Replacing Ooma Hub

[hackerguy]

I have used Ooma for a year and love it. Last Tuesday night, during a storm, my house was struck by lightening and it knocked out my garage door opener, my Ooma hub and my router. Nothing else was damaged. I have replaced the router and I want to replace the hub. Not ready to advance to the Telo yet. I can buy a used hub on ebay and I know I will have to pay an activation fee. I am OK with that. My question is will I be able to keep my present number and if the unit I buy has already been registered with another number, will there be a problem with customer support in switching it over to me. I have bought and sold lots of electronics on ebay and I am fully aware of the risks involved. I just want to know if it will be a big hassle with customer service. Thanks for anyones feedback.

[murphy]

Do not activate the new hub.
Call customer support and tell them that you need to switch your account to a new hub as a result of destruction of the original hub.

[brebro]

My Ooma hub similarly stopped working after a power loss (was lighting up okay while on the UPS immediately after the power loss, but once the power was restored, only the ORANGE light will come on) and I had to waste a lot of my Tracfone cell phone minutes on the phone with Ooma customer service to finally get them to send me a new one. Then, the day it was supposed to ship, they called me back and said that my unit was purchased in June of last year and is now a week out of warranty, so they are NOT sending me a new unit after all.

After paying $300 ($200 for the Ooma hub/scout and $100 for the premier year of service) for about a year of service, I'm not as excited about replacing the convenience and no down times of my $30/month AT&T service with this VOIP device any more. Nor am I exactly certain I want to spend ANOTHER $300+ now for the more expensive (now with FEEs added!) units and service (now $119 per year!) and may just stick with my Google Voice and cell phone.

However, since I still have the "free" Ooma service once my premier service runs out in August of this year, but no working hub connected to my internet, will I still be able to forward any calls from my Ooma phone number (which was the ported At&T number we have had for over 25 years) to my Google or cell numbers still?

[ntoy]

Hello brebro,

However, since I still have the "free" Ooma service once my premier service runs out in August of this year, but no working hub connected to my internet, will I still be able to forward any calls from my Ooma phone number (which was the ported At&T number we have had for over 25 years) to my Google or cell numbers still?

Yes, you would be able to use the services to your account such as you had mentioned as well as logging into My Ooma. And your account would remain active unless it was cancelled for some reason.

FYI: We do have a hub to telo upgrade program. Also, if you happen to find another hub, we can swap in the replacement for you and your account would stay intact.

[brebro]

Thank you for the reply. I have a question regarding the current hub-to-telo upgrade program for $199. According the the FAQ:

"Q: What happens to my taxes and fees status?
A: The Ooma Telo will inherit whatever taxes and fees (or tax exemptions) that are associated with your Ooma Hub. This does not change when you upgrade to the Telo using this program."

Does that mean if I upgrade to the Telo, I would not be charged the current $3+/permonth taxes and fees that a Telo unit would normally incur, since my existing Ooma account does not incur such fees? Or would I have to pay anywhere from $12-$45 per year if I upgraded to the Telo, rather than purchasing a new Ooma core hub/scout for the same price?

[ntoy]

Yes, you have a core account that would remain intact without taxes or fees if you choose the upgrade
program or another hub. If you find a hub, please call into support instead of activating it.

[hackerguy]

ORIGINAL MESSAGE - I have used Ooma for a year and love it. Last Tuesday night, during a storm, my house was struck by lightening and it knocked out my garage door opener, my Ooma hub and my router. Nothing else was damaged. I have replaced the router and I want to replace the hub. Not ready to advance to the Telo yet. I can buy a used hub on ebay and I know I will have to pay an activation fee. I am OK with that. My question is will I be able to keep my present number and if the unit I buy has already been registered with another number, will there be a problem with customer support in switching it over to me. I have bought and sold lots of electronics on ebay and I am fully aware of the risks involved. I just want to know if it will be a big hassle with customer service. Thanks for anyones feedback.

FOLLOW UP - The one I bought from Ebay works just fine. However, there is an unexpected problem. I contacted customer service about transferring my account and they can do it, but not until they contact the person who had previously activated the hub and get their permission. Also, they insist on charging me an activation fee, which I think is unfair. If they are unable to get permission from the previous owner then I am struck. Does anyone have any suggestions?

[brebro]

Yeah, I thought the activation fee was for NEW customers who bought a used hub, not current, active customers who are just replacing hardware that no longer works. I agree with you about that not being fair.