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Technical Details
- Revolutionary device that gives you free calls within U.S. and low rates for international calls
- Works with any corded or cordless phone; easy installation with no computer required. Not compatible with Ooma Scout.
- Includes caller-ID, call-waiting, 911, and many other calling features
- Includes 60-day free trial of Ooma Premier -- a suite of enhanced calling services features
- Includes everything needed for installation; backed by 30-day money-back guarantee and extendable 1-year warranty
Product Details
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Product Description
Amazon.com Product Description
The Ooma Telo is a revolutionary device that allows you to call anywhere in the U.S. for free. Just pay applicable taxes and fees. You can also make international calls for next to nothing. Telo is easy to set up and even easier to use. You simply connect the device to your high-speed Internet and your existing phone, and that's it. You don't need a computer, and you don't need a headset. With the Ooma Telo, you'll be ready to start calling and saving money within minutes.
Free Calls in the U.S. and Low International Rates
With its sleek design and loaded features, the only thing that's not stunning about the Ooma Telo is the price tag. The Ooma Telo allows you to enjoy free home phone service, free calls within the United States, and exceptionally low international rates. The end result: you'll save hundreds of dollars a year in phone bills.
Crisp, Clear Voice Quality with No Dropped Calls
The Ooma system has been designed to deliver exceptional voice quality and reliability, giving you the crisp, acoustic performance of a landline.
Easy Installation with your Existing Phones
The Telo has been designed for an intuitive and easy installation. It connects to your router with the included Ethernet cable, and to your existing telephone with the included telephone cord. Most customers are connected and making calls within about 20 minutes. If you've got any questions, ooma's online support site is loaded with dozens of articles, diagrams, tips, and facts.
Port Your Existing Phone Number
For a one-time fee of $39.99, Ooma gives you the option of retaining your current telephone number. Or, if you want to change numbers, you can choose a new number in any calling area in the US to use with your Telo unit.
Low-Cost Landline Option for Added Flexibility
Ooma gives you the option of integrating a low-cost landline as a backup. This way, you'll be able to enjoy the assurance of traditional 911 service and seamless coverage during Internet and power outages.
Supports the Ooma Telo Handset
Get the most out of your Ooma Telo with the official Ooma Telo Handset. Thanks to DECT 6.0 technology, the handset enhances the already clear, crisp sound quality of ooma. It allows you to take full advantage of Ooma's premium features like Instant Second Line and personal number setting. You don't need a Telo Handset to use Ooma, but it will definitely enhance your experience.
Exclusive Web Portal
My Ooma is your online destination for the ooma service. You can listen to messages, check your call logs, control your account preferences, prepay for international calling, and even set up voicemail notifications, 24 hours a day. There's also an online phonebook, which can be accessed if you're using the Ooma Telo Handset (sold separately).
What's in the Box
Ooma Telo, Ethernet cable, phone cable, and AC adapter.
Advanced Voicemail Features
With Ooma Premier, you'll have access to several first-class voicemail options. You'll be able to enjoy the ultimate convenience of having your voicemails forwarded to e-mail, allowing you to check your phone messages from work. And for added privacy, you'll have the option of making any Ooma device a private extension.
Instant Second Line
If you share your house with a phone hog, Ooma's Instant Second Line feature presents a solution for you. When the line is already in use, you can simply pick up a second Ooma Handset and get a fresh dial tone. Up to two separate calls can be made simultaneously.
Personal Number
With an affordable Ooma Premier subscription, you gain access to the Personal Number feature. This feature allows you to create a unique phone number for everyone in the family. Multiple numbers can be mapped to the same handset, but you can make each number ring distinctively so you know who the call is for. Up to nine additional numbers are allowed.
Add Unwanted Callers to Your Blacklist
Ooma allows you to instantly add unwanted callers to your blocked list. If telemarketers are harassing you, use ooma Lounge to add them to your blacklist. You'll have the option to block future calls completely or send them straight to voicemail. The choice is yours.
Community Blacklist
Harness the power of the Ooma community and protect yourself from unwanted callers before they've even tried to call you. If enough Ooma users have blocked a certain caller, Ooma will add this caller to the community blacklist. Combine this with Ooma's special spam-detecting algorithms, and you've got the ultimate telemarketer blacklist.
Multi-Ring
Constantly on the go? Multi-Ring takes call forwarding to the next level. Configure your Ooma number to simultaneously ring your home phone and mobile phone at the same time. Whether you're at home or on the road, you'll never miss a call.
Three-way Conference Calls
Need to make dinner plans with two of your friends? Ooma's got you covered. Once you're on a call, press the second-line button to make or take a second call. Press down both line buttons at once, and you've got yourself a conference call.
NOTE: The Ooma Telo requires high-speed Internet and a router (sold separately).
Overview
Your one-time purchase of the ooma system delivers:- Free calling within U.S. and low-cost international calls
- Caller-ID, call-waiting and 911
- Outstanding voice quality and secure, encrypted phone calls
- Easy set-up with any telephone; no PC required
- Option to keep your current number and landline service
- 30-day money-back guarantee and extendable 1-year warranty
- Free trial of Ooma Premier -- a suite of enhanced features
Features
 Call anywhere in the U.S., free of charge |
Free Calls in the U.S. and Low International Rates
With its sleek design and loaded features, the only thing that's not stunning about the Ooma Telo is the price tag. The Ooma Telo allows you to enjoy free home phone service, free calls within the United States, and exceptionally low international rates. The end result: you'll save hundreds of dollars a year in phone bills.
Crisp, Clear Voice Quality with No Dropped Calls
The Ooma system has been designed to deliver exceptional voice quality and reliability, giving you the crisp, acoustic performance of a landline.
 You can get your ooma phone service up and running in a mere 20 minutes. View larger |
The Telo has been designed for an intuitive and easy installation. It connects to your router with the included Ethernet cable, and to your existing telephone with the included telephone cord. Most customers are connected and making calls within about 20 minutes. If you've got any questions, ooma's online support site is loaded with dozens of articles, diagrams, tips, and facts.
 By replacing your landline with Ooma, you could save a bundle. |
For a one-time fee of $39.99, Ooma gives you the option of retaining your current telephone number. Or, if you want to change numbers, you can choose a new number in any calling area in the US to use with your Telo unit.
Low-Cost Landline Option for Added Flexibility
Ooma gives you the option of integrating a low-cost landline as a backup. This way, you'll be able to enjoy the assurance of traditional 911 service and seamless coverage during Internet and power outages.
Supports the Ooma Telo Handset
Get the most out of your Ooma Telo with the official Ooma Telo Handset. Thanks to DECT 6.0 technology, the handset enhances the already clear, crisp sound quality of ooma. It allows you to take full advantage of Ooma's premium features like Instant Second Line and personal number setting. You don't need a Telo Handset to use Ooma, but it will definitely enhance your experience.
 My Ooma gives you unrestricted access to your account and phone service. |
My Ooma is your online destination for the ooma service. You can listen to messages, check your call logs, control your account preferences, prepay for international calling, and even set up voicemail notifications, 24 hours a day. There's also an online phonebook, which can be accessed if you're using the Ooma Telo Handset (sold separately).
What's in the Box
Ooma Telo, Ethernet cable, phone cable, and AC adapter.
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PureVoice
In today’s connected home environment with Internet file sharing, video streaming, on-line gaming, Ooma’s PureVoice Technology delivers clear audio even if substandard calling conditions exist. Ooma PureVoice Technology is composed of four key components.
Advanced Voice Compression
Ooma uses an advanced voice compression algorithm that reduces bandwidth consumption by 60% over standard VoIP technology. That leaves you with more bandwidth for all other online activities and increases the likelihood that your voice traffic will be delivered properly by your ISP.
Wire-speed QoS
Even though Ooma uses only a fraction of the bandwidth of standard VoIP technology, preserving voice quality requires that those packets arrive on time. The Ooma Telo prioritizes voice packets without slowing down the rest of your network. This way you can enjoy crystal clear calls even as you're uploading your latest video clips.
Adaptive Redundancy
Packet loss is the enemy of VoIP - it can cause voice to sound stuttered or garbled. The Ooma Telo detects packet loss on your Internet connection and automatically sends redundant packets to boost the clarity of your phone call.
Encrypted Calls
Ooma takes your privacy seriously. We use the same encryption technology governments use to protect classified data to protect your conversations. This makes Ooma even more secure than the traditional landline.
Discover Ooma Premier
If you want to add a bundle of enhanced calling features that will get your home phone service firing on all cylinders, Ooma Telo includes a free 60-day trial to Ooma Premier, a suite of enhanced calling features. You can also add Ooma Premier to your service for $9.99/month or $119.99/year. If you sign up for a year, you'll have the option of retaining your current telephone number for free ($39.99 value), or receiving a free HD handset ($49.99 value). See the chart below for a full list of Ooma Premier features.ooma Premier Subscription Features:
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Advanced Voicemail Features
With Ooma Premier, you'll have access to several first-class voicemail options. You'll be able to enjoy the ultimate convenience of having your voicemails forwarded to e-mail, allowing you to check your phone messages from work. And for added privacy, you'll have the option of making any Ooma device a private extension.
Instant Second Line
If you share your house with a phone hog, Ooma's Instant Second Line feature presents a solution for you. When the line is already in use, you can simply pick up a second Ooma Handset and get a fresh dial tone. Up to two separate calls can be made simultaneously.
 Program unique numbers and ring sounds for everyone in the family. |
With an affordable Ooma Premier subscription, you gain access to the Personal Number feature. This feature allows you to create a unique phone number for everyone in the family. Multiple numbers can be mapped to the same handset, but you can make each number ring distinctively so you know who the call is for. Up to nine additional numbers are allowed.
Add Unwanted Callers to Your Blacklist
Ooma allows you to instantly add unwanted callers to your blocked list. If telemarketers are harassing you, use ooma Lounge to add them to your blacklist. You'll have the option to block future calls completely or send them straight to voicemail. The choice is yours.
 Blacklist unwanted callers with Ooma Premier. |
Harness the power of the Ooma community and protect yourself from unwanted callers before they've even tried to call you. If enough Ooma users have blocked a certain caller, Ooma will add this caller to the community blacklist. Combine this with Ooma's special spam-detecting algorithms, and you've got the ultimate telemarketer blacklist.
Multi-Ring
Constantly on the go? Multi-Ring takes call forwarding to the next level. Configure your Ooma number to simultaneously ring your home phone and mobile phone at the same time. Whether you're at home or on the road, you'll never miss a call.
Three-way Conference Calls
Need to make dinner plans with two of your friends? Ooma's got you covered. Once you're on a call, press the second-line button to make or take a second call. Press down both line buttons at once, and you've got yourself a conference call.
Product Description
Free home phone service with Ooma; Free calling in the U.S. to any phone number; caller-ID, call-waiting and 911 included; No computer or headset required; Option to keep your existing phone number; Low-cost international rates starting at pennies per minute
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
748 of 770 people found the following review helpful
We purchased an Ooma Hub & Scout in April 2009 to replace a Vonage VoIP connection. We are very satisfied with the hub, and therefore purchased an Ooma Telo for a second location. This review describes our Ooma Telo experience so far, and compares it to the Hub/Scout.
The Telo is well designed and sleek. The controls are touch controls and very sensitive. There is a USB port in the back - presumably for future expansion. Like the hub, there are two RJ45 ethernet jacks - one to connect to the "internet", and the second to connect to one's home network. There are also two RJ11 phone jacks. One to connect to your existing landline, should you have one, and decide to integrate the landline and Telo. The other is to connect to your phone.
The setup instructions are simple. While it is recommended that the Telo be connected directly to your cable/dsl/wimax modem (i.e. before your router), it works equally well after the router. We chose to connect the Telo to the router rather than the modem.
We were treated to a red & blue patriotic light show for about 20 minutes when the Telo was first plugged in, while it apparently downloaded firmware/software updates. I was a little puzzled by this, but presumably there have been updates from the release date (October 1) to our purchase date (October 3), or the first set of units were shipped without the latest firmware/software on them. In either event, there has been a second firmware/software update since then, so clearly Ooma are keen to improve Telo as feedback/complaints from early adopters rolls in.
Unlike the Hub, the Telo doesn't support the Scout. But this doesn't mean the Telo cannot provide a dial tone at other phone jacks in your house. For this, simply connect a splitter to the phone jack in the Telo, plug one line into the telephone adjacent to the Telo, and the second into the nearest wall jack. If the phone wiring in your house is intact, you should be able to connect a standard wired phone to any other phone jack. The Ooma Hub also supports this feature, which isn't readily documented in Ooma's product literature.
The Telo and Hub are indistinguishable in every aspect of call quality. Off course the Telo supports up to four DECT 6.0 handsets, and Telo to Telo calls will offer HD voice. The Telo will also support Bluetooth, and cell-phone integration. Although these features will be available in future firmware/software updates.
There are differences in the level and cost of service that I have described below.
For current Ooma Hub owners:
Ooma Core includes 5000 minutes a month, voicemail and caller-id and is free of regulatory fees for the life of the hub.
Ooma Premiere includes a range of additional features, including a second line, 3-way calling, multi-ring, call fowarding and many others. This costs $9.99 a month or $99 a year.
For future Ooma Hub owners:
Ooma Core will include 5000 minutes a month and voicemail. From the second year, it will cost $12/yr to recover regulatory fees.
Ooma Premiere will include enhanced voicemail, and the other premiere features. Ooma Premiere will cost $9.99 a month or $120 a year.
For Ooma Telo:
Ooma core includes 5000 mins/month & voicemail, and $12/yr from the second year on to recover regulatory fees.
Ooma Premiere will include enhanced voicemail, and the other premiere features at $9.99 a month or $120 a year.
For both the Hub and Telo, the cost of Premiere includes either a free handset a year (a $49 value), or a free number port (a $39 value).
This change in pricing strategy has made some claim that Ooma is no longer "free".
Well, it never was, although current Hub owners will not have to spend another dime for the life of their unit.
New Hub & Telo users receive 5000 mins/month and voicemail for the cost of the unit, and have to pay $12/year from the second year onwards to cover regulatory fees.
In my opinion Ooma continues to remain a good value when compared to other VoIP providers, although clearly early Hub adopters received a better deal than Telo users.
I want to note two other things that are common to the Hub and Telo. Our number ports were quick and efficient. And, while customer service can be difficult to reach, there is excellent support available from the Ooma community on Ooma's website forums. The Ooma employees who moderate the forums also provide support in a very timely manner.
Bottom-line, if you have Vonage or Packet8, or have phone bundled in with your cable, strongly consider getting a Telo. You will save money for service that is as good or better. With the Hub, we saw savings with the first six months. With the Telo it will be about 14 months before we start seeing savings.
Quick summary - highly recommended!
The Telo is well designed and sleek. The controls are touch controls and very sensitive. There is a USB port in the back - presumably for future expansion. Like the hub, there are two RJ45 ethernet jacks - one to connect to the "internet", and the second to connect to one's home network. There are also two RJ11 phone jacks. One to connect to your existing landline, should you have one, and decide to integrate the landline and Telo. The other is to connect to your phone.
The setup instructions are simple. While it is recommended that the Telo be connected directly to your cable/dsl/wimax modem (i.e. before your router), it works equally well after the router. We chose to connect the Telo to the router rather than the modem.
We were treated to a red & blue patriotic light show for about 20 minutes when the Telo was first plugged in, while it apparently downloaded firmware/software updates. I was a little puzzled by this, but presumably there have been updates from the release date (October 1) to our purchase date (October 3), or the first set of units were shipped without the latest firmware/software on them. In either event, there has been a second firmware/software update since then, so clearly Ooma are keen to improve Telo as feedback/complaints from early adopters rolls in.
Unlike the Hub, the Telo doesn't support the Scout. But this doesn't mean the Telo cannot provide a dial tone at other phone jacks in your house. For this, simply connect a splitter to the phone jack in the Telo, plug one line into the telephone adjacent to the Telo, and the second into the nearest wall jack. If the phone wiring in your house is intact, you should be able to connect a standard wired phone to any other phone jack. The Ooma Hub also supports this feature, which isn't readily documented in Ooma's product literature.
The Telo and Hub are indistinguishable in every aspect of call quality. Off course the Telo supports up to four DECT 6.0 handsets, and Telo to Telo calls will offer HD voice. The Telo will also support Bluetooth, and cell-phone integration. Although these features will be available in future firmware/software updates.
There are differences in the level and cost of service that I have described below.
For current Ooma Hub owners:
Ooma Core includes 5000 minutes a month, voicemail and caller-id and is free of regulatory fees for the life of the hub.
Ooma Premiere includes a range of additional features, including a second line, 3-way calling, multi-ring, call fowarding and many others. This costs $9.99 a month or $99 a year.
For future Ooma Hub owners:
Ooma Core will include 5000 minutes a month and voicemail. From the second year, it will cost $12/yr to recover regulatory fees.
Ooma Premiere will include enhanced voicemail, and the other premiere features. Ooma Premiere will cost $9.99 a month or $120 a year.
For Ooma Telo:
Ooma core includes 5000 mins/month & voicemail, and $12/yr from the second year on to recover regulatory fees.
Ooma Premiere will include enhanced voicemail, and the other premiere features at $9.99 a month or $120 a year.
For both the Hub and Telo, the cost of Premiere includes either a free handset a year (a $49 value), or a free number port (a $39 value).
This change in pricing strategy has made some claim that Ooma is no longer "free".
Well, it never was, although current Hub owners will not have to spend another dime for the life of their unit.
New Hub & Telo users receive 5000 mins/month and voicemail for the cost of the unit, and have to pay $12/year from the second year onwards to cover regulatory fees.
In my opinion Ooma continues to remain a good value when compared to other VoIP providers, although clearly early Hub adopters received a better deal than Telo users.
I want to note two other things that are common to the Hub and Telo. Our number ports were quick and efficient. And, while customer service can be difficult to reach, there is excellent support available from the Ooma community on Ooma's website forums. The Ooma employees who moderate the forums also provide support in a very timely manner.
Bottom-line, if you have Vonage or Packet8, or have phone bundled in with your cable, strongly consider getting a Telo. You will save money for service that is as good or better. With the Hub, we saw savings with the first six months. With the Telo it will be about 14 months before we start seeing savings.
Quick summary - highly recommended!
724 of 768 people found the following review helpful
February 11th, 2011 -- update:
It's been a little over a year since I wrote this review. Approximately 6 months after installing the Telo, I wrote an update that outlined an issue that diminished my initial enthusiasm about it. That update concerned an annoying delay that we experience, likening some conversations to that heard with 2-way radios, where it's easy for users to "talk over" one another.
This update, however, reports on the failure of my unit and Ooma's customer service response in addressing it.
Sometime during the post-Christmas, year-end holiday chaos, my I noticed that when I would press the Play button on the unit to play back messages, there apparently weren't any messages to play. But I use the feature found in the Premier service that allows you to listen to the messages online, so I didn't really think too much about it and didn't really seriously consider that it was a failure of the unit. After things settled down into the new year, I did look into it and discovered that it was, indeed, a defective Telo.
I called Ooma support and they told me 'Too bad - your warranty expired LAST YEAR!' Yeah, they were right -- it expired on December 29th, 2010 and it was now January 2011. They steadfastly refused to consider the hustle & bustle of the holidays, and said that I hadn't reported it before the warranty expiration, so there was nothing they could do for me. I reported my experience in their customer support forum online.
Several days later, I received an email offering an extended warranty for $39.99. I checked to make sure that they would replace the device under the extended warranty, despite the fact that I was purchasing it after the original warranty had expired and the unit had already been reported as defective. I was told that it would not be a problem.
The bottom line is, I accepted their terms and they have replaced my Telo under the extended warranty. They shipped a new unit before requiring the return of the defective one, and they even supplied a prepaid shipping label. While I'm still a bit aggrieved that they were so inflexible about the original warranty expiration, I am grateful that they extended an offer that I found palatable. I've downgraded my overall impression of the unit, somewhat, and only offer conditional recommendation of Ooma, based upon the voice delay issue and the what I consider to be a premature failure. I'm not suggesting that there's a lot of evidence that this is a chronic problem for the Telo or that the same thing will happen to you, but it is something to consider when making the decision to purchase.
Now -- my original review:
After reading many reviews of the ooma Telo here on Amazon.com and elsewhere, we decided that it sounded like a product that would be helpful in reducing our monthly phone costs while maintaining our current phone number and equivalent basic functionality. We actually received the unit on Christmas Eve, but haven't attempted installation until today - nearly a week later.
We found the installation to be a very simple process, accurately described and directed by the Quick Start guide included with the unit. All of the uncertainties that arose in my mind while reading some of the negative reviews here quickly vanished, one-by-one, as the clear, guided steps left no unanswered questions. It is because of this that I'm prompted to write a review.
Several reviewers have complained that ooma is 'sneaky' or 'deceptive' in their business practices -- that ooma signs you up for the premium service and automatically bills you monthly without your foreknowledge. They also claim that they take pains to hide the fact that the Federal government has begun to assess a yearly fee of about $12 for using the device.
These reviewers - to be charitable - are terribly under-informed. They have failed to avail themselves of the copious information available on review sites or on ooma's own website, or they're just lunging ahead with activation and installation without bothering to read the instructions.
For example, during the activation process, which is the first thing you're instructed to do with your new Telo, you are presented with the following admonition: "At the end of your trial period, you will automatically be enrolled into Ooma Premier and charged $9.99/month. If you do not wish to keep Ooma Premier, you can opt-out inside My Ooma and not be billed." That seems pretty clear to me.
The yearly Federal service charge also seems to be 'hidden' in plain sight. It's printed in 2 different locations on the box, and also appears on the ooma website, as well as in several reviews. And it's not necessarily in 'fine print', requiring you to strain your eyes.
I'm all for writing negative reviews that are fact-based and created by users who do their homework and try to educate themselves about a product. There are plenty of bad products out there and they should be exposed. But I find it misleading and unhelpful to rush headlong into something without understanding the technology or reading and following setup directions, and then write a scathing review that says "this sucks", when it's consumer ignorance that has produced an unsatisfactory result.
As for my brief evaluation of the Telo, it's very positive. Activation online was easy, as was installation. My Telo connected reasonably quickly and was ready to try out in about the amount of time estimated. (20 to 30 minutes) After that, I placed a call from my cellphone to the temporary number given to me while my home number is waiting to be ported. Voice mail picked up and I left a message, which I was later able to retrieve after returning home. I also placed a call to a friend to evaluate voice quality, which we found to be excellent.
That's it for the first day -- not a big test, but it worked as-advertised and I believe we'll be very pleased with the service.
To clarify for those who have read the review expressing uncertainty about when it's safe to use the service after initial installation: During the first phase of the connect/update process, the ooma symbol, a flower-like design located in the center of the telo, blinks repeatedly, and all the other symbols are unlit. At some point, the bottom row of symbols, which are used for navigating through and playing back voicemails, are lit and unlit sequentially, like a theater marquee. Finally, when it's ready to use, all the symbols are illuminated blue. And you'll probably see that there's a blinking red light, indicating that you've received a voice message. (it's from ooma, welcoming you to the service and helping you set up the voicemail features)
It's been a little over a year since I wrote this review. Approximately 6 months after installing the Telo, I wrote an update that outlined an issue that diminished my initial enthusiasm about it. That update concerned an annoying delay that we experience, likening some conversations to that heard with 2-way radios, where it's easy for users to "talk over" one another.
This update, however, reports on the failure of my unit and Ooma's customer service response in addressing it.
Sometime during the post-Christmas, year-end holiday chaos, my I noticed that when I would press the Play button on the unit to play back messages, there apparently weren't any messages to play. But I use the feature found in the Premier service that allows you to listen to the messages online, so I didn't really think too much about it and didn't really seriously consider that it was a failure of the unit. After things settled down into the new year, I did look into it and discovered that it was, indeed, a defective Telo.
I called Ooma support and they told me 'Too bad - your warranty expired LAST YEAR!' Yeah, they were right -- it expired on December 29th, 2010 and it was now January 2011. They steadfastly refused to consider the hustle & bustle of the holidays, and said that I hadn't reported it before the warranty expiration, so there was nothing they could do for me. I reported my experience in their customer support forum online.
Several days later, I received an email offering an extended warranty for $39.99. I checked to make sure that they would replace the device under the extended warranty, despite the fact that I was purchasing it after the original warranty had expired and the unit had already been reported as defective. I was told that it would not be a problem.
The bottom line is, I accepted their terms and they have replaced my Telo under the extended warranty. They shipped a new unit before requiring the return of the defective one, and they even supplied a prepaid shipping label. While I'm still a bit aggrieved that they were so inflexible about the original warranty expiration, I am grateful that they extended an offer that I found palatable. I've downgraded my overall impression of the unit, somewhat, and only offer conditional recommendation of Ooma, based upon the voice delay issue and the what I consider to be a premature failure. I'm not suggesting that there's a lot of evidence that this is a chronic problem for the Telo or that the same thing will happen to you, but it is something to consider when making the decision to purchase.
Now -- my original review:
After reading many reviews of the ooma Telo here on Amazon.com and elsewhere, we decided that it sounded like a product that would be helpful in reducing our monthly phone costs while maintaining our current phone number and equivalent basic functionality. We actually received the unit on Christmas Eve, but haven't attempted installation until today - nearly a week later.
We found the installation to be a very simple process, accurately described and directed by the Quick Start guide included with the unit. All of the uncertainties that arose in my mind while reading some of the negative reviews here quickly vanished, one-by-one, as the clear, guided steps left no unanswered questions. It is because of this that I'm prompted to write a review.
Several reviewers have complained that ooma is 'sneaky' or 'deceptive' in their business practices -- that ooma signs you up for the premium service and automatically bills you monthly without your foreknowledge. They also claim that they take pains to hide the fact that the Federal government has begun to assess a yearly fee of about $12 for using the device.
These reviewers - to be charitable - are terribly under-informed. They have failed to avail themselves of the copious information available on review sites or on ooma's own website, or they're just lunging ahead with activation and installation without bothering to read the instructions.
For example, during the activation process, which is the first thing you're instructed to do with your new Telo, you are presented with the following admonition: "At the end of your trial period, you will automatically be enrolled into Ooma Premier and charged $9.99/month. If you do not wish to keep Ooma Premier, you can opt-out inside My Ooma and not be billed." That seems pretty clear to me.
The yearly Federal service charge also seems to be 'hidden' in plain sight. It's printed in 2 different locations on the box, and also appears on the ooma website, as well as in several reviews. And it's not necessarily in 'fine print', requiring you to strain your eyes.
I'm all for writing negative reviews that are fact-based and created by users who do their homework and try to educate themselves about a product. There are plenty of bad products out there and they should be exposed. But I find it misleading and unhelpful to rush headlong into something without understanding the technology or reading and following setup directions, and then write a scathing review that says "this sucks", when it's consumer ignorance that has produced an unsatisfactory result.
As for my brief evaluation of the Telo, it's very positive. Activation online was easy, as was installation. My Telo connected reasonably quickly and was ready to try out in about the amount of time estimated. (20 to 30 minutes) After that, I placed a call from my cellphone to the temporary number given to me while my home number is waiting to be ported. Voice mail picked up and I left a message, which I was later able to retrieve after returning home. I also placed a call to a friend to evaluate voice quality, which we found to be excellent.
That's it for the first day -- not a big test, but it worked as-advertised and I believe we'll be very pleased with the service.
To clarify for those who have read the review expressing uncertainty about when it's safe to use the service after initial installation: During the first phase of the connect/update process, the ooma symbol, a flower-like design located in the center of the telo, blinks repeatedly, and all the other symbols are unlit. At some point, the bottom row of symbols, which are used for navigating through and playing back voicemails, are lit and unlit sequentially, like a theater marquee. Finally, when it's ready to use, all the symbols are illuminated blue. And you'll probably see that there's a blinking red light, indicating that you've received a voice message. (it's from ooma, welcoming you to the service and helping you set up the voicemail features)
348 of 375 people found the following review helpful
The Ooma Telo replaces or will replace the Ooma core system. The core system included a hub and scout. The scout and services of the scout are gone from new Ooma devices. In the future, some (but not all) services of the scout may return via the proprietary wireless Ooma Telo handset.
For those who don't know, Ooma is an internet telephone company. This means it uses the Telo to make and receive telephone calls, instead of using your local phone company and its wired network, Ooma uses your internet connection. Companies that use internet to make and complete telephone calls are using Voice Over Internet Protocol usually referred to as VOIP. Older phone technology to a home is often referred to as POTS (plain old telephone service). With Ooma you can replace your current home phone, or you can use Ooma to supplement it. Ooma lets a customer decide how they want to use their service with respect to existing POTS service.
[...]. This will allow the Telo to make and receive calls using your current home phone number. Your number will be switched to Ooma, but still be in your name (you can port it to any other phone company if you want). Ooma becomes your host.
A reason people purchase a product like the Telo is to have low cost phone service. Most VOIP (including Ooma) do not discriminate between long distance and local calls. Ooma permits up to 5,000 outgoing minutes of calls within the U.S. per month at no charge. Incoming calls are unlimited and not timed.
Ooma has established itself as a high voice quality company with its first product (the Ooma Core). The Telo continues to build on that tradition. With any Ooma product voice quality is usually as good as a problem free home phone. The Telo builds on this, by offering higher quality voice than any traditional phone company, and better voice quality than most other VOIP companies by using a proprietary wireless handset. This looks like a traditional land line type wireless phone, but has much better call clarity than is possible for most other providers. This is one of the new, improved features of the Telo.
Ooma is also very easy to set up and operate. Many people report setting up an Ooma device within 10-20 minutes from the time they open the box. This means they can make and receive calls literally within minutes of getting their Ooma device home. Set up involves a physical set up, where the Telo is placed between the router and cable / dsl modem or behind the router. [...]and follow the step by step instructions for a free activation. Part of the activation usually includes selection of a local phone number. Once you have completed the online activation, the Telo should be able to send and receive calls in minutes.
The Telo IS a work of art, it looks very nice, and has a wonderful aesthetic appeal. There are pressure sensitive buttons, and just about every button, plus a lot more is lit up with beautiful blue LED's. When a line is busy, or the hub isn't working properly the color of the appropriate indicator changes from blue to red. For example if you pick up the phone, the line 1 button will no longer glow blue, but will turn red to indicate line 1 in use. If there is any connection problem, the Ooma trademark symbol will glow red, this is very easy to see even across a large room. It usually indicates an internet failure.
The Telo works with wireless Ooma proprietary handsets which are optional. These handsets will support high quality (better than regular phone quality) calls between Telo users. The Telo continues to support traditional phones as well. You do not need a Telo handset to make and receive calls, your old phones will work just fine. In my home, I have disconnected the phone company wires outside the house, and plugged my Ooma Telo into one of my jacks. This permits the Telo to run all the existing phones in my home as if they were still attached to the phone company. The difference is not getting a monthly phone bill.
The Telo has a more advanced processor and is overall a more capable device than the older Ooma Hub (the Hub is the primary component of the older Ooma Core system). Ooma has promised new features to be released, which will be restricted to the Telo alone. This makes the Telo a natural upgrade path from the Core in terms of overall capability.
Current Ooma Core customers can upgrade to the Telo, and switch their account entirely to the new Telo device. The older Core / Hub can be sold or discarded. The old Ooma hub can be reactivated for a $[...] one time fee, at which point it will be considered as a new service.
The Telo is superior in almost all regards to the older Ooma hub.
The Ooma Telo will continue to provide free voicemail as the older Core systems did. This means voicemail will be supported by the Telo adapter, by your phone or online via the Ooma website. However the basic Ooma Telo plan will not include incoming caller-id name (it will include incoming caller-id number). This is a change from the older Ooma Core system. Ooma has indicated the cost of incoming caller-name lookup was significant, and that by eliminating this expense on future basic plans Ooma will be more viable.
As with all Ooma devices, Ooma Premier is free for the first 60 days. During the first 2 months, a new user will be able to make free calls to Ooma technical support. Thus any set up issues can be handled by a live Ooma customer service representative. After 60 days, Telo users are put on a Telo basic tier, where future support is handled via email and through the Ooma forums which remain free.
In summary, the new Telo is a great product. In years 2 and beyond there will be a $[...] per year regulatory recovery fee for Telo users. This is new for the Telo, those who bought new Ooma Core systems do not have to pay an annual fee ever. The fee is to cover regulatory costs Ooma is charged, not to charge for making or receiving calls.
For those who don't know, Ooma is an internet telephone company. This means it uses the Telo to make and receive telephone calls, instead of using your local phone company and its wired network, Ooma uses your internet connection. Companies that use internet to make and complete telephone calls are using Voice Over Internet Protocol usually referred to as VOIP. Older phone technology to a home is often referred to as POTS (plain old telephone service). With Ooma you can replace your current home phone, or you can use Ooma to supplement it. Ooma lets a customer decide how they want to use their service with respect to existing POTS service.
[...]. This will allow the Telo to make and receive calls using your current home phone number. Your number will be switched to Ooma, but still be in your name (you can port it to any other phone company if you want). Ooma becomes your host.
A reason people purchase a product like the Telo is to have low cost phone service. Most VOIP (including Ooma) do not discriminate between long distance and local calls. Ooma permits up to 5,000 outgoing minutes of calls within the U.S. per month at no charge. Incoming calls are unlimited and not timed.
Ooma has established itself as a high voice quality company with its first product (the Ooma Core). The Telo continues to build on that tradition. With any Ooma product voice quality is usually as good as a problem free home phone. The Telo builds on this, by offering higher quality voice than any traditional phone company, and better voice quality than most other VOIP companies by using a proprietary wireless handset. This looks like a traditional land line type wireless phone, but has much better call clarity than is possible for most other providers. This is one of the new, improved features of the Telo.
Ooma is also very easy to set up and operate. Many people report setting up an Ooma device within 10-20 minutes from the time they open the box. This means they can make and receive calls literally within minutes of getting their Ooma device home. Set up involves a physical set up, where the Telo is placed between the router and cable / dsl modem or behind the router. [...]and follow the step by step instructions for a free activation. Part of the activation usually includes selection of a local phone number. Once you have completed the online activation, the Telo should be able to send and receive calls in minutes.
The Telo IS a work of art, it looks very nice, and has a wonderful aesthetic appeal. There are pressure sensitive buttons, and just about every button, plus a lot more is lit up with beautiful blue LED's. When a line is busy, or the hub isn't working properly the color of the appropriate indicator changes from blue to red. For example if you pick up the phone, the line 1 button will no longer glow blue, but will turn red to indicate line 1 in use. If there is any connection problem, the Ooma trademark symbol will glow red, this is very easy to see even across a large room. It usually indicates an internet failure.
The Telo works with wireless Ooma proprietary handsets which are optional. These handsets will support high quality (better than regular phone quality) calls between Telo users. The Telo continues to support traditional phones as well. You do not need a Telo handset to make and receive calls, your old phones will work just fine. In my home, I have disconnected the phone company wires outside the house, and plugged my Ooma Telo into one of my jacks. This permits the Telo to run all the existing phones in my home as if they were still attached to the phone company. The difference is not getting a monthly phone bill.
The Telo has a more advanced processor and is overall a more capable device than the older Ooma Hub (the Hub is the primary component of the older Ooma Core system). Ooma has promised new features to be released, which will be restricted to the Telo alone. This makes the Telo a natural upgrade path from the Core in terms of overall capability.
Current Ooma Core customers can upgrade to the Telo, and switch their account entirely to the new Telo device. The older Core / Hub can be sold or discarded. The old Ooma hub can be reactivated for a $[...] one time fee, at which point it will be considered as a new service.
The Telo is superior in almost all regards to the older Ooma hub.
The Ooma Telo will continue to provide free voicemail as the older Core systems did. This means voicemail will be supported by the Telo adapter, by your phone or online via the Ooma website. However the basic Ooma Telo plan will not include incoming caller-id name (it will include incoming caller-id number). This is a change from the older Ooma Core system. Ooma has indicated the cost of incoming caller-name lookup was significant, and that by eliminating this expense on future basic plans Ooma will be more viable.
As with all Ooma devices, Ooma Premier is free for the first 60 days. During the first 2 months, a new user will be able to make free calls to Ooma technical support. Thus any set up issues can be handled by a live Ooma customer service representative. After 60 days, Telo users are put on a Telo basic tier, where future support is handled via email and through the Ooma forums which remain free.
In summary, the new Telo is a great product. In years 2 and beyond there will be a $[...] per year regulatory recovery fee for Telo users. This is new for the Telo, those who bought new Ooma Core systems do not have to pay an annual fee ever. The fee is to cover regulatory costs Ooma is charged, not to charge for making or receiving calls.
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