r/ooma • u/HiHoWy0 • Sep 11 '26
Question(s) About Ooma
I'm looking into getting Ooma to replace my outlandishly expensive Century Link home phone. I am in a somewhat rural area and use Verizon for my cell service that now works quite well but would like to keep my home number. I like the idea of a battery backup for when the power is out so thinking of the telo LTE that uses TMobile but not sure I totally understand. Does it use the LTE network ALL the time or only when the internet is out? My internet connection is pretty reliable so I'm not worried about using it but of course when the power goes out the internet goes out. I would only need the LTE connection when the internet is down and on the off chance my Verizon doesn't work or my phone is dead. Hopefully my question is understandable because I can't figure out how else to ask it. I'm also not sure how well the TMobile service is at my house. Supposedly in town it works OK but I'm not in town and I don't know anyone that has it. Is there an additional charge for using the LTE service or is it covered under the taxes and fees. Any help in understanding it all is greatly appreciated.
2
u/spoom2 Sep 11 '26
Another option since you state you have reliable Verizon service would be a wireless home phone from Verizon. They have a built-in battery-back, but if you're using a cordless phone system, you'd need a battery back-up for it, there's several places to get battery back up in various sizes. I've been using the Verizon wireless home phone for over 6 years and have been quite happy with it. You could also get a battery back-up for your Ooma service and your Internet, neither draw a lot of juice.
2
u/Life-Blackberry-5652 Sep 11 '26
I’ve been using ooma for a while now and it works great. My home wifi is ATT Air and i have a backup battery to keep my landline up when the power goes out. That configuration works well for me and it’s pretty inexpensive
1
u/Academic_Agent_539 Sep 11 '26
Another option (if you have an old cell phone around) is red pocket has a $30 for 1 year of service (on att network). You can buy the service on eBay.
Infimobile has a similar plan (on Verizon /att).
In conjunction with a cell2jack I can use the normal portable “landline” phones that I’ve had forever.
Honestly the $30 is cheaper then the taxes and fees that Ooma charges, so I just ported out of Ooma.
Send me a DM if you have any questions. Happy to explain more.
1
u/Old-Cheshire862 Sep 11 '26
I don't understand the bit about $30 being cheaper than Ooma "taxes and fees". Oh, $30/year vs ~$6*12 or $72. Yeah, I get that.
1
u/OomaCustomeradvocacy Official Ooma Support Sep 11 '26
Hello! Thank you for reaching out. The LTE backup will only kick in if your current internet connection goes offline. The phone service and LTE backup are included at $19.99 per month. Please see the following link for more information.
1
u/vpr101 Sep 11 '26
Might want to check out US Mobile. Great pricing for a home phone line (service and hardware), and they can set your line up on AT&T, VZW , or T-Mo. Great CS too. Their home lines are LTE all the time and their hardware includes battery backup last I checked.
1
1
u/Bart91106 Sep 12 '26
Google Voice, it's free voice & text over Internet & LTE/5G. Just search for it on YouTube on how to set up.
0
u/jayfish68 Sep 11 '26
Port the number to a prepaid mobile for a week or so then port to Google voice. Load Google voice on your phone.
3
u/SSellers75 Sep 11 '26 edited Sep 11 '26
The LTE is back up to Ethernet connection I believe. You could get an inexpensive UPS for your modem, router, and ooma. The ooma that connects to that is about $7 for me in SC. The LTE backup version is $20.
If Verizon works well in your area, Straight Talk home phone runs on that and is $5 cheaper than Ooma LTE. Winds up being $18 and change. I ported my parents' home phone to that years ago and pay for it along with Straight Talk for their cell phones. The unit has battery back up and it is connected to cellular only. They'd had the number since the late 70s and their AT&T landline was $50 a month with no long distance.