I am looking on cancelling my home phone service with At&T. I am paying about 50.00 for unlimited long distance. NOT Including local long distance.

I was looking into changing to a VoIP service such as Vonage and was wondering if you have tried any of these services or would recommend one.

I was looking at the following from a VoIP rebates site:

Phone Power 103.30/yr
Lingo 145.00/yr
Via:talk 79.50/yr
Vonage 254.89/yr

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-Kristi

We've had Vonage for about 3 years now. It was a bit spotty when we first got it, but it's great now! The only thing that affects my quality is when Comcast has a bad day.

If you decide to sign up for Vonage, do it through someone that already has it. You will get a month or maybe two free and your friend will get two months free.

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We've had Vonage about that long too, and I'd suggest calling them to see what deals they have, since that was worth a free router for us (cheap after rebate in stores at the same time, so calling was better). Not that you have to sign up then. We have a virtual number that's local to my parents, and the quality tends to be good, though I would prefer something cheaper. Vonage does get points for still being in business, at least. At present, we use a wired/wireless/Vonage router that was a good idea, but is terribly hard to configure. Linksys, I think? Anyway, not sure they still offer it, but if they do, you might want to skip it, unless you really want to play with IP address settings.

I was going to start a post asking if anyone has tried that 'magic jack' thing on the infomercials. We got rid of our landline a year ago and I don't want to get one again but I might try something else voip..curious if that magic thing works!

Reasons Vonage is okay for us. . . . I like the price. I was going to have to pay a surcharge every time I was going to dial long distance with Sprint landline. Taxes and fees were increasing my original phone bill 50 percent with Sprint landline. Caller ID with the Sprint landline cost an additional $9.00. So with Vonage, these extra charges disappeared. When the phone service does go out the phone number can be call forwarded to another phone, such as your cell phone. We experienced this when Comcast was messing with our incoming cable and we were only getting TV or computer, not both. So our computer input was cut off frequently until we figured it out. I enjoy the Vonage email to me at work telling me I have a voice message at home. I can listen to the voice message on my computer at work. I like the technology that goes along with Vonage. Now that we know how to make it work for us in power shortages, cable disconnects, We have the same home phone number. If I had to figure out how to connect Vonage, that wouldn't be good for me. I'm computer illiterate. So that may be a downfall if you're like me.

We have had Vonage for about 3 years now and no problems. On the occasion that our internet service goes down it automatically forwards the calls to my cell phone. It has been a blessing because my husband is now stationed in Korea and he took the Vonage with him. So we can call him for free from our cell phones and get to talk several times a day.

my sister has vonage its really a horrible connection when she calls me, its just like a bad cell phone
call I told her to get rid of it she said I wasnt the only complaint she had on the connection.

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RIP Chibby my chinchilla 10/02/09

I think VOIP is a wonderful, cost saving option instead of a landline. A caveat, before you get the service you might want to inquire with neighbors to see if they have it and how their service is. We tried having both Vonage and (don't get me started on my tirade of) Comcast. IT WAS AWFUL! Unreliable, constant dropped calls, poor reception plus a delay when you talk, in addition, when you picked up the phone to make a call, you were not insured of a dial tone. Also, if the power or cable is out, you will not be able to use your phone...so make sure you have a cell phone back up
Others I know have had similiar experiences.

We have been using the Magic Jack for a couple months and haven't had any problems. Occasionally there will be a delay between speaking/hearing similar to a cell phone when you are in an iffy area for reception. But that is not the usual. I feel comfortable enough with it now that we are doing away with the landline.

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Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass
It's about learning to dance in the rain.

What is the magic jack? i have not heard of it.

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-Kristi

We had Vonage for 4 years or so before we got rid of it. It was great for us. No problems at all. Only reason we got rid of it is DH job paid for a different VIOP so we switched to that. Now we did the free trial of Magic Jack and it was horrible. DH could not hear the person on other line, they could not hear him, back static, would cut out all the time. DH said even as cheap as it was it was not worth it for us.

We have had viatalk, and just renewed for another yr (after two yrs). Really like it a lot, and customer service is top notch.

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If you really want something in this life, you have to work for it. Now, quiet! The're about to announce the lottery numbers... - Homer Simpson

dalmatian it's a gadget that looks like a phone jack & plugs into a usb port. this would be great if it actually worked lol, I don't know anyone who has tried it, except the poster above and it did not work for her -

magicJack