VOIP provider

[#1]

My Sky router currently allows a dect phone to plug in the back, Plusnet are discontinuing phone services, so it is over to VOIP.

We make no outgoing calls on our landline, but it is handy to have the one number for the wife and myself at home, plus getting older family members to ring a mobile can be a pain. I presume transfer is easy and I was looking at something like https://www.voipfone.co.uk/services/porting. I see you need an adaptor. Are they locked to the provider like a sim card is? Would moving providers mean a new adaptor each time? If I go for something like this, would it be as simple as plug adaptor into LAN port and away it goes?

Thanks

[#2]

I see you need an adaptor. Are they locked to the provider like a sim card is? Would moving providers mean a new adaptor each time?

It depends!

If you buy the adaptor from the voip supplier, they are usually preconfigured and often are 'locked' to that supplier.

If I go for something like this, would it be as simple as plug adaptor into LAN port and away it goes?

For the preconfigured ones , yes , its plug into the LAN port and away it goes (welll that's the theory!)

If you buy an adaptor yourself, then it needs configuring for your chosen voip supplier, and can be reconfigured should you decide to change supplier. The supplier will provide you the basic details e.g voip server url details, and authentication details such as username and password. Some adaptors have a bewildering array of configuration parameters , many of which can be left to the defaults.

[#3]

Super thank you. The one I linked to has an adaptor which is £60 odd with VAT. I have asked them if it is locked and they have said:

"Although we do send them out preconfigured to our service, you are free to access the web interface and reprogram them, and request we remove our provisioning in future as well if needed. Essentially the adaptor we supply should work with any SIP based VoIP provider. "

So it is looking promising that if I wanted to go elsewhere, I could take the adaptor.

Mark

[#4]

Sounds good. Best of both worlds then.

AIUI with th Grandstream devices, they contact the Grandstream servers on boot and supply the serial no. Suppliers can lodge the serial no with Grandstream and then it is redirected to pick up the suppliers config.  If there's no serial no recorded on Grandstreams servers then it just boots with its local config.

[#5]

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