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Can someone answer a porting question for me?

Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2009 1:30 pm
by Richard A
I have tried twice to call customer service and both times I listened the music for exactly 31 minutes, then the phone beeped several times and the call dropped -ugh!!!

Here is what I need answered, I want to keep my existing land line. When I signed up / registered my hub I told the system to use my exsiting phone number. I have not gone to the lounge and request a port yet because it looked to me like ooma will cancel my LL. Am I right or wrong?

What I want is to use ooma in conjuction with my LL and just lower my LL to a line only, no bells or whistles - I'll let ooma provide the bells and whistles!! I want to use my existing number for this. Is this doable? Can someone help me make it so?? Will I still have caller ID? I curently pay for this feature through my Verizon LL but it looks like ooma will take care of this as well.

Thanks for any assistance, the music has looped twice now!! eeeeeech.

Re: Can someone answer a porting question for me?

Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2009 7:53 pm
by tommies
yes, you need to dig out the info in the knowledgebase. Choose the option to use ooma with a land line and pick out a new ooma number.

Your land line need to be 'provisioning', which is done by ooma on behave of yourself.

Re: Can someone answer a porting question for me?

Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2009 8:47 pm
by WayneDsr
If you use ooma with a landline all local calls will use your landline and all incoming calls will use your landline. The ooma hub will direct all long distant calls via ooma.
If you don't add caller ID to your landline you won't have caller ID on ooma. You would also need to add call forward on busy to your landline for the "second line" feature to work.

Wayne

Re: Can someone answer a porting question for me?

Posted: Sat Mar 14, 2009 6:51 am
by Richard A
WayneDsr wrote:If you use ooma with a landline all local calls will use your landline and all incoming calls will use your landline. The ooma hub will direct all long distant calls via ooma.
If you don't add caller ID to your landline you won't have caller ID on ooma. You would also need to add call forward on busy to your landline for the "second line" feature to work.

Wayne
Thanks Wayne. OK, what if I choose not to use ooma with my land line, will I have caller ID and second line operation if I choose to get a new number?
My purpose of even trying ooma was to reduce my land line bill to minimum. If I still have to pay MaBell for caller ID and Busy Call Forward along with maintaining a an active local line with full outgoing calling, my purpose for getting ooma just got hosed!! I make very few long distance calls and my Verizon LL is costing me ~$47 /mo for unlimited incoming / outgoing local calls (without any long distance!). I pay for caller ID now but not call waiting. I have been using my cell phone for ALL long distance calling (what little I do make) and I have removed all long distance from my Verizon LL.
I was "hoping" that I could keep my LL for emergency use at bare minimums (no bells or whistles) and .10 / call outgoing / unlimited incoming and use ooma as the main service. I did not realize that ooma used the LL.
So, If I disconnect ooma from my LL and get a dedicated telephone number for ooma, what features will I be left with maintaining a premier service with ooma??

Re: Can someone answer a porting question for me?

Posted: Sat Mar 14, 2009 7:10 am
by murphy
You can totally separate your land line from ooma. I have a Verizon land line with no features at all. No regional dialing plan and no long distance plan. It is mainly used for my alarm system but can also be used for incoming calls if I choose. It also works for outgoing 800 calls.

My ooma system has two full featured (ie all the bells and whistles) lines (I am on Premier). One line has my local number. The other line is a local call for my brother.

I have a 4 line multi handset cordless phone system. All three lines are available on all of the handsets.

Re: Can someone answer a porting question for me?

Posted: Sat Mar 14, 2009 7:44 am
by Richard A
murphy wrote:You can totally separate your land line from ooma. I have a Verizon land line with no features at all. No regional dialing plan and no long distance plan. It is mainly used for my alarm system but can also be used for incoming calls if I choose. It also works for outgoing 800 calls.

My ooma system has two full featured (ie all the bells and whistles) lines (I am on Premier). One line has my local number. The other line is a local call for my brother.

I have a 4 line multi handset cordless phone system. All three lines are available on all of the handsets.
Murphy,
Thank you for your time to comment. I just got connected to customer service - pleasant experience this time - and I got my number changed from my land line to an ooma number in my area code.
If you dont mind, let me ask you a few questions. Now that I have an ooma line and it has been separated from my land line, can i still have my land line plugged into my ooma hub and receive calls from both my land line as well as my ooma line over the phone that is plugged into the hub? The reason I ask this is because I just called myself on the new ooma number (from my cell) and everything worked as expected. I tried to call my land line number and it was an endless ring (on the cell phone end) however, my phone connected to the hub never rang.
How are you receiving call on all three of your lines? (I understand the personal line that you have for your brother - very kwel feature - I'm primarily interested in receiving calls from both my ooma line and my land line)
Hate to bother you on a Saturday, but any insight will be very helpfull!!!
Well, instead of killing this post I'll leave it, I did a preview of my message and re-read yours and I see that your cordless phone is a multi line!!! I think I answered my own question. I left my stupid question up in order to help someone else who may have the same issues - Thank you again for your comments!!!
Richard