Ooma at Costco $20 instant mfg rebate -- expires 1/4/10

I was just at Costco to pick up an Ooma (regulary $199). Today is the last day for an extra $20 off. Get em while their hot.

What is it?

Is there a monthly fee with this, and if so...how much?

Ok, researched it: no monthly bills. I will give it a try. With Costcos great return policy, if it doesn't work I can return it easily.

Is THIS it? If not, how is it different? Is the folllowing summary about right?

The Telo has fewer features than the old Ooma and costs more. On top of the $150 for the device expect to pay for some or all of these fees.
- The Caller ID is only caller id numbers. To get Caller ID Names you must buy the $120/year premier service.
- Voicemail is no longer included in the basic Ooma service. Again, pay $120/year to get voicemail.
- Live phone-in support is no longer included with the Ooma Telo. You must pay an additional $40/year for that feature.
- Ooma has implemented a $12/year fee. So the service, while still sold as "free" is no longer free.
- Ooma charges $40 to port your phone number to their service. No Telcomm or Cable phone service charges for porting.
Ooma as becomes the leading VoIP for Nickle and Diming customers and shady marketing messages. Looks at any ad or review and the first thing you read is caller id. No one mentions you must pay to get caller id names.
Ooma gives you 60 days of the premier service so new users are beyond the 30 day return policy before they realize all the features are in the premier service costing $120/year. Nothing like locking in a customer then making them pay for what used to be included features.
This is no longer the old Ooma that became popular for free phone service after you buy the several hundred dollar device.
Ooma has moved so many core phone features to the premier plan they make the $120/year plan necessary. These fees are not fully disclosed until you sign up and they cut into any savings with this "free" phone service.
You will not be able to cut all phone bills from your life with the Ooma Telo because you will get an Ooma bill at least once a year after paying for their $250 device. The new Telo is not worth all the ongoing fees.

uafgrad said: Is THIS it? If not, how is it different?

it's $20 cheaper and it's in-store so possible ymmv.

If you are switching from another VoIP provider and have an alarm system that calls out via home wiring, make sure that it works before porting over your number to Ooma. Other than that, call quality is very good. It's a little tricky to do home wiring with the Hub and Scout. BUYERS BEWARE.

fasttimes said: It's the "Oooma Hub", not the Telo.

If you buy from Costco online its $199 but it comes with the "Premier" service for 6 months instead of 2 before you have to start paying (if you want it).

IMO, Hub is better than Telo. No monthly E911 fees (its just $12 per year, but still), you can get a DECT phone and get the same functionality as telo, and you can sell the Scout to make this cheaper.

walletLess said:
IMO, Hub is better than Telo. No monthly E911 fees (its just $12 per year, but still), you can get a DECT phone and get the same functionality as telo, and you can sell the Scout to make this cheaper.Deal mentioned in the OP is Hub only; no scout included.

If you have a multi phone system at home, where one main phone plugs into the phone jack and other phones plug into electric sockets, it will work with all phones. If you get the Ooma + Scout set, you can plug a second phone that goes into a phone jack in.

faktor said: walletLess said: fasttimes said: It's the "Oooma Hub", not the Telo.

If you buy from Costco online its $199 but it comes with the "Premier" service for 6 months instead of 2 before you have to start paying (if you want it).

IMO, Hub is better than Telo. No monthly E911 fees (its just $12 per year, but still), you can get a DECT phone and get the same functionality as telo, and you can sell the Scout to make this cheaper.

I thought that at this point it's $11.75/year regardless of the equipment. No?

It says on the box the annual government fees are $11.75. The first year is included in the price, but the charge will be starting the second year.

According to ooma's site there will be fees for new activations, hub/telo. link The only exclusion is : Ooma Hub/Scout Combination aka Core.

Where do you guys see no fees on this specific unit?

The deal is ok, no the best, as online you spend 20 more, but get newer unit/features, 100 of calling credit and 6 mo of premium service.

Doesn't work on DTMF if you need it (control answering machine, fax machine, home alarm and etc)
Something they don't tell you when you buy the unit.

Dang. I just wrote an article for a magazine explaining that Ooma was completely free after the initial purchase. Now evidently there will be a montly "access fee/tax", which means that what I wrote won't be accurate.

I have recently installed the Ooma Hub (Hub+Scout combo purchased from Dell.com in December $192.59 shipped). I didn't use the scout yet. maybe I will sell it on.

The Hub took 15 minutes to install and activate. I put it between my Comcast cable modem and my router, and connected to my home wiring for active phone ports around the house. I still get ~10Mbps download, ~5Mbps upload speeds.

I also have a Dect 6.0 Panasonic KX-TG6445 system (Costco B&M December $99!) with 5 extensions and a speakerphone base which works perfectly. Call clarity is above Vonage quality, even on international calls. I programmed my Ooma number so the Panasonic dials directly for Ooma voice-mail, or I can use the built in answer-machine, so I don't need access to the hub. I do like the blue status light which goes red if there is a loss of internet connection.

Another reason for switching was to successfully fax to/from my Canon Multifunction MP830, which is a great relief after many partial successes with Vonage.

The combination has been good enough for me to activate the number porting from my 3 year old Vonage account which I shall terminate once complete. I currently have Vonage successfully forwarding to my temporary Ooma number.

Every time I have called ooma customer support I have waited less than 2 minutes for a technician who has helped me (with good spoken English). First call - I wanted to confirm that caller-ID name/number would continue to be free with basic service after Premier service trial for Ooma hub/scout customers (yes). Second call was to pre-pay international call account - 2-3c/min to UK. Third call was to confirm number porting progress. I haven't needed technical support as things went very smoothly.

The customer reviews on Amazon.com have excellent Q&A, worth reading for experiences and solutions. The Ooma forums also have lots of first-hand experience (though more often from the population with problems rather than satisfied set-it-and-forget-it customers).

The ooma.com site includes details on how the new plans affect the costs and features for older devices, I believe this is clear and fair. I chose the hub/scout because I felt it was better value for my usage patterns. Read the conditions before pulling the trigger.

Good luck!

ChalPhut said: HiTach said: .....connected to my home wiring for active phone ports around the house.

Does this then let you connect your DECT 6.0 speakerphone base to any active phone port around the house or do you have to connect it to the Ooma Hub?

Yes - My hub is next to the cable modem and the Ooma "Phone" port is connected to the wall jack in my family room. The base unit is connected to the wall jack in my kitchen. My multifunction Fax is connected to the wall jack in my study. The other Panasonic handsets throughout my house are wirelessly connected to the Panasonic base station. Switching to a Panasonic Dect 6.0 wireless phone system from a Siemens 2.4GHz system I lost the clicks I would get from my B/G WiFi interference.

Note, if you are using Ooma to replace a landline and use the home wiring, you must disconnect the exterior local landline service, normally on an exterior wall.

HiTach said: ChalPhut said: HiTach said: .....connected to my home wiring for active phone ports around the house.

Does this then let you connect your DECT 6.0 speakerphone base to any active phone port around the house or do you have to connect it to the Ooma Hub?

Yes - My hub is next to the cable modem and the Ooma "Phone" port is connected to the wall jack in my family room. The base unit is connected to the wall jack in my kitchen. My multifunction Fax is connected to the wall jack in my study. The other Panasonic handsets throughout my house are wirelessly connected to the Panasonic base station. Switching to a Panasonic Dect 6.0 wireless phone system from a Siemens 2.4GHz system I lost the clicks I would get from my B/G WiFi interference.

Note, if you are using Ooma to replace a landline and use the home wiring, you must disconnect the exterior local landline service, normally on an exterior wall.

HiTach, that is the answer I was looking for. Thanks.

mpkb said: jdoftx said: Doesn't work on DTMF if you need it (control answering machine, fax machine, home alarm and etc)
Something they don't tell you when you buy the unit.
Hmmm... according to this thread on Amaz0n it does DTMF just fine...

The ooma hub works on outgoing DTMF, incoming DTMF does not work. We can no longer access our answering machine from outside the house. It's not a huge deal as we just switched over to Ooma's voicemail. I believe the Ooma Teleo will work with DTMF in both directions.

I saw it at Costco for $179.99 expired on 02/22/2010, hurry up if you want it.