Customer Reviews

OBi110 Voice Service Bridge and VoIP Telephone Adapter

5 star:		(402)
4 star:		(38)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(17)

 

 

I configured the OBi110 to use Google Voice, and it completely replaced my home telephone service. With free long distance within the US, the device will pay for itself in savings in a couple of months.

Configuring the device was easy. The online documentation was decent, and I found a few other blogs with tutorials as well. I recommend using the obitalk web site for ease of configuration. The only problem is that it stores your Gmail username and password, so there's a certain expectation of trust that OBi will not misuse that information. Personally, I created a second Gmail / Google Voice account just for this product. Thanks Google!

Note: this product does NOT provide access to 911. If this is needed, it is available through several Internet phone service providers. I used CallCentric, which provides enhanced 911 for $1.50 per month. The OBi online wizard provides easy setup for CallCentric and other Internet phone services, and configuring the device to place 911 calls through this service was fairly easy.

Also, the call quality has been excellent. I cannot tell a difference in sound quality between the OBi / Google Voice and my previous PSTN service. I have not had any problems with dropped calls either.

Overall, this is a solid product and a great way to save some money by dropping the telephone company.

I have been looking for a simple solution that would allow us to setup and use Google Voice. Since asterisk 1.8 came out, I have been waiting for DD-WRT or tomatoes to integrate this in the router so I would not need a computer to run 24/7 to set up Google Voice.

Then comes Obi110 which solves this problem. The setup was very simple. If you don't want to store your GV credentials on the Obitalk.com you can set it up by logging on the adapter (just like logging onto the router). I did find it that if you do it this way, when you dial out you still have to dial "**1" (using profile1) then the number you want to reach. Maybe there is a way to get rid of this. But if you setup through Obitalk you can enable the prefix and dial just like in GV. You can also update the FW from Obitalk.

Everything is working as expected. Caller ID shows up correctly when you call someone. When someone calls the ID would show "+" then the number with no dash, something like this: +1234567890. My wife was on the phone for an hour and she said the quality was good. If you are looking into a simple setup (and almost plug and play) I would highly recommend the Obi110.

Update 12/10/11: Caller ID has been showing the correct format for a while now. Also, my unit died a few months ago. I called their tech support, they checked from remote and confirmed that it's dead. They sent out a replacement unit the next day! I just have to send the dead one back. Great customer service. Google voice is still free for 2012 btw.

I purchased this product a week ago and recently set it up and it works perfectly. It's been running for a total of two days since I last set it up. I will update this review in a few months after its run for a while.

My goal was to get an alternative/replacement to Skype which was my replacement for Vonage -- I no longer use landlines & totally committed to VOIP. I was tired of paying extra costs associated with telephony services thus this option. This has turned out to be a pleasant surprise.

The people at OBi110 have perfected KISS principles, it was so easy to setup Google voice, actually much easier than setting up Google voice settings options in Gmail.


Pros.
- Free VOIP at least when connected to Google Voice for now.
- The installation is very simple my setup is a little different from the manuals recommendation, since this is connected to my power Ethernet adapter due to proximity of my phone but it still worked on the first try.
- Simple admin UI that is easy to use and understand.
- Just works perfectly.
- It's super small.

Con
- Next version should possibly have an automated firmware update check. It is currently a manual process.

This is the perfect alternative for services like Vonage and better, at least for now calling to the US and Canada is free using Google voice. I highly recommend this product.

Thanks.

I waited 6 weeks before writing this review. After looking at all the reviews@amazon.com, I bought this product . I set it up using google voice and sipgate. It was easy to set up. It works fine even with VOIP enabled home security system. It worked fine for 2 weeks. After 2 weeks of use, I encountered 3 main issues. 1) Every 2-3 days, I have to reboot the system. It was stuck and we were not receiving calls. It was frustrating experience for the family. Customer service promptly pushed the update. It did not help the problem. Later, customer service attributed the problem to google voice. 2) At times, caller on the other side can't hear you. If you hang up and call back. It works fine. Customer service blamed it on google voice. 3) call gets disconnected in the middle of the call.

If you visit customer forum, you will read that many customers are having similar problems. I need a reliable communication phone line. I am disconnecting from obihai 110 and signing back with vonage. If they fix these issues, I will go back.

I encourage you visit customer forum before buying this product. I feel that the reviews at amazon.com are based on very short term use.

I am a Google Voice user and this thing is awesome. If you use Google Voice for all your calls, you need this piece of equipment. In a nutshell, the Obi110 links your home phones to Google Voice, so that you can just pick up a phone and dial. Call quality is excellent and all of your favorite calling features are supported. There are no monthly fees of any kind (so long as Google Voice is free), your only cash out is for the purchase price of the Obi110. And even if Google starting charging for Voice in the future, it's a pretty safe assumption that their service will cost no more than the next cheapest competitor.

In addition to the Google Voice integration (which is awesome), the Obi110 lets you customize almost everything about your phone system. In my configuration, I've redirected 411 calls to BING 411, 311 calls to the local non emergency police line, and 911 calls to my Verizon landline. I decided to keep my landline for e911 and faxes (VOIP craps out on faxes about 50% of the time), and changed my Verizon landline service to measured rate with no bells/whistles. The Obi110 lets you configure up to 2 VOIP services and also plug in your landline if you like.

Installing this thing and getting Google Voice up and running isn't any harder than setting up a wireless router. Those who are more technically inclined will find an Expert settings menu that allows you to mess with almost anything you could think of related to your telephone service. It takes a little bit of time to figure it out, but if you have some basic programming knowledge, it shouldn't be too difficult. There are a lot of configuration examples on the web that you can pull up by Googling "Obi110" and whatever you are trying to do. For example, you could google "Obi110 411 BING" and you'll find the config string to enable 411 to redirect to Bing 411.

I've barely scratched the surface of this thing and I am still very impressed with the Obi110. There's so much more you can do with it if you want to put in some time to learn more.

The only thing I'm a little wary of is how long this thing will last. The 1st unit I ordered from Amazon was DOA, and I had to send it back. No big deal though, Amazon returns was easy as always and I got my replacement a day later.

Assuming it doesn't crap out on me in a year or so, this is one of the most interesting and useful computer products I've ever purchased. I am very pleased with it.

I was looking forward to a fun weekend project learning about VOIP and SIP, tweaking settings until it worked perfectly. But no luck, I plugged it in and it worked. The hardest part of the whole process was finding the box with the phone in the basement. This was the worst weekend project ever :(

In addition to all the things that other reviewers mentioned, you can set it up to make free international calls using the ObiAPP.

Background:
1) Your Obi110 will have a unique 9 digit number at the bottom of the device (say 111-222-333).
2) When you create an account with Obitalk.com, it assigns a unique 9 digit softphone number. You can "add device" and associate your physical Obi No to this account.
3) You can create as many accounts as you want (as I write now - using a different gmail address for each new account). And each account comes with its own 9 digit softphone number.

How to (setup ObiAPP to make free calls to your ObiDevice):
Here is how you can let someone else call you to your Obi110 for free. For example, I will create two new accounts - ObAPP-1 (with softphone no. 123-456-789) and ObiAPP-2 (with softohone no. 987-654-321) in addition to ObiAcc-0 (that has the Obi110 tied to).

And suppose that you have two laptops - L1 and L2 and assume that L1 is in India and L2 is in Brazil.

4) From Obitalk.com download the ObiAPP. Install it on both L1 and L2. Install X-lite version 4, (a softphone client) on both of them. Set-up the account preferences as suggested on Obitalk.com screenshots (The userid for X-Lite is your 9 digit softphone no).
5) Now create the Circle of Trust (CoT) such that each account is in the CoT of every other account.
6) For both ObiAPP-1 and ObiAPP-2, use ObiAcc-0 as the default voice gateway)
7) From L1, log on to ObiAPP middleware service, launch X-lite. From this X-Lite softphone, dial **9 111-222-333
8) You will hear the Auto-Attendant, and press 1, and it rings the phone connected to you (i.e phone connected to your Obi110). So anyone with an account with Obitalk and is in your CoT, can call your phone, free of charge.

There are more possibilities. For example, L1 can call L2 via Obi110, but you can explore them further on your own. It is totally fun.

A concern I have is, how scalable is the ObiTalk network as the userbase is likely to see tremendous growth. As of now, it brings new possibilities with the "social VoIP networking" concept and seems to be doing just fine.

Another minor issue is: the status message in the Google chat seems to be affected by this device, in particular the "invisible" mode. Google chat complains - "Oops! You are not invisible because you're logged into Google Talk from another client, device, or location that doesn't support invisibility". Of course, if you do not plan to use Google voice as one (or both) of the VoIP providers, this wont be an issue.

I have tried probably a dozen different voip solutions and we now have basically the holy grail:

1) You don't need special phones -- you can hook up your analog cordless phones (Panasonic DECT 6.0 models are usually great).
2) Service through Google Voice is free and relatively high quality -- comparable in reliability and sound quality to Skype I'd say.
3) The Obihai device really is easy to configure.
4) The device JUST WORKS. You connect it to your router and forget about it. Never need to reboot -- nothing.
5) You don't need a super broadband connection -- your run of the mill cable internet or DSL will do.

As people find out about it, this device and Google Voice is really trouble for the relatively expensive voip services like Vonage and Lingo that give you an adapter but cost $20-$30 a month. A few years ago $30 a month for unlimited phone service was a godsend; now, compared to FREE, it's kind of pricey.

There are two catches. Google Voice will not give you 911 service so you should have a secondary phone for emergencies -- which can be your cell phone. Also, we don't know whether Google Voice will stay free. But I'm pretty confident that even if Google starts charging, it will be something nominal.

Ok, so I read all the reviews and thought, could this be as great as reviewed? I was so frustrated with other VOIP services, like Magic Jack, which let me down completely. I thought, could this really be that great! Well, IT IS! I love that I can use it with Google Voice, turning that number into my Home phone for NO additional charges! It's WONDERFUL! I was a bit worried about the set-up, But, that was a piece of cake too. I just followed the directions! If you want a wonderful and FREE home phone, than, the Obi and the Free Google Voice is the way to go! I HIGHLY recommend it! Thanks Obi!

My wife and I use Google Voice exclusively. In fact, I have no idea what our actual cell phone numbers are off hand. However, cell service is very poor in our house. I initially bought a cell phone booster with a high gain directional outdoor antenna. Didn't help much (if at all) inside the house.

I then tried some of the WiFi options for our Android phones (cSimple, SIPdroid, GooVe IP, etc). Bad echos... even with endless hours spent on tweaking the mic gain, speaker volume, and echo cancellation. NOTE: GrooVe IP did the best in this category. So I have it loaded on our phones (but not running) in case we're somewhere without cell service, but do have WiFi around.

I started to think I'd need to go ahead and get a cheap middle man home service (like MagicJack, NetTALK DUO, etc) to point Google Voice towards.

Then I stumbled on Ooma and OBi. Both offer direct connection to Google Voice without having to set up that middle man. Just what I was hoping for. However, Ooma is pretty spendy and I'm pretty cheap. So I bought the OBi.

No echo issues. No lag / delay. Crystal clear! And only once in the last week has an incoming call not rang on it (but did ring our cells). The other 30 or so calls did connect. And 1 call did have where I could hear them, but they couldn't hear me (one way audio).

I didn't have any problems connecting both my Google Voice and my wife's Google Voice accounts to it. 5 stars / A+ / two thumbs up on the ease of doing that through OBiTALK.

However, I did drop one star for one tiny thing that I hope they can make easier to do. (You can do it - which attests to how powerful this phone adapter is!, but it takes some technical savvy).

You see, you pick one line to be your default outgoing line. That is my Google Voice number. (You can use the second account if you dial **2 before the number). So when I use the home phone and call the wife's Google Voice number, no problem. It rings her cell as usual and shows my number on her Caller ID. -- However, if she is home and tries calling my Google Voice number it goes straight to my voice mail prompt... because by default it is using my Google Voice number to call out. So it thinks you are trying to call yourself and puts you at the Google Voice attendant. What she has to do is dial **2 and then my number. Then it rings my cell and shows her number as Caller ID. Makes sense.

What would be nice is if you dial your primary number, it should have a setting to automatically use your second line. (We get our voice mails on our phones as audio files anyhow... so we don't need to pick up the voice mails from home phone).

What I did was go into the ADVANCED settings and changed the "outbound call route" for the PHONE port. I added my Google Voice number to the route and told it to use sp2.

Works like a champ! The wife doesn't have to dial **2 anymore when she calls me from the home phone.

Well worth the few bucks it cost and now I pay ZERO for a home phone. Sorry MagicJack / netTALK / Ooma.