VoIP / landline providers
- Thread starter qbhatti
- Start date
Soldato
Less than two pints of beer for a decent soft phone is hardly going to break the bank, it amazes me what people expect for free these days!
Well aint worth it to me or whoever is going to be using the phone!
Associate
- Joined
- 25 Feb 2016
- Posts
- 219
I'm looking to get a VOIP phone. Is AA mentioned here Andrew & Arnold LTD? I was looking at voipphone but AA do look competitive.
Can anyone recommend what hardware to get, or is an adapter such as Grandstream HT-802 VoIP Adapter sufficient?
Can anyone recommend what hardware to get, or is an adapter such as Grandstream HT-802 VoIP Adapter sufficient?
Associate
- Joined
- 5 Jun 2013
- Posts
- 404
i have the ht-801 and had no issues with it. i already have a 3 home phones, so just need a cheap way to convert into voip
Does anyone know of a reliable company that offers call plans. I have seen Vonage that do a 1000 minutes to landlines and mobiles. Are usage is up to 500 minutes mixed between landlines and mobiles. Phone is my parents so i do not want to screw it up and loose ther number for them
Soldato
Buy them a mobile.
I have been using VoIP for some time now. I thought I would get ahead of the BT exchange closures! What a mistake that was! VoIP just isn't suitable as a replacement for the good old BT landline. Sure, on the surface it seems to be, but with extended use, I have had nothing but problems with it. My bank initiating a fraud alert every time I ring them. Calls failing to arrive. Caller display intermittently working. Tone selections in calls, working with some companies and not others. You name it, the problems are absolutely endless.
I do think that most of the problem is equipment and vendors. Most of it is not intended to work in the UK, and the vendors just don't take the time to sort out all the problems. You may get better results with the service provided by your ISP, many of them are adopting the BT system, which probably works (no idea, never used it, but if anyone can get a VoIP system to work in the UK then it's BT).
The simple truth is that no one is ready for 2025 when BT start switching off the exchanges. There are going to be a ton of old-folk who have no idea what to do and are going to be plunged in to chaos.
Last edited:
Thanks for the reply. They both have mobiles but the main issue is that the house number is 45 years old and most of there older friends and family know the house number and would definately get confused if they just used there mobiles
BT Digital voice is ok, had some issues with it (strangely about every 3 months) but then you are tied into using a Bt Smart Hub which is not the best, i configured the asus router to work with teh smart hub for my brother but would be much happier with a single device.
Whioch VOIP services have you tried that have been so bad. I seen Andrews and Arnold are UK based (i think) just wish they had call packages
Soldato
I've been using Sipgate, with a Cisco VoIP and then a Grandstream VoIP. The Grandstream has generally worked better than the Cisco, but even that has problems. I am also not completely sure how many issues were down to Sipgate. The main problems have been tone selections during a call, and caller ID not being registered by the people I call. This happened with both the Cisco and the Grandstream, but is less of a problem with the Grandstream.
Zen uses the BT system as well. I have Zen and also have a Fritzbox with VoIP, but I didn't want to spend the money to test it! The issue with BT is they seem to be incompatible with most VoIP boxes...or so Zen tell me. I would have tried their service had they allowed me to use the Grandstream, but they say it won't work. Also, they say they don't think it will work behind my router (Although I think they are probably wrong about that).
Associate
- Joined
- 25 Feb 2016
- Posts
- 219
I have a busness number I want to move to voip. If I move find it isn't working out, is it easy to just move it again? I would be in big trouble if I lost the number.
Also what if the company goes bust? Is there a risk I may lose the number?
Also what if the company goes bust? Is there a risk I may lose the number?
Cheap VOIP service from Andrews and Arnold (ISP) here:
www.aa.net.uk
Just £1.44 p/m + calls and can port existing landline number.
Has anyone used this service before?
(A&A) VoIP: Learn more
www.aa.net.uk
Just £1.44 p/m + calls and can port existing landline number.
Has anyone used this service before?
Last edited:
Associate
When is the free sipgate service ending. I've had no email from sipgate. I'm on the starter tariff since 2012.
Soldato
No set date. I don’t think sipgate themselves even know lol.
Cheap VOIP service from Andrews and Arnold (ISP) here:
(A&A) VoIP: Learn more
Just £1.44 p/m + calls and can port existing landline number.
Has anyone used this service before?
I use this service - great with detailed usage data and no issues so far! Cheap and cheerful for my needs. I use it with Grandstream HT-801 VoIP Adapter and my old quad set of Giganet S820 phones.
Last edited:
Nice, good to hear that ATA adapters would with A&A VOIP.
Was the setup basically plug and play, or is there some configuring necessary to get VOIP running on old analogue phones?
From what I've just read, the Grandstream adapters get their IP address from the DHCP server, which will be the router for most people's home networks.
Was the setup basically plug and play, or is there some configuring necessary to get VOIP running on old analogue phones?
From what I've just read, the Grandstream adapters get their IP address from the DHCP server, which will be the router for most people's home networks.
Last edited:
Try these:
VoIP Phones - Grandstream HT8xx - AAISP Support Site
These should help. Very straight forward and A & A Support are very helpful.
Thanks, these links look very helpful.
So, I just need to enter the settings as explained here:
VoIP Phones - Grandstream HT8xx - AAISP Support Site
The firewall config looks a little fiddly, I think I would need to open ports (Accept traffic) for UDP and RTP traffic.
Do most ISP routers set this up for you, or does this generally need manual configuration?
Last edited:
Thanks, these links look very helpful.
So, I just need to enter the settings as explained here:
VoIP Phones - Grandstream HT8xx - AAISP Support Site
support.aa.net.uk
The firewall config looks a little fiddly, I think I would need to open ports (Accept traffic) for UDP and RTP traffic.
Do most ISP routers set this up for you, or does this generally need manual configuration?
I bought my HT801 mfrom another Voip provider and adapted it to A & A. I did not bother with firewall and ports - it just works. I guess if you purchase the HT801 from A & A, they might configure it for you.