In reply to a post by Icgaln:

So since that is still a non-answer I’ll simply say that I am/was looking for something around £30 a month and was willing to go as high as £40, if everything was as I needed it to be.

However, https://www.voipfone.co.uk seems like a good prospect as I see they offer an “Unlimited” package which seems to include landline and mobile numbers all for £20 a month.

I would note that ISP bundled 'all inclusive' phone calls are typically £12 month(talktalk) to £18 month (BT), the Voipfone package appears to be £20+vat, so £24, which looks high in comparison, and compared to unlimited mobile calls looks vastly overpriced, I know there doesn't seem to be any cheaper alternative, but it winds me up that VoIP appears to be so expensive now Sipgate basic has gone.

What I feel like I’m now getting a little stuck on is understanding how the old phones, specifically the answering machine, would connect to the N300a or other VoIP base unit.

What I’m looking for is to take the rj11 cable coming out of the answering machine I’m currently using and being able to plug it into the N300a or other VoIP device and then having the N300a do its VoIP thing and allowing incoming calls to be taken via my answering machine just like it’s a handset.

Or buying a new answering machine that is VoIP compatible and connecting it up so it goes like this:

Answering machine > VoIP base unit > Local network > Internet > VoIP Service provider.

Nothing requiring router compatibility.

However, I’m strongly suspecting that is not what happens?

The handset of the answering machine would be compatible because it uses DECT, but the answering machine itself wouldn’t work because it would still need its rj11 cable to be physically plugged in to something to enable it to take calls, right?

Having now read about the N300a having an inbuilt answering machine is good but ultimately not helpful to me as when I say “answering machine” I mean a physical device my Dad can walk up to, press a button to activate it and turn it off and other buttons to play and go back to previous messages.

He is old and unwilling to learn new stuff and has never been great when dealing with technology to start with. “Hidden” menu options and “fiddling” around on a handset isn’t going to be an answering machine he will get on well with and I would prefer to keep the same functionality he currently has with large dedicated buttons and a speaker voice telling him things like “Answer Set” “You have 3 new messages. Message 1. Beep. Blah blah blah, Friday Two Fifteen, Message 2, etc...” All from a dedicated answering machine device.

You know, something like this:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gigaset-AS405A-Cordless-Ans...

But with IP or VoIP in is product name.

Is this possible though as I can’t seem to find anything resembling a traditional answering machine on Amazon that has IP or VoIP?

This is what I’m currently looking at to do everything I want besides the answering machine:

https://www.broadbandbuyer.com/products/25844-gigase...

Is this comparable to the N300a? This new range seems to be all that is available to buy now from online stores that I’ve actually heard of and have used before. Gigaset has nothing current at the consumer level, only “pro” stuff it seems?

In reply to a post by burble:

In reply to a post by Icgaln:

So since that is still a non-answer I’ll simply say that I am/was looking for something around £30 a month and was willing to go as high as £40, if everything was as I needed it to be.

However, https://www.voipfone.co.uk seems like a good prospect as I see they offer an “Unlimited” package which seems to include landline and mobile numbers all for £20 a month.

I would note that ISP bundled 'all inclusive' phone calls are typically £12 month(talktalk) to £18 month (BT), the Voipfone package appears to be £20+vat, so £24, which looks high in comparison, and compared to unlimited mobile calls looks vastly overpriced, I know there doesn't seem to be any cheaper alternative, but it winds me up that VoIP appears to be so expensive now Sipgate basic has gone.

For the record there are several call plans available from Voipfone but whether they are value for money is very doubtful, even more so when they are based upon per user, per month.
Voipfone 100 £5
Voipfone 500 £10
Voipfone 1000 £15
Voipfone Unlimited £20
It is totally optional for you to subscribe to any of these plans and therefore you are on a PAYG basis. VoIP rates are typically very low, especially if they are based on per second billing, and it is pretty rare to have a connection charge. Do the maths and it is pretty clear that rarely will your call costs exceed the monthly call plan fee. A business with say 40 seats is clobbered with the "per user" fee and therefore even they won't gain financially with any plan.

So, let's ask the OP on having done the maths, whether he would personally be any better off with any call plan from any provider (BTs DV may be the exception)? I doubt it.

As a Voipfone customer, both at home and with the business, my home £5 deposit usually lasts about six weeks and for the business with 40 users, a £100 deposit lasts just well over a month. [Stats for May were: Total number of calls: 2080, Total call cost: £74.3520, Total call duration: 53:15:52]. A considerable number of the calls made were to mobile numbers.

Remember also that calls between customers on the Voipfone platform are free, so ringing the office frequently costs nothing. Get family members signed up with Voipfone and using the softphone app on their mobile and you can have free call either way without them having to pay penny month in, month out.

Go for Voipfone and you won't be disappointed and if you do have a problem with their service, the free help line is rapidly answered and often the issue is sorted in that one call.

With VoIP, why is it the people continue to recommend the Gigaset N300A as the built in answerphone facility is totally irreverent as the hosted VoIP service provides a more sophisticate service. Choose Gigaset by all means but go for the N300.

In reply to a post by Icgaln:

What I feel like I’m now getting a little stuck on is understanding how the old phones, specifically the answering machine, would connect to the N300a or other VoIP base unit.

What I’m looking for is to take the rj11 cable coming out of the answering machine I’m currently using and being able to plug it into the N300a or other VoIP device and then having the N300a do its VoIP thing and allowing incoming calls to be taken via my answering machine just like it’s a handset.

Or buying a new answering machine that is VoIP compatible and connecting it up so it goes like this:

Answering machine > VoIP base unit > Local network > Internet > VoIP Service provider.

Nothing requiring router compatibility.

However, I’m strongly suspecting that is not what happens?

The handset of the answering machine would be compatible because it uses DECT, but the answering machine itself wouldn’t work because it would still need its rj11 cable to be physically plugged in to something to enable it to take calls, right?

Having now read about the N300a having an inbuilt answering machine is good but ultimately not helpful to me as when I say “answering machine” I mean a physical device my Dad can walk up to, press a button to activate it and turn it off and other buttons to play and go back to previous messages.

He is old and unwilling to learn new stuff and has never been great when dealing with technology to start with. “Hidden” menu options and “fiddling” around on a handset isn’t going to be an answering machine he will get on well with and I would prefer to keep the same functionality he currently has with large dedicated buttons and a speaker voice telling him things like “Answer Set” “You have 3 new messages. Message 1. Beep. Blah blah blah, Friday Two Fifteen, Message 2, etc...” All from a dedicated answering machine device.

You know, something like this:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gigaset-AS405A-Cordless-Ans...

But with IP or VoIP in is product name.

Is this possible though as I can’t seem to find anything resembling a traditional answering machine on Amazon that has IP or VoIP?

This is what I’m currently looking at to do everything I want besides the answering machine:

https://www.broadbandbuyer.com/products/25844-gigase...

Is this comparable to the N300a? This new range seems to be all that is available to buy now from online stores that I’ve actually heard of and have used before. Gigaset has nothing current at the consumer level, only “pro” stuff it seems?

That is how the N300a works. (however, the N300a does seem to be discontinued and is in now limited supply).. - The N300a has two ports and as i recall. one port s for an RJ45 lead to your internet connection and one port for a RJ11 lead to your copper line, (if you have one).

An issue for you could be that, (after it has been setup), the N300a functions are controlled by the handsets and you do not want that. - eg. We have set each handset screen to show the time and when we receive a call the caller ID pops up on all of the handset screens and you either answer or you don't. - If you do not answer the call it goes to answer and the caller can record a message and and your handset displays show a clear orange box on the screen to say that there is a message. - Messages are accessed via the handsets.

Most of us are just home users and we are not linked in any way to the VOIP providers that we use, (in my case at the present time it is Voipify and Sipgate), but some may have links to one of the providers.

You seem to want an inclusive package deal which is fine and at one time that would have been my own preference but their is only so much time that we use the phone each day and I find that paying a cheap rate is a good option plus the fact the we have mobiles with lots of free call minutes that we can use as well,

Regarding equipment; most of us know about the the equipment that we have chosen ourselves and if it is any good or not but for specifics about different equipment makes and types and compatibilities you are best calling the VOIP providers that I provided links to in my first post on this thread some of whom offer pre setup equipment and or liGo which is a supplier of various makes of equipment, (that can normally be purchased via Amazon)..

Calling the VOIP Providers may provide an insight as to how knowledgeable they are, how they will deal with you as a customer, also how their own call answer systems work if you decide on equipment that does not have a answer system included in the device and the difference and the call security of the call answer systems that they offer as part of their service and how their systems will operate with equipment that you see as meeting their needs but they are commercial companies.

Regards,
Fido

In reply to a post by Icgaln:

What I feel like I’m now getting a little stuck on is understanding how the old phones, specifically the answering machine, would connect to the N300a or other VoIP base unit.

What I’m looking for is to take the rj11 cable coming out of the answering machine I’m currently using and being able to plug it into the N300a or other VoIP device and then having the N300a do its VoIP thing and allowing incoming calls to be taken via my answering machine just like it’s a handset.

Or buying a new answering machine that is VoIP compatible and connecting it up so it goes like this:

Answering machine > VoIP base unit > Local network > Internet > VoIP Service provider.

Nothing requiring router compatibility.

However, I’m strongly suspecting that is not what happens?

The handset of the answering machine would be compatible because it uses DECT, but the answering machine itself wouldn’t work because it would still need its rj11 cable to be physically plugged in to something to enable it to take calls, right?

Yes. You probably want to be looking at an ATA (Analogue Telephone Adapter) instead which has an RJ45 for connection to the local network and an RJ11 for connection to the answering machine, wired phones and/or existing DECT base.

It's more boxes but the end-user experience is unchanged as you carry on using the existing answering machines and phones.

I've used Sipura/Linksys/Cisco ATAs in the past, however the only supported versions have restrictions on getting hold of firmware updates so I'd suggest looking at the Grandstream equivalents, e.g. HT801.

If you want to use your existing phones then Vonage is well worth considering. We've been using our Panasonic KX-TG8120E base station plus 3 handsets with no problem for several years now. We're currently on Vonage's Premium Mobile 1000 tariff -
£9.99/ month
£5 charge for delivery of pre-configured ATA
1000 min included UK non premium landline calls
1000 min included UK mobile calls.

For us it was simply plug the ATA into the router, connect the base station into the ATA, and good to go.

This package is more than enough for our needs and accommodates my wife's technophobia ... More than happy!

Edited by Mygri (Thu 08-Jun-23 14:18:22)

When I first went to VOIP my original plan was to use a Grandstream HT-812 ATA with my Panasonic KX-TGJ324EB phones but I could not get it to work.

An ATA may work for the OP as a lot of people do use them but when I first went to VOIP I did a few types of ATA and I could not get an ATA to work at all. - At the time it may have been something to do with Sipgate, (my sole VOIP Provider at the time), not having been set up properly to start with by Sipgate or the ATA not being compatible or the my router firewall settings/my not disabling SIP ALG but I put it in a demilitarized zone and made no difference as it would not work so I gave up on an ATA and I chose an N300a which was very easy to set up and it worked out of the box.

An ATA may work for the OP and it is worth considering and the Grandstream HT-812 seemed to be a good ATA.

In reply to a post by tdw42:

...You probably want to be looking at an ATA (Analogue Telephone Adapter) instead which has an RJ45 for connection to the local network and an RJ11 for connection to the answering machine, wired phones and/or existing DECT base.

It's more boxes but the end-user experience is unchanged as you carry on using the existing answering machines and phones.

...I'd suggest looking at...Grandstream...

That was the advice I got from VoIPify when I called them recently - not sure if they still recommend Grandstream ATA's though nor whether they can provide them pre-configured. However the OP may find it worth checking with other providers to see what they can offer in terms of pricing and recommended ATA's etc.

Edited by 4M2 (Thu 08-Jun-23 15:14:24)

In reply to a post by Fido:

That is how the N300a works. (however, the N300a does seem to be discontinued and is in now limited supply).. - The N300a has two ports and as i recall. one port s for an RJ45 lead to your internet connection and one port for a RJ11 lead to your copper line, (if you have one).

As a specific item teh N300A may not be available - however they also named it teh GO box a few years back when supplied with specific handset.

On te Giigaset website are several equivalents:

https://www.gigaset.com/hq_en/gigaset-as690-ip/ for example