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SunRocket VOIP Phone Service Is A GO! (Long, long story) Date: May 10, 2007 05:00PM |
3 weeks ago my wife got a "Try $199 a year SunRocket Internet Phone Service" flyer in the US Mail, and I just couldn't pass that one up. With the promotion came a 5.8GHz GE Digital 2-phone multi-handset system for free (retails for about $60 @ Target/Office Max/Staples), and a "31-day Promise of satisfaction"...try it for 31 days, and if you're not satisfied SunRocket would refund your $199, you return the free GE Phone System with their free shipping, no harm, no foul...a risk free offer.
Called SunRocket up on a Sunday, signed up for the free trial, and things happened pretty darn fast after that. They (SunRocket) do a lot of emailing, and we immediately got the "welcome to SunRocket" email, with our temporary SunRocket phone number, and a link to "Your Account" which was already set up online. They give you a temp Tel# during the trial period, of course, so you have two lines for awhile...your normal land line, and the internet line. Monday I got a 2nd email, with notice that our equipment had shipped via UPS Ground from MD., scheduled to arrive to CA in 5 business days, the following Monday.
Meanwhile, I (stupidly) decided to fill out their "Number Transfer Request Form" online, because I was told by the phone rep that it usually takes 45-60 days for your old phone company to "release your number to SunRocket", and the week flies by. Wake up the following Saturday morning, and our land line's dead as a door nail! Oops! Seems like Verizon acts on "Number Transfer Requests" pretty quickly! And their business office is closed on weekends, we can't call anybody about what's happened, so we have no phone service except our cell phones.
Monday comes, and I call Verizon bright and early at 8AM, and am greeted by a computer system message that our number is "no longer in service." Finally I get a live rep in the business office, and she says: "You're no longer our customer! Did you submit a transfer request with another phone company? ("yes, but."...) Well, we acted on the request, disconnected your service at midnight on 5/4/2006, and your number is with the other carrier now." Oh great! Lesson for the uninformed: never, ever submit a "transfer number request" to your local phone company, because they just might act on it immediately, and terminate your service.
Coincidentally, right about then, knock-knock on our door, and it's the UPS man with our SunRocket equipment package. I read the instructions about setting up the new Linksys SunRocket telephone "Gizmo" (modem) as they call it, and shut down everything, all my Macs, and power down the cable modem and router. Next I run my Therion cable modem Ethernet line directly to the Gizmo's Line No. 1; next connect the Belklin router to the Gizmo's Line No. 2 with a 2nd Ethernet cable; finally, power up the Therion cable modem 1st, and when it's lit up power up the Gizmo and wait for 3 LED's to signal it's ready (two steady, one flickering), and finally power up the Belkin FSD-7230-4 wireless/4-port router. I hooked up my Sony 2.4Ghz digital phone to the Gizmo's Line No. 1 phone port, powered it up, and voila! Phone service is on!
1st call was to SunRocket's tech support, because even though Verizon has closed our service off, and "assigned your number to your new service provider (they say...)", our old number isn't a go just yet. However, the RunRocket temp# works fine, incoming and outgoing calls work fine. Seems there's some "provisioning" that goes on between your old carrier (Verizon) and SunRocket, and Verizon's dragging their heels. Our rep tells us that things should be groovy by Wednesday, as SunRocket's "Provisioning Dept." is all over Verizon trying to get our number going. We actually get a few calls that Monday, and it seems that when folks dial our old number, then there a message about the number not being in service, however that incoming caller's Caller ID shows our SunRocket temp#! So folks call that temp#, our phone rings, and they get us on the phone that way. Pretty nuts, but that was only for one day.
Meanwhile folks that need to contact me are calling my cell phone like crazy, also my wife's number for her calls, so business goes on in spite of what Verizon did by cutting off our land line with no warning at all, and we do have internet phone service, and it's not affecting performance of my Belkin wireless router one bit....all my wireless Macs still have 4 clicks on their displays, and all is well.
Tuesday morning, the phone rings bright and early at 8:14AM, and it's one of my doctor's offices calling, to remind me of an appointment. Guess what? Yup, SunRocket's mananged to get our number assignment handled overnight, and people can call us on our regular number just like nothing every happened with disruption of service. By now, the GE Digital phones have charged up overnight, so I set up that 2-phone system and unplugged the old Sony phone. I also brought a plug-in phone line-splitter from upstairs, plugged that into the Gizmo, plugged in my FAX machine to one port, and the new GE digital system into the other port and lo and behold, it works! I thought I was going to lose my FAX ability, but all's well with splitting the Gizmo's signal between my Panasonic FAX machine/phone/answering machine and the new GE 5.8GHz 2-phone system.
Sorry this is so long, but might as well just tell the whole story and answer most questions right now. The GE digital phone system is top drawer in performance, and it's pretty fancy for a "free phone system". Calls are clear as a bell. There is no "internet modem lag-time or hesitation when you talk on the phone. If anything, converations are clearer, and stronger with the VOIP system than with Verizon's service and a hodge-podge of various portable phones like we had before. Caller ID works great. Call waiting, forwarding, and SunRocket's internet-based VoiceMail system was easy to set up, and after enabling the "no password required" feature, checking for messages only takes one keystroke...simply dial "0 0" and VoiceMail is reached.
I set up 9 important numbers that I often call on their SpeedDial system, and it works perfect. We called all over the USA in the past 3 days, and the system is performing better than our land-line based system ever did in terms of speed of dialing/connection, clarity and volume control, etc. My wife and I went out on a hunt for 2 more of the GE phones, with a specific part number for compatibility, so we'd have 4 phones on our VOIP network, and found them at Office Max, on sale for $24.95 each. After "registering" each of them with the base station, and setting up their "features" (distinctive rings, entering frequently called numbers in our bedroom's unit etc), we now have a 4-phone internet phone system, all wireless of course (duh!), and it's working 100%.
We now have 24/7 unlimited calling to anywhere in the USA, Puerto Rico, and Canada, 100 free International minutes (my wife's already tried out the service by calling her dad in Jakarta, Indonesia with success..so that service works great too), and the best part of all? No phone bill(s) from Verizon and Quest (our former long distance carrier) ever again...we're paid up for 12 months, and can cancel at any time with a pro-rated refund based on our $199 yearly fee. There is no contract. Just a "User Agreement" that's pretty simple to understand, and there are no Catch-22's to the whole deal that I could find.
We have our cell phones should any internet service interruption occur, and I feel like we couldn't have found a better deal, or service system at this time. That's the whole story of our "baptism" into internet phone service. With our RoadRunner 6MB/sec cable modem as the basis for the whole thing, it just makes sense to go this route versus keeping a land line, for any reason. SunRocket customer service/tech support is fast, and 1st class, and there is constant communication via email about virtually any contact with the company or service announcement, system status. Calling their 888#, by the way, for customer service or tech support issues is really fast, with virtually no wait time, in our experience thus far...a really pleasant surprise.
I'm giving SunRocket Internet Phone Service a "10", and could not be more pleased with the internet telephone system in terms of performance, features, and cost. If you have a chance to try out their system, and have a fast cable modem or DSL connection, go for it and try it out....just one caution: do NOT fill out the Number Transfer Request until you're certain and sure that you want to keep your old number, cancel your landline service, and go with SunRocket. As we found out, Verizon was very, very quick to act on the number transfer request, and terminate our service...it didn't take any 45 days...it only took 5 business days from the time I filled out the online form until they killed the land line.
Kindest regards,
rexrzer B)
_________________________________
_________________________________
What's the difference between reality and fiction? Fiction has to make some sense.
Called SunRocket up on a Sunday, signed up for the free trial, and things happened pretty darn fast after that. They (SunRocket) do a lot of emailing, and we immediately got the "welcome to SunRocket" email, with our temporary SunRocket phone number, and a link to "Your Account" which was already set up online. They give you a temp Tel# during the trial period, of course, so you have two lines for awhile...your normal land line, and the internet line. Monday I got a 2nd email, with notice that our equipment had shipped via UPS Ground from MD., scheduled to arrive to CA in 5 business days, the following Monday.
Meanwhile, I (stupidly) decided to fill out their "Number Transfer Request Form" online, because I was told by the phone rep that it usually takes 45-60 days for your old phone company to "release your number to SunRocket", and the week flies by. Wake up the following Saturday morning, and our land line's dead as a door nail! Oops! Seems like Verizon acts on "Number Transfer Requests" pretty quickly! And their business office is closed on weekends, we can't call anybody about what's happened, so we have no phone service except our cell phones.
Monday comes, and I call Verizon bright and early at 8AM, and am greeted by a computer system message that our number is "no longer in service." Finally I get a live rep in the business office, and she says: "You're no longer our customer! Did you submit a transfer request with another phone company? ("yes, but."...) Well, we acted on the request, disconnected your service at midnight on 5/4/2006, and your number is with the other carrier now." Oh great! Lesson for the uninformed: never, ever submit a "transfer number request" to your local phone company, because they just might act on it immediately, and terminate your service.
Coincidentally, right about then, knock-knock on our door, and it's the UPS man with our SunRocket equipment package. I read the instructions about setting up the new Linksys SunRocket telephone "Gizmo" (modem) as they call it, and shut down everything, all my Macs, and power down the cable modem and router. Next I run my Therion cable modem Ethernet line directly to the Gizmo's Line No. 1; next connect the Belklin router to the Gizmo's Line No. 2 with a 2nd Ethernet cable; finally, power up the Therion cable modem 1st, and when it's lit up power up the Gizmo and wait for 3 LED's to signal it's ready (two steady, one flickering), and finally power up the Belkin FSD-7230-4 wireless/4-port router. I hooked up my Sony 2.4Ghz digital phone to the Gizmo's Line No. 1 phone port, powered it up, and voila! Phone service is on!
1st call was to SunRocket's tech support, because even though Verizon has closed our service off, and "assigned your number to your new service provider (they say...)", our old number isn't a go just yet. However, the RunRocket temp# works fine, incoming and outgoing calls work fine. Seems there's some "provisioning" that goes on between your old carrier (Verizon) and SunRocket, and Verizon's dragging their heels. Our rep tells us that things should be groovy by Wednesday, as SunRocket's "Provisioning Dept." is all over Verizon trying to get our number going. We actually get a few calls that Monday, and it seems that when folks dial our old number, then there a message about the number not being in service, however that incoming caller's Caller ID shows our SunRocket temp#! So folks call that temp#, our phone rings, and they get us on the phone that way. Pretty nuts, but that was only for one day.
Meanwhile folks that need to contact me are calling my cell phone like crazy, also my wife's number for her calls, so business goes on in spite of what Verizon did by cutting off our land line with no warning at all, and we do have internet phone service, and it's not affecting performance of my Belkin wireless router one bit....all my wireless Macs still have 4 clicks on their displays, and all is well.
Tuesday morning, the phone rings bright and early at 8:14AM, and it's one of my doctor's offices calling, to remind me of an appointment. Guess what? Yup, SunRocket's mananged to get our number assignment handled overnight, and people can call us on our regular number just like nothing every happened with disruption of service. By now, the GE Digital phones have charged up overnight, so I set up that 2-phone system and unplugged the old Sony phone. I also brought a plug-in phone line-splitter from upstairs, plugged that into the Gizmo, plugged in my FAX machine to one port, and the new GE digital system into the other port and lo and behold, it works! I thought I was going to lose my FAX ability, but all's well with splitting the Gizmo's signal between my Panasonic FAX machine/phone/answering machine and the new GE 5.8GHz 2-phone system.
Sorry this is so long, but might as well just tell the whole story and answer most questions right now. The GE digital phone system is top drawer in performance, and it's pretty fancy for a "free phone system". Calls are clear as a bell. There is no "internet modem lag-time or hesitation when you talk on the phone. If anything, converations are clearer, and stronger with the VOIP system than with Verizon's service and a hodge-podge of various portable phones like we had before. Caller ID works great. Call waiting, forwarding, and SunRocket's internet-based VoiceMail system was easy to set up, and after enabling the "no password required" feature, checking for messages only takes one keystroke...simply dial "0 0" and VoiceMail is reached.
I set up 9 important numbers that I often call on their SpeedDial system, and it works perfect. We called all over the USA in the past 3 days, and the system is performing better than our land-line based system ever did in terms of speed of dialing/connection, clarity and volume control, etc. My wife and I went out on a hunt for 2 more of the GE phones, with a specific part number for compatibility, so we'd have 4 phones on our VOIP network, and found them at Office Max, on sale for $24.95 each. After "registering" each of them with the base station, and setting up their "features" (distinctive rings, entering frequently called numbers in our bedroom's unit etc), we now have a 4-phone internet phone system, all wireless of course (duh!), and it's working 100%.
We now have 24/7 unlimited calling to anywhere in the USA, Puerto Rico, and Canada, 100 free International minutes (my wife's already tried out the service by calling her dad in Jakarta, Indonesia with success..so that service works great too), and the best part of all? No phone bill(s) from Verizon and Quest (our former long distance carrier) ever again...we're paid up for 12 months, and can cancel at any time with a pro-rated refund based on our $199 yearly fee. There is no contract. Just a "User Agreement" that's pretty simple to understand, and there are no Catch-22's to the whole deal that I could find.
We have our cell phones should any internet service interruption occur, and I feel like we couldn't have found a better deal, or service system at this time. That's the whole story of our "baptism" into internet phone service. With our RoadRunner 6MB/sec cable modem as the basis for the whole thing, it just makes sense to go this route versus keeping a land line, for any reason. SunRocket customer service/tech support is fast, and 1st class, and there is constant communication via email about virtually any contact with the company or service announcement, system status. Calling their 888#, by the way, for customer service or tech support issues is really fast, with virtually no wait time, in our experience thus far...a really pleasant surprise.
I'm giving SunRocket Internet Phone Service a "10", and could not be more pleased with the internet telephone system in terms of performance, features, and cost. If you have a chance to try out their system, and have a fast cable modem or DSL connection, go for it and try it out....just one caution: do NOT fill out the Number Transfer Request until you're certain and sure that you want to keep your old number, cancel your landline service, and go with SunRocket. As we found out, Verizon was very, very quick to act on the number transfer request, and terminate our service...it didn't take any 45 days...it only took 5 business days from the time I filled out the online form until they killed the land line.
Kindest regards,
rexrzer B)
_________________________________
_________________________________
What's the difference between reality and fiction? Fiction has to make some sense.
|
Re: SunRocket VOIP Phone Service Is A GO! (Long, long story) Date: May 10, 2007 06:52PM |
see how you feel in a year. YMMD, but I'm getting ready to drop them for inconsistent service that their Tier 2 service fails to address.
I'll switch to Skype.
!#$@@$#!
proofraed by OwEn the c@t.
I'll switch to Skype.
!#$@@$#!
proofraed by OwEn the c@t.
|
Re: SunRocket VOIP Phone Service Is A GO! (Long, long story) Date: May 11, 2007 05:33AM |
We just got sunrocket a month or 2 ago and we have no complaints. We got in on the $199 for 2 years deal. It was so nice dropping Bell South. Or actually they dropped us. But it took 30-40 days for the transfer. and one day, our phones just stopped. So I figured I had better connect the gizmo at that point. The only time we have degraded service is when we are surfing and talking. I noticed my wife yelling at her mom on the phone. "WHAT?!?!...I can't hear you...you're breaking up!" And I was like, crap this sunrocket sucks! Then i realized I was downloading a big update and surfing at the same time. After I stopped it miraculously got better.
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Re: SunRocket VOIP Phone Service Is A GO! (Long, long story) Date: May 11, 2007 09:53AM |
>>Then i realized I was downloading a big update and surfing at the same time. After I stopped it miraculously got better.
Did you ever fix this? There are a number of different ways to including - putting the gizmo between your modem and router, using a dd-wrt capable router and turning on the QoS features, and using a Hawking Broadband Booster.
Did you ever fix this? There are a number of different ways to including - putting the gizmo between your modem and router, using a dd-wrt capable router and turning on the QoS features, and using a Hawking Broadband Booster.
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