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Activating but keeping my landline

Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2009 5:22 pm
by Zindar
Hello, I might have goofed during the activation process. It gave me two choices: request a new number, or keep existing landline and the phone number it has. I'm keeping my landline as a backup (because I need it for my DSL service). When it said I could keep the same number I said yes, but later when activation was complete it said something about transferring (porting) my phone number:

"You number port has not begun ye. If you want to begin transferring your pohone number to Ooma, you must purchase the Number Port Add-On in My Ooma and complete the online paperwork."

Does it think I want to port the phone number? I don't want to do that, because I don't want to pay $40. If I have to pay, I'll just get a new phone number. Did I answer the question wrong? Can ooma have the same number as my existing landline (no porting, in other words)? As I think of it, that doesn't make much sense, does it? How could my AT&T line have the same number as Ooma? (Recall, I'm not closing my AT&T account.)

If Ooma and my landline must have different phone numbers, how do I go about undoing my mistake?

Re: Activating but keeping my landline

Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2009 5:43 pm
by WayneDsr
If you integrated your landline with ooma and are using your landline number as your ooma number all is well.
You do not have to "port" your phone number and in your case you don't need to as you're using your landline as a backup.

Ooma does the magic somehow, but it works cool. All local calls will use your land line, all long distance calls will utilize the ooma network (and your internet). All calls coming in will be via your landline. Your caller id will say your landline number.

Just remember, the WALL port on ooma needs to always be connected to your wall jack in order to work. Ooma will go offline if it doesn't see this connection.

Also, all 911 calls will go out over your landline which is a good thing.

In order for Caller Id to work, you must have caller ID on your landline and if you decide to buy the Premier service and want the instant second line, you will need to put CALL FORWARD ON BUSY on your landline as well.

Welcome to ooma and to the forums!

Wayne

Re: Activating but keeping my landline

Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2009 5:54 pm
by Zindar
I think I probably goofed, because the reason I got Ooma was so I could save $20 per month by deleting caller ID off my landline and deleting unlimited calling (go to "measured calling"), so I don't want a lot of calls using the landline.

Given this, it sounds like I should have chosen a new phone number. Is it too late for me to do that? Is this something I'd need to call customer service to accomplish?

Re: Activating but keeping my landline

Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2009 6:03 pm
by tommies
Yes. You need to call CS to have them re-provision your hub to work with out a land line.

Re: Activating but keeping my landline

Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2009 6:04 pm
by murphy
Zindar wrote:I think I probably goofed, because the reason I got Ooma was so I could save $20 per month by deleting caller ID off my landline and deleting unlimited calling (go to "measured calling"), so I don't want a lot of calls using the landline.

Given this, it sounds like I should have chosen a new phone number. Is it too late for me to do that? Is this something I'd need to call customer service to accomplish?
Call customer service and tell them that you do not want your landline integrated with Ooma. You will select a new phone number as part of this change.

Re: Activating but keeping my landline

Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2009 7:41 pm
by Zindar
tommies wrote:Yes. You need to call CS to have them re-provision your hub to work with out a land line.
Thank you. I hope they won't charge me extra to do this, but in my defense, the setup screen seemed to have insufficient information for me to make a good decision.

Now, once I choose a new phone number, isn't it true that I can still plug my ooma hub to a landline outlet so, if my internet ever has an outage, I'd still have the option to make a call using my landline (but still passing through the ooma hub)? But as long as my internet is up and running, the landline would be bypassed, and all my calls (local and long distance) would go to my new number?

Re: Activating but keeping my landline

Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2009 7:49 pm
by Zindar
Oh, two more questions: Since I realized my mistake, I held off on installing the equipment. Should I continue holding off until I get the phone number straightened out with customer service?

Also, I have an installation question. I have DSL, and and router/modem combo unit (integrated), and my house has ethernet cable running to 5 different rooms, all connected with a network hub. Plus my router/modem is cable of both wired and wireless connections, and I'm making use of both.

The instructions say to connect the ooma hub to the router/modem. Would it still work if instead, I install the ooma hub in a different room of my house from where the router/modem is located? By the way, my router/modem is not connected to my computer network hub directly; it's just in one of the 5 rooms that has an ethernet port (which of course leads to the network hub). I'd be interested if I could put my ooma hub in a different room, but one that still has an ethernet port in it. Or would that not work? I figure that my internet signal could travel from the ISP through the modem/router, to the network hub, then to the ooma hub.

It won't be horrible if I can't, but I'd kind of like have my router/modem in close proximity to my wireless computers (which are downstairs), but my only ethernet port downstairs is not in a room I don't care to have a phone in, and there are only a limited number of phones I can connect to Ooma.

Re: Activating but keeping my landline

Posted: Thu Oct 08, 2009 9:25 am
by Zindar
Oh I thought I'd follow up that I got my phone number successfully changed, and the lady answer my installation questions posed above. The good news is I don't have to have the ooma hub in the same room as my router, since my my router sends the internet signall to all 5 of my ethernet ports anyhow.

Re: Activating but keeping my landline

Posted: Thu Oct 08, 2009 9:55 am
by southsound
Glad that everything worked out with the call to support. Let me join Wayne and others to welcome you to ooma and to the forums! There are a lot of great people here with lots of knowledge that can solve many problems. You have already heard from some of the best. Make sure you visit often because your experience can help others! :cool:

Re: Activating but keeping my landline

Posted: Thu Oct 08, 2009 12:55 pm
by bw1
Zindar wrote: Now, once I choose a new phone number, isn't it true that I can still plug my ooma hub to a landline outlet so, if my internet ever has an outage, I'd still have the option to make a call using my landline (but still passing through the ooma hub)? But as long as my internet is up and running, the landline would be bypassed, and all my calls (local and long distance) would go to my new number?
Yes, you can plug your landline that has dialtone from another provider from the wall jack in your house into the wall port of the Ooma Hub or Telo. Then, if you were to lose internet connection or power, the Hub or Telo will fail over after about 90 seconds to supply dialtone from the wall jack to all the phones connected to the Hub or Telo.