I used Vonage Business for a few years in 2016,17, 18.. which included a working US number (required internet) but I don't remember how much it cost back then. I'm guessing around $100 usd per year. No idea whether or not they're still in business.
- Thread starter MiamiDRGuy
- Start date
Skype - It'll go dark as of May 5th; Replacements?
Used Skype from very beginning, all family use it, have a subscription number too. One good thing about (for some! ) is all data/media stored on their server, so easy to move to another device, or install on multiple devices...
But last few years the app became really laggy, and slow, even messages not show up quickly, even calls not ring on the other side to pick up, very disappointing...!
I have used Teams for business on desktop, I'm glad it all migrates there, the data and specially my number..., hopefully better environment... 🤞🏻
But last few years the app became really laggy, and slow, even messages not show up quickly, even calls not ring on the other side to pick up, very disappointing...!
I have used Teams for business on desktop, I'm glad it all migrates there, the data and specially my number..., hopefully better environment... 🤞🏻
I was an early adopter of Skype. Then I switched to using Vonage for US and DR calls. Then Vonage stopped allowing calls to DR cell phones and I dumped them. I set up Google Voice as a backup years ago. DR companies were not letting Vonage continue the DR cell phone part of the Vonage service.
Then I was given an iPhone and got a contract with Altice. Using WhatsApp for most local communications and some US ones, with Google Voice or Facebook calls for the rest.
I had never heard of
Then I was given an iPhone and got a contract with Altice. Using WhatsApp for most local communications and some US ones, with Google Voice or Facebook calls for the rest.
I had never heard of
Microsoft Teams service description - Service Descriptions
Learn about Microsoft Teams service and feature availability across Microsoft 365 and Office 365 plans.
learn.microsoft.com
Microsoft is shutting down Skype after buying it 14 years ago for $8.5 billion
Microsoft will soon switch off Skype, a pioneering telecom and video call platform that emerged from the rubble of the dotcom era.
www.cbsnews.com
I am investigating viber.com The function you need for international calling is called Viber Out. Unlimited talk time to the U.S.A. is $1.99 per month to any mobile or landline phone. The recipient need not have a Viber account. THE GOOD. Per Wikipedia for "Viber." The company is called Rakuten Viber. It is now Japanese owned and it has a 15 year history. It was originally an Israeli startup located in Cyprus. It's a robust and worldwide service used by millions in many countries. I read nothing that would give me pause. THE BAD. You have to pay BEFORE you create an account. On the positive side, I received a detailed receipt to my email with a purchase number, etc. Further, the payment was only $1.99, auto-billed monthly. On the negative side, and this is a BIG negative, when you create an account, it is not the usual process of registration. The process to create an account begins with entering your Dom. Rep. phone number. Mine is Altice on an iPhone. THE NUMBER WAS REJECTED WITH AN ERROR MESSAGE. I entered it multiple times on different browsers = FAIL. This means that I HAVE PAID, HAVE NO ACCOUNT, AND CANNOT MAKE A SINGLE PHONE CALL. That's bad. Next comes finding Viber Support. You get the usual generic articles that have nothing to do with your problem. How to contact a human? Just by luck I found out: Select any article from the Support option (scroll down on the homepage). Scroll down to the bottom of the article and click on the message that says, paraphrasing, "This article was not helpful." That opens up a form to contact Support. It's a nicely done form with fields for a lot of detail, including your purchase number (which you can get from your email). It asks to attach a screenshot. I made a screenshot, and went to attach it but NO attachment mechanism--I added that to my complaint.
Where from here? I do NOT want a refund. I want the service to WORK. I will continue to troubleshoot. While waitng for a response, I have something else to investigate. Although I have a SIM card and a phone number I have never made a phone call in years. I use the phone for Internet only and I use Skype for phone calls. It could be that the problem is on my end, that I am not set up with a calling plan. I don't know. I've had BAD service with Altice. I think I'll take my Android smartphone to the central office of Claro in Santo Domingo and explain the problem in advance. Then after getting set up with a SIM card and plan (this phone does not have a SIM card), I'll try the Viber setup at the Claro office and if it fails, see if they can troubleshoot it.
Come on now, brave folk, anyone else want to try this and see if your number works?? If it does, Viber could be the ticket. If it doesn't, then you have the same problem I do and we need to know that.
Where from here? I do NOT want a refund. I want the service to WORK. I will continue to troubleshoot. While waitng for a response, I have something else to investigate. Although I have a SIM card and a phone number I have never made a phone call in years. I use the phone for Internet only and I use Skype for phone calls. It could be that the problem is on my end, that I am not set up with a calling plan. I don't know. I've had BAD service with Altice. I think I'll take my Android smartphone to the central office of Claro in Santo Domingo and explain the problem in advance. Then after getting set up with a SIM card and plan (this phone does not have a SIM card), I'll try the Viber setup at the Claro office and if it fails, see if they can troubleshoot it.
Come on now, brave folk, anyone else want to try this and see if your number works?? If it does, Viber could be the ticket. If it doesn't, then you have the same problem I do and we need to know that.
You did not only lose $1.99 but they will continue to bill you every month. Good luck...........
They're in business alright. Problem is, if you have an emergency and you're not at home, forget it. No phone call. It's a landline only service. You can't even use your smartphone. You have to connect your D.Rl landline to a Vonage box and connnect that box to power and to your modem LAN port with a Cat-5 cable. Now, that would be cool for phone calls to banks, my family and friends, etc. But it's a one size does NOT fit all. I also need the ability to call when I step out of my front door.
Vonage or MagicJack is D.R. landline only. No smartphone utility. If you need to make a phone call and you are not home, particularly if you have an emergency, you are in trouble. So not a solution. Or an alternative: Use this as a solution for business and family calls while at home and find another solution for phone calls when you are not at home. I'd rather find a single solution for BOTH.
True, but Vonage/MagicJack is D.R. landline only. No ability to make a U.S. phone call from your smartphone if you are not home. So what do you do in an emergency? What do you do if you are at a business and your debit card is declined due to a security flag? You CANNOT call your bank. You have to go home. What worries me about Vonage is that if I have an emergency when I'm out and about--say I'm in a hospital--I CANNOT call the U.S. That's bad.
Wrong on that. You need to read my previous posts. With MJ you can use an app for your cell free of charge. So you don't even need a landline.............
Sure, WhatsApp works great with friends and family IF they use it. Except that their phone will not ring, so you may be waiting a long time . . . And if you have a problem, say, you need to call your bank or doctor in the U.S. --forget it. You're in trouble. WA is useful for some situations but it's not a solution.
That’s true Lucas. I used to use MagicJack. I have the plug in device for my laptop, got my USA phone number, then used the app on my phone for a few years. Gave the number to family and friends to reach me here and it rang on my Dominican cellphone. (Now I use T-Mobile in USA, so anyone can just call my regular number, but everyone uses WhatsApp. I do get calls from USA phones, like banks and doctors, etc, costs me a little per minute).
I have no clue where you get this stuff from. People call me all the time on Whatsapp and my cell rings all the time.................Of course both need Whatsapp on their cells........
Wow! Sometimes I LOVE to be wrong. And I hope I'm wrong in this case. Can you confirm: If I set up my D.R. landline with Vonage hardware, that with an iPhone app I can push the signal to my smartphone make calls WITHOUT a U.S. number on my end?? If so, I think I'll go for this option. It seems like the best of both worlds.
SKY, I sure HOPE I'M WRONG. Confirm please: If I set up Vonage with the hardware for my D.R. landline, I can still use the same signal via the app on my smartphone?? If this is true. this might be a great option. I think I'll try vonage.com right now and HOPE I'M WRONG.
I have no idea of iPhone, but entered wa does not ring on iphone and got a bunch of results: