Ooma Forums

qwest won't let me keep my landline as a backup in case of power outages (I have a hub and scout). they will do it but they said they have to give me a new number with a plan which would be about the same (maybe a little less) than my current plan ($40 a month). so I told them to port it back. It took me a long time to sort out the kinks in the system, got it working perfectly and call them up only to find that out. has anyone else had this problem? I can return my ooma but am out the $40 porting fee I paid to switch it to ooma.
So be warned if you still want your landline with qwest they are going to charge you for a new number and a similar monthly fee. maybe they are not being honest or maybe that is just the way it is. I would like to switch but need the landline backup option. so looks like it was a complete waste of time for me.

I have not ported my number from Qwest because I started using a Google Voice number as my main number about a year ago. But what you are asking for does not seem unreasonable. They get to keep you as a customer for a basic landline and you get to port your number - so you both would win. The people you normally reach at Qwest have little interest and probably even less authority to do things to make you happy - so you need to call the folks who CAN help. Try 1 866 780-5329 and when prompted, press 2 for escalations. Calmly explain what you want to do - and I'll bet they will agree that it can be done. Keep detailed records - the person's name, their operator ID, and if an order is placed, the order number. The folks at that number have proven to be lifesavers for me. Let us know how it all works out - and don't quit until you're happy with that they are offering.

Why would you need a landline backup? Outside of alarm system and bad cell coverage, I can't think of any other reason.

Thanks a lot I will give that a try. I'm sure they would lie to you in order to keep your business so I can't say I'm surprised. Basically we want to keep it in case there's an internet/power and cell phone outage at the same time. Which would be a pretty rare occurance I know but we want to keep all our bases covered in case of emergencies, etc..

morr08 wrote:Basically we want to keep it in case there's an internet/power and cell phone outage at the same time.

Call me a risk taker but when that happens, you are pretty much screwed anyway because chances are, no one will be there to answer your call.

But if you want to keep the landline for Katrina scale catastrophe, Qwest would charge you more than $21 per month for a barebones line. Since you won't use it much, I'd go with a number that you don't care about.

Maybe I'm being repetitive of other comments/questions... but I am very curious. Why did you switch to Ooma? As long as you planned to keep Qwest as a backup line, Why not keep the Qwest line as a primary line? Was it you wanted multiple lines?

Thanks.

morr08 wrote:qwest won't let me keep my landline as a backup in case of power outages (I have a hub and scout). they will do it but they said they have to give me a new number with a plan which would be about the same (maybe a little less) than my current plan ($40 a month). so I told them to port it back. It took me a long time to sort out the kinks in the system, got it working perfectly and call them up only to find that out. has anyone else had this problem? I can return my ooma but am out the $40 porting fee I paid to switch it to ooma.
So be warned if you still want your landline with qwest they are going to charge you for a new number and a similar monthly fee. maybe they are not being honest or maybe that is just the way it is. I would like to switch but need the landline backup option. so looks like it was a complete waste of time for me.

Here's what you did. You moved your service from Qwest to Ooma. Then you asked Qwest for a backup line. That would be new service...you *already* moved your old number off Qwest. The phone company *can't* give you a failover in case you lose power or Internet...what you asked them for was a new number, and they offered it to you.

What you should have asked for was basic service. You'd get a new number and a lower bill (if Qwest offers this).

Not quite sure who you're pissed at, but a bit more knowledge would have been quite useful before you went down this path.