How to Set Up Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) in Your Home

Last Updated: October 10, 2021

VoIP–Voice over IP– means you are able to place phone calls over the Internet to any phone in the world. The phone you are calling does not need to have VoIP. Generally the cost of using VoIP is less than your local telephone company, and you can keep your existing phone number or pick a new one with an area code anywhere in your country. Prices may vary.

Steps

1
Get a VoIP phone adapter. Note that you cannot use an ordinary (PSTN) phone unless it specifically mentions VoIP or Skype. So to use analog phone as VoIP phone, you need to connect that phone to VoIP adapter.
2
The VoIP company you obtain your phone adapter from should send you instructions on how to hook it up. Some phone adapters are intended to go between the cable modem and your router or computer, while others must be plugged into a router that you supply. Follow the instructions provided.

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3
Connect a telephone to the LINE 1 port of the phone adaptor using a standard phone line.
4
Power on your phone adapter by plugging in the power cord to the back of the adapter and the plug into the wall outlet. You should leave this plugged in at all times to maintain your phone service.
5
Wait a couple minutes while your phone adaptor starts up.
6
There may be updates that need to be downloaded, such as new firmware or changes to your features. These will be downloaded automatically. Do not interrupt this process by unplugging the power to the phone adapter or ISP supplied modem.
7
Pick up your telephone receiver and listen for a dial tone. If you hear a dial tone, you have finished the installation and can begin making calls.

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Community Q&A

Question

Could a text message be received through fixed VoIP?

Vivek Khangarot

Community Answer

We might use virtual phone numbers for that and receive messages on out mobile phones based on VoIP technology.
Question

Can I connect my base phone into the adapter and have a second phone in a different room from where the adapter is?

Community Answer

If the adapter is the modem, you can simply plug in a home wireless phone set which will communicate with the associated satellite phones.
Question

I don't understand how to connect a second phone in another room. Will it pick up the signal from the adapter in the computer room?

Community Answer

If you use a home wireless phone system with one or more extension phones, you simply plug the phone line from the VOIP Adapter into the main/base unit, and one can then make and receive phone calls from each of the remote wireless phones that run off the main/base phone system. In other words, your wireless phones work just as if the phone company line was plugged into your wireless phone system base unit.

Warnings

A few unscrupulous VoIP companies advertise an "unlimited" service tier, but in reality they will cut off service to what they consider to be "high usage" customers, or will force them to move to a more expensive class of service. If you are considering signing up for "unlimited" service and think you may fall into the "high usage" category, read the company's terms and conditions carefully, and read reviews of that company online to see if other customers have experienced problems.

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If you are porting (i.e. transferring) your telephone number over from another provider, do not cancel service with your old provider until the number has been successfully ported to your new VoIP provider. Failure to adhere to this could result in the loss of your phone number.

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Should you attempt to connect your VoIP service to your home's inside telephone wiring, you must first completely disconnect your inside wiring from the telephone company's cable coming into your home. Failure to do this will damage your VoIP adapter, and for that reason some VoIP companies do not recommend connecting your VoIP service to your inside wiring.

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Some VoIP service companies require you to explicitly turn on 911 service, they don't do it automatically. Check with the company to make sure you will have 911 service.

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Any phone connection such as Vonage that goes through the cable connection, does not connect to any 911 police emergency. In an emergency, you may not get immediate response for your emergency. It is not advisable to only have a cable connected telephone as your only phone system in the house.

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In the event of a power failure or an interruption in your broadband service, you will lose the use of your VoIP service for the duration of the service outage. You may be able to avoid an interruption during a power failure by using an uninterruptible power supply, provided that your broadband provider's equipment is also protected against power failures.

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When comparing prices of VoIP providers, note that some companies charge a "regulatory recovery fee." This fee is NOT mandated by any government agency and therefore is simply a mechanism they use to make their advertised price lower than the actual price that you will pay if you sign up. You may want to ask the provider what your actual monthly billing will be before you sign up.

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