Phone service with Ooma has tons of advantages. You’ll save hundreds of dollars on phone bills each year, while gaining access to tons of features that you’ll wonder how you lived without. One of the biggest concerns many customers have about switching to VoIP technology is wondering what happens if their Internet connection goes down or the power goes out. Ooma offers some solutions that should help put your mind at ease in the face of uncertainty!
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If the power goes out in my house or the Internet goes down, can I still make calls? How?
If the power goes out in your house, your Ooma device will no longer work. There are a few ways that you can mitigate the effect of a power outage on your Ooma phones:
- Ooma Premier subscribers can set up Call Forwarding to redirect all incoming calls to a cell phone or secondary landline during power (and therefore Internet) outages
- If you have a supported smartphone with 3G/4G/LTE service, you can use the Ooma app to make calls
- You can choose to purchase a Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) battery backup and hook your Internet modem, cordless phone’s base station (if applicable), and Ooma device up to run off of battery power
Note: If you don’t have power or a working broadband connection, you won’t be able to make 911 calls. For more information about how Ooma interacts with 911, please see our 911 FAQ.
What happens if my Internet connection goes down?
In the event of an Internet outage, the Ooma light on your device will turn from solid blue to blinking red, and you won’t hear the signature dial tone when you pick up the phone. Incoming phone calls to your Ooma number will be directed to voicemail, but Ooma Premier subscribers can set up Call Forwarding to redirect all incoming calls to a cell phone or other phone number during Internet outages.