Is JoiPhone an good replacement for SunRocket users?

How’s the Customer’s service?

Which Plan should I choose when sign up with JoiPhone?

I am getting lot of emails from last 4-5 days full of the queries mentioned above regarding JoiPhone. So, I decided to check their quality of service and opted for JoiPhone trial signup to test their service 3 days ago (They offer 30 days Risk Free Guarantee). As an existing SunRocket Gizmo user (After unlocking It), I opted for BYOD (Bring Your Own Gizmo) scheme and signed with them.

I might be lucky one and got the password and other settings with in 6 hours from them and my service was up and running with in another 10 minutes, so overall it took 6 hours and 10 minutes to get connected to world through JoiPhone VoIP Service. Some of my readers are reporting that it was taking more than 18-24 hours in getting their password and setting details, looks like it depends on the workload they are getting due to sudden demise of SunRocket.

One thing we need to admit that presently every VoIP company is performing under pressure and not able to provide their quality of service as they suddenly got truck load of customers after the SunRocket died suddenly. It will take some time for these companies to adjust and serve these customers in well managed manner.

Facts about JoiPhone Plans are:

a) JoiPhone Unlimited $8.95 Monthly Plan (More Details):

When you Sign up with JoiPhone Unlimited Monthly plan you need to pay:

$8.95 Monthly service for the First 2 Months then $17.95 for rest of Year.
$30.00 One time set up Fee
$14.95 Shipping and Handling Fee (Presently this is waived when you use Gizmo)
$0.95 911 Emergency fee
$0.55 Universal Service Fund (Federal tax of 6.16%)

Final Bill: $55.40 (1st month), $10.51 (2nd month) and $20.01 (For Rest of Year) = $266.01 for 12 months

b) JoiPhone Unlimited Yearly Plan (More Details):

When you Sign up with JoiPhone Unlimited Yearly plan you need to pay:

$107.40 JoiPhone Unlimited Yearly Plan ($8.95 X 12 months)
$30.00 One time set up fee
$14.95 Shipping and Handling fee (Presently this is waived when you use Gizmo)
$11.40 911 Emergency fee ($0.95 X 12)
$6.62 Universal Service Fund Tax (Federal tax of 6.16%)

Final Bill: $170.37 for 12 months

JoiPhone is currently not charging any fee to get your number ported unless it is a virtual number or an 1-800 number.

Tip: If you are going to sign up with JoiPhone then you should use their BYOD scheme and use your Unlocked Gizmo to avoid shipping charges and secondly you will also get your service activated fast, looks like they are facing equipment problem after SR burst.

Pros:

1) No Yearly Contract commitment, you may cancel at any time and get back the prorate refund.

2) Overall Sound Quality is good and does not break. Due to the SunRocket burst they are getting lot of new customers and you might face some problem for little span of time. (We hope that JoiPhone will increase their capability as well so that customer continue to get the same quality of sound).

3) Customer Service is biggest asset of JoiPhone before SunRocket brust. They are good and quite responsive to customers except some cases as reported across internet, I don’t know why?, this might be some marketing tactics of competitor companies? Presently have an slight delay in taking calls, responding to emails due to the fact that they got truck load of customers after SunRocket burst. (This fact they have accepted over their website in BOLD RED letters (We apologize if we cannot accommodate all your calls), At least they are honest with this fact.

4) You can use your Gizmo to signup with JoiPhone and will get Free shipping (i.e. an saving of $14.95)

5) Good Pricing Plan as of today among its competition.

Cons:

1) SunRocket users over different forums reporting that the customer service is not functioning properly and very late in responding to the queries. As I mentioned earlier JoiPhone providing good service (One of my friend using their service from last 4 months and never had any problem), but as we all know due to SR brust they are getting truck load of customers and might be due to this they are not able to respond to the consumers query propely. But another fact also we have to accept that when consumers are paying for any service then they should get that without any excause and due to this reason I put their customer service under questionable category. But I am hopefull that they will improve the customer service soon.

2) International charges to some countries like India, Pakistan and other Asian countries etc are high as compare to SunRocket and other providers. They should have to revisit these and make it at par with competition.

3) More Competitive Pricing structure , so that consumers will get maximum benefit.

Finally, I want to say that JoiPhone is good service provider when we look at the options available to us as of today in cheap VoIP providers category (ViaTalk, JoiPhone, voip etc). You can Sign up with JoiPhone using your Gizmo and avoid shipping charges and also go for their Yearly plan to get cheaper price as you can cancel the service any time (No contract, you will get money back on prorated base).

Request all of you to carefully study the terms and conditions before sign up, so that you will not got in any trouble at later point of time.

If you want to go for high end VoIP provider then you can choose from Vonage, Lingo, Packet8 etc.

I will update more on JoiPhone after some more days of use of their service. Keep watching this space…

Also invite all of you to leave comments with your feedback, queries and reviews on JoiPhone so that other readers will get benefit from this.

More Reading:

Ex SunRocket Users: Use JoiPhone and Start making calls within the same day!

Unlock SunRocket’s Gizmo in 5 easy steps…

Why not try to get money back from SunRocket?

Ooma, the newly launched VoIP service, uses a routing system similar to the peer-to-peer sharing data community online to allow normal phones to bypass call costs.

Ooma Inc. announced an innovative consumer technology dedicated to transforming home telephony from being service-oriented to device-oriented and delivers a new way of calling that brings significant long distance cost savings to consumers. The ooma™ system provides a better phone experience, by enabling unlimited U.S. domestic calls via a broadband connection to any wireless or wireline phone number. A nationwide invitation-only White Rabbit BETA program also begins today and general availability of the ooma device is scheduled for the fall of 2007.

To use the ooma service, consumers needs to buy the ooma Hub for $399. Except this one time charge There are no monthly bills when you use the Ooma service. You just buy an Ooma Hub, a small device that looks like an answering machine. You plug it into your Internet connection and attach a phone, and you get free, unlimited domestic calls, local or long distance, as long as you keep your Ooma.

Each ooma system comes with a suite of innovative features including:

• Instant Second Line™ – gives users access to a second line in their home, with no installation or new phones
• Broadband Answering Machine™ – combines the power of voicemail with the convenience of the Internet and ease-of-use of a traditional answering machine
• ooma Dial Tone™ – delivers unique tonality through an audio interface, creating a new dial tone
• ooma Lounge – provides consumers with the ability to manage their voice mail and call settings online

Ooma will combines the VOIP and regular phone service. If you keep your standard phone service, Ooma uses your current phone number. And, if you dial 911, it always places that call over the traditional phone network. During an Internet outage, the device seamlessly switches to use the regular phone service, but you still pay no fees to Ooma.

So you need to pay your local phone company an monthly fee to maintain your base service and one time fee to ooma and enjoy unlimited calling with 911 service. Hope this makes sense.

Ooma works using the peer-to-peer Internet system popularized by file-sharing sites. Each Ooma box is part of Ooma’s network. The box in your home, for instance, might carry someone else’s phone call, though you can’t hear that call, and this doesn’t interfere with your own ability to make and receive calls whenever you want. In my tests, the Ooma didn’t seem to affect the speed of the Internet connection used by our computers.

To build its network, Ooma will be seeding the country with 1,500 boxes over the summer. These will be provided free of charge. But the only way to get one, if you aren’t on the initial list, is to know somebody who has one. Each recipient gets three tokens — redeemable for a free Ooma — to give to others.

I will write an review Ooma service in coming days and will discuss the technology behind the Ooma, Wacth this space for more detail.

If you have any ideas/ views on Ooma, then leave your comments below..

More to explore on ooma:

Read Interview of Andrew Frame, the CEO of Ooma

Watch ooma’s review by WSJ’s Walter Mossberg

Om Malik’s Take on Ooma

Here I am providing the information about unlocking and provisioning instructions for the Sunrocket/Innomedia MTA6328-2re Gizmo device to work with Viatalk.

Hot Offer: If you use the BYOD option and signup with Viatalk, then they will waive all activation fees and shipping charges. As part of special offer ViaTalk will also Buyout the 3 month of SunRocket Contract, Hence you will get Free Activation, Free Shipping and 3 Free Months of Service.

Instructions on how to set up ViaTalk to you SunRocket Innomedia Gizmo with ViaTalk Service:

1) Disconnect your WAN port from the gizmo (i.e. no internet)

2) Open your browser and Go to http://192.168.251.1/Voice_adminPage.htm

3) Login using your admin password.

If you do not know the password, try USER: admin PASSWORD: 7UprUtew or username: admin password: IM_Yass@Sun

4) Turn off provisioning if you have not done this already.

To do this, go to NETWORK -> Provisioning setting. Uncheck the “Enable Provisioning” box and hit the “Save and Reboot” button. After rebooting, you may not be able to login to the admin account since the reboot will default to index.htm. Hit CANCEL, and go to http://192.168.251.1/Voice_adminPage.htm to login.

5) Go to VOIP -> SIP Proxy and enter these settings:
a) SIP Proxy - Enter exactly what was sent to your email from ViaTalk. Remove any white spaces at the end.
b) Check “Use Outbound Proxy” box
c) SIP Local Signaling Port: 5060
d) SIP Domain: vtnoc.com
e) Registration Expiration time: 60
f) Preferred Codecs List: PCMU/800 for the first Dropdown
g) Choose “NONE” for all others.
h) Click “Save” button.

6) Go to VOIP -> User Account.
a) Choose Line 1 from dropdown
b) User ID: Your 11-digit phone number from ViaTalk email (starting with country code 1, Example: 1-xxx-xxx-xxxx)
c) Password: From email
d) User Name: Same as User ID above 6(b)
e) Authentication ID:
f) Use Hot Phone Number: NO
g) Hot Phone Number:
h) Use T38 FAX: Yes
i) Click “Save” button
Reboot your cable/dsl modem, then reboot your gizmo, and power-cycle your phone (if it is a powered phone).

You can verify this by going under the “information” to see if line 1 is registered.

With these easy 6 steps you are ready to connect to the world again !!

Related: Unlock the SunRocket Gizmo and Use it with JoiPhone VOIP

What I need to do to get Free Phone up and running ?

1) Go to Gizmo Project and signup (Free Account), this will give you an SIP account (SIP is an protocol that VOIP phone uses). From layman prospective it allows you to chat with other online instant messengers (like Yahoo, MSN, Gtalk etc), In addition to this it also has SIP capabilities.

2) Now configure the SunRocket Gizmo with the Gizmo Project Servers (Gizmo internally uses the SIP protocol to communicate).

To configure a device you need the following information: ( Gizmo Project Configuration help )

SIP Proxy : proxy01.sipphone.com:5060
STUN server : stun01.sipphone.com:3478
Username : Your SIP number, found by dialing ** in Gizmo
Password : Your password
Codecs : iLBC, GSM, g711a, and g711u (Gizmo Project uses other codeces as well, but you won’t find them in your hardware settings)

3) After this, we need to Configure Grand Central to forward all your calls to your Gizmo Project account. Follow the directions as mentioned here. To use Grand Central you need to signup with them, its the service launched by Google and you will get an Phone number after signup.

4) Finally, Configure your Sunrocket account to forward all calls to your Grand Central number. You need to login into your account and forward the calls.

Now, you are all set to get the Incoming Calls for Free when your nears and dears call either your old Sunrocket number or your new Grand Central number, it goes to your Gizmo, which rings finally to your normal home phone.

During Grand Central’s Beta period you can also make the outgoing calls for Free, to do so you need to go to your Grand Central account and need to add the person into your address book (To whom you want to make an call) and then by clicking the “Call” button. This way Grand Central call the person and calls your phone to connect both, so it counts as an incoming call both way. So, by this way during the Grand Central beta period you can make all outgoing calls for free, or you can either pay $0.019 per minute for the outgoing calls.

Hope this helps in getting some use of SunRocket Gizmo and maintain your phone line till you decide your new VOIP provider…

If you want to signup for some commercial VOIP provider then you can signup with any of these providers:

a) ViaTalk - Special Contract Buyout Promotion

b) JoiPhone (You can even Unlock Gizmo and use with their service) Read More..

c) voip

d) Lingo

c) Packet8 Check this –> SunRocket Preferred Provider after they closed

Let me know in case you have any other query or need any help…

More Reading:

Configure Innomedia Gizmo for ViaTalk

Ex SunRocket Users: Start making calls within the same day !

Joe Writes “Thanks for your information, it really came in handy!
I called my credit card company, and they immediately said they’d credit my account with a prorated amount for the months of service that I will not be getting from SunRocket……… so your suggestion saved me about $100!“.

So I request all of you to make an try, might be some of you are unsuccessfull, but what’s the harm in trying…

Most credit card companies will allow you to dispute a charge within 120 days of the charge, so check with your credit card company quickly before time runs out. Some will allow a dispute even more than 6 months back, but call and ask them to send you a dispute form. If the Customer Service turns down your request then I suggest you escalate your complaints to a supervisor, as some time this trick worked well. Don’t take no for an answer easliy after all its our hard earned money.

Here are phone numbers of some Credit Card companies to complain:

American Express : 1-800-528-4800
Capital One : 1-800-955-7070
Chase : 1-800-945-2000
WaMu : 1-800-356-0011

If you have any other card, that is not listed here, then look at the back of card and you will find the number of your Credit Card company.

Don’t forgot to share your experiances, so that other SunRocket users can take benefit from that…

Related:

Tips & Tricks: How to Port your SunRocket Phone Number ?

SunRocket Brust ! Explore other options now…

JoiPhone, “the Best Service at the Best Price company” today announced that SunRocket users can signup with them and use Organs of SunRocket (i.e. Gizmo) with JoiPhone and can start making calls within same day of ordering the service. JoiPhone is an US based company and does not outsource anything overseas. Their customer service is far better then Vonage and respond promptly as far as I know.

JoiPhone is offering 2 special packages for SunRocket users (Unlimited Plan):

i) $8.95 A Month When You Pre-Pay For 12 Months i.e. only $107.40 for one year.

ii) $ 14.95 A Month When You Pre-Pay For 24 Months, With this you will get 2nd Line for Free.

For more information on these offers please refer to JoiPhone website.

Offers look promising when we compare these with what Vonage, Lingo, voip, Packet8, ViaTalk (I signed up with ViaTalk as JoiPhone offer is not available at that time) are offering to SunRocket users.

To start with signup with the JoiPhone and then setup Gizmo with your JoiPhone account, here are the step by step instructions to setup Gizmo with SunRocket alongwith steps to unlock the Gizmo.

Instructions on how to set up JoiPhone to you SunRocket™ Gizmo.

1) Disconnect your WAN port from the gizmo (i.e. no internet)

2) Open your browser and Go to http://192.168.251.1/Voice_adminPage.htm

3) Login using your admin password.

If you do not know the password, try USER: admin PASSWORD: 7UprUtew or username: admin password: IM_Yass@Sun

4) Turn off provisioning if you have not done this already.

To do this, go to NETWORK -> Provisioning setting. Uncheck the “Enable Provisioning” box and hit the “Save and Reboot” button. After rebooting, you may not be able to login to the admin account since the reboot will default to index.htm. Hit CANCEL, and go to http://192.168.251.1/Voice_adminPage.htm to login.

5) Go to VOIP -> SIP Proxy and enter these settings:
a) SIP Proxy - Enter exactly what was sent to your email from JoiPhone. Remove any white spaces at the end.
b) Check “Use Outbound Proxy” box
c) SIP Local Signaling Port: 5060
d) SIP Domain: joiphone.com
e) Registration Expiration time: 3600
f) Preferred Codecs List: PCMU/8000
g) Choose “NONE” for all others.
h) Click “Save” button.

6) Go to VOIP -> User Account.
a) Choose Line 1 from dropdown
b) User ID: Your 11-digit phone number from email (starting with country code 1
c) Password: From email
d) User Name: Same as User ID above
e) Authentication ID:
f) Use Hot Phone Number: NO
g) Hot Phone Number:
h) Use T38 FAX: Yes
i) Click “Save” button
j) Repeat steps b-i for line 2, changing C) from 5060 to 5061

Reboot your cable/dsl modem, then reboot your gizmo, and power-cycle your phone (if it is a powered phone).

With these easy 6 steps you are ready to connect to the world again !! For more information on JoiPhone Visit JoiPhone now !!

Related:

SunRocket Brust ! Explore other options now…

Configure Innomedia Gizmo for ViaTalk

JoiPhone Review - VoIP Service Review !!

]]> http://nkishore.com/2007/07/19/ex-sunrocket-users-start-making-calls-within-the-same-day/feed/ http://nkishore.com/2007/07/19/unlock-sunrockets-gizmo-in-5-easy-steps/ http://nkishore.com/2007/07/19/unlock-sunrockets-gizmo-in-5-easy-steps/#comments Thu, 19 Jul 2007 07:10:34 +0000 kishore SunRocket VOIP Cheap VOIP ViaTalk Gizmo Unlock http://nkishore.com/2007/07/19/unlock-sunrockets-gizmo-in-5-easy-steps/

Every Penny Counts… Since SunRocket has closed its operations and no more going to serve its customers, you should unlock the Gizmo and use it with other provider like JoiPhone ViaTalk, Packet8 etc and save money on equipment and time.

Unlocking the SunRocket is easy and can be achieved in simple 5 steps.

Follow instructions listed here to unlock your gizzmo to use on other VOIP providers (might not work for all Sunrocket adaptors):

1) Disconnect to WAN i.e. Unplug cable from Gizmo WAN port (i.e. no Internet)

2) With the PC connected to Gizmo LAN port, Go to http://192.168.251.1 and Login to it using user Id

First try User Id: Admin & Password: 7UprUtew

If this is not working then try User ID: user & password: welcome

3) Now Cut and Paste the following url and press enter to Restore factory default
http://192.168.251.1/restore2.ssi

After about 15 seconds you should see a message about reset to defaults. Wait another 30-45 seconds.
Now close browser window. At this point your Gizmo should be in the same state as when SunRocket first shipped it to you.

4) Open a new browser window, go to

http://192.168.251.1/Voice_adminPage.htm (Do not open Gizmo home page first).

When prompted for user and password, Enter

User Id: admin & Password: slapshot (Valid for V3.0.77, V3.0.75)

5) Now Disable Provisioning, Go to
Menu –> IP Network —> Provisioning Setting and Uncheck Enable Provisioning
Click Save & Reboot. Click OK to warning.

At this point of time, your Gizmo should be unlocked and ready to be used with any service.

Let me know in case you find any problem or do you have any other suggestion.

Related: SunRocket Brust ! Explore other options now…

Update 7/20/2007: JoiPhone is offering their service with Gizmo now, you can unlock Gizmo and can activate your phone service the same day!

As per agreement Packet8 will provide following to SunRocket Customers:

If we look from customer point of view then what they will get in return from their lost money that SunRocket has eaten….. Nothing But yeah the Creditors of SunRocket will get an “undisclosed amount” per customer who signup with Packet8. It means they will get profit from sale of SunRocket Orphans. So SunRocket is screwing the customers, even in death!

Packet8 is no doubt an good VOIP provider and their services are also great. Packet8 delivers consistent, clear phone calls that match and surpass the quality of normal landline phone lines. The service includes many useful features in the basic package: voicemail, call forwarding, 3-way calling, caller ID, and more. If you look at all these positive points then you can signup with them and take benefits from service.

Related: SunRocket Brust ! Explore other options now… & Tips & Tricks: How to Port your SunRocket Phone Number ?

In continuation to that here are some Tips that you can use while porting the number.

1) Port thru Wireless Carrier: Go to any wireless carrier and open an new account or add an new line into existing account and port your Existing SunRocket number to them. Every Wireless carrier have approx 30 days cancellation time, so in between next 15-20 days find out an good VOIP provider like ViaTalk (I switched to them), VOIP, JoiPhone or Vonage and get your number ported there. This will help you in retaining your old number and keep you with phone till you get an VOIP provider. Don’t forgot to cancel your service before the trial period i.e. 30 days.

2) Port thru Phone Number Bank: Phone Number Bank is the first solution of its kind that allows you keep your telephone number, regardless of where you are moving or who your current telephone provider is. PNB offers 60 day Free Trail of their service. You can signup with them and get your number ported there. Once you are ready with VOIP provider then you switch it back. This will help you in retaining the service. Don’t forgot to cancel the PNB Service before 60 day period to avoid the charges.

3) Port thru VOIP Provider: If you have already selected your VOIP provider then ask them to port your number. This is the easiest solution once you decide your provider. You can refer my article on SunRocket Alternatives for an uptodate comparision.

The SunRocket phone numbers are owned by two companies Global Crossing and Level 3 Communications. Every company have to contact them to get ported your number. Now as the SunRocket has been brust, it may take little lnoger time to get your number ported to new carrier.

Any other idea or tips let me know…

Lets quickly look at which other Sunrocket alternatve VOIP providers can offer value. Hope this helps little bit to frustated SunRocket consumers.

1) ViaTalk: They are definately the strongest alternative available in the market today. Viatalk has revised its offer for SunRocket consumers and now offering the following for their Yearly plan:

a) Contract Buyout for upto 6 3 months from SunRocket Customers.

Update 7/19: They are now offering 3 months Buyout only. If you are planning to buy then buy today as they can close this offer any time.

b) Free 2nd Line of Service

c) No Activation Fee (Earlier they are charging $29.95 for this)

d) Free Shipping on Equipment (Use Coupon Code: FREESHIP)

If you prefer to have month-to-month service then I suggest choose the 24 month plan as that is cheapest one with Full packed features. Just for $9.95/mo, they are offering Voicemail, Caller Id, Call Waiting, Caller Return, e911 Support and much more.

2) JoiPhone: The fairly new entrants in the VOIP provider space, however they offer stellar services at great prices. Just For $4.95 they are offering Voice Mail, Call-Waiting, Caller-ID Fax to email, any area code, E911 and much more. Also for limited time they are offering Free Porting of old Number from SunRocket users. Get more information on $4.95 plan!

JoiPhone unlimited plan is at $14.95/month i.e. $179.40/Year, this plan includes all the features mentioned above. This plan sounds good to me for SunRocket unlimited taste users.

Update 7/24: JoiPhone Review - VoIP Service Review !!

3) VOIP: voip also have an yearly plan at par with SunRocket, in which you need to pay $199.00/year Unlimited Yearly (No Fees) i.e. only approx $16.95 per month. They also have an month to month plan in which you need to pay $19.95 per month and with this plan you will receieve First Month for Free, which is only $20 costlier then the Yearly one. Explore more on voip

Overall, I can say that in present market situation Viatalk and JoiPhone (In Cheap VoIP Provider Category) is definately worth signup up for. If you want to go with high end VoIP provider then you can signup with Vonage, LIngo or Packet8 etc. Impressed? Go get JoiPhone

Will update as soon as I got some information from other vendors, If you know any other vendor that is offering good deal then leave comments.. I will update this post with those detail.

“As a leading private internet phone service provider, we at ViaTalk want to let our customers know that our company is stronger than ever. In fact we are more than capable of handling the expected volume of subscribers expected to switch from SunRocket to ViaTalk. At this time, we are offering a contract buyout to them and subscribers to other VoIP companies. We are also offering a coupon for free ground shipping of ViaTalk’s phone system to assist customers looking to switch because of this announcement.

“It is unfortunate that SunRocket decided to close its doors in the manner that it did. Fortunately for our customers, they know they can count on ViaTalk’s staying power because of the incredible experience and success that we have had not only in the VoIP market, but over the past 8 years in the ultra-competitive web hosting industry. We are committed to the well being of our employees, including growing the workforce that we have built in our local call center.

VOIP provider, ViaTalk continues to offer specials that are unmatched by other VoIP providers, such as $199 for 1 year of unlimited local and long distance calls, 2 lines for the price of 1, and 3 months of free service for new subscribers. Signup with ViaTalk Now ! and start an new wonderfull experiance.

ViaTalk has customers in 2,200 markets in all 50 states. ViaTalk service includes many features that consumers would expect to pay hundreds of dollars a year for, like Caller ID, 411 Service, Call Waiting, Call Forwarding, Enhanced Voicemail. In addition, ViaTalk is committed to offering a product that is enhanced by additional safety features, thereby exceeding all statutory requirements for e-911 service.

Related: SunRocket Brust ! Explore other options now…

Here are few things that you should do now !!

1) Save SunRocket Account Information:

Save your SunRocket Account information pages. Take Print/Snapshot as many invoices and account information pages from website such as how long you have been pre-paid until. This will help you in fighing to get your hard earned money back. You can print the SunRocket Inovices here.

2) Forward Your Number:

Forward your SunRocket number to some other number, so that you can keep getting all your important calls. You can activate the Call Forwarding by visiting their Website, Thank God their website is still active and you can easlity forward all your numbers.

3) Finding Good & Cheap VOIP Provider:

Find some good and cheap VOIP provider, which can start the services for you asap. You can choose either Independent VOIP provider like ViaTalk, voip etc or can go for ATT, Vonage or T-Mobile etc. Some of these providers will be run special promotions to capture more and more customers from SunRocket like Vonage, ViaTalk, voip, Lingo, JoiPhone, Packet8 etc.

Currently ViaTalk are offering Free Activation, Free Shipping (Use Coupon code SHIPFREE) and 3 Months of Contract buyout (more benefits)of Existing SunRocket Customers who signup today with them. So finally you will get 15 months of service for approx $199 a year. (via EnjoyDeals.com)

As an alternative, voip.com also have an yearly plan at par with SunRocket, in which you need to pay $199.00/year Unlimited Yearly (No Fees) i.e. only $16.95 per month. They also have an month to month plan in which you need to pay $19.95 per month and with this plan you will receieve First Month for Free, which is only $20 costlier then the Yearly one.

You can also consider Vonage (Check SunRocket Special Offer), Lingo (Check SunRocket Special Offer), JoiPhone (Offering Instant Connectivity with your Gizmo), Packet8 (SunRocket Prefered Provider), all of these are offering good offers for existing SunRocket Subscribers.

4) Number portability:

This is another big question which have in mind for all of us. The phone number porting is not that difficult, generally the phone numbers are not residing with providers like SunRocket, but these resides with one of their service provider partners such as Broadwing and Qwest etc. I understand as SunRocket is dead, it might take little longer time, but the companies will co-operate and find an solution for the consumers.

5) File an Complaint:

The next thing you should do is to file an complaint with FCC and get the legal system and government involved. Click to Find Complaint. Also you can contact your state Attorney General and demand that the executives that made the decision to leave customers without phone service and E-911 service be arrested for public endangerment.

6) File an Dispute of Charge with Credit Card Company:

Contact your Credit Card Company to notify them that you failed to receive the service you paid for. In most of cases you will get your money back for your latest charge. Most Credit Card companies will at least try to get your money back but it will likely be a couple weeks before you find out for sure. The disputes should be filed as soon as possible as the Bankruptcy fillings by SunRocket may make it very difficult to recoup money.

Here are some phone numbers to complain:

American Express: 1-800-528-4800
Capital One : 1-800-955-7070
Chase : 1-800-945-2000
WaMu : 1-800-356-0011

If you have any other card, that is not listed here, then look at the back of card and you will find the number of your Credit Card company.

Update: Read Success stories at Why not try to get money back from SunRocket?

7) Possible Service Transfer? :

Keep an eye of recent developments and wait if SunRocket transfers your service to some other providers… While this certainly is possible ( as any company would love to have an extra 200,000 customers in its pocket), it seems unlikely that anybody would be willing to take you on without having you fork over more money. Lets wait and watch the situation.

Update: Packet8 Selected as Preferred Replacement VoIP Service by SunRocket

8) Unlock Gizmo & use it with any other provider:

Every Penny counts… As SunRocket is gone, atleast use Gizmo some where else after unlocking it and save money.

You can Follow instructions listed here to unlock your gizzmo to use on other VOIP providers (might not work for all Sunrocket adaptors):

a) Disconnect to WAN i.e. Unplug cable from Gizmo WAN port (i.e. no Internet)

b) With the PC connected to Gizmo LAN port, Go to http://192.168.251.1 and Login to it using user Id

First try User Id: Admin & Password: 7UprUtew

If this is not working then try User ID: user & password: welcome

c) Now Cut and Paste the following url and press enter to Restore factory default
http://192.168.251.1/restore2.ssi

After about 15 seconds you should see a message about reset to defaults. Wait another 30-45 seconds.
Now close browser window. At this point your Gizmo should be in the same state as when SunRocket first shipped it to you.

d) Open a new browser window, go to

http://192.168.251.1/Voice_adminPage.htm (Do not open Gizmo home page first).

When prompted for user and password, Enter

User Id: admin & Password: slapshot (Valid for V3.0.77, V3.0.75)

e) Now Disable Provisioning, Go to
Menu –> IP Network —> Provisioning Setting and Uncheck Enable Provisioning
Click Save & Reboot. Click OK to warning.

At this point of time, your Gizmo should be unlocked and ready to be used with any service.

Update: Check these Related Posts:

Unlock Innomedia Gizmo and use with ViaTalk

Start making calls within the same day - Use Gizmo and JoiPhone

Tips & Tricks: How to Port your SunRocket Phone Number ?

JoiPhone Review - VoIP Service Review !!

The current competitors in the segment are:

• 1-800-Free411 (Jingle Networks)
• TellMe
• 1-800-YellowPages
• Google (800-Goog411)
• There are also others which operates in local market, such as 1-800-SanDiego

Here are some of the features of Google Voice:

* You can find a business listing by category. Just say “pizza,” for example.
* You can send the listing details to your mobile phone via SMS.
* The service is fully automated, so it doesn’t rely on human operators.
* It connects you directly to the business, free of charge.

Google Voice Local Search is still in its experimental stage. It may not be available at all times and may not work for all users. We’re fine-tuning the service to get better at recognizing our user’s requests and at finding the businesses they are looking for. It’s currently only available in English, in the US, for US business listings.

In the US, 411 is the phone number for local directory assistance, but it’s pretty expensive (more than $1). 1-800-FREE-411 is a free service that uses speech recognition to process your request and ads to monetize it. The US people make about $2.6 billion 411 calls each year, and it is approx $7 billion/year market. Looks like Google is eyeing an major market share in this market …

Everybody is planning to file the tax returns and once you submit the tax return online then you need to check the status to ensure the acceptance of return. When your Federal/State Tax returns are accepted then you can check the status of the refund which you are expected to get.

In order to find out your expected refund date, you must have the following information in possession:

• The primary Social Security Number on the return
• The filing status used on the return
• The whole dollar amount of the refund

Federal Tax Refunds

Website:                                   http://www.irs.gov/

Refund Status Online:               Federal Tax Refund Status

Refund Status By Phone:          800-829-4477

State Tax Refunds

Select your state below to check the status of tax refund:

Alabana (AL)

Website:                                   http://www.ador.state.al.us/

Refund Status Online:               Alabama Tax Refund Status

Refund Status By Phone:          334-353-2540

Alaska

Alaska State does not require to file personal State Tax return.

Arizona (AZ)

Website:                                   http://www.revenue.state.ak.us/

Refund Status Online:               No online refund enquiry

Refund Status By Phone:          602-255-3381 (Phoenix)  &  800-352-4090

Arkansas

Website:                                   http://www.ark.org/dfa

Refund Status Online:               Arkansas Tax Refund Status

Refund Status By Phone:          800-438-1992   &   501-682-0200

California (CA)

Website:                                   http://www.ftb.ca.gov/ 

Refund Status Online:               California Tax Refund Status

Refund Status By Phone:          800-338-0505  or  800-852-5711

Colorado (CO)

Website:                                   http://www.taxcolorado.com 

Refund Status Online:               Colorado Tax Refund Status

Refund Status By Phone:          800-811-0172  or  303-232-2438

Connecticut 

Website:                                   http://www.ct.gov/drs/  

Refund Status Online:               Connecticut Tax Refund

Refund Status By Phone:          800-382-9463  or  860-297-5962

Delaware

Website:                                   http://www.state.de.us/revenue

Refund Status Online:               Delaware Tax Refund

Refund Status By Phone:          800-292-7826  or  302-577-8200

District of Columbia

Website:                                   http://cfo.dc.gov/otr/

Refund Status Online:               District of Columbia Tax Refund

Refund Status By Phone:          202-727-4829

Florida 

Website:                                   http://www.myflorida.com/dor

Refund Status Online:               No Personal Income Tax

Refund Status By Phone:          N/A

Georgia

Website:                                   http://www.etax.dor.ga.gov/

Refund Status Online:               Georgia Tax Refund

Refund Status By Phone:          800-338-2389  or  404-656-6286

Hawaii

Website:                                   http://www.state.hi.us/tax

Refund Status Online:               Hawaii Tax Refund

Refund Status By Phone:          800-222-3229  or  808-587-4242

Idaho

Website:                                   http://www.tax.idaho.gov/

Refund Status Online:               Idaho Tax Refund

Refund Status By Phone:          888-228-5770  or  208-364-7389

Illinois

Website:                                   http://www.iltax.com/

Refund Status Online:               Illinois Tax Refund

Refund Status By Phone:          800-732-8866  or  217-782-3336

Indiana

Website:                                   http://www.in.gov/dor

Refund Status Online:               Indiana Tax Refund

Refund Status By Phone:          317-233-4018

Iowa

Website:                                   http://www.state.ia.us/tax

Refund Status Online:               Iowa Tax Refund

Refund Status By Phone:          800-572-3944  or  515-281-4966

Kansas

Website:                                   http://www.ksrevenue.org/

Refund Status Online:               Kansas Tax Refund

Refund Status By Phone:          800-894-0318

Kentucky

Website:                                   http://www.revenue.ky.gov/

Refund Status Online:               Kentucky Tax Refund

Refund Status By Phone:          502-564-1600

Louisiana

Website:                                   http://www.rev.state.la.us/

Refund Status Online:               Louisiana Tax Refund

Refund Status By Phone:          888-829-3071  or  225-922-3270

Maine

Website:                                   http://www.maine.gov/revenue

Refund Status Online:               Maine Tax Refund

Refund Status By Phone:          207-626-8461

Maryland

Website:                                   http://www.marylandtaxes.com/

Refund Status Online:               Maryland Tax Refund

Refund Status By Phone:          800-218-8160  or  410-260-7701

Massachusetts 

Website:                                   http://www.dor.state.ma.us/

Refund Status Online:               Massachusetts Tax Refund

Refund Status By Phone:          800-392-6089  or  617-887-6367

Michigan 

Website:                                   http://www.michigan.gov/treasury

Refund Status Online:               Michigan Tax Refund

Refund Status By Phone:          800-827-4000

Minnesota

Website:                                   http://www.taxes.state.mn.us/

Refund Status Online:               Minnesota Tax Refund

Refund Status By Phone:          800-657-3676  or  651-296-4444

Mississippi

Website:                                   http://www.mstc.state.ms.us/

Refund Status Online:               Mississippi Tax Refund

Refund Status By Phone:          601-923-7801

Missouri

Website:                                   http://www.dor.mo.gov/

Refund Status Online:               Missouri Tax Refund

Refund Status By Phone:          573-751-3505

Montana

Website:                                   http://www.mt.gov/revenue

Refund Status Online:               Montana Tax Refund

Refund Status By Phone:          406-444-9840

Nebraska

Website:                                   http://www.revenue.state.ne.us/

Refund Status Online:               Nebraska Tax Refund

Refund Status By Phone:          800-742-7474  or  402-471-5729

Nevada

Website:                                   http://www.tax.state.nv.us/

Refund Status Online:               No Personal Income Tax

Refund Status By Phone:          702-486-2300

New Hampshire

Website:                                   http://www.state.nh.us/revenue

Refund Status Online:               No Personal Income Tax

Refund Status By Phone:          603-271-2186

New Jersey

Website:                                   http://www.state.nj.us/treasury/taxation

Refund Status Online:               New Jersey Tax Refund

Refund Status By Phone:          800-323-4400  or  609-826-4400

New Mexico

Website:                                   http://www.state.nm.us/tax

Refund Status Online:               N/A

Refund Status By Phone:          505-827-0827

New York

Website:                                   http://www.tax.state.ny.us/

Refund Status Online:               New York Tax Refund

Refund Status By Phone:          800-353-0708  &  800-443-3200

North Carolina

Website:                                   http://www.dor.state.nc.us/

Refund Status Online:               North Carolina Tax Refund

Refund Status By Phone:          877-252-4052

North Dakota

Website:                                   http://www.nd.gov/tax/

Refund Status Online:               North Dakota Tax Refund

Refund Status By Phone:          800-638-2901  or  701-328-3450

Ohio

Website:                                   http://www.tax.ohio.gov/

Refund Status Online:               Ohio Tax Refund

Refund Status By Phone:          800-282-1784  or  800-282-1780

Oklahoma

Website:                                   http://www.tax.ok.gov/

Refund Status Online:               Oklahoma Tax Refund

Refund Status By Phone:          800-522-8165  or  405-521-3160

Oregon

Website:                                   http://www.oregon.gov/DOR/

Refund Status Online:               Oregon Tax Refund

Refund Status By Phone:          800-356-4222  or  503-378-4988

Pennsylvania

Website:                                   http://www.revenue.state.pa.us/

Refund Status Online:               Pennsylvanin Tax Refund

Refund Status By Phone:          888-728-2937

Rhode Island

Website:                                   http://www.tax.ri.gov/

Refund Status Online:               Rhode Island Tax Refund

Refund Status By Phone:          401-222-1040  &  401-274-3676

South Carolina 

Website:                                   http://www.sctax.org/

Refund Status Online:               South Carolina Tax Refund

Refund Status By Phone:          803-898-5300

South Dakota

Website:                                   http://www.state.sd.us/drr2/

Refund Status Online:               No Personal Income Tax

Refund Status By Phone:          800-829-9188

Tennessee

Website:                                   http://www.state.tn.us/revenue

Refund Status Online:               No Personal Income Tax

Refund Status By Phone:          866-886-3468  or  615-313-0300

Texas

Website:                                   http://www.window.state.tx.us/taxes/

Refund Status Online:               No Personal Income Tax

Refund Status By Phone:          N/A

Utah

Website:                                   http://www.tax.utah.gov/

Refund Status Online:               Utah Tax Refund

Refund Status By Phone:          800-662-4335  or  801-297-2200

Vermont

Website:                                   http://www.state.vt.us/tax

Refund Status Online:               N/A

Refund Status By Phone:          802-828-2865  or  866-828-2865

Virginia

Website:                                   http://www.state.vt.us/tax

Refund Status Online:               Virginia Tax Refund

Refund Status By Phone:          888-268-2829 or 804-367-2486

Washington

Website:                                   http://www.dor.wa.gov

Refund Status Online:               No Personal Income Tax

Refund Status By Phone:          800-647-7706

West Virginia

Website:                                   http://www.state.wv.us/taxdiv

Refund Status Online:               West Virginia Tax Refund

Refund Status By Phone:          800-422-2075  or  304-344-2068

Wisconsin 

Website:                                   http://www.dor.state.wi.us

Refund Status Online:               Wisconsin Tax Refund

Refund Status By Phone:          800-947-7363 or 608-266-8100 or 414-227-4907

Wyoming

Website:                                   http://revenue.state.wy.us/

Refund Status Online:               No Personal or Corporate Income Tax

Refund Status By Phone:          N/A

Enjoy your Tax filing and get your refund on time. Watch this space for more updates on Tax filing.

Let me know in case any of link is not working, so that I can update this page. 

To get our rebates back on time so that we will get our money back, we need to track them properly using some tool. One universal way is to track these using Excel sheet, but if the rebates are tracked using some advanced tools then its fast and easy to get our money back.

Points you should take care while sending rebates:

1. Read the instructions on Reabte form properly and follow them. You should complete all information requested on rebate form in a legible hand writing, you may want to use all caps. Some rebate companies ask to write some work on cover letter, so you need to take care of them. Don’t forgot to mail your rebates ontime, as all rebates has an postmark date.

Hint: If you are purchased the product from an online retailer, then download and/or print the rebate immediately. Some online sites will remove the rebates as soon as the sale/promotion is over.

2. Make a copy of all reabte paperwork before mailing the reabte, this will help you to resubmit the rebate in case the rebate center does not receieve them.

3. Track the rebate from time to time, you can take help of some rebate tracking tool, I will discuss these in this article below. This will help you to determine the status of rebate and help you in getting your money back on time.

4. Contact the rebate center in case the rebate does not arrive in timeframe mentioned in the Rebate form, Most of the retailers, manufacturers and rebate fulfillment companies have their websites and toll free 800 numbers where you can track your rebate and contact reabte company by email or phone. Ask them about the problem with your rebate and get them resolved, some time rebate problems get resolved over phone.

5. Still if the rebate never arrives then you can file complaints against the Rebate company and retailers. This will help you to get back your rebates.

Rebate Tracking Software / Web Sites to track Rebates:

i) Rebate Tracking Software (Download, Install and start tracking):

Rebate! Rebate!

Rebate Reminder

RebatePro

Ultimate Rebate Tracker

RADRebateTracker  (For MAC Lovers only)

ii) Rebate Tracking Websites (Track the rebates online):

AllMyRebates.com

Rebate-Tracker.com

What if I never get my rebate? 

As I talked above about filing the complaint in case you did not receieve the rebates, here are some of the places where you can file complaints to get your monet back…

Better Business Bureau 

Federal Trade Commission (You can also call 877-FTC-HELP to file complaint)

National Association of Attorneys General 

Hint: Find your state’s attorney general contact info and call to complaint. The AGs will take action if they receieve pattern of complaints on some retailer.

The following websites can also be used to raise the concerns about the denial of rebate, sometimes this will also help in getting your rebate back:

Rip Off Report 

Planet Feedback

Hope this will help you in getting the rebates. More updates to follow, Keep an eye on this page… 

Let me know in case I forgot any information on this page. Thanks