On the tesco TV ad' it says that Tesco VOIP USB phones can make free phone calls with other tesco usb phones.

Can any brand USB VOIP phone call a tesco or any other brand VOIP phone for free?

Thanks. Sorry if its a silly question, I'm new to this and thinking of buying one

You could buy a USB phone from eBay for a tenner then sign up with a free VoIP account somewhere. Even cheaper.

You can only call other Tesco VoIP customers free.

These USB toy phones, are just a soundcard, mic and speakers in a moulded case, you need to use a PC and software.

Tesco's service is poor value for money.

As said above, just sign up with a free service like Sipgate or Orbtalk, you can then use your PCs mic and speakers, buy a cheap toy phone/USB phone.

Or you could use an ATA/VoIP router and connect your standard phones and make and receive calls without the computer being on.

How is it poor?

1) It works
2) It allows you to Make/Receive calls
3) It has Voicemail
4) It gives you an extra phone number

It does what a phone is meant to do!!

If thats all you want, whats wrong with it? Fair enough you have to have your PC on to take calls. But thats the only bad thing about it that I can see...

its plain, simple and easy to use. What more could you ask for!

When someone rings you know what I do....
The phone rings, Press the green key and hey I talk...

You make it sound like the service does not work at all, it really does what it says on the tin. Its basic and that’s what we need basic things! Something we can plug in, use and get going.

The cost of calls to non free destinations is dearer than what you can get from using a standard landline, so the only saving would be if you can get others to use the service too.

These USB phones are poor compared to an ATA and proper phone.

It's OK to test the water, but not for long term use.

MSE has sent out their mailshot and in it, it states:

Ignore Tesco's 'internet phone ad': the normal phone is massively cheaper!

we bought 2 TESCO's phones, installed the software and it crashed both both our PC's one almost fatally - rubbish things

I bought two that mis-scanned - so became free thanks to Tesco's price promise or whatever it's called. Never used the Tesco service, just using the handsets with X-Lite when travelling

Helper applications for many softphone clients to use the Tesco USB phone are here -> http://www.yamamoto-group.co.uk/index.php?page=download

Thanks for that Jason.

My advice would be to steer well clear of the Tesco Internet Phone.

Registration is a farce, due to their internet/systems being off line, meaning it's impossible to register your phone yourself, without having to call the helpline.

The helpline are often unable to help you because their systems/ internet are down. You have to wonder how Tesco think that they can run an internet phone service, when they can't even maintain their own internet connection!

When you receive an incoming call it crashes so you're unable to receive anything!

On the plus side, their help line is 0845 rather than 09- ut that's about all the positives there are about their service!

My advice- DO NOT BUY Tesco Internet Phone!

I bought the Tesco Internet Headphone package for £4.97 with £2.50 credit, and use it to phone USA. 2p a minute is a bargain, and being PAYG makes sure I don't spend too much.

The call quality is fantastic, and I was really impressed. Just sent a couple of sets to USA for my mates, so won't cost anything before long.

Didn't have any trouble in registering, and everything has run smoothly!

Mark

Umm. there's a company called telediscount that lets you phone the US for 1pence per minute....!!

voipcheap.co.uk, U.S. landlines and mobiles are free.

Yes, there's always someone cheaper no matter what you're on. As I said though, my mates out there will soon have the Tesco Internet Phones, so will be even cheaper then... ie... FREE!

Still, I'm more than happy with the service and prices for what I use it for.

Mark

i think it is great so far, i have not used the software yet, i just plugged it in and downloaded voipcheap then downloaded the software from here http://www.yamamoto-group.co.uk/index.php?page=download and it works great i love it, i might try the tesco software later, i got a £5 voucher with it i will use for calling mobiles when i am away

www.gcitelecom.co.uk is one I came across the other day. Seem to offer a good service....we use it at work but I think they offer it to residential users too

It's only free if the call is less than 1 min, otherwise you have to 'top up' every 4 months, which basically makes it a subscription service.

Thanks m8 works fine with voipstunt

ive purchased a tesco internet phone but the pc is unable to recognise the phone and the lcd screen on the handset shows "check pc" all the time. i have checked all connections firewalls etc but no joy, any help would be appreciated