Typical questions a new guy might ask.

[le_kid]

Hi,
I want to port a number that we have transferred to Vonage a couple of years back. The number in question is not the 'primary' Vonage number, but a 'virtual' one. To make matters more complicated, it's been transferred to Vonage USA. When I try to fill the number porting form to port it back to Freephoneline, I can't select the right information as the billing address for the account is in the USA. Any suggestion to port it over?
Thanks

edit:
when putting in the information about the address while creating the account, the system did spit back the number we want to port, so that number must still be linked to the address in Canada, right?!?

[Jake]

Hi,
I want to port a number that we have transferred to Vonage a couple of years back. The number in question is not the 'primary' Vonage number, but a 'virtual' one. To make matters more complicated, it's been transferred to Vonage USA. When I try to fill the number porting form to port it back to Freephoneline, I can't select the right information as the billing address for the account is in the USA. Any suggestion to port it over?
Thanks

edit:
when putting in the information about the address while creating the account, the system did spit back the number we want to port, so that number must still be linked to the address in Canada, right?!?

I would suggest submitting a support ticket on this one http://support.fongo.com/anonymous_requests/new

Sorry I couldn't be of more help, but you will get better and faster support directly from them.

[le_kid]

Thanks Jake.

Seems to be quite complex to port a vonage virtual number out... I'll update when/if we succeed.

[le_kid]

So, as promised, here's the update on porting a virtual number from Vonage USA.
First of all, the number didn't get ported to Vonage as stated initially. Vonage USA gave us the number.
As the number was not associated with an address in Canada (for 911), FPL couldn't accept the number to port in.
To solve this, we used Vonage Canada to port the number back to Canada with an address for 911. As soon as the port was completed, we started the process to port the number to FPL.
Everything is now running smootly with FPL.

[Jake]

Thank you for letting us know, we all learned a little more today

It sounds like it was not an easy thing to do, but I am glad it was in fact possible!

[tstwitter]

Hi, I don't seem to be able to find anywhere that the costs are associated with using Fongo on an iPhone. Hoping I can be helped. I also plan to do periodic texts (like maybe 5) per month.

Les

[Jake]

The app itself is free, you get a real Canadian number and can make (to the free calling areas) and receive calls for free. Anything outside those areas will need you to buy world credits for. They have a text plan which starts at unlimited Canadian texts for $1.99 a month. The better deal is the 6 month package for around $10.

The best thing you can do is just download the app and see if it is right for you. It won't cost you anything to try and if you don't like it, just delete it. There are no monthly fees involved.

These areas can be called for free > http://www.fongo.com/calling/free/

Obviously for any of this to work you will need an internet connection (wifi, 3g, etc).

[rez]

Hello all,

I asked this question by submitting a support ticket and I was referred to here to ask from community. Now I did my searching but just to be sure, I'm going ahead and creating a new thread.

I was about to register for Fongo, but before doing so, I would like to ask a few questions:

1. Is there any difference between 'porting a number to Fongo from another carrier' AND 'choosing a number from the list of Fongo numbers'? In both cases, my assumption would be that, the user owns the number and has full control over it, given he/she doesn't break any rules (http://support.fongo.com/entries/53638109). Can you please confirm?

2. Let's say I port a number to Fongo, again my assumption would be that it won't be deleted even if it is not used to place outgoing calls for more than 90-days (inactivation rule doesn't apply here), right?

3. What happens to the number if Fibernetics/Fongo goes out of business? Just asking for the mere possibility of it, and I know it won't happen but to make sure.

Thanks

[Jake]

1. $25 basically. Otherwise thee is no difference functionally.
2. Correct. I would not still be here if they did that, it would be terrible!
3. It is very unlikely, but it is of course a possibility. As far as I know, if no other business bought the numbers they own, then the number would revert back to the original ILEC company that purchased the number.

[rez]

Thanks for the reply Jake.
Can you explain a bit more about your answer 3 please? If I come to use Fongo service (either by porting my number from XYZ to Fongo or choose a number from the list presented at time of registration), I'd like to have a free hand to either stay with the service or if it's not satisfactory port out. From what I have heard from friends who referred me to Fongo, they are happy so I highly doubt I'd ever need to do this but I'm just asking to be sure for future, so I'm not locked up or the number just fade away.

If I register, I'll be using the premium features (text and world credit etc.) so I'll be investing in this thing just as I pay (well as of now) my number from XYZ carrier.

Thanks again for further clarification.

[rez]

Also, the terms of service at the time of registration is counted or Fongo can change it at any time without notice and make customer's have to stay?

[Jake]

What I mean in point 3 (and how I understand it to be) is the original phone company (ILEC) who owned your number effectively 'owns' your number forever. So a phone company goes out of business and does not get bought up by someone else, your number will revert back to the original ILEC. Fibernetcs I believe is a CLEC so they would have bought their numbers from ILECs. See this page for a better idea of who are ILEC and CLEC http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Ca ... _companies If one of the ILECs goes out of business, then I would be surprised if another ILEC didn't snap it up straight away, but on the other hand the Country would have to be in a very poor state and non of us would be able to afford a phone anyway! I think Fibernetics is a stable enough company not to worry about this, but I guess you never really know (Barings Bank!).

You can port your number back out if you want, they do not hold your number hostage, either one that you port in or one they provide. They are not allowed to restrict you from doing so (unless you tell them you are cancelling your account before the port completes).

What I would suggest, and I suggest this to anyone who is thinking of porting in their number, is to set up a free account and test it for a while. It's free and you have nothing to loose but a bit of your time if things don't work out. You can port your number in at anytime. You never know, you may actually get a number that you like

The terms are not locked, they can and do change them at anytime. http://www.fongo.com/legal/terms/

14. Modifications
The terms of this Agreement or the Schedules, including fees, charges, features, content or any other aspects of a Service, may change at any time and without prior notice. The Customer is responsible for frequently reviewing this Agreement and the Schedule posted on Fongo’s web site to obtain timely notice of any such changes.

[chene]

hi all,

sorry I have a logistic question(s) about porting. I have used VOIP for a long time, but always kept a landline for various reasons such as costs (discount from bundles + cost of dry loop), ability to fax, and backup. My situation is now changed and I am seriously considering of ditching the landline.

so, I have a Bell landline and Teksavvy DSL. I would like to port my Bell number to freephoneline, pay for the unlock key so I can set it up with my ATA. While in the process, I need to notify Teksavvy so they can switch me to dry-loop.

If no porting of the Bell number is involved, it is very straight-forward. I am told to simply call Bell to cancel the landline, and give Teksavvy 2-weeks of notice.

But How do I do this if I want to port my number to freephoneline? My questions are, specifically,

1) who is the first point-of-contact, freephoneline or Bell?
2) what are the costs as far as freephone is concerned? Do I pay
- $25 for porting, and
- another $60 to unlock? or is it $60 total?
3) How long does the porting take? (I need to give teksavvy advanced notice)

any tips is very much appreciated,

[bridonca]

Freephoneline is your first point of contact. Freephoneline has to call Bell to initiate the port. Once you have a successful port, you can then talk to Tekksavy. Worst case scenario is that you lose internet for a couple of days, but you still have your phone number. My guess is that nothing will happen, especially when you call Tekksavy as soon as your porting attempt is successful. You might want to talk to Tekksavy before hand and tell them your intentions, and they might offer better guidance. But do not talk to Bell. They will be of no help to you, and will complicate an already complicated process.

You pay $25 for porting, and $60 for SIP settings. Personally, I would pay the $60 first and get the ATA working to your satisfaction with the phone number Freephoneline provides. When you are satisfied, then pay $25 to port your old number over.

Porting can take from 2 minutes to 2 weeks. Both parties have to be on the same page when it comes to porting, and if one is not on the ball, or the paperwork is not sufficient, there can be delays. By law, a port cannot take any more than 2 business days to complete, and up to 10 business days if there is a good reason for the delay.

[chene]

You pay $25 for porting, and $60 for SIP settings. Personally, I would pay the $60 first and get the ATA working to your satisfaction with the phone number Freephoneline provides. When you are satisfied, then pay $25 to port your old number over.

First of, Thank you for the detailed reply. With regarding to the statement above, I am a bit confused. Are you suggesting that

1) I pay for the $60 unlocking fee and program my ATA with freephoneline number, AND then
2) once porting is done, my Bell number will override my freephoneline number and the same setting/account will work, that
- I lose my freephoneline number (no big deal),
- the $60 unlock setting will work with my bell number?

thanks,

[bridonca]

With porting, you need 2 phone numbers, the number you want to port, and the account you want to port to, which needs to have a phone number. When you open any Freephoneline or Fongo account, even a free account, Freephoneline/Fongo assigns you a free phone number. For your purposes, that original Freephoneline/Fongo phone number will be disposable and will be inactive once you do a successful port of the Bell number to Freephoneline. Of course if you do get a cool phone number you do not want to lose from Freephoneline, you can open up another Freephoneline account, and get a less desirable phone number for porting.

So what I am getting at is for you to get a free account, play with it for a while. When happy, pay $60 for SIP settings, configure the account to work on your SIP device. Again, when happy, pay $25 to port your old Bell number over. There is no time line on when you do this either. Get comfortable with each step, and move on when satisfied.

[chene]

Thanks, unlock key ordered and is working well with obihai.

[BernardC]

Hi,

we are going to Korea in a couple of weeks. We need to be reachable by a local agencie and we want to be able to call local Korean numbers. Do I need to buy something to do that ?

We will have high speed WiFi.

Thanks a lot.

[chene]

Thanks, unlock key ordered and is working well with obihai.

after a few days of usage, I am running into this annoying problem, I seek your help.

I am using Obihai obi200. I used the following guide:

http://forum.fongo.com/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=16090

to set up FPL on line 1 (after a factory reset). I than logged into obitalk and set up

line 2 - voipstunt
line 3 - google voice

Both voipstunt and google voice work as expected.

As for FPL on line 1, I can make outgoing call. However, when I tried to call my FPL number, it ALWAYS go straight into the voice mail. I once solve the problem by resetting everything, but the problem came back after a few hours.

On my freephoneline.ca account, the voice mail setting is:

voicemail to email: none
rings before voicemail: 5

any idea on how I may fix this problem? This is the only reason I have not ported my Bell landline.

any help is very much appreciated,

[macrexfongo]

Hi,

A few questions about the service:

1) Can I port a number from my current carrier to Fongo and then use the free version of Fongo? (i.e not buy any credits/pay further money unless I choose to)

2) Can I port a number from a landline to Fongo Mobile?

3) Can I port from mobile to Fongo home?

Please also mention any other porting restrictions I should be aware of.

Thanks!

[FONGO_jeff]

Hi,

A few questions about the service:

1) Can I port a number from my current carrier to Fongo and then use the free version of Fongo? (i.e not buy any credits/pay further money unless I choose to)

2) Can I port a number from a landline to Fongo Mobile?

3) Can I port from mobile to Fongo home?

Please also mention any other porting restrictions I should be aware of.

Thanks!

The answer to all 3 of your questions is yes, provided your number falls within our coverage area: http://support.fongo.com/entries/232117 ... e-numbers-

[alexalexf]

Hello,

I have Bell landline and DSL internet from Teksavvy. Also, I am moving to the new address in a month. I am planning to keep internet from Teksavvy, but want to switch from Bell landline to Fongo home phone. I want to keep my current phone number. I am looking for the best strategy with less interruptions.

As far as I understand, if I port my number from Bell to Fongo, my DSL will stop working right after that. The problem is I don't know exactly how long the porting will take, so I cannot calculate the exact day when I should order Fongo home phone and number porting. Ideally, I'd like it to happen on June 30 (moving day).

Let's say, I order it on June 16, 2 weeks ahead. If porting completed in 1 week, I won't have an internet for another week. Another scenario, I order Fongo on June 23, but porting will take more than week, so my Bell account will be still active after I leave my apartment, and I am not really comfortable with that, as somebody might use it, etc.

Do I have any other options, what would be the best strategy? To have an internet without interruptions is more important to me comparing to phone line.

[alexalexf]

If I order Fongo Home Phone with porting my current Bell number to Fongo, what happens first:
- Fongo Home Phone Adapter delivery
- Porting Phone Number to Fongo.

I am wondering about timing because I am moving to the new address. I am trying to find out the most appropriate date to make an order.

[sinister.groupon]

I'm already a customer but picked a new number (no porting).

Trying to port a number for a family member under their account. Further, I will also be requesting the SIP Unlock key.

In which order should I proceed? Do I port the number, wait for it to complete, then get the SIP Unlock key? Do it in reverse? Do at the same time? Does it even matter? Only concern that the SIP credentials will be locked to the temporary number.

[Jake]

I'm already a customer but picked a new number (no porting).

Trying to port a number for a family member under their account. Further, I will also be requesting the SIP Unlock key.

In which order should I proceed? Do I port the number, wait for it to complete, then get the SIP Unlock key? Do it in reverse? Do at the same time? Does it even matter? Only concern that the SIP credentials will be locked to the temporary number.

It doesn't matter, the unlock key is linked to the account not the number. In fact when you do port your number in your SIP username will change from the FPL number to your ported number, so you must go into your ATA and change it.

My advise is always to buy the unlock key and use it on the FPL number until you are happy the service works for you, then port in your number.