Who has cut the Cable TV cord...what are you using now?

[adrianp89]

As soon as I can get Live NFL games out of market on streaming I will ditch DirecTV. They suck. goes out every time we get a thunder storm, But I'm a huge football fan and dont live in my Teams home market so I'm screwed.

Sunday Ticket can be streamed - last I checked you just need a .edu e-mail address. Surely you know someone that you could "use" their old or current college e-mail.

As far as devices - I would strongly reccomend the Apple TV in the main watching room. Bedrooms and outside - Firesticks perform very well. I have 4 fire sticks and an Apple TV.

 

[sethman919]

Sunday Ticket can be streamed - last I checked you just need a .edu e-mail address. Surely you know someone that you could "use" their old or current college e-mail.

As far as devices - I would strongly reccomend the Apple TV in the main watching room. Bedrooms and outside - Firesticks perform very well. I have 4 fire sticks and an Apple TV.

I've thought about trying to go this route. I dont have an edu email address. Honestly though. I call every year and beat them down to a much lower price. I pay $130 for ATT Gigapower 300mb service, Directv including HBO and pretty much everything else, and Sunday Ticket. Its $100 the 6 months im not paying for sunday ticket. Personally we love our Rokus for streaming services. I refuse to give Apple my money.

 

[adrianp89]

I will add this incase anyone has the resources to use it: https://nflst.directv.com/student $100 for the season.

 

[COtoFLsurf]

I buy fastest possible internet (work from home ...), have Amazon Firesticks in two TVs and also have two Smart TVs with builtin Roku, Amazon Prime gets me tons of free movies plus can rent most non-Prime movies, and also use DirecTV Now streaming service for $50/month with no contract.

 

[Julian]

Was talking to a coworker today and thought I'd come across a great alternative to our home phone....Google Voice, but it turns out it Google voice doesn't handle land lines.. boo hoo.

What you CAN do with google voice is take an old cell # and have it fowarded to a new number indefinitely (for $20 one time fee). I was hoping this would work with land lines and save us tracking down all the people who have our house #....

 

[Julian]

Now I'm looking at Ooma telo or just dumping it and dealing with it. Any one have a better ooma alternative?

 

[mark_m]

Now I'm looking at Ooma telo or just dumping it and dealing with it. Any one have a better ooma alternative?

Julian,

Go for ooma - it just works. I use it for teleconferences and stuff when I work from home from time to time. I have toyed with the idea of upgrading to their security monitoring offering but just can't seem to pull that trigger. I have been VERY satisfied with coma and I pay only taxes for the line.

I opted to port my landline number to them so figure 120 all in one time-expense maybe.

-Mark

 

[Julian]

Julian,

Go for ooma - it just works. I use it for teleconferences and stuff when I work from home from time to time. I have toyed with the idea of upgrading to their security monitoring offering but just can't seem to pull that trigger. I have been VERY satisfied with coma and I pay only taxes for the line.

I opted to port my landline number to them so figure 120 all in one time-expense maybe.

-Mark

Do you use the wired or wireless Ooma?

 

[mark_m]

Do you use the wired or wireless Ooma?

I use it wired. Plug it right into your existing phone line setup and you should be good. Wireless only if you need clean look I think.

 

[mark_m]

I use it wired. Plug it right into your existing phone line setup and you should be good. Wireless only if you need clean look I think.

I unplugged the voip device and plugged in the ooma and done. Lemme know if you want / need photos

 

[2kwik4u]

Landlines? What are those?

I'm a bit of an early adopter in general, however I think I hit this trend a bit early. I'm 38yrs old and have never had a land line in my name. I haven't had a landline in a house that I've paid rent/mortgage on. I've had a cellphone since the late-90's, and never looked back. The landline always seemed like a superfluous expense to me.

Couple caveats to that. I live in a major metropolitan area, and even on the outside edges of the county I have had good service. Secondly, I was OK with the lack of 911 support in the early days of cellphone usage. Not a problem anymore, but worth mentioning that it should be checked that 911 location support is available in your area.

Also, the wife and I have discussed getting a land line for emergency purposes. We decided to instead rely on a rigorous training program for the 7yr old. He knows how to unlock each of our devices, navigate to the dialer, and initiate an emergency call. We spot check him at random times to make sure he remembers, and has the presence of mind to make that call, both in terms of "where are mom and dads phones usually sitting", and how to physically operate the phone to create the call. If this is something you aren't comfortable with, then a landline with buttons to create a 911 call is 110% worth the effort IMO. That phone on the wall is always in the same place, and the buttons always look the same, and the handset always sounds the same. Use your own personal judgement here on if a landline is for you with kids in the house.

 

[Julian]

Landlines? What are those?

I'm a bit of an early adopter in general, however I think I hit this trend a bit early. I'm 38yrs old and have never had a land line in my name. I haven't had a landline in a house that I've paid rent/mortgage on. I've had a cellphone since the late-90's, and never looked back. The landline always seemed like a superfluous expense to me.

Couple caveats to that. I live in a major metropolitan area, and even on the outside edges of the county I have had good service. Secondly, I was OK with the lack of 911 support in the early days of cellphone usage. Not a problem anymore, but worth mentioning that it should be checked that 911 location support is available in your area.

We didn't get rid of the landline as when our daughter was younger some of the baby sitters and relatives didn't have cell phones and we wanted 911 to know where the call was coming from without error. Now that landline is associated with lots of stuff (Walgreens prescription notification etc.)

 

[2kwik4u]

We didn't get rid of the landline as when our daughter was younger some of the baby sitters and relatives didn't have cell phones and we wanted 911 to know where the call was coming from without error. Now that landline is associated with lots of stuff (Walgreens prescription notification etc.)

I was editing while you were typing. All great points, and worth discussion within the household.

 

[swatski]

We didn't get rid of the landline as when our daughter was younger some of the baby sitters and relatives didn't have cell phones and we wanted 911 to know where the call was coming from without error. Now that landline is associated with lots of stuff (Walgreens prescription notification etc.)

That's exactly right.
So, does Ooma (?) let you keep the landline number, somehow, even if you cancel the service?

I love the fact that our landline absorbs the vast majority of nuisance calls. The thought that it could change (if I cut that line) w/some of the deluge hitting my cell is... unbearable.

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[mark_m]

That's exactly right.
So, does Ooma (?) let you keep the landline number, somehow, even if you cancel the service?

I love the fact that our landline absorbs the vast majority of nuisance calls. The thought that it could change (if I cut that line) w/some of the deluge hitting my cell is... unbearable.

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You can port your number into ooma. They will give you a number when you buy the ooma. If you choose to port then you give them back the old one.

 

[swatski]

You can port your number into ooma. They will give you a number when you buy the ooma. If you choose to port then you give them back the old one.

Sorry for all the questions, but - you guys are so helpful!

Would I be able to keep using the same old phone number for credit card purchases - after switching to Ooma? Would it be flagged by their security to "protect" my account?

I really want to get rid of my land line! just don't want to rush a decision and then be screwed...

TIA

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[Julian]

Sorry for all the questions, but - you guys are so helpful!

Would I be able to keep using the same old phone number for credit card purchases - after switching to Ooma? Would it be flagged by their security to "protect" my account?

I really want to get rid of my land line! just don't want to rush a decision and then be screwed...

TIA

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Yes...ooma would effectively be your "land line" service provider, but it would be VOIP (Voice Over IP). It would operate no differently than your current service.

The only thing I'm looking into is if NoMoreRobo works with ooma.....and it does....but requires the premium service for $10 a month I think.....

 

[mark_m]

Yes...ooma would effectively be your "land line" service provider, but it would be VOIP (Voice Over IP). It would operate no differently than your current service.

The only thing I'm looking into is if NoMoreRobo works with ooma.....and it does....but requires the premium service for $10 a month I think.....

Ooma has their own offering Julian, I think it’s around $10 / month and will block suspected and known spammers. The vanilla offering will let you blacklist.

 

[swatski]

Thanks that helps. Basically, seems like a great service for small business,working from home etc. To make it fully functional, with taxes and premium fees it would not be a huge money saver over the cost of a landline.

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[mark_m]

Thanks that helps. Basically, seems like a great service for small business,working from home etc. To make it fully functional, with taxes and premium fees it would not be a huge money saver over the cost of a landline.

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It’s fully functional without the premium add ins, I pay $2 month for the landline and it does include voicemail.

Here’s more detail with a compare of basic to premium

https://www.ooma.com/telo/premier-home-phone-service/