Freshphone - yay or nay?

[system32]

Thanks, got my answer.

Also remember to cancel on Telkom website after the port goes thru.
Not 100% sure if required, but I cancelled just to be sure.

 

[rph72]

Also remember to cancel on Telkom website after the port goes thru.
Not 100% sure if required, but I cancelled just to be sure.

Thanks. Did that. Also saw the latest bill is only R113. Keeping fingers crossed.

 

[aubreyk]

I just switched. Took a week to port. Currently waiting for Fiber installation and using ADSL. No noise (like telkom) pretty easy top setup and very easy to use...

I just want to give an update, after running for a long time, I have never had a problem and calls are very cheap! Well worth switching. Euphoria calls (my office) is free from FreshPhone!

 

[pedruid]

What adjustments did you make? I have the GrandStream HT801 so that I can use my old cordless phones my latency is between 26 and 30ms (Excellent) this is what i see when logged in on freshphone. If I do a normal speed test then my latency is 2ms.

I bought a pair of BT cordless phones earlier this year and am hoping to get FTTH before year end. Are you still happy with the Grandstream?

 

[DeSLAM]

The Grandstream HT 801 or 802 are good devices.

I'm not so sure Freshphone (Euphoria) is all that stable though. Not having a lot of joy right now. It works one moment and then it doesn't. And that is not a result of any setting changes on this end , the ATA is online 24/7 - but there seem to be issues on their side.

Thats my experience so far, (unreliable) hoping that this will change, as I recently ported my geographical number to them as well... Maybe I was too optimistic?

As a result I'm considering other options as well - such as Switchtel

 

[Jbn222]

The Grandstream HT 801 or 802 are good devices.

I'm not so sure Freshphone (Euphoria) is all that stable though. Not having a lot of joy right now. It works one moment and then it doesn't. And that is not a result of any setting changes on this end , the ATA is online 24/7 - but there seem to be issues on their side.

Thats my experience so far, (unreliable) hoping that this will change, as I recently ported my geographical number to them as well... Maybe I was too optimistic?

As a result I'm considering other options as well - such as Switchtel

I am getting good service from my Grandstream HT 801.

 

[system32]

The Grandstream HT 801 or 802 are good devices.

I'm not so sure Freshphone (Euphoria) is all that stable though. Not having a lot of joy right now. It works one moment and then it doesn't. And that is not a result of any setting changes on this end , the ATA is online 24/7 - but there seem to be issues on their side.

Thats my experience so far, (unreliable) hoping that this will change, as I recently ported my geographical number to them as well... Maybe I was too optimistic?

As a result I'm considering other options as well - such as Switchtel

Been with Freshphone+HT801 for 2 months.

I think your problem may be with your line.
I use smokeping to monitor sip1.freshphone.co.za and it has excellent uptime.

The main issue I've had is my ISP link has outages/I reboot my router which cause the ATA to go offline.
The fix for me was to change:

• SIP Transport: TCP (stateful vs stateless)
• Automatic Reboot: Yes, reboot every day at hour: 1am
• Register Expiration: 10m (if connection lost, reconnect within 10m)

I use *99 to conduct a free echo test.
Hope this helps.

 

[Cost Conscious]

I joined Freshphone in 2017. Worked OK for a long time but since the last maybe 6-9 months, the people I call can't hear me.

I connected using a dedicated Gigaset A510 and SIP clients (Zoiper and their own Android App) over fibre and 4G. Nothing helped. I was told how basically SIP phones don't really work due to this layer and that layer and devices being overwhelmed (another provider kept anonymous to spare blushes).

I took out an account with Abacus to test against Freshphone. They were very helpful but the call experience was as poor.

Finally yesterday, I decided to pay for my SIP trunk line (R25 monthly) and signed up with Vox Vobi. Success, people can hear me again!!

Vox call rates seem to be amongst the lowest in the market with some super low international rates too! I'm pleased with my decision so far.

Switchtel is were where I started my VOIP journey 4 odd years ago. They were also reliable but charged R49 a month.

Cheap and working is great, cheap and not working is not worth the savings.

 

[rrh]

I have had great service - both line and support - since I ported my landline to Fresh > a year ago.

 

[Prawnapple]

I notice some people are saying that some calls are free? How does that work?

 

[ld13]

I notice some people are saying that some calls are free? How does that work?

Ain't it just the FreshPhone to FreshPhone calls?

 

[mountain_lion]

I joined Freshphone in 2017. Worked OK for a long time but since the last maybe 6-9 months, the people I call can't hear me.

I connected using a dedicated Gigaset A510 and SIP clients (Zoiper and their own Android App) over fibre and 4G. Nothing helped. I was told how basically SIP phones don't really work due to this layer and that layer and devices being overwhelmed (another provider kept anonymous to spare blushes).

Did you have the Gigaset and the Android apps signed in simultaneously on Freshphone?
If so, that could have been the cause of your problems.
The most significant drawback of Freshphone is that they only support one device signed in at a time (they claim that is to keep the service "free", i.e. no fixed monthly charge, which is the plus of using Freshphone).

We are with Freshphone at present using a Gigaset IP540IP; working fine (with only this one device signed in).
It will be convenient to be able to use multiple devices (hardware / soft phones / Android apps) concurrently with simultaneous ring though.
Seems like Vox is the best alternative for home use with this functionality.
Any other suggestions for VOIP providers? (prepaid preferred)