Hands-on with T-Mobile @Home
By Chris Ziegler 
posted Jun 25th 2008 12:02PM
posted Jun 25th 2008 12:02PM
Sound quality was excellent, caller ID worked, and the voicemail system was up and running right away; if you've got messages, a blue light flashes on the router itself. No status symbol appeared on the handsets themselves to indicate that a voicemail was waiting, though, which kind of sucks considering that your router isn't likely to be positioned somewhere you can readily see it; the only saving grace is that you get the stuttering dialtone when you pick up the line.
Overall, for $10 on top of your bill, this seems like a total no-brainer for any T-Mobile customer with a landline, especially since you can port your number -- and the VTech handset isn't a bad little cordless, either.
Update: Folks have been pointing out that the voicemail button on the phone should light up when you have messages, but for us, it wasn't -- we checked it thrice. Just a word of warning!
This thing cannot send or receive faxes. It also doesn't have modem support. A separate land line (non-voip) would be required according to an internal memo released on HOFO. AT&T's Callvantage voip service supports faxes and modems. I'm with T-mobile but until they upgrade this service to actually support all the features of a real land line then I'll pass.
Do you still use those features regularly? If not internet-based fax services have been around for quite some time, and, as stated below, broadband kind of eliminates the need for dial-up.
I'd fax you a copy of my comment, but my time machine's busted so I can't make it back to 1985.
Seriously, I fax every day without touching paper or a fax machine, or using an analog phone line.
TJ,
Considering the price, and the fact that most home users probably don't have a fax machine, and that most users with broadband probably don't need a modem, I'l bet that those issues probably don't bother T-Mobile.
If Callvantage is better for your needs, cool.
it's a shame t-mobile didn't have this when i was with them, i wouldn't have had to drop them due to crappy coverage at my house.
TJ, I'll bet your PC still has to have a 25-pin serial port on it, as well...
Seriously, you're in a small minority of folks who can't transition to an e-fax service and an even smaller minority who for some reason still need to use dial-up despite having a broadband connection. Yes, I can see the possible need for both of these for a very small minority, but sheesh! This is a $10 option for T-Mobile customers that will work for 99% + of the people out there. No need to slam it...
I do have a question about this, though. If I've dropped my land line but simply want the @Home service for cost reduction in home (and for the fact that I don't get good reception there), is it possible to still hook up a standard phone and have my cell calls ring through to the standard phone. I guess I'm asking whether your cell calls ring through to the VTech handset as well as the home phone calls. My pocket-less wife is forever leaving her cell wherever she isn't and it'd be nice to break out the old wireless phones and spread them out so that she'll not miss calls.
Also, is this $10 on top of any other @Home fees paid per handset? So, if I have two handsets and this service am I paying $30 extra per month or is it just $10 flat?
Thanks!
Yes on the bluetooth connection to the home phone. Vtech makes a great system in the new LS5145. It allows your mobile phone to synch up with the Vtech cordless base. When your cell phone rings, it also rings all the cordless phones on the system. The screen shows that the call is coming in via the cell phone. You can also make outgoing calls on the cell phone line as well. Really cool feature
Is it possible to send and e-fax to a companies actual fax machine? Don't you have to sign up for some paid service? Guess I could just spend a few dollars in gas and run down to my local Kinkos down the street every time I need to fax something... Didn't mean to slam it. It'll probably be great for people who don't ever use a real fax machine.
You can send an efax to actual fax machines.
If fax infrequently there are several free efax services. If you fax a lot you can buy a plan at a minimal cost. For the more frequent faxers the cost is usually off-set by equipment/toner you would have to buy with a traditional fax set-up.
One more thing. I don't use dial-up. My Callvantage service runs through my Cox highspeed internet. But if I did want to use dialup I'd have that option. I used SATA compliant devices when I assembled my computer. What's a 25 pin?
I can only see one issue and it's a big issue with e-fax. If you have a document,or several pages needed to be faxed, you'll have to scan them onto your computer first. So we're back to needing a machine again. Then you probably have to log into the e-fax program with password and so on. Sorry, but I'll think I'll stick with doing it the easy way.
It isn't as bad as all that. You scan it into a multi-page TIFF or PDF file and then send that all at once. Agreed, though, that it is easier to fax in the "traditional" way. However, the benefit of e-fax is that you can keep them electronically in your e-mail if you want. Also, some scanners / all-in-ones make the multi-page scanning process pretty easy. All good ones have document feeders that are akin to fax machines. Some will even scan both sides of a two-sided document. Pro's and con's.
25-pin serial preceded 9-pin serial which preceded USB which preceded (but isn't exactly the same as) SATA.
anybody know if Sprint is working on/planning anything like this??? This would save me $20/month compared to my Insight Cable phone service! Thanks!
to touch on a few things....
1) there IS a Voicemail indicicator on the phone. bottom left corner of the phonwe is a BIG orange button which says "voicemail" and flashes when you have one waiting.
2) You pay 10$ per month per line of service...regardless of how many phones you have connected to said line....theoretically you could have have 5 phone attatched to one line and all 5 would ring at once.
3) your wifes cell calls will not ring on the home phone unless you forward her mobile calls to the home phone number. keep in mind all tmobile cmrs get 500 conditional call fowrarding minutes a monthn free fo charge, so use that to your advantage:) happy calling!
Just a word of warning, that indicator never worked for us -- the light lit up when we pressed it and were actively on the phone with voicemail, but that was it.
Sorry, my bad. I didn't mean how many cordless phones you could add to the base, I meant how many mobile (cell) phones could leverage the service for that $10 fee or whether you had to pay more. The initial story about this stated:
"No worries when you're ready to hop back into the 21st century, either; the system will happily work with T-Mobile's HotSpot @Home WiFi cellphones, too."
However, it didn't answer this.
And given that I'm talking about my wife's phone being a WiFi cellphone connected to this router using the @Home service, does the "must forward" answer still apply?
I use eFax regularly & it works great! Plus if you have to have a "machine", wouldn't you rather have a scanner than a fax? Trust me dude, eFax is way nicer than having the old school fax machine & you can scan photos and other stuff with your scanner.
Two comments:
1. eFax is pretty good, but it does not have support for Intel Macs, so when I want to fax I have to open up Windows.
2. We've though about switching to TMo's @Home, but with a small child in the house and living in an earthquake zone, we don't feel comfortable dropping our POTS (and yes, we do have an old dial phone that doesn't require separate power).
2 possible solutions:
-Get a UPS for your router/modem.
-Use your cellular telephone if power is out.
Excellent points MBN.
aight paul i think i get you- youre asking how many UMA phones can use the router as a "mini tower" for the 10$ a month right?
Ja ist das korrekt!
I have an all-in-one that scans, faxes copies, I guess I could scan it to have on my computer for future reference, but that seems kind of redundant since I have the document right there in my hand. I'd rather just fax it out and call it day. What if someone needs to fax something to me and they don't subscribe to e-fax , what if they just have a stand-alone fax machine?
When you subscribe to eFax (free or paid) you get assigned a fax number where you can receive faxes from traditional fax machines. These are sent to you as email attachments (with a number of file-type options).
I like this feature as no paper is wasted on receiving faxes and you can even read them on your mobile phone if it can view the attachment.
Actually, on the VTech phones that T-Mobile is providing, with their branding, the handset does light up, with a blinking light. =)
I wonder if this will drop calls constantly like the HotSpot @Home service does for the UMA phones. I love TMO, but due to poor reception in my house and even worse reception on UMA, I just cannot see staying with them, nor would I want to buy another product that uses the same internet-based gateway as the unreliable UMA service.
actually, you should be able to squeeze up to 8 UMA phones on the router, but keep in mind that the 10$ a month you are paying for your home phone in no way allows unl calling on the cell....that is a completely different feature (unl hotspot calling which is also 10$ a month). if you do not have the unl mobile wifi feature, you can still take advantage of the technology free of charge, but the minutes your wife used would pull out of your monthly alotted bucket. does that make sense? its a littl confusing from an outsider point of view, I hope I have cleared up the confusion.
Here's the breakdown:
*$10 a month on top of your T-Mobile plan is one @Home line with up to 5 phones connected to it.
*Customers can use either the T-Mobile VTech or their own touch-tone phones, no need to purchase the phone, only the Hiport router.
*T-Mobile's Hiport router is only $50 with a new plan.
*Any additional @Home lines will be $10, again up to 5 handsets on the same router per line, only two(2) lines per HiPort router.
*HotSpot @Home lines for Unlimited calling on an UMA cellphone is a separate add on and it'll cost the extra $10 for the future.
*UMA/HotSpot @Home doesnt require a contract extension, T-Mobile @Home/Landline does require a 2-year contract, activation fee on first bill per line, again only two lines per router.
*T-Mobile will only sell two VTech phones per router to a customer, but the client can choose to use their own cordless or regular touch-tone phones.
*Customers porting in their landlines numbers will get a temporary number until their number is fully ported (Landline numbers can take up to 6 real time days, due to the company with the number not having to release the number for 5 days).
Any other questions?
Will this be compatible with telephone doorbell systems? alarm systems? Thanks.
No, TMO @ Home will not work with faxes or alarm systems. Basically the only thing it WILL do, is make calls.
I have a bissiness acount with AT&T but to switch my my account to use the new HotSpot for land lines for $10 added to my T.Mobile account At&t said to switch my service to Dry Loop service and remove the charges I pay for landline calls the service fee would change to $65.00. This is not saving me money, whats up with that?
Ok, you guys keep urging me to move into the 21st century. I have highspeed internet and a fairly awesome system. But I occasionally build computers to give to people who wouldn't ordinarily be able to afford them. Not trying to pat myself on the back here. Just want to point out that I have to install a 56k modem into these machines because the people that I give them to usually can't afford anything other than the 9.99 per month dial-up. So setup and testing requires I have to have dial-up modem capabilities. That's where @Home is lacking. What if you had to work on your aunt Mable's computer because her 56k modem stopped working. She brings it over to your house (because you couldn't bare to work on it at her house because of all the cats) but Surprise! You tell her your phone system is too advanced. Call me when you have a time machine and I'll fix ya up. Add that to the lack of faxing capacity, and it's a no go. E-fax is fine if you like doing things the hard way. All-in-One machines are required for that service to scan. Why add all the extra steps?
Ok! All Of You See That This Router Has A SIM Card Slot For Line 1 & 2! The Other Hotspot@Home Routers Do Not! You Connect Your DSL Or Cable Modem Into The Internet Jack! Question Is! Is The Router The Device? Since It Is! It Requires A SIM Card Is That Why? To Identity Your # & Features Activated & Account Info! Thing Is Can't The Internet Hooked Up Identify The Info?
is it as clear to everyone else as it is to me that "engadget" has a problem with tmobile? they are always talking in the posts like they know soooo much better...i dont get it, if tmo was half as bad as they make 'em sound they wouldnt have 30 million subscribers! like they said that they tried three times to get the voice mail indicator to work but admitted they were using a different router-maybe the router enables that ftr? i dont know, maybe i shouldnt worry myself with this but i enjoy most of the things engadget has in their news, just dont like coming across all of the sucker punches that get placed in the reports for tmo....funny thing is my family has been with at&t for some time..no real reason for us to switch or anything...eh-who cares, i guess what engadget has to say doesnt really matter anyway, they arent going to make a difference.
The reason they tend to slam T-Mobile in any of their particular reviews is that engadget is not happy with the lawsuit that was filed against them because they were using T-Mobile's copyrighted and trademarked color for their banners and headers. Branding placement is everything in any business and now engadget likes to place little diggs in any review involving T-Mobile.
This maybe a no-brainer, but we do not currently have a land line so no existing no. to port. Would we then choose our own new phone number if we became subscribers?
Since you currently do not have a telephone # a new one will be assigned to you upon signing up for the @ Home service
I currently have Vonage, but since I am a T-Mobile customer as well, I have considered getting the @Home service.
I have a nice Linksys wireless-n router, brand new, and I don't really want to downgrade back to g. I see that Engadget plugged their Hi Port router into their existing router (much like an exisiting VOIP adapter for Vonage). Are there any potential issues aside from the voicemail light on the handset (which I don't care about because I would use my existing phone anyway)?
Are there any issued with porting a number from Vonage?
And my own editorial comment: If I were a parent, I think I would keep a traditional land line as well. Until E911 service is available to 100% of the VOIP customers out there, you don't want shoddy 911 service. Power is also an issue... yes, you can get a UPS to plug into, but I've been through a hurricane where we lost power for a week, yet we still had phone service.
I am a believer in a subscriber to VOIP, but just a word of warning to folks that might be concerned about it, like parents.
One final, small thing. Vonage offers free calling to Canada, which I've used pretty frequently. Even for me, T-Mobile not offering this isn't a dealbreaker, but it would be nice if they included Canada, Mexico and even some European countries like Vonage does.
I also have a new Linksys wireless-n router - how do you hotwire the Hi-Port router through the current one?
Never mind, I found the answer on the t-mobile support site. If anyone needs to know it's on
https://support.t-mobile.com/knowbase/root/public/tm51776.htm?PKBview=y#4
Scroll down to "If you already have a router, add a new T-Mobile router."
I've tried using the Hi-Port router both ways.
1) replacing my existing linksys rounter with the new one. Installed the same way any wireless router would.
2) Having both routers working at the same time. T-mobile likes to call it "piggy-backing" the hi-port to your exiting router. The existing router remains installed the orginal way. A blue ethernet cable connects from one of the yellow ports on the existing router to the main port on the hi-port. No additional installation was needed i.e running the setup cd given in the box.
Both seemed to work great although the second method took a few minutes for the blue indicator light to come on.
In addition to some of the other concerns:
- Having DSL seems to bring about a small problem as some people have both their DSL and phone line wired together. Therefore they must keep the phone line to keep their DSL. I believe you can ask your provider to give you a "naked DSL line" therefore no longer needing the phone line or having them paired together. In some instances you can have it done over the phone while other times a technician may need to come to your house.
- Also having an alarm system seems to have some trouble also. A lot of people have their home alarm systems wired with the landline. You can ask your alarm company if they support VOIP and may be able to work with you.
Ok, I have Vonage and i have spoke to a TM rep already, all sounds good but my question is i have my cable modem, airport (mac), and vonage device all hooked up. Now if i make the switch i get rid of the vonage device and hook up the TM device...great! with vonage i can hook up the line to distribute the service throughout the house, i did it and it worked for like a day and didnt work again and vonage reps were of no help. Will i be able to do this successfully with TM device or am i still stuck with the one phone in one room unless i invest in purchasing a new phone with adapter phones to it (which i dont have the funds for) Im a parent and the purpose of the phone is for my kids to be able to call 911 which is the E911...Does tmobile have the E911 ?
I currently have a VOIP line with Broadvoice, and thought I might be able to save some money since I'm already a TM customer.
Line seems to work OK, although the setup was harder than it should be because of poor documentation. For example it would have helped to know that it takes a long time (40 minutes for me) before the sim card registers itself. Called T-Mobile and 30 minutes is about the hold time to find someone to talk with about @home. They admit they don't have enough trained agents yet.
Control of the line features is much worse than Vonage or Broadvoice. There is none. It turns out that some things can be done by T-Mobile (such as a ring and forward), but there is no user control panel yet - you have to call customer support, and there is zero documentation on what you can ask them to do for you, or usage of things like *72, etc.
Then I got a number with a caller ID that is for Fair Issac (the folks that invented credit scores). That will scare a lot of the people I call!
Definitely seems like a lot of details still to be cleaned up on the service.