Question 1

1. What happens in 2014 and Google Voice?

2. Can I use this one to call a traditional land line?

Accepted Answer

From Obi:
Important Message About Google Voice and Your OBi Device

Google Sets the Date for the End of XMPP with Google Voice 
Recently Google announced the end of support for XMPP based calling with Google Voice. This will happen on May 15, 2014 – that’s over 6 months from today. Since your OBi device uses XMPP to communicate with Google servers, the end of support will directly impact how your OBi device can be used with your Gmail account and its associated Google Voice phone number. Unfortunately, you will no longer be able to use the Google Voice communication service to make calls using the phone connected to your OBi device.  Also, the ability to receive calls to your Google Voice number, directly from Google’s service, will not be possible.

Fortunately, your OBi device may be used with many Internet phone service providers – all providing very low-cost calling to the USA, Canada and almost every country in the world. Most offer subscriptions and pay-as-you-go plans starting from $1.30 per month (including E911) and rates starting at 1 cent per minute to the USA and Canada. The OBiTALK web portal can be used to easily configure an account from any of these services on your OBi. Of course, OBi-to-OBi calls, using the OBi number printed on the device, remain completely free.

So, what does this mean if you currently use a phone connected to an OBi device configured with your Gmail account and the Google Voice service?  First, your OBi will continue working as it does today – with calls to your Google Voice number ringing the phone and use of Google’s service for connecting calls to the numbers you dial. Over the coming weeks, we will provide more detailed information, including easy to follow, step-by-step instructions on how you can keep using your OBi and your current phone number to keep your home phone bill extremely low, yet retain the power and flexibility that comes from using the OBi and your choice of services – even Google Voice.

Question 2

Where can I find a list of service providers without signing up or registering for anything?

Accepted Answer

You can find a ton of information regarding the many different VOIP providers simply by googling "VOIP providers".

Personally, I find the Obihai forums to be a great place to peruse some of the options that other members are using, as well as read their reviews and thoughts on each provider.

Almost every provider that does not include equipment, e.g., MagicJack, would work with your Obihai box but you can be doubly assured that it is a compatible service when choosing one that a forum user from Obihai is already using.

Good hunting!

Question 3

I have a POTS line at home.  I want to connect up a SIP VoIP phone to this and use my POTS line.   Is that possible with this device?

Accepted Answer

No, the phone you attach to this device must be a POTS phone(s).   The Obihai can then be configured to connect to 2 different VoIP providers PLUS your POTS line.    The attached POTS phone will have access to the VoIP services and to POTS.  It can be configured to provide different ringtones for each service and to use POTS for 911.

BTW this model has reached its end of life and has been replaced with another Obihai model.

Question 4

I want to have all of the phones in my house work using Google Voice. I wired my house with a punch down block so all of the phones are connected through one line coming in. Will your product work to make my home phones work? If so, is one model better than another?

Accepted Answer

I only have one phone on the line and it works flawlessly with Google talk. There is no reason why you couldn't feed multiple phones from the base.

Question 5

Will it work with satellite internet service?

Accepted Answer

Satellite generally provides much lower MPS than cable, usually only 100 to 150 MPS. You may not be happy with the call quality at this speed. The new generation of HughesNet is boasting speeds up to 300 MPS and would probably improve on that.

Questions & Answers