jonathon, you must have started a run at Radio Shack because they’re out out of stock now! Anyone know of another good price?
April 21st, 2010 at 11:07 am
Is there any benefit to getting the newer Ooma Telo model over the Hub + Scout?
April 21st, 2010 at 11:16 am
I don’t remember you mentioning BigCrumbs before. Do you use it regularly? How does it compare to bing cashback?
April 21st, 2010 at 12:20 pm
It’s working like a charm from last 12 months including fax. It paid of itself considering what I was paying for land line. I couldn’t be happier.
April 21st, 2010 at 12:46 pm
Now out of stock at Radio Shack.
April 21st, 2010 at 2:25 pm
Doh! on Radio Shack. Just checked and Amazon Gold Box looks gone too.
CompUSA.com has it for $200, and you can get 10% back via Bing Cashback for a net price of $180.
Ooma Telo has some improvements, but also is subject to an FCC fee of $12 per year, every year after the 1st year. I wanted to avoid that since the new Telo features didn’t interest me very much.
April 22nd, 2010 at 4:12 am
I just hit my 6month anniversary with OOMA and it’s been fantastic! No complaints and no monthly fees. At this point it’s paid for itself and it’s all savings from here on out.
April 22nd, 2010 at 7:00 am
Just read an article in Forbes magazine talking about how the OOMA business model might be flawed. Basically they’re saying OOMA is selling a piece of hardware that can easily be duplicated via software on a PC. They’re anticipating Google eventually getting into the market with free software.
I’m also wondered how the FCC will deal with OOMA technology (e.g. where will they get their monthly FCC slice of the pie when there are no bills?).
April 22nd, 2010 at 7:15 am
I love my Telo set up… works great except for faxing (may be my wiring). Can send, but not receive. Have had to deal with CS a few times and all the time has been a pleasure, either live or via email. Just wish the Google Voice Extensions was supported in basic service and not only Premier.
April 22nd, 2010 at 7:47 am
I use google voice in conjunction with gizmo5 I get free unlimited calls this way the phone number from google forwards to all my phones (prepay cells too). I get a ton of features with google voice and I can take gizmo5 with me wherever I go (as long as I have a laptop w/ me or a wifi phone). You can’t beat free.
April 22nd, 2010 at 10:06 am
What about Magic Jack? Clark Howard is always talking about that. Anyone tried it?
April 22nd, 2010 at 11:48 am
Can anybody talk about their experiences with OOMA and home security systems? I’m interested but if it’s not going to work with my alarm system then all bets are off.
April 24th, 2010 at 8:10 am
I considered OOMA but chose an a la carte voip provider. There are many of them out there; I went with callcentric.com, based on dslreports recommendations, combined with a $25 PAP2 router bought on ebay. My costs are about $6/mo, unlimited inbound calls, and a bit under 2c/min for outbound calling. With google voice, the outbound calling can be free. The quality is excellent; can’t speak to support because I never had to use it. Once gizmo5 opens up again, I definitely want to look into that.
May 3rd, 2010 at 11:39 am
Yikes! $3.50/month for Ooma’s “taxes and fees”on top of the $180-$250 device cost. If you want caller-ID names that’s another $10/mo for premier service. I personally feel CID is a basic feature every phone system should have. $200 Ooma + $120 premier + $42 taxes = $362 year 1. Add $162 each subsequent year. Ooma is no deal at all.
My cable company offers all those features for $19/mo. Assuming taxes are the same $3.50/mo it will take me almost 2 years just to break even on buying an Ooma.
It’s crazy to pre-pay for 2 years of service just to get a savings after year 2. Especially when a company like Ooma has changed its policy over the last 6 months from free to $11.75/year to $42/year ($3.50/mo). At this rate in 2 years Ooma will be $15/month.
Within the next 2 years Google will have opened their Gizmo5 + Google Voice offerings. Buy a $50 Linksys ATA box and get everything Ooma offers for free from Google. Or maybe for the cost of taxes which Ooma also charges. At this point even Skype is cheaper on a per month basis than Ooma.
Anyone not already an Ooma customer should seriously think twice before getting tied into that company. Any business that changes its fees from free to $42/year within six months obviously doesn’t have a handle on what it takes to keep running their business. One good competitor, like Google’s Gizmo5, and Ooma will be out of business.
May 3rd, 2010 at 3:25 pm
You must have misread something somewhere. Caller-ID is included in the basic service. You do not have to subscribe to Premier. As for the $3.50 fee… you have to pay for it with the newer “Telo” hardware… but if you can find older hardware (like I recently did) you can avoid those fees. As for the “$200″ up-front cost… I paid $140 for my refurbished Hub.
As my local phone company (as well as my cable company’s “digital phone” service) charges closer to $35 per month for a line with caller-ID I will recover my costs in more like four months. Also, I am paying $0 per month over that initial expense.
While Ooma has been guilty of changing their policies… it has been relative to the model hardware you purchase. Even today if you purchase an older “Ooma Core” equipment (like I did) you can still get the rates that correspond to that equipment.
I’m also pleased to report that my number porting was successfully completed last week.
May 3rd, 2010 at 4:18 pm
@Tim – I’ve never paid a monthly service fee for Ooma *Core* either, and I get caller ID and online-accessible voicemail for free as well. I recommend the Hub over Telo unless you really need the new features. You don’t even need the Hub if you don’t want a 2nd line.
@Alan Wild – How long did your number port take? Just curious.
May 3rd, 2010 at 5:32 pm
I submitted the last bit of paperwork to Ooma on 4/13 they had it all filed with the necessary parties on 4/15. Number switched over on the afternoon of 4/30.
May 4th, 2010 at 2:51 pm
@Alan, I see your point about the discontinued Hub if you are lucky enough to get one. All of my comments are accurate for the newer Telo. CallerID names are only with premier service on the Telo. I’d have to look for the discontinued Hub to avoid these ever increasing fees from Ooma and to get Caller-ID names without having to buy premier service.
Frankly with the Hub being discontinued Ooma is going to have a harder time gaining new customers selling the Telo with those fees and basic features moved to a $10/month premier service. My break even with an Ooma Hub bought from Amazon ($225) is about 11 months while a comaprable featured Telo would take 3 years for me to break even. That kills the Telo as a viable option in my book. Ooma has a rough road ahead when Hubs are sold out and only Telos are for sale.
Anyone looking at Ooma alternatives and willing to wait do a search for articles on Gizmo5 and Google Voice. They have recently stopped new sign-ups but that is how Google does things while they ramp up for a launch. They did the same with GrandCentral before it became Google Voice. Instead of buying a discontinued Ooma hub I’ll give Google through 2010 to launch its VoIP beta. As noted earlier I’m only paying $20/month so my break even is a year on a Hub and 3 years on a comparable featured Telo. It’s worth the wait.
May 4th, 2010 at 5:52 pm
@Tim Since I don’t own a Telo I can’t say for sure, but I believe you are wrong on the CallerID point. At least that’s the impression I get reading:
http://www.ooma.com/products/ooma-telo/features
and
http://www.ooma.com/products/ooma-hub/features
Notice the second bullet that specifically mentioned Caller ID and Call Waiting at no extra charge.
As for Gizmo5, I happen to have both a Google Voice number and a Gizmo5 account and I have used the combination to make calls. However, I was rather disappointed in sound quality. I would occasionally experience echoes or audio dropouts that made conversations difficult and operating a touch-tone IVR system near impossible. I have a lot of hope for Gizmo5 in the future, but in my limited experience, Ooma provides service as good or better then the VOIP solution I was receiving from Comcast, whereas Gizmo5 was clearly worse.
May 4th, 2010 at 7:54 pm
I have the Ooma telo with three handset units – $11.75 per year starting the second year of service without Premier service. Caller ID with names works just fine as does call waiting.
May 5th, 2010 at 9:57 am
@Matt Please re-read my comments. I never stated the services didn’t work. I wrote you need premier service to get CID names with the Telo. Also, your $11.75/year fees have increased to approximately $3.50/month or $42/year. Check out http://www3.ooma.com/tax_calculator.php And be prepared for even more taxes very soon. You will see a blank area on that page where Ooma plans to add state and local taxes. Most estimates put those at near $1/mo. So soon expect to pay around $54/year in taxes and fees not $11.75/year. Ooma terms you signed up on allow them to continue to change these taxes and fees as they have done several times already. I don’t mean to burst your bubble, just pointing out facts that many don’t realize when buying the service. I hope this allows others to understand exactly what they are getting into.
@Alan CallerID names and numbers are free only with the Hub. CallerID numbers but NOT names are free with the Telo. I wish I were mistaken but Ooma has intentionally confused yet another person with the sales pitch to make their free service sound more appealing. Telo CallerID NAMES are only included with a premier subscription for $10/month. See http://www.ooma.com/premier/features
I don’t know about you but callerID numbers without the names might as well be no callerID at all. Ooma isn’t lying but they know people think callerID includes names.
From my point of view its Ooma being intentionally confusing and deceiving as most people, Alan included, think Telo’s callerID includes names for free. Since Ooma gives 60 days of free premier service many people don’t realize their free callerID won’t include names until the premier service runs out. By that time the people have ported their number and are past the 30 day return policy. Very sneaky on Ooma’s behalf.
Alan, have you used Gizmo5 with a Linksys PAP2? I have used it many times, which is why I recommended it, and it was as clear as the Ooma Telo’s service. It’s going to be a great product backed by a company with staying power. Another commenter mentioned using the PAP2 with another VoIP service. The nice part about open ATAs like the PAP2 is you can use them with any open VoIP service. The other commenter will be able to use his same hardware and switch to Gizmo5 very easily. I wish that were the case with the investment into the Ooma hardware.
May 5th, 2010 at 1:21 pm
TIM: You are incorrect on many of your “facts.”
I DO NOT have the premier service and CID WITH NAMES and call-waiting all work just fine with my Telo.
Also, my $11.75/year fees have NOT increased at all. If you go to your own notes site, it clearly states at the bottom of the page, “* A lower charge may be applicable subject to offers at the time of purchase. If you are an Ooma customer, click here to login and see what applies to your account.” My account clearly states the following: You are required to pay $11.75 per year starting the second year of service.
There is no fee increase… it is an either.or situation; NOT both.
I am not sure where you got your information from, but its facts are incorrect.
Now, keep in mind that I was set up on January 5th, 2010; way past their free Premier test period. Fees and pricing may have changed to new customers, but please do not speak for everyone out there. It’s obvious that you do not like like Ooma, but I will tell you that I have had nothing but great experiences with them and their service. I have great call quality and fantastic versatility for what I deem an exceptional price.
You are obviously wrong on many of your “facts.” Please refrain from commenting on services and equipment that you do not own and are only guessing about.
May 10th, 2010 at 11:12 am
I just got the Ooma service – it works perfectly but my internet connection speed has gone down significantly – fm 1 mbps to 200 kbps down speed which is ridicuouls – any way i can get this to increase?
May 10th, 2010 at 1:43 pm
Joshua: hmmm… not sure what is going on there… I’d call your ISP and ask them for a reset…. see if that help… I have Ooma running and stlll have 18.6 Mb/s, but even so, I did not see any drop in service when I connected Ooma. You could also try powering evenything down in this order… computer, router, Ooma and Modem… and then bring them up in reverse order and see if that helps.
May 10th, 2010 at 1:46 pm
I’m not sure why you would be seeing that significant of a change in performance. That said, I DID NOT follow their standard setup recommendation. Rather than plugging the Ooma into my cable modem and then plugging the router into the modem, I left my router connected directly to the modem and plugged the Ooma up behind the router.
I did not have to make any changes to firewall rules. However, I did use the QoS functions of my router to give the Ooma’s MAC address a higher priority then normal traffic.
You *MAY* see better throughput with a setup like this as your normal traffic would not have to pass through the Ooma. Here’s a more detailed explanation:
http://dailybeagle.com/2009/09.....-a-router/
May 20th, 2010 at 10:47 am
Matt, it is you who are wrong. I checked with Ooma. You should not be getting incoming caller ID names if 1) You own a Telo that was not upgraded from an Ooma Core system or 2) you have a Telo and are not on the premier plan. It is possible you have entered names into your address book to match the friends you know but it will not display caller ID names for all incoming calls. If your system is working differently you are the only one. Stop telling people they will get caller ID names with a base Telo (no premier service). That is NOT true.
As for your fees. Dennis Peng says Ooma is currently not increasing Telo fees. New Telo customers pay monthly fees. Old Telo customers (Matt) pay $11.75/year and Ooma Core owners pay nothing. Dennis said the Telo TOS is written so they can change your fees at anytime and thats always a possibility. But the Ooma Core TOS you agree to when signing up makes Ooma core owners free of fees. So it is possible your 11.75 could go to monthly if Ooma decides. For new customers reading this, your fees will be monthly on a Telo (none on a core).
Some of the many Ooma forum posts that back up what I found out actually talking to Ooma employees.
http://www.ooma.com/forums/vie.....038;t=7614
http://www.ooma.com/forums/vie.....038;t=7527
Or search for Ooma fees and Telo caller ID names.
My facts are dead on. I hope this makes things clear for future buyers of Ooma. If anyone wants to verify my facts they can call Ooma or check out the Ooma forums. A Telo owner without Premier service should not get incoming caller ID names. No matter how much Matt tries to bully here he is WRONG and giving you false information.
May 20th, 2010 at 12:25 pm
@Tim: First off, if you looks at my past posts, I always used the words “I” and “my” an my point of reference. I have never tried to bully anyone here. I was speaking only from my frame of reference. It was you who told ME what I had and telling me that I was wrong. I still stand by what my service is and has been. I do in fact get CID with names and am NOT on the Premier Service and was NOT an upgraded Core user. The CID with names is combined with names in my address book. Address-book entries come in in Lower-case (as I have them entered that way) and non entries come in in Upper-case. As for the possibility of a price increase and the terms of the TOS agreement, show me a TOS that does not rule that codicil out.
Basically there are number of TOS agreements and boxes and versions out there, and that is what you should say. There is no one right answer to this. The TOS are on the device box when purchased; and apparently there are number of different versions depending on date of purchase, model purchased and box TOS information.
But we thank you for all your hard work. We understand that Ooma is not for you and you don’t like, but please acknowledge that there are some people that it works well for and are happy with their purchase and quality of service and terms.
May 21st, 2010 at 11:19 am
Matt, I made no comment on the quality of service or the happiness of customers so there is nothing for me to acknowledge. Don’t try to put words in my mouth or steer the discussion away from Ooma features & fees. I was giving people facts about what services THEY ACTUALLY get for the money. You are the one correcting me and telling me to refrain from posting when my comments are 100% accurate.
You go from telling me to refrain from posting to stating you aren’t trying to bully anyone. You refute my 100% accurate comments then come back to say you used the word “I” so your posts only applied to you. Everyone can read your posts telling me I’m wrong when I am right. Just admit it.
Here’s a hint, don’t try to tell people I am wrong in stating “you need premier service to get CID names with the Telo.” You were misleading people by telling them you get CID names with your Telo and saying my facts were wrong.
My facts are correct and I posted them so people could make an educated decision for themselves. I have verified my facts with employees from Ooma. I backed them up with Ooma forum links. You tried to confuse the matter. In reality its your service that is wrong as you are getting CID names for free that no one else reading this will get for free.
I’ll refer people again to the Ooma website, forums and Ooma customer service before making a decision. Or you can re-read my posts as they have 100% accurate information as of the time they were posted. Do not expect to get the services Matt is getting for free.
May 21st, 2010 at 11:38 am
Ok… Tim, you’re right and I was wrong. I apologize for all the incorrect and misleading items that I posted. I was incorrect about everything and anything Ooma including what I pay and services I receive, thanks for setting me straight. Everyone, please, from now on, Tim is your go to guy on all things Ooma.
Jonathan: you may at anytime delete my posts on this thread so as not to confuse anyone elke or put ideas into their head.
May 21st, 2010 at 1:07 pm
Matt, people aren’t here to read about the features you are lucky enough to receive for free. They are reading this to learn about the features they will get when they buy the device.
Since you stated several times my facts were incorrect I am glad you now acknowledge my facts are accurate for everyone else reading this page. Especially since that is where my comments were directed in the first place, before you started correcting me.
I’m glad you get to enjoy your free caller ID names and $11.75/year fees on a base Telo account. Those reading this will not have the same fee & free service experience as you. I hope Jonathon doesn’t remove the comment stream because it puts my statements in perspective by reading your comments.
May 21st, 2010 at 1:19 pm
Your gracious acceptance of my apology is heart-warming.
May 21st, 2010 at 1:26 pm
I’d like to say I read all that, but well… I didn’t.
For potential new customers, please visit this page to calculate the monthly fees you’ll be paying with Ooma Telo.
http://www3.ooma.com/tax_calculator.php
Otherwise, find an Ooma *Core* and avoid the monthly fee hassle. They are in-stock in new condition at several websites as I write this, and they cost about the same or less than Telo in most cases.
May 21st, 2010 at 1:34 pm
Matt, the same to you. All that really matters is people reading this get the right information so they can make an educated decision based on facts.
I think you would agree a person would be upset paying upwards of $250 for an Ooma Telo to cut their monthly fees only to find out they will be charged $40+/year (new taxes) plus another $120/year (premier) just to get necessary features like CID names. That is the reality of someone buying a Telo today vs someone buying another VoIP solution or an Ooma Core. They won’t like this blog very much or revisit it if we give bad information.
May 24th, 2010 at 6:27 pm
Not sure if you have seen this, but Ooma just started shipping their Bluetooth adapter which in turn allows you to answer Ooma calls on a Bluetooth headset as well as gives you the ability to answer cellphone calls on your Ooma phone. $30 isn’t bad, but I guess it depends on how much it can help your productivity and if you have a Bluetooth-ready mobile phone.
May 25th, 2010 at 10:10 am
Its a good product but not revolutionary. Cordless phone systems have included bluetooth for years. You can pair a cell phone or a bluetooth headset with the adapter. It only works with the Ooma Telo and you must have a premier subscription for it to work. This means after the $30 bluetooth purchase you are in for $10/month as long as you want to use the Bluetooth connection. Of course premier service comes with more features so it may be worthwhile to some.
Personally I’d stick with the Ooma Core. Then buy a VTech, Uniden, Panasonic or other DECT 6.0 cordless phone that includes bluetooth. VTech has one for $70 & Panasonic has one for $100. Then you have the same DECT 6.0 technology as the Telo and Bluetooth capability without paying a monthly subscription. You would save a lot of money over buying Ooma’s bluetooth adapter and paying for monthly premier service.
February 8th, 2011 at 7:02 am
I had ooma for about 2 years and finally just had to drop it. My calls always had a delay/echo making the conversation frustrating. I went through call after call with customer service to no avail. They kept blaming my internet service but when they ran theyr tests, my service was fast and within the ranges they required. I love the idea and wish it could have worked, but it didn’t. Now I am trying to figure out how to give the unit to a friend who wants to try it out.
July 22nd, 2011 at 11:17 pm
I have had a Ooma Telo for about 6 months now and have been very happy with the service. Recommended setup goes from modem > ooma > network.. Took me 3 days to figure out the Ooma was killing my internet (from about 20Mbps to less than 1Mbps. Finally found out it was happy with modem > router > switch > ooma Since then, no issues at all. Even works with outbound faxing (as long as you remember to dial *99, and almost never receive faxes). Yes, I have to pay less than $42/year in taxes, but a LOT cheaper than POTS.
Someone above asked about MajicJack.. Tried one for a full year and was dissatisfied with the service (dropped calls, choppy connections). Jumped to Ooma after my year contract was up. 1 love not having to keep my computer on all the time just so I can use the phone.
February 18th, 2012 at 9:30 am
My 1st Ooma experience was flawless. I subsequently bought 2 Ooma devices for 2 different vacation houses. I registered each phone number, to be ported, to each unique MAC ID/device. Ooma ported both of my numbers to 1 device only. I tried to get them to straighten this out and they seemed incapable of even understanding what had gone wrong. I am now awaiting prepaid return shipping labels and assurance that I will be reimbursed for all expenses including the reporting of my phone numbers back to Verizon. I have filed a formal complaint with the FCC. I have had good luck with this agency’s ability to resolve issues. I will update this as needed.
February 23rd, 2012 at 2:11 pm
My update on Ooma taking responsibility for their miserable execution. They refuse to reimbursement subsequent porting charges.
“Ray,
Please find someone who can authorize this. This is Ooma’s problem and Ooma needs to take responsibility for this. I followed your instructions to the letter. Porting is a specific interest of the FCC. I’m confident that Ooma understands this consumer relations issue and will make it right.
— On Wed, 2/22/12, Ooma Care Support wrote:
2:49 PM
Response (Raymond) 02/22/2012 01:49 PM
I cannot authorize refunds for any non-Ooma payment. “