Excellent features but spotty quality & performance

[gfwalker]

I've been a customer for about 9 months. I find ViaTalk's features to be outstanding. However, my satisfaction level with the quality of the service is quite low. The problems I experience are as follows:

1. Dropped calls. In the middle of a call, typically after longer than 30 minutes and never on short calls, the connection drops. No special sounds or anything; the connection just goes dead and I have to redial the person I was calling. Although I'm not positive, I think this happens only on outbound calls, not on inbound calls. I need some way of determining if this problem is ViaTalk's problem or my ISP's problem. I've been told that it's the nature of VoIP to drop the connection if a certain number of packets get dropped by the ISP. Is there a monitoring program (tool) that I can use to figure this out?

2. Line goes dead for 2-3 minutes. Sometimes when I pick up the phone to make a call, all I get is the rapid-busy signal after dialing any number -- including the voicemail number *123. After a few minutes, the problem goes away by itself and operation returns to normal. During these dead periods, my Internet service (Comcast cable) operates normally. I need a way to do some kind of loopback test when this problem happens.

3. Very bad echo. On many but not all calls, I can hear a very annoying echo of my own voice. It's especially bad on loud, impulse sounds such as a laugh. I'm practically guaranteed to hear my own laugh as an echo. The problem is that as I come to the end of a sentence, it's often hard to know if the sound I hear at the end of the sentence is my own echo, or the beginning of the other person talking. This makes it uncertain if I should continue talking. If I wait a second or two, even though I haven't finished my thought, the other person starts talking. If I continue talking, and the sound is actually the other person, we're talking on top of each other. This echo problem MUST BE FIXED. It's intolerable.

If these problems are "normal VoIP problems" then I need to know that. If they're due to ViaTalk's extreme low-end pricing (low price = low quality), then I need to abandon ViaTalk and move to a service such as Vonage that I perceive to be higher quality (and more expensive). Ultimately, the quality of the phone service is what it's all about. As much as I love the cool features like being able to get my voicemails through email, getting a detailed log of every call with custom Caller IDs and all the other great features, they don't matter if the quality of the phone service isn't good enough. Unless these are "normal VoIP problems" that all services have, my current thinking is to jump ship when my one-year contract expires in a few months.

[Brendan]

Give our tech support team a call and let them work it out for you. Pretty much everything you are describing usually stems from a network or isp related condition.

-Brendan

[FarmerBob]

I am experiencing many of the same issues that I never had in two years with Vonage. My PAPT2 set up is no different than it was with my VT-1005 and Vonage. So the excuse of ISP and network carry no weight with me. I have a 6/1.5 line that has been relatively trouble free. My ISP supports and was created by gamers for gamers (I don't game though) and offers a very high level of service, I sure pay for it. But I have also have had several acquaintances dump Vonage due to what was eventually found to be problems with the Linksys equipment. A couple went back when given Motorola VT-1005s, like I have, and all was great.

So the problems that we are experiencing may be TA related. But one thing that impresses me is the access that VT allows the customer to the TA and how easy it was to get.

I had admin access to my Vonage gear, but never saw any complex user viewable settings as we do with VT. So either they hide all that in the background or are a simpler setup, leading to a less problematic system and potential for QoS issues. It may be just growing pains (VT seems, from what I can find on their site, relatively new to the market) that with the extensive access that we have to the TAs and with the help of the "American" tech support (a major plus in my book), we'll get through this. But I will only tolerate it so long. And we're just about there.

I love all the bells and whistles, a good part of why I moved, but the QoS is not as I was led to believe it was by research, referral, direct contact, advertisement (even the description/tag line of this feedback forum) and/or personal experience. I hope that in time this will become a moot point. And that time be very short.

[Brendan]

I am experiencing many of the same issues that I never had in two years with Vonage. My PAPT2 set up is no different than it was with my VT-1005 and Vonage. So the excuse of ISP and network carry no weight with me. I have a 6/1.5 line that has been relatively trouble free. My ISP supports and was created by gamers for gamers (I don't game though) and offers a very high level of service, I sure pay for it. But I have also have had several acquaintances dump Vonage due to what was eventually found to be problems with the Linksys equipment. A couple went back when given Motorola VT-1005s, like I have, and all was great.

So the problems that we are experiencing may be TA related. But one thing that impresses me is the access that VT allows the customer to the TA and how easy it was to get.

I had admin access to my Vonage gear, but never saw any complex user viewable settings as we do with VT. So either they hide all that in the background or are a simpler setup, leading to a less problematic system and potential for QoS issues. It may be just growing pains (VT seems, from what I can find on their site, relatively new to the market) that with the extensive access that we have to the TAs and with the help of the "American" tech support (a major plus in my book), we'll get through this. But I will only tolerate it so long. And we're just about there.

I love all the bells and whistles, a good part of why I moved, but the QoS is not as I was led to believe it was by research, referral, direct contact, advertisement (even the description/tag line of this feedback forum) and/or personal experience. I hope that in time this will become a moot point. And that time be very short.


Our tech support team can work out any issues you are having that are not ISP related, so give em a call and let them work their magic.

-Brendan

[FarmerBob]

Our tech support team can work out any issues you are having that are not ISP related, so give em a call and let them work their magic.

-Brendan

I have since submitted a ticket and it looks like some magic has been done after I was asked to run some tests. I have had quite a bit of interaction with the techs since day one and as everywhere these days it's a 50/50 proposition on who you get, how much help you are going to get, and how frustrated you are going to be. These guys have been pretty good (the best of all that I've had to encounter for any product lately), so far. There have been a couple reps that went out of their way, were down to earth, respected that I have knowledge and might know something about what we're doing and talked to me and not at me, and a couple that couldn't be bothered and need to be lowered a level or two. But they are not beyond letting you now that if something in a previous encounter was done wrong that is was and that it would be dealt with. That's really refreshing.

I was just going to say "Now I haven't checked the place on the site where I can . . . (to find out about the ticket)", and an eMail came in about it. I guess from the results of the tests that I ran they were able to figure something out. I have been informed that a change will take place in 10-15 minutes. It was about 45 and I ran an Echo test and no echo. Tried my VM-Auto-Dial, that at one time didn't work and I was told was a problem with my phone, then in another service call during idle conversation, was told that it was an easy adapter setting that I was allowed to do and it worked. The function is now spotty at the moment. So, I'm finding that it's who you get and what they know. As it is everywhere. But these guys for the most part are the best.

I hope that the way things are set up and universally accessible, that all I am going through is normal set up for this extensive of VoIP service, until the technology comes out that does it all on it's own. I know that when I had certain problems with Vonage there were somethings that just were not going to be able to be addressed. I don't feel that here. That may also explain why Vonage doesn't have all the toys that VT does saving themselves trouble and with that there are going to be growing pains. What with all the different Internet configurations that are out there and anyone can have, this is most likely an IT nightmare. Hopefully none on my end.

So far so good and when it wasn't, I had help. So much so I started porting my number from Vonage last Friday.

It's official. Now let's see what the last set of changes will do?

. . . fb

[taylor2767]

Boy Bob, I see you have been hard a work. I guess I was very fortunate not to have any serious service issues beyond echoeing or a little stactic. Since you've 'officially" made the big jump by porting I hope all goes well as it has for me. I've had periods where I've gone months' without having to power cycle. But don't you know now my wireless router began losing connection ocassionly but not affecting VOIP thankfully.

[Britton]

Might try upgrade pap2t firmware to latest. See the firmware upgrade thread and the fax threads in the Help and troubleshooting forum. Solved my fax issues and so far the intermittent no ring on outbound call problems. I have had no issues with either one in the day since I upgraded. The ViaTalk Techs might want to consider having users try this when they have problems that the normal fixes don't work on.

OR better yet that they could get a batch of the new pap2t adapters with a later rev of the firmware to begin with. Might prevent a lot of trouble tickets from ever being filed.

[FarmerBob]

Boy Bob, I see you have been hard a work. I guess I was very fortunate not to have any serious service issues beyond echoeing or a little stactic. Since you've 'officially" made the big jump by porting I hope all goes well as it has for me. I've had periods where I've gone months' without having to power cycle. But don't you know now my wireless router began losing connection ocassionly but not affecting VOIP thankfully.

Taylor! Buddy. ;)

Yup it's been festive. I have called their tech support more in the weeks that I have had VT than in the 2+ years that I had Vonage. I have had people hang up on me because calls got so bad. Right now I'm somewhere between a bad cellphone and a walkie talkie. And my adapter is always dropping. I now have a tech rep that is really sharp and I can kinda call direct. He's on M-F so I'll have to wait until tomorrow until I call. I think a good portion of the problems stem from all the features and the extent that they use the PAP2T, and that they openly let you into the gear, which with Vonage you had to pull teeth.

The first thing I did and always do, is update the firmware. The version that was on there was very old. But that killed some options that we had to reestablish, which I was told they had never seen happen before. So I'm thinkin' it's the gear. And a very surprising thing is that they are surprised when they find out about my connection, 6/768, of which I use to have 10/10 and am looking at 8/863. So as far as I am concerned I'm dog slow now. Also their service takes 61k (or something in there), where Vonage takes up 98k. I think they need to up their consumption rate and the overall quality might increase with it. Who knows.

But as a whole the service has been mediocre at best. And in doing some investigation they have only been around for a little over a year and a half. So the tells me that they have a relatively new system and bugs to workout. Plus, Linksys gear across the board, since the Cisco buy out, is loosing its quality real fast. Everybody that I hear that is having VoIP problems, no matter who the provider, has Linksys gear. If they can, switching to another brand, all gets better. So I wouldn't be surprise if it's the gear. I still have Vonage, and it's clean, clear, crisp, no echo, no problems running from a Motorola VT1005. VT on the other hand . . . . One of the things that my Rep found is that the server address that the PAP2T was set to get it's up dates from, wasn't. The setting wasn't there so it couldn't update. And all this after I sent them my static IP info so that the update record could be updated on their end and not "reset" on my end. No one for weeks saw that. That worries me that there is only a few (one) there with a brain.

My Rep understands that we're now in this for a while and that since I made good on my end, it's their turn now. And having one rep to help has been a mind soother, because I was getting really tired of starting from square one with every call. And I was getting quite a bit of intercompany rivalry with lots of tossing of the blame, actual back bitting with it tons of varying information that most of was wrong. That has since been mostly, I hope, taken care of. It's amazing that one Rep can see a basic problem right off and others have you jump through hoops and still don't find it. BUT at least there's no dealing with India. Thank God! I have been assured that TS will always be State side. I told them the minute they out source, my contract is done.

So, I have been seeing what the weekend brought and am suppose to talk to my Rep on Monday. I have an earful for him. I'm hoping in time, a short amount, that they will get through their growing pains and all will be great.

Well have to see. Until then, take care and good to hear from you. 8)

[hacksurfin]

Give our tech support team a call and let them work it out for you. Pretty much everything you are describing usually stems from a network or isp related condition.

-Brendan

Yeah as if you could ever get your Support team to answer a ticket!

[FarmerBob]

I mentioned that some magic was done and things worked. That was short lived. They added some features without my knowledge that totaled my line. I had them taken off, but ever since nothing but problems and then more problems that a lot of other users were/are having at the same time as I am. There is a bit of an up roar happening.

I spend a couple weeks volleying tickets, oh don't call and do a ticket at the same time, Big Mess, and now the Eric (CRS) controversy, the whole thing is starting to sound just like the stories I heard about SunRocket before the big crash and burn, but all the obvious problems that can only be on VT's end are being passed off on me and my ISP. I have forwarded as much as I can to my ISP (Qwest) and the tests we have done show I have a great line that was great with Vonage.

I only hope that I can get my money out of them?! BUT I have been using my POTS lately and avoiding the VT line while they get themselves together after what I have seen posted as a back log from the SR migration. Those poor sods. Out of the fire into the fire.

But now, when I do accidentally use the VT line the calls are mediocre at best. All cell phone calls are either one way until I call them back or if they connect properly, they are all metallic and sometimes drop after a couple of minutes. In the next day or so I will get back to dealing with this, but it looks like it needs to be escalated to an agency above VT for investigation.

Will keep you informed.