Fongo ATA $49

sandeeS wrote: ↑
no one tells anyone to buy anything. Its free and you can try first. There is no one to blame here.

I never wrote what you quoted above.

However, Fongo Home Phone, is not free. Fongo Mobile is free, as is the Freephoneline desktop app--and it's reasonable to try those first before paying for anything, because if they work well for you (at least, while Fongo Mobile is on Wi-Fi on your LAN), then Fongo Home Phone should work fine as well.

scoobydoo wrote: ↑ You guys suckered me in... I bought a Fongo!

I kept it Canadian. As Magicjack is a company from Israel.

sorry It was in response to this. He said it. haha. and I said you said it. haha.

Webslinger wrote: ↑

Thanks for your help. Maybe in the future I'll give Groundwire a whirl with Android and see how it performs.

I'm due for a new cell phone as my eyes aren't like they used to be, my old age is setting in and I'm in need of a larger screen. haha. I currently use a 4.5 inch screen (moto e2) with not the best resolution. I too remember those times prior to cell phones. Finally, my first cell phone was with Clearnet and was the size of a foundation brick. Even included an antenna that extended well above my ear/head. Texting??...what the heck was texting? Lol

I'm gonna stick with VoIP.ms for the time being as I have my home and cell DIDs already ported to them and I love their service. However, FPL would be nice not needing to pay after the initial costs. I am still undecided on this VoIP on cell thing. I've been doing it for over a half of year and it, as you already know, isn't the greatest reception for sending and receiving calls. I have found that I'm barely placing calls though, and of course it's hit or miss. Texting has been my primary form of communication with friends and family. I was one of the last to adapt and I'm still adapting. It's a process. I've been thinking of going prepaid with Koodo, just to have clearer calls for when I do need them, but I'm addicted to that 3GB of data Fido has given me for $15.00 per month.

Anybody out west (BC/Vancouver) using FreePhoneLine or Fongo? I'm getting an average ping time about 80ms from voip*.freephoneline.ca

digitalnut wrote: ↑ Anybody out west (BC/Vancouver) using FreePhoneLine or Fongo? I'm getting an average ping time about 80ms from voip*.freephoneline.ca

80 ms is okay with a good ATA (Obihai OBi200/OBi202) or IP phone.

You can try the Freephoneline desktop app for free: https://www.fongo.com/app/desktop/


A.Use winmtr http://winmtr.net/download-winmtr/

B. For Freephoneline.ca (based in Ontario), test to voip.freephoneline.ca (let winmtr ping about 100 times), voip2.freephoneline.ca, and voip4.freephoneline.ca. You can copy text to clipboard and paste your results (do not post your own IP public address though) and post them for others to examine if you want.

C. Look at the very last hop or line. Take a look at your average ping--and your maximum. You want those values to be relatively close.
You do not want high pings and lots of jitter (you do not want a lot of variation between each ping). If you get horrible results (pings over 200ms), you should probably avoid FPL.

I get between 11 (voip.freephoneline.ca and voip2.freephoneline.ca)-24ms (voip4.freephonline.ca) on average, depending on the server I'm testing to. Preferably, you want pings below 100ms.

Anything over 200ms is unacceptable. So, if you're getting really high pings and jitter, I would avoid FPL.

What you don't want to see is 40, 45, 50, 35, 500, 40, 30, 45, 700. That's bad jitter.
You want relatively consistent pings without a lot of variation.

Try the free FPL desktop app first: https://www.fongo.com/app/desktop/
(fwiw, I dislike this app)

Make sure that you're not muting anything (microphone/speakers), and that you tested to ensure your mic is working before fiddling around with the app: http://win10faq.com/fix-microphone-settings/

And make sure you test incoming calls for 1-way audio issues before paying a dime to FPL (you'll need a mic and headphones/speakers to test). Test on a computer that's connected to your router (without DMZ or port forwarding enabled). Should you encounter 1-way audio issues, look for a feature called SIP ALG in your router (you may need to call your ISP if you're using a modem/router combo) and disable that feature.


i. Typically it's better to have your own router and to stick whatever modem/router combo your ISP gives you into bridge mode.

ii. Disable SIP ALG in your own router. Many modem/router combos that are issued by ISPs have faulty SIP ALG/SPI functions enabled, with no way to disable them. These features can mangle SIP headers.

To understand why SIP ALG is often a serious headache visit http://www.voip-info.org/wiki/view/Routers+SIP+ALG

iii. Properly enable QoS in your router for your computer that's running the Freephoneline desktop app (and ensure no other programs are running on your computer that are hogging bandwidth while using the Freephoneline desktop app). Refer to your router's manual or contact your ISP if you were issued a modem/router combo from them (typically those routers suck and have horrible or absent QoS functions).

I'm not a huge fan of this website, but it suffices for an explanation of QoS: http://www.voipmechanic.com/qos-for-voip.htm
Avoid anything it says about the G.729


iv. If you still get one-way audio issues with the Freephoneline desktop app, you may need to port forward, which is a security risk (and not advisable).

The FPL desktop app uses ports 5060-5061,6060-6061,13000-13001 if you're going to port forward for the desktop app (you need to port forward to the LAN IP of the computer you're using. For most home networks the IP will begin 192.168.xxx.x). Refer to your router's manual to learn how to port forward (if your router came from your ISP, contact your ISP).

I would start just by port forwarding 13000-13001 only, which is for RTP (audio packets). If that still doesn't work, you can try adding 6060 or 6061. The most dangerous ports to forward are 5060-5061 and really shouldn't be necessary if you're forwarding 6060 or 6061 anyway. I guess if all else fails, forward all of them: 5060-5061,6060-6061,13000-13001

These are all UDP ports.

5060, 5061, 6060, and 6061 should be alternate SIP ports.

Only port forward if all else fails (and only do it temporarily, since it's a security risk).

You guys are right, Magicjack sucks. It was better before, this is my 2nd time registering.

Their registration website doesn't exist anymore and their website won't detect my MJ device connected to my computer. When I called MJ support on the phone, she told me to activate it on the website and when I said it wouldn't detect it, she said she was transferring me to someone in a higher position. That person was a recorded message telling me to go on the website and ask for Live Chat Support. Lol.

PS: I was wrong... other than a few minor setbacks, customer service was there all the way and everything was setup quickly.

Currently on sale for $44.99 at Best Buy and way cheaper than Fongo.

Maybe somebody here can answer this, in my case I want to keep my current phone number and I was trying to get service from voip.ms since I have already a SPA-2102 with one unused line (the other is with Telbo for free calls to many countries).
Voip.ms insists that my Newmarket number is not portable, (it's a 905-898-XXXX) although I had it with Bell at first, then Teksavvy and 4 months ago I moved to Rogers. Never moved from the address I got it originally. Also everybody else's website says that the number is portable. Looks I'm at a dead end with voip.ms. What would be the alternative? I rarely use this line, but I do not want to change the number. Very light use. Thanks.
I

What about porting to freephoneline.ca?

kakuy wrote: ↑ Voip.ms insists that my Newmarket number is not portable

VoIP.ms can't, at the time of this post, port Newmarket phone numbers: https://voip.ms/portability.php

audit13 wrote: ↑ What about porting to freephoneline.ca?

My take is that voip.ms may be has more functionality than FPL but I may end doing that.

kakuy wrote: ↑ My take is that voip.ms may be has more functionality than FPL but I may end doing that.

What features do you need?

Some things that FPL can't do by itself can be done with an Obihai ATA (ex. block or redirect callers, inward dialing).

Webslinger wrote: ↑ What features do you need?

Some things that FPL can't do by itself can be done with an Obihai ATA (ex. block or redirect callers, inward dialing).

I get that, but I have a SPA-2102 unlocked that works fine with Telbo and I'd like to avoid purchasing another box.

kakuy wrote: ↑ I get that, but I have a SPA-2102 unlocked that works fine with Telbo and I'd like to avoid purchasing another box.

Then the question of what features you need remains. If you don't need much, then FPL is the cheapest in the long run. But they don't offer free technical support.

Anveo (Montreal PoP) has the most features, but it's the most complicated service to setup for newcomers. It also has a limited number of online support tickets. You can check portability here: http://www.anveo.com/lnpcheck.asp?lnp_numbers=

my grand Stream ATA 801 is not registering the phone. I am with Fongo home phone.
Do I need to set up SIP? if yes where can I find instructions for it for Fongo Home phone?
Thx in advance.