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I weeks ago I dropped Verison for US Cellular and now for the first time in 6 years i can make a call from inside the house!
If you are having a problem with verision it isn't you and it isn't your phone....
I like 4.3 miles from the Verison tower closest to me, but off to the north west a bit from what i suspect is a aim beam up and down Rt 16 towards Ossipee/Conway.
A few years ago Verison stated openly that they were not interested in the rural NH market and sold the hard wire line to Fairpoint... At that time fair point wasn't ready to run the operation either, but Verison didn't give a rat's ass.
The switch was one of the best things i ever did. I was a Verison customer with hard wire and cell for more than a decade.
Verison can go pound sand for all I care. And for a hard wire Fairpoint seems to have caught up and can handle the work load.
My measurements are with a GPS To get a signal to the north west I had to go to with in 1.7 miles of the tower. We were told all kinds of lies about how it was the cell we had, which worked fine in the V stores where they have boosters, We let the store people take the phone and use it and then they said the phone was fine and they charged the battery....
The techs made up lies, because Verison will not tell the public and customers the truth which is they don't care.
Do yourselves a favor. switch and don't look back.
It looks like google voice is not free. International calling is 10 cents/minute. That ends up being more expensive than most of the plans I've seen for VOIP since I call Europe a lot.
What about Skype? Does anyone have experience using Skype as a phone?
I am sorry I didn't realize low international rates was one of your needs. (I didn't see that need in your original post.)
Google Voice does provide a free number; calls in/to US and Canada are also free; rates for international calls vary by country, but in my experience they are generally cheaper than the rates a cell phone carrier charges (which was the original comparison).
You can make free computer-computer calls using Google Talk or Skype, but Skype's rates for calling a phone from a computer is almost always more than Google's.
Of course, I am not pushing Google. You should use whichever device/service works best for your specific needs.
Quote:
Originally Posted by avlis13013
I've used Google Voice for a couple years on an iPod touch & iPad, but unless I missed something, you cannot make or receive calls on these devices (even though the devices have speakers and mics). You can only forward them to a landline or cell. Please fill me in on how you use GV to make and receive calls. Or does it only work on smartphones?
I am not an iDevice user, but I believe iPod restricts communications to services such as FaceTime. Google does not support calls from iOS, but it does support them from Android, Windows, and OSX.
I have used Google Voice to make and receive calls from my Windows computer for about 2 years now. In fact, my cell phone is turned OFF when I am home. My computer stays ON almost 18 hours a day.
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What I need is a phone number that I can be reached at at the house that doesn't cost an arm and a leg.
This I what I understood your need to be.
Google Voice lets others call you (on your computer) without costing you anything. In addition, it also gives you the ability to make free calls from your computer to any US/Canada number.
(You can also forward Google Voice number for free to your cell/land phone, and have Google Voice arrange to use your cell/land phone to make outgoing calls, but that is not a viable option in your situation.)
You can also try a VOIP phone if you are willing to purchase a VOIP device and also pay for phone service.
Like I said, limiting the calling ability to US/Canada is not useful. I guess I didn't say it because I assume everyone is as internationally oriented as I am. The way they gouge for international rates I might as well get a landline at $30/month. Cell phone planes start at about $35/month and include a lot of garbage I don't need (like texting and sending pictures). All I want is a phone or something that mimics one.
I was *this* close to signing up for PhonePower VOIP but then started reading the reviews. Apparently you have to sign up for at least a year and if it doesn't work properly you are out of luck. So far though that is the best match for what I am looking for.
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I was *this* close to signing up for PhonePower VOIP but then started reading the reviews. Apparently you have to sign up for at least a year and if it doesn't work properly you are out of luck. So far though that is the best match for what I am looking for.
PhonePower's international rates do look good. In any case, it looks like the VOIP path might work for you.
Good luck and let us know what you choose. FYI, most of my calls are international and perhaps your findings will be helpful to me (and others).
The problem with any 'repeater' is that it still needs a good signal from the tower, if you have basically zero bars, you will have little success with a repeater even with a great directional antenna. Also some carriers do not officially support repeaters, and it can be tough to find repeaters that work with, for example, the data frequencies used by T-Mobile.
T-Mobile had their @home, and still offers "WiFi Calling", but only on specific phones.
Quote:
Computer to computer is great with Skype, but I need a phone number for most of my contacts who do not use Skype. I was just reading that the sounds quality isn't good along with other issues.
What I need is a phone number that I can be reached at at the house that doesn't cost an arm and a leg.
Skype-in works pretty well, the call quality will vary depending on your Internet service.
You can also use Google voice; there's a setting in GV to always ring your both home phone and your cell phone when somebody calls. First phone to answer and 'press 1', gets the call.
Quote:
Originally Posted by joe moving
Is it like a repeater? or the thing you plug in to the internet ?
I have the internet box for Verizon, and it works OK but only for voice (not data).
The 2nd generation Verizon Wireless Network Extender works with both voice and data. It uses the Internet and only has an antenna for GPS (so Verizon can know where it is and disable the repeater, if, for example, you take it to Japan where that frequency is reserved).
The Verizon Extender works great, you do have to be in very close proximity to the extender to initially associate with it, but then I get up to about 100 feet of coverage in most directions. It almost always hands off correctly to the tower when I head out while on a call. The $250 price tag is a bit steep, but sometimes if you call and tell them you want to cancel your service because your home is out of coverage, they will offer a discount on the extender to avoid losing your business.
PhonePower's international rates do look good. In any case, it looks like the VOIP path might work for you.
Good luck and let us know what you choose. FYI, most of my calls are international and perhaps your findings will be helpful to me (and others).
I took the plunge and ordered two years worth of VOIP phone service from PhonePower. One hour of international calling is included and that should be sufficient to get going. I even got to pick a phone number that is very easy to remember.
Total price (with various phone fees that get tacked on) was about $211 which works out to $8 month.
I was hesitant to sign up after seeing some complaints online about sound quality (if your internet service is inferior, you can't expect good voice over, right?). PP has a java online test you can take for download speed, upload speed and jitter. Based on that, it appears that their VOIP should work.
I'll post back once I get set up.
Thanks to everyone for your helpful comments. I think this issue is really important for those of us who live in remote areas that are not served well by cell phone carriers.
If that doesn't work my better half had some good luck using a trucker antenna about 10 years ago. Prior to that the only way he got a signal was to stand on one leg in the garage while tilting his head (I'm only mildly exagerating) - and the call was guaranteed to be dropped or at least impossible to hear him. He didn't want to pay for a landline and most of the people he was calling were across the country anyways. I don't know where he bought it but will ask him if you are interested. Basically it was an antenna that he put near his roof. It had a cable like what comcast uses coming off of it that he ran into his office. At the end was a plug that went into his phone. He said that long distance semi drivers used this setup. It worked well - went from hearing every 10th word he said on the phone to crystal clear signal. I think it cost him around $60 one time fee at the time. Of course this was in the days before cell phone boosters and all of the other options.
LOL lady fern if there weren't slippery snow on the roof I might have actually gone up there and tried to see how my reception was. As it is I called the nice 3G people who helped me figure out that the nearest tower is 2 miles away and that I need to be 1.5 miles from my house in order to get a signal. The only thing I don't know is if something is blocking the tower and maybe using an antenna that is "high enough" would solve my problem. If so then the trucker antenna would be a good solution.
The conclusion I came to for myself is that a cell phone booster can cost about $200 and can only boost an existing halfway decent signal (which I may not have), whereas the VOIP costs about the same, and judging by the online test of my modem is likely to work.
I'll know more in a couple of weeks I guess.
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Verizon Wireless Network Extender
