Customer Reviews

8x8 Packet8 Broadband VoIP Service with DTA-310 Phone Adapter

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(23)

 

 

I've had Packet8 service for a year and a half now. I know many folks want to know how does this thing last over the long run. Well for me, its nearly perfect.

First thing you need to know is that this phone is dependant on electricity reaching this device as well as an internet connection. That means if you have a power outage, you have no phoneline. Something to consider. Also if your internet connection goes out frequently, so will your phone. If you have a power outage, you need to power cycle this device along with your modem and router in order to get back on the phone. I've learned this the hard way over time.

Also, if you're looking to totally dump MaBell and $30+ monthly fees for voicemail, 3 way calling, caller ID, call waiting, etc (in my area, those basic features ran me 50+ a month) I highly recommend a CABLE internet connection. Reason being is that most times if you disconnect your phone line completely from MaBell, you'll lose your DSL. Least in this area thats the way it goes. To go totally without MaBell, use a cable internet connection. And now they're offering a 2nd number or "virtual number" for 4.95 a month with no setup fee until January. Good deal for college parents or people with family in another state. Just get a packet8 virtual number in their hometown and have them enjoy calling you as a local number. Easy!

Another thing, this service does NOT support 411 or 311 calling AT ALL yet. They promise to have the feature in the future, but how long is unknown. This means to most people keeping a list of local non emergency direct switchboard numbers and using the internet as a phone book. Tedious, yes. But I havent found 311 and 411 access to be worth over 40 dollars a month to me just for the right to use them.

Unlike other broadband phones, Packet8 offers true 911 access. Your home is connected by address to the dispatch. Most other companies only offer a pseudo 911 that you have to tell the police or hospital or fire department your exact address. If its an emergency, do you really want to be hanging around your house to give and verify all of this information?

Another thing is system stability. MOST times their network is stable. I get one outage for about 4 hours a month. NOT the end of the world for most, but it can be annoying. Sound quality is good unless you're downloading 15 movies online and chewing up your bandwidth then you'll experience echoing and periods where you cannot hear the other person. Stop the download and you'll be fine. Just dont tear up the pipe and you'll be fine. For most this is not an issue.

Updates are rather simple, you go to their website, you download an application and it patches the device, simple! A manual install is also available that includes a diagnosis mode.

I've been nothing short of thrilled with their service and the price is definitely right!

Traditional phone companies are worried, and this device is why. Take this device, plug it into your broadband network via an ethernet cable, do a little bit of easy setup and...you have phone service. Once through the setup, you have a small box with a standard phone jack on it. Plus ANY standard phone into the jack and it will act just as you expect, just as if you'd plugged it into a standard phone jack in the wall. The difference is that your calls are routed through your broadband connection. The price is currently $20/month for unlimited continental US service, which beats any traditional phone service offer. You can also place international calls for a LOT less than with a standard phone service. (They even offer unlimited calling to certain foreign countries for a low price).

OK, here's a rundown of the big questions you may have (and that I had):

1) How is the sound quality? Quality is very good. It is MUCH better than a cell phone (ANY cell phone). It is not quite as good as the VERY BEST traditional land-line phone, but it is as good or better than the land-line service that many people have. It is much better than acceptable.

2) What do you you need to use it? You need a broadband connection (cable or DSL). If you don't have cable or DSL, don't buy this. It will be a paperweight.

3) Is it a good deal? Right now, Amazon is offering this device with a rebate that makes it free, plus two months free service. (...)

4) Can I use the DTA-310 without a PC attached? Yes.

5) How is this any better than net-phones they sell where you just plug it into your PC and talk for free--no monthly charges?
A) Those devices require a PC to work; B) Those devices only work between two parties that BOTH have the device attached to their PC; C) Call quality for those devices is typically inferior. The beauty of the DTA-310, and the reason you are paying a monthly service charge, is that your call goes from your adapter to a REAL PHONE COMPANY SWITCHING CENTER, and then out to the person on the other end. This means you can call ANY number, including cell phones. It means the person you call does not need to have one of these devices, or even know that you are using the device. It also means you get "real" normal quality phone connections.

6) Will my DTA-310 only work at my home? No, it can be taken with you anywhere there's a broadband connection. It identifies itself to the network based on a unique ID chip in the box. That ID is sent to the "home office" and once confirmed (automatically), you're set to call. This means you can use the box in your hotel room (if broadband equipped), your friend's house, etc. Imagine unlimted long distance calls from your hotel room!

7) Will this device work with phone connected devices other than phones (e.g. FAX machines, Replay/Tivo, etc.)? No, not officially. These devices are not at present supported. However, I have found that they will work, but connections are intermittant. You would not want to trust an important FAX to a FAX machine connected to one of of these boxes. However, if you are patient, you can usually get a FAX to go through eventually.

In all, this is a great device. I expect that there will eventually be a lot of competition in this sector. But right now, there is not, and the deal that Amazon is offering on this particular unit makes it (IMHO) the best deal out there. Try it for 3 months (...)after rebate (as described above). By then, you'll either be in love, or you can dump the service and probably sell off your used DTA-310 box to more than cover (...) your have spent!

This was by far the easiest device I have installed. I took about 3 minutes to connect the phone and cable lines (ok, 10 minutes as I found I needed a dig out a new power strip). I hooked the phone line from the DTA into my standard two-line desk phone and can switch between lines as needed and since both will ring and light up the line button, I will never miss a call.

I have had Packet8 for about two months now and the calls are clear, but a bit of latency in the initial part of the call (maybe I'm just slow to say hello back). There has been no down time or dropped calls. When calling another packet8 phone the latency is gone and the quality improves beyond standard phone service. I love all the free features with the service...call waiting, conference calling, caller ID... The price trumps all the other VOIP services I have researched At $19.95 month for unlimited US and Canada, it far cheaper and better quality than any of the cable of telephone company VOIP offerings and Packet8 doesn't lock you into their service with any term or cancellation fees. They must have a lot of confidence that they can deliver a high quality service. I look forward to signing up for the videophone service (extra $15.00 per month and your parents can see AND talk to the kiddies), until then, happy dialing.

I took mine to China, plugged it into the hotel room broadband connection and it worked perfectly. I was able to make and receive phone calls very easily with no international dialing - call any number in USA and Canada for free ($20/month). Packet8 gives you a phone number in an area code of your choice. You plug the adapter into your broadband connection and you have a phone socket which gives you dial tone. It's easy, works perfectly and very inexpensive. I have no idea what the first reviewer was talking about saying the quality was poor - that's ridiculous - PAcket8 is the only company to get a Gold award for quality from dslresults.com... thanks! p.s. These things are so useful - I've bought 3 already... one for home, one for the office and one for a friend.

Have used Packet8 since December of 2003. After 30 days I dropped the verizon land line and use Packet8 only. The service is run through road runner cable. Set up was easy. It took about 5 minutes. In March 2004 there was a marked improvement in voice quality. Is much better than cell voice quality. I use the service w/ (2) 5.8 ghz Uniden phones. I have had 2-3 periods of down time. None lasting over an hour. People on the other end of a landline call cannot tell the call originates/terminates over broadband. I do a lot of uploading/downloading while on the phone. There is no degradation in quality. Included features work well. I have been able to fax although P8 says they don't support it at this time. I have never had to contact tech support.

I'm from Florida and this was my best investment in the recent months. I bought this packet8 VOIP package prior to the hurricanes to try it out and see if I would be able to save on long distance. When the hurricanes hit, my telephone service went down. However, I was able to use VOIP. The signal is very clear with no delays. The best part, FREE LONG Distance. I can't wait to see my phone bill.

Full Feature set, excellent relability. Originally I signed up with Vonage, however when I saw $19.95 unlimited price for Packet8, I boxed up my Vonage ATA and signed up with P8. I now have 2 P8 Accounts. Both running over the same 3000/768 DSL connection. Both accounts work great. I very rarely have any problems with the service, other than a very occasional outage, which is usually rectified very quickly. I have, for all intents and purposes, forgotten that I am on anything other than a regular phone line. I highly recommend them over their contemporary competition.

I've had Packet8 phone service since October of 2003. I am amazed by the voice quality of the calls. It is better than my old traditional phone service. It has proven to be very reliable as well. They have continuously added more features and have worked to make their network more stable via a partnership with Level3 communications. They have more area codes than either Vonage or AT&T and they are the only VoIP provder that has true E911 service. Vonage and AT&T route 911 calls to a non-emergency number while Packet8 routs the calls to the actual 911 call center. They give the 911 operator all of the information that they traditionally have as well, such as name, address, etc., so it functions just like regular 911 service. Packet8 also works over dialup internet connections. They are the only one who can relibily do this. They have the cheapest international rates over most calls. When I first signed up, I did experience some dropped calls and static and echo. They have been working continuously to improve their reliability and quality and have since become almost perfect. Sometimes I still may get a silent spot during a call but it has only happened while I was doing some heavy downloading on the internet at the same time. I haven't had any problems while not downloading.

Also, I like that my phone bill is $20.55/month and never changes, yet they keep adding features. A couple of months ago they added call-waiting disable, do not disturb, call-return, anonymous call blocking and limited fax support. They currently have caller-id with number only. They will be adding name soon. Also caller-id does show the id of the caller on call waiting. They also added auto firmware upgrade support. So now basically they have eliminated the need for any technical knowledge for maintaining the service. Now it updates itself.

When you buy it, all you do is plug it in to your broadband connection and plug in any phone that you want to use. In 3 seconds you will get a dialtone. Dial any number and a voice prompt will ask for the activation number that they e-mail you. Enter it in and that's it.

Not only do I use this at home, but I travel a lot and use it in my hotel room (usually if the hotel has free broadband internet it works best - some pay internet services block VOIP phones). This gives my family a local number to call, and me the advantage of being able to call anywhere in the US W/O long distance charges, or using my cell phone, which is spotty in some larger hotels. I have used this service for over 6 months now, and it is easy to set up, and works great.

This product is fantastic. Setup was fast and easy and the call quality is excellent. For $20 a month you get unlimited calling in the US and Canada. That saves me about $30.00 a month over my traditional phone line.

After doing some research on other VOIP providers I decided to go with Packet 8 because of their gold BBR award from dslreports.com. Vonage received a silver BBR award and I think ATT's Call Vantage is to expensive.

I've called customer service once since having the product and the call was answered quickly and the rep was knowledgeable.