Is Ooma worth a try?

Ooma is a Voice Over IP (VoIP) phone service. Is it worth a try? I think so. Find out why.

Attribution: Photo by Ooma

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Intro

Phone service prices can be expensive and bundling services does not always save money anymore. People are reevaluating the money they spend and whether they need a phone at home. Many have dropped the home phone altogether chosing to use their cell phone instead. If you are like me, you may have hesitated to drop the home phone. There is another option, Ooma.

I recently signed up for Ooma's Voice Over IP (VoIP) telephone service and was immediately impressed. Here is what I have found.

What is Ooma?

Ooma is a Voice Over IP (VoIP) telephone service that uses your existing Internet connection. Ooma has everything you would expect. It took only minutes to make Ooma work and make my first phone call. The clarity was noticable and far superior to my existing telephone service. There are things to consider of course. I will cover this as I go.

What does Ooma cost?

Ooma does require the purchase of an Ooma Telo box. I paid about $80 for the Ooma Telo box which acts as a secure Internet router if you want it to. There is a wireless version too known as Telo Air for just a bit more. Since I did not need another wireless router, I chose the cheaper wired option. Buting the wireless Telo box is not required to have Ooma service. Wireless is a good option if you do not already have a wireless router. After that, it is just a matter of chosing either the basic or premier service option. Ooma offers 2 months of premier service as a trial. If you are interested in just the basic service, you will need to set the service option to basic before the trial ends. This is an extremely simple task on the Ooma portal without the fear of an up-sell. The cost of the service depends on where you live. You can get an exact quote from the website. The price of the basic service is free plus taxes and fees for your area. The primier service is about $10 more. Here is the approximate price based on taxes in my area. Your price should not vary from these prices by much.

• Basic: $7
• Premier $17

There is no catch or gotcha in Ooma's offering. Just straight honest deals. You will get the services and pay exactly what they say on their website. Try that with your local phone company and see what happens!

Attribution: Photo by Ooma

Do not have Internet? No worries!

Ooma is offering beginnin in 2019 a new option that allows your system to work using 4G without existing Internet services. For those who do not need the Internent or needs the Internet very little, this is the perfect option. Ooma offers Internet access over the 4G connection. This option will be about $15 per month above the plan you choose. What is great about this option is that your home phone can travel from home, to the lake-side cabin, to Grandmas house, or even in the RV. Just pick it up and go. With the optional battery, your home phone can work on the road or in the dark. The 4G option can also be a back-up for when your Internet goes down. Pair this with the batter back-up option and your phone will always be avaialble even in a power outage. I intend to buy the Ooma Telo with the 4G connector to replace my mothers home phone.

What features does Ooma offer?

Ooma comes with a whole host of features some only available in the premier service option. Because prices are so low, I will cover the primier service. You can refer to the Ooma website to compare plans.

• Transfer Your Phone Number - Just a simple click away.
• Local Phone Numbers Available - Chose the one you like.
• Advanced Call Blocking - 3 Blacklists with full control.
• Call Forwarding
• 2 Phone Lines - Add a private line for family or friends if you like.
• Ooma App - Take Ooma with you. Make and recieve calls as if from home.
• Connect Ooma to Nest, Echo, and others. - Works well with smart devices.
• Backup Phone - Automatic phone forwarding when the power goes out.
• Voice Mail - Or use your phones voicemail.
• Voicemail Monitoring - Listen before picking up.
• Private Voicemail - Personal greetings, customer privacy, etc.
• Voicemail to E-Mail - Speech to text allows you to get your messages by e-mail.
• Call anywhere in the U.S.
• Call Mexico and Canada - Free.
• International Calling Option - Very affordable.
• Three-Way Conference Calling - Great for helping your parents with technical calls.
• Send to Voicemail - Just push the button and your call goes immediately to voicemail.
• Caller ID - Name and number works better than your landline.
• Google Voice Extensions - Integrate with Google Voice.
• Do Not Disturb - Just push the button for peace and quiet.
• Voicemail Alerts
• 10 Digit Dialing - No need to press 1.
• No Internet or Phone Service Required - No phone line or Internet? No problem.
• Security System - Optional monitored alarm system add-on.
• Ooma Handsets - Advanced optional handsets rival anyother brand.
• Too many options to list here.

Ooma is clearer than your landline.

It is true. Ooma is clearer than your existing phone line. I was stunned by the sound quality of Ooma. I thought the difference would be marginal. I was wrong. What a surprise when I made my first call. Friends and family commented immediately.

Do I need a phone to use Ooma?

Well, yes. Sorta. You do not have to buy another phone to use Ooma. You can use your existing home phone if you like. Just plug it in. If you do not have a home phone already, you can buy one or use an Ooma handset or even use your cell phone with the Ooma app. Ooma does not require that you plug a phone into the Telo box to work. If you need to buy a phone, I recommend considering the Ooma handset. It integrates with the Telo box to maintain your personal contact list and and call logs. You can even change some of your Ooma options with the handset. Otherwise, if you chose to use a standard home phone, you will need to use the Ooma portal. Using the Ooma handset just makes life much easier and adds advanced features found in expensive wireless phones.

Ooma options are just a click away.

Ooma's well desinged web portal makes Ooma set-up and feature access amazingly simple and intuitive. No help needed. The interface just plain makes sense and is easy to manage without help. Help is available of course. You won't need it.

Ooma's portal allows you to block calls and set-up advanced call blocking. It also allows you to get voicemail right from the portal. You have full control over your account and system services. Ooma has thought the portal through and made the user experience something others should model.

Advanced Call Blocking

Ooma offers several options for call blocking. Ooma uses a 3rd party nationally curated blacklist to block calls. Ooma also curates it's own list from user block lists. As well, you can block calls and report calls to Ooma. What options you choose can easily be enabled with just a simple click. You do not have to use call blocking of course. If you do, you will find Ooma is outstanding at stopping robocalls and telemarketers. The difference is night and day.

Ooma's Smart Phone App

Ooma allows you to take your home phone with you on your smart phone. Your Ooma calls can simply ring through to your cell phone when a call comes in and still ring your home phone. Set it once and it does not matter if you are at home or not. Make mobile calls as if from home. No more exposing or sharing your cell phone when you are out. Get your Ooma voicemail from anywhere. This is a great option for callers who are busy and find they are giving out their cell phone number too much. I never give out my cell phone number, not even to family and friends. With Ooma, you do not need to. What is my cell phone number? Same as my home phone. People may look at you oddly, but it works! People are amazed how they are able to get me when they need to. In fact, only two people know I have a cell phone. Not even Mom.

Need a business phone?

No problem. Ooma has your back. I have not tried the business phone system, however, it is highly advanced and I may offer it to my tenants in the future. It is affordable with pay as you go pricing. Need just a few lines? No problem. Need more lines as your business grows? No problem. Advanced options allows for amazing flexibility sure to please anyone.

Do you fear changing to a new system?

I get it. I worried too. Is Ooma as good as people say it is? Yes. I am gald I switched.

My personal experience.

Ooma is extraordinary! No kidding. I have no affiliation with the company except as a customer so I will not pull any punches. My experience with Ooma is very satisfying and I wish I switched a long time ago.

After getting frustrated with my existing phone company, a price that is too high and countless unwanted calls, I looked to Ooma for a solution. I looked at my phone bill one Saturday afternoon after getting several calls from telemarketers and took a chance. I went to BestBuy and bought my Ooma Telo box right off the shelf. I set it up the next day and played with it for just a couple of hours before knowing that I would be dropping my existing phone service. It is that good folks! I thought I would have to evaluate it for a few weeks before making any decisions. I have had my Ooma for a couple of months now and I am just as impressed today as when I set it up. Because of all of the junk calls on my old unlisted phone number and how amazing the call blocking is with Ooma, I decided not to transfer my old phone number. My phone is quiet. Just the calls I want. I am currently updating my new Ooma number where I need to before dropping my old phone service. Of course you can transfer your existing number if you want to. I simply chose not to.

Ooma does not sell your information.

You can expect privacy with Ooma. Most all phone companies sell your name and number to telelmarekters. Ooma does not. In fact, your Ooma phone number is not listed or provided to anyone. Period. This can help to keep you off of telemarketers lists. My Ooma phone number has remained free from unwanted calls with an unpublished number and call blocking turned on. It is amazingly peaceful.

Are there any issues I should be aware of?

Yes. Just a couple of very minor issues that are easily handled by the user. They did not stop me from choosing Ooma as my phone service.

Cannot call back local calls from the 10 digit caller ID number.

This is a very minor issue.

The caller ID always has an area code when a local call comes in. If I try and call someone back with the call log in my phone, it does not work as expected. This is easy to work around.

Most of my calls come from people I know. I edited my call list to make sure that local calls do not have an area code. Most did not. I use my call list to call people back.

For all others, afterall I am a landlord, I simply dial the number myself and not use my phones call log. This works fine.

Ooma can likely fix this issue. If the number being dialed has the same area code as your phone number, Ooma can simply drop the area code before dialing. This seems to me to be an extremely simple fix.

Cannot turn off Ooma's voicemail.

People may find it more convenient to use the existing voicemail in their phone. This is mostly out of habit of course. The Ooma voicemail and the voicemail in your phone are equally convenient. In fact, using the Ooma voicemail and the Ooma app to get voicemail when on the road is just a simple click. If you find yourself getting voicemail out of the house, you may choose to use the Ooma voicemail instead of the voicemail in your home phone.

This is a very minor issue.

You can set Ooma's voicemail to answer after a certain number of rings. I set it to 9 rings and that works fine. Still, some obnoxious callers may allow the phone to ring long enough for Ooma to answer. While this is not generally a problem, Ooma could certainly offer to turn off voicemail in their portal.

Can I recommend Ooma?

Yes! I can gladly and eagerly recommend Ooma to anyone. Remember, I have no stake in this. I write this for my tenants and for whoever else is interested. It is that simple.