Side by Side Comparison of: Phone Power vs Linksys

works well

My second PAP-2... The first one lasted 10 years, and I am hopeful for a similar record for this one.

This is my second PAP2. The first one died after 10+ years of service, so there was no question that I'd replace it with the same. Simple, low profile, and it just works.

Have it unlocked and then you can use it for any VOIP provider for use at home, home office, or a small business to convert from PSTN to VOIP and stop paying high monthly and long-distance fees. A small configuration change and it works just perfectly with a facsimile machine to send or receive a fax.

Easy to set up and manage. Can even be configured and managed from an attached phone with the keypads. Reliable and efficient. Small footprint and does not use a lot of power.The device can provide two lines and have been running the same device for more than 6 years now without a problem. Purchased a second unit in case the first breaks down.

I purchased this unit with some concern based on horror stories of support and months of difficulty in trying to keep one's existing phone number. None of my fears materialized. I received the unit and set it up. I was "VOIPing" in thirty seconds or less. Transfering my phone number was almost as easy...and I even had to fax the information twice since I left out some information. I received the unit on April 1, they received my transfer request on April 2...by April 12, my number is totally transitioned over and the unit if functioning seemlessly with my home. The features of Vonage are great and this product does a great job of giving my existing phone network acess to those features and great price. I have not worked with support via phone yet, but interactions via email have been quick (within a couple hours) and helpful. Thus far, I have no complaints with the quality of calls, the ease of use, the features, or the cost. I'm sold...for now. If this changes, I will post a followup.

THIS PRODUCT IS SMALL, COMPACT, AND EFFICIENT. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A ROUTER AVAILABLE BEFORE USING THIS ITEM.

In terms of size, it has a lot more benefit than the previous models. in terms of functioning, I don't see any impressive improvement. make sure you call Vonage to register this adapter before you use it (give them the serial number).

I bought this to replace my three year old Vonage phone adapter. I was having voice quality issues. Installation was quick and easy. As soon as the Linksys adapter was installed, I stopped having voice quality problems. However, now my caller ID works only occasionally. And my 'voicemail waiting' indicator light (on the telephone) works sporadically at best.Linksys got the important stuff right - I can make clear calls again. But they need to sweat the details a bit more.

I have been a Vonage user (2nd line) for over 2 months now and have made quite a few calls. The sound quality is very good and the features are amazing for the price - I have a 500 minute plan for $14.99 with every option under the sun - voice mail, Caller ID, 3 way calling etc. However there are some things to watch out for:1. A lot has already been written about 911 and power outages so there's no need to cover that - this affects any emergency or other use such as Tivo, alarm systems etc.2. It takes an extra second or 2 sometimes to get a dial-tone3. Even when everything is seemingly working, and you have a dial-tone, I have had many an instance when the call will not go through. You may have to hang up and redial upto 3 times to connect. Althought this does not happen every single time, its often enough to be annoying.4. Customer service - I had emailed customer service about my bill once, they charged me for the first month even though it was meant to be free. I did not receive a reply at all.Overall I am awarding 3 stars since this product is a compromise and does not completely match up to traditional Phone service in terms of reliability and satisfaction. I would highly recommend it for a second line, though.

I've been wanting to switch from traditional phone service (Verizon) to VoIP (Vonage) for a while, and I jumped in with the release of the Linksys products.Here's what I really, really like about the Vonage service: Setup is a breeze, and PAP2 is diminutive, so if you are travelling to a location with broadband service, you can take the box with you to make/receive calls. In addition, the Vonage service is full of features that are either not available from the local telco, or would cost a small fortune every month.As much as I like the service, it does have drawbacks and limitations that you should be aware of:* Power or Broadband outages - If you lose power, or your broadband service is unavailable, you will not have phone service. Even though Vonage can ring your cell phone if this were to occur, this fallback can take up to 4 hours (per the Vonage website).* 911 Service - Unlike most VoIP services, Vonage *does* offer 911 service. However, you must register, and when/if you dial 911, your call is routed to a Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) in your area, and unlike traditional 911, the PSAP will note have access your location/address.* Tivo & Modems - Although you most likely will never use a modem when you have broadband access, if you have a Tivo that only has a modem, you may have problems getting the Tivo to make its Daily Call. This is the major issue I have with Vonage. I tried all the "tricks," and even bought a DSL filter, with no luck. I like my Tivo more than Vonage, so I'll be cancelling Vonage and going back to my local telco.* Phone Number & Caller ID - If you have Vonage assign a new phone number to you (instead of porting your existing telco number), when you dial others from your Vonage phone, they will not see your Name on their Caller ID, only your phone number.Of the above points, only the Tivo compatibility issue keeps me from switching to Vonage. You should also note that the Linksys PAP2 *requires* a broadband router. If you do not have a router, you should buy the Linksys RT31P2, which is both a router, and a VoIP/Vonage device in one box.

The unit was new but the box was pretty beat up. I got this unit to replace one I had for years. This unit would not work no matter what I tried. I ended up buying the regular Vonage adapter. It worked without a hitch. Don't know what went wrong with this one.

I've owned 3 of these over a period of about 4-5 years from which you can deduce that the they last around 18 months to 2 years. That is pretty poor . . .Also - I've fought with these and with Vonage for years and never have been able to get faxes working well consistantly.

I have had this adapter and Vonage for a year, I decided to go to SunRocket due to price and reviews I have seen. I knew that I had a 1 year contract with Vonage so I called them 2 days prior to the end of my contract to tell them I did not wish to renew, they said that they could not do it for me then, that I would have to wait until my 1 year was up. This was Friday, 1-year up was Sunday...Only open Monday thru Friday to deactivate. If I was to do it on Friday I would have a $39.99 deactivation charge, so call back on Monday and we will cancel then and waive the service you will not be using. I called first thing on Monday, 5 Min after they were open, talked with no less than 5 people. Long story short, No refund for just billed month, poorest customer service I have ever experienced. Vonage admitted that there was no way to avoid 13 month charge (Now it is 24 month or $40). Save yourself the headache, AVOID Vonage.Since I have changed to a new provider I have less echo, and less delay when the landline answers. This could have been caused by many factors that were out of Vonage's control, but I will never put myself through dealing with them again.

I have been a vonage customer for 2 1/2 years. I have had a number of lines with them and I have found their features and ease of changing things on the web to be invaluable at times. Also, the rates are very good compared to the Bells' rates.With that said, Vonage has been like a monkey on my back. My wife will not stop complaining about dropped calls, etc. We have finally decided that we have to drop Vonage and, luckily, through the competition vonage has provided, the rates at ATT are not so bad any more. I still wish that they would make the features as easy to use as Vonage via internet, but I'll take a crystal clear call over great features any day.Our biggest quality problem has been latency on the line. When you call someone, you typically do not hear their first word after answering. I uesd it for business for a time, and I had to have my receptionist count to 1 before saying hello. I probably spent 3 hours on the phone with their people about this (2 hours of which were on hold, probably) and no one ever could solve it. I finally decided it's a known problem they just are not able to deal with. We tried every possible configuration of the box/router/cable modem, and the latency exists even when the calls are forwarded with no box at all attached.Equipment - you have to buy the equipment now. One of our boxes died and they charged us $99 for a new one. That's egregious. At least ma bell doesn't make you buy their computers.The other problem is service. I just wrote this while on hold for their people so I could cancel the first of the 4 lines I will be canceling over the next few weeks. They answered after 33 minutes. The guy was nice, but PLEASE!Vonage is a company that was designed to be taken public and sold to the highest bidder within 5 years of founding it. The CEO is a serial entrepreneur (nothing wrong with that, mind you), and he knows how to get as much as possible for his efforts. The policies of the company, especially its focus on growth while just trying to placate existing customers is refleictive of this. Having spent two years and about $3,000 in charges as part of their growth strategy, I am in a position to give this advice - DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, SWITCH TO VONAGE AS YOUR MAIN PHONE SERVICE. IT IS A NOVELTY AND NOVELTIES WEAR OFF.

I have had my VoIP service for a week now. I got Vonage as a replacement for my normal broadband service. I pay less now for a month of unlimited service with Vonage, than I did just to have a line with caller-id at my old provider. That's saying something. Anyway, my issue with this product, and the reason is receives 2 stars from me is because the Phone Adapter is LOCKED to the Vonage service."Setup is simple: Just connect one end of the included Vonage-certified Linksys PAP2 phone adapter to your Ethernet router or gateway and the other end to your telephone. Then sign up for Vonage phone service." This is how Amazon describes it. A nice little endorsement for the tie-in product. The "Vonage-certified" wording makes it seem as if this device is a phone adaptor that work with other VoIP providers but is guaranteed to work on the Vonage network. A better choice of words would be Vonage-locked, or Vonage-only so that you know exactly what you're getting. I feel like I've been tricked into buy this product. Nowhere on the packaging did I see that this was a Vonage only device. Why did I spend $50+s/h to buy this device when I can get a device directly from Vonage for less? At least if I got the adapter straight from Vonage I would get my money back when I returned it if I chose to cancel my service.I thought I was buying a phone adapter that I could port to other services (Voicepulse, SunRocket, Lingo, Packet8 etc.) but instead I got an overpriced, locked piece of hardware that Vonage, itself, basically gives away for free. If you want a Phone Adapter that you can use with other services check out the Sipura 2000. The PAP2 and Sipura 2000 are identical internally(the PAP2 looks much cooler though), but the Sipura is not locked to a service. I'm returning my PAP2 as soon as my Sipura 2k comes in.

I thought this would be a great additional phone line.For $15 a month we could get all of the features and 500 minutes of calling anywhere in the US and Canada.Too bad no body can really hear us. Everybody complains we are too quiet.I sat on hold with Vonage support for a half an hour until they hung up on me.I then e-mailed me and they sent me a few suggestions, which did nothing, and I let them know.I have Verizon DSL with a Linksys BEFW1S4 v4 router.I tried it with my in-laws cable access and my old WRT54G v2 router with QoS and still no louder.I left my number for Vonage support after they hunh up on me and they never called or sent me another message.I tried some suggestions from Broadband Reports, opened ports, checked for leaks and still nothing fixed it.Since we are going on vacation to the British Virgin Islands I will take the unit along for a local number, but once I return so is the unit!

Did not work with Vonage due to MAC address problem. Vonage support said item may have been used and then the MAC de-authorized at some point. But Amazon authorized return immediately.

the item might work fine but I can't find out because it ended up being a used item instead of new as advertised. Because it was associated with someone elses account Vonage would not allow me to activate it.

This modem is NOT compatible with Vonage anymore. Call Vonage and they will verify this. I has to go to Walmart to buy the modem made by Vonage. I spent 40.00 dollars more and wasted my time on the reject modem.

Never worked!!! Not a fan. Customer support is non existent unless you want to pay 75.00 for third party support. I wrote the V.P. of the company and got no response just like their customer support. The apple does not fall far from the tree even in India.

the item description is "Cisco PAP2 Phone Adapter for Vonage Internet Phone Service", while the item shipped is the "unlocked PAP2 phone adapter" which doesn't work with Vonage service, and useless in this case. The 2 adapters can be differentiated from the led colors. If the leds are blue, it's the vonage one, if they are green, it's the unlocked one. Unfortunately, the image on Amazon doesn't show led colors, in order to validate this is the correct item.The source of the problem came fromt the fact of choosing the product among the list not recommended by Amazon. The reason it was chosen from that list is the huge price difference: Around 80$ for one and around 40$ for the other.

If you're buying any used Vonage adapter, you need to know that Vonage will refuse to activate it if the previous owner has any balance due on their account. This has happened to me for both of two used adapters I've purchased on Amazon. Get the MAC address of the Vonage adapter, call Vonage, ask if they'll activate it. Odds are you're buying a useless piece of electronic junk.