As you know, we've been using the Grandstream HT286 device and it's been working very well overall with the exception of a few complaints about MWI. In the future, we'll be using the HT502 which is a 2 line device with a built-in router.
For the bulk of users, the 286 has been plug and play. With that being said, there have been a few cases where routers were blocking things, customers did not have routers at all, or we had issues with routers changing IPs too quickly when using DHCP, etc. As far as I know we've been able to work through 100% of these cases to get the user online.
Overall while this was not a huge number of users, there's opportunity to virtually eliminate these support issues by moving to the HT502 which has a built-in router and can be put in front of any pre-existing router.
http://grandstream.com/ht502.html
One interesting thing that I was surprised about is the number of orders coming in from people who obviously aren't tech savvy. This seems to be a combination of referrals, HostGator customers, and ironically people seeing the reviews on DSLReports. Given our business model and policies (such as BYOD restrictions), we expect that overall our customer base will be comprised more of the plug and play type over time anyway. Most of the really tech savvy people want more control, but may use our service as their "family line" or in some cases just because they trust it's reliable and something they won't be forced to play with (and they can play with other PAYG services as they are in the mood to do so).
With that being said, we think this will reduce support overall, reduce any chances of service problems, and overall be better in line with the "plug it up and forget about it" strategy.
We've made arrangements to exchange all unopened inventory still in the cases and have a large shipment of the HT502's on the way. Future orders will be filled with this device.
If your current device is working well, there is no need at all to upgrade. We're continuing to fully support 286's as well since many resellers will choose to offer them given their lower cost.
There are no plans to offer a "2 Line" feature as some other providers have done, but the 2nd line port can be activated with a 2nd VOIPo account instead of using 2 devices as has been needed in the past.
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