When ANY company - low-end or high-end, sells a product requiring an upstream network connection in order to work at all, keeping a list of problem devices is quite normal simply because it lowers tech support demands.
NOT doing so promotes a very poor company image...as Ooma has created for itself.
Yes that makes sense but I don't see the poor image that you are saying.
On Amazon, their products have thousands of reviews and the first products that came up when I search have 4.2 to 4.4 out of 5.
I also see that magic jack have highly rated products as well so at least there seems to be some competition for such products, helping to keep prices low. People are paying yearly what they used to pay monthly. In the scheme of things, customers are way ahead thanks to these companies.
@golan:
The point that I see BEHIND your message in the most recent of your 4 replies here is clearly that...:
Too many people have abandoned all hopes for really good, lasting products & services.
This is especially visible in those who see no problems with buying replacement smartphones a couple of times a year, and it is even more visible in the poorer young folks who have abandoned all hopes of ever gaining their own financial well being.
Older folks like myself have very definite memories of products which would not only last most of a person's lifetime, but were often also passed down to assist the younger family members to get started - vs. nowadays with even major appliances which may be utter junk from the day they are purchased.
Specifically regarding services:
When integrity was of higher value than profits, those in service centered occupations took great pride in getting things right for their clients rather than trying to keep contacts as short as possible whether any genuine assistance was rendered, or not.
And specifically regarding your 4 replies in this thread:
The 1st was well answered by not only myself, but also by KentE;
Your 2nd reply showed that you had given scant attention to all that had come before;
Your 3rd reply here simply excused tech companies for their ongoing failures at making devices compatible via re-naming it as 'progress';
Finally, your 4th reply seems to be simply aimed at causing an atmosphere of disagreement whilst appearing to aim at discrediting what I have said here before.
Which leads me to ask:
Since you posted exactly NOTHING helpful to this thread at all thus far - did you reply here mostly just to be difficult and/or disagreeable ??
At this point it has become clear that only 2 solutions will serve us well here:
1 - Use the bluetooth function of the phone set to connect it with GV (Huge thanks to Isamorph !!) ;
2 - Reuse the older Obi box with an ITSP that will cost less & have better features than the Ooma box does.
Since it seems there is no 3rd & really great alternative, I conclude by simply repeating what I said in the OP:
Thanks for any (more...) helpful replies !!
Hi, I've re-read my comments and they seem to be reasonable both in content and tone. I'm sorry that you don't see that.
Your claim that I was being "difficult and/or disagreeable" is, by definition, YOUR interpretation and / or YOUR feelings. So I can't answer your question because it really relates to how YOU interpret and feel about other people's opinions.
Given that none of the replies made/mentioned had any helpful info whatsoever relating with what I asked in the OP, there seems to be no other impression possible...
When the Ooma saga began, there was yet another member here who did similar stuff, which was replied to here:
https://www.nthcircle.com/forum/phones-devices/2989-our-latest-obi-related-saga-continues?start=20#43105
PS:
I am extremely stoic by nature and by deliberate choices; categorizing my thoughts as emotionally centered in any manner is simply 100% incorrect information.
Thanks for the amusement though, as I do enjoy the absurdity of most misinformation these days as a very current form of humour,
I was hoping others here with better knowledge then me. Could help.
I did try though
RealLexusl21, it was very good of you to make efforts at being helpful and very appreciated as such.
The situation was baffling to me mostly because of the current limitations of GV added to the ridiculously high pricing of Obi boxes.
That Isamorph made his outside-the-box suggestion is just wonderful as well.
The entire VOIP realm has gone from being wide open & active to being very limited within this past year or so & good choices are now very few.
It is almost like VOIP is getting to be like the old landlines were and how the 'big 3' seem to be also limiting the cellular choices now as well.
Amazon sells for $75How about the Obi302 that ? Amazon says GV isn't supported but http://www.obifirmware.com/ says:
One can occasionally pu an Obi 2xx for $75, but your link above is key to Obi 3xx+GV.
Thanks for your replies Folks !!
There are several ways to look at the GV and/or VOIP situation I think...and for us reliability in staying connected with the GV number is the most important facet of all this, so:
The Obi/Poly thing bears watching as it seems to be somewhat in flux & therefore a little unstable, also;
The big G makes too many changes, too often, which adds another layer of silliness to all of this.
Since we do have a perfectly good Obi110 (which uses the 3rd party f/w BTW) just sitting here, we can always divert the fees from Ooma to a nice, stable & well supported account at VOIP.MS anytime at all & for a lower cost, then just forward the GV number to that - which may be less than comfortable for the Ms., ultimately.
Getting a newer Obi box & venturing into the 3rd party f/w with it would be of interest to me ONLY if/when a good, used box could be had for maybe $30 tops - which seems very unlikely to happen anytime soon.
In terms of monthly costs - the Ooma has shown to be unworthy of what it costs monthly and if/when it becomes a nuisance it will also become...gone.
For right now, the Telo shows blue, works, and is allowed to remain here - so long as it behaves well !!
Never knew the Obihai200s were such hot commodities these days. Of course now I know that mine has decided to disappear.
As to the question unfortunately I have nothing to add. I can't think of anything that will work with google voice and a regular landline and have little to no fees.
Oh my:
Did an Obi cat-burglar sneak in & grab it ??
As to the query, we're fine for now - t'was posted mostly just in case someone here had a great idea;
As it turns out Isamorph did, so no matter what we'll keep our GV number connected somehow.
One last thought: Not long ago one could use a Raspberry Pi +GV + analog corded or cordless phone for a free home phone set up, but I don't think that's still the case. "RonR", I believe, over at DSL reports, was the expert on Pis and scripts for setting up Raspberry Pis. Pi + GV might still be possible but is a lot of work for even experienced pc people.
http://www.littlebytesofpi.com/raspberrypihomephone/
There are some desk phones that work with Google Voice, which are cheaper than some Obi ATA devices.
obihai 200 $49.99
Greetings Mmfacemm and Thanks !!
I am now seriously considering getting one & selling off the Ooma on CL or something rather than paying the same amount to Ooma in 10 month's time.
My only hesitation is that prime days start quite soon & I wonder if there'll be an even slightly better deal then...?
(This lower pricing was also posted at the Obi forum, BTW.)
Thanks Again !!
Came to post the amazon $50 obi 200 but you guys were on it already.
EZ, I'd buy now, if a better deal comes along from amazon this week you can request the deal price, if they say no as they mostly do these days then initiate a return on purchase #1 after securing an order at the better price.
I have had to do this a few times with amazon but it was for much bigger than the $10-$15 savings that might come to pass in this case. Whether you want to go through it for this amt of $ is up to you.
Thanks for your suggestion Redrotors !!
As it happened, I did make the CC swallow one down as the cash budget has no way to grab that - and right after the sale there started I re-checked and saw 'last one - better get it soon' or something like that.
So...the Telo's days here are now numbered - I just need to contact them about the transfer details & then sell it to someone who has a different cable modem than ours.
Thanks again for poking me about this !!
Yeah, I'm seeing a "hurry only 1 left" message also. Then that disappeared and the delivery date got pushed back a few days.
I expect there was some pent up demand for these at a decent (old regular?) price, the slick deals post was getting a good amt. of traffic. I'm sure that they will restock though. Someone on that SD thread mentioned a statement from Polycom that they were having distribution issues.
"There was a response by a Poly employee on some VoIP thread about 2 months ago saying they had several of the Obi200/202s in warehouses, but they were having difficulty getting them to suppliers. Hopefully, this availability is indicative of that difficulty being resolved."
Also note EZ, your purchase falls under the holiday return period window.
"For the 2020 holiday season, returnable items shipped between October 1 and December 31 can be returned until January 31, 2021."
So, really you can keep a price watch through Jan. 2021 in case Newegg or Amazon return to the $30-$35 prices of yore.
If for some reason Newegg works better for you than Amazon Newegg is selling the obi200 for $50 after $10 off w/ promo code 3WTBKNV238
Looks like supply may have caught up with demand. Here's hoping Newegg doesn't sell many & decides they need to best Amazon by taking another $10-$15 off.
FWIW it say it is eligible for -
[i]"Black Friday Price Protection on Tech Deals*
If you purchase an eligible product displaying the badge from Nov. 1 through Nov. 22, 2020 and after your purchase that same product ends up discounted to a lower price on Newegg.com on or before Nov. 30, 2020, Newegg will automatically refund the difference to the original payment method. There's no need to track prices or submit a claim – refunds will be automatically processed by Dec. 7, 2020 and an email confirmation will be sent to you.[/i]"