Voipo is officially shutting down.

toolman1990

OzarkEdge

Well, that’s a bit more professional. The referral to VoIP.ms and their willingness to assist is a respectable arrangement… it’s a good option to have. Maybe VoIP.ms users here can also help.

Transitman

How did you find this out?
I have not gotten any emails about them closing up shop!

toolman1990

Transitman I was browsing on X and saw a VOIPO X post saying VOIPO ending operations visit VOIPO.com

digger16309

Not a surprise but will be highly disruptive to so many individuals and businesses. I learned my lesson to never pre-pay for service like that again.

px_eliezer_

Well, not a surprise at this point.

Voip.MS is a good outfit for sure.

They will have their hands full with the transition.

1) Will the current “Voipo” customers be allowed to keep their ATA devices that the company supplied?

2) Will Voip.MS re-program (provision) the devices, or will the customers have to do that individually?

3) Both for individual customers and for the Voip.MS company, this will be an adaptation to a VERY different business model—“Voipo” is flat-rate prepaid, whereas Voip.MS for outbound calls is strictly PAYG.

4) Although customers will receive $10 later on to go with Voip.MS, they may want to consider other options as well:

The company called “1-Voip” is probably the most similar in having flat-rate prepaid, and in having company-supplied ATA’s. Interestingly, although “1-Voip” seems to have a similar orientation to “Voipo”, they seem to be doing fine.

Callcentric has several good outbound calling packages to choose from (not just PAYG but also plans of 120 outbound minutes, 500, 1000, and others—and all outbound plans except for the PAYG include the 911 cost and include unlimited calls to tollfree numbers).

(Again, Voip.MS is strictly PAYG for outbound—though their rates are good).

5) At least this DOES appear to be handled better than the shutdown of Sunrocket. When Sunrocket shut down quite suddenly in 2007 (ditching their 200,000 customers) they recommended switching to TeleBlend which did not work out too well for many.

Analysis of the SunRocket failure.
https://www.networkworld.com/article/908228/sunrocket-largely-a-management-failure.html

6) WHAT will happen with the MANY customers of “Voipo” who are OWED MONEY due to the REPEATED credit card overbilling… ?!

px_eliezer_

“Voipo” seems to be skirting FCC RULES which require MORE NOTICE (30 days or more, NOT just 7 days)…

https://www.fcc.gov/sites/default/files/when_your_telephone_company_discontinues_service.pdf (pdf)

Seven (7) days is VERY LITTLE TIME to achieve number porting even with good will all around….

(Wireless ports are much quicker, but this is not that).

SlowMo

I got an email:

Quote
Dear Valued VoIPo Customer,

We are writing to inform you of an important change that will affect your
telecommunications service.

VoIPo will be ceasing operations effective August 6th, 2025 at 11:59PM EST.
This was not an easy decision, but due to challenging market conditions,
significant financial losses, and a key vendor disrupting our ability to
process credit cards or issue refunds, we can no longer operate.

Your Next Steps
Our top priority is to make sure that you have minimal disruption and that
your phone number is easily transferred to a new provider. We highly
recommend VoIP.ms, an established telecommunications provider with over 15
years of experience with residential and business phone systems, as well as
VoIP resellers.

The VoIP.ms team is ready to help and has taken several steps to make sure
things are seamless for you. We believe VoIP.ms will provide you with
excellent service, customer support, and competitive rates.

Exclusive Benefits for VoIPo Customers:
$10 complimentary account credit (applied after your initial deposit)
Dedicated migration support team
Seamless number porting assistance
Compatible with your existing equipment

Get Started Today

Visit: https://migration.voip.ms/voipo
Email dedicated support: voipo@voip.ms

Important: Please note, VoIP.ms cannot access your previous VoIPo account
information or resolve past billing/service issues. Your VoIP.ms account
will be completely separate and independent.

For outstanding VoIPo account matters, VoIPo will provide limited support
through closing via e-mail at support@voipo.com.

What Happens Next
Now through August 6th: Your current VoIPo service continues normally
Start your migration: Contact VoIP.ms using the information above to begin
setup
Number porting: VoIP.ms will handle transferring your phone numbers
August 6th: VoIPo service ends. If you do not transfer your number to
another provider such as VoIP.ms, you may experience a disruption in
service.

Why VoIP.ms?
We highly recommend VoIP.ms because they offer:
Competitive transparent pricing with no hidden fees or minimum monthly
spend
99.9% uptime reliability
24/7 customer support
Advanced features and call quality
Strong reputation in the telecommunications industry

Time is important - we encourage you to begin your migration as soon as
possible to ensure a smooth transition before the August 6th closure date.

Thank you for your business over the years. While we’re disappointed that
our journey together is ending, we’re confident that VoIP.ms will be able
to support all your communications needs.

Sincerely,
VoIPo Team
End quote

So I visited voip.ms and it looks like

We may get to keep the ATA since voip.ms webpage listed ATA’s we may have (I have HT802) and how to configure
Any billing issue will need to go through voipo
Porting is handled by voip.ms if we fill out a request
Only 7 days to act

This is not what I was looking for. I have pre-paid through the end of 2026.

px_eliezer_

SlowMo Only 7 days to act

This is not what I was looking for. I have pre-paid through the end of 2026.

As above:

1) FCC rules require at least 30 days notice (and the rule came about MOSTLY BECAUSE OF previous VoIP shutdowns, especially Sunrocket).

2) Yes, you got screwed on the money.

Even IF all the billing was honest—even IF there were no massive overcharges—WHERE did all the extra money go…?!

Your service ends August 2025, you paid though end of 2026—that’s almost 1 ½ years of payment they received for NOT providing service during those months.

Nice deal for them.

Sounds like a dick move for some customers.

Wonder if they will be filing bankruptcy.

Samot

As I have said before, annual accounts are close to worthless when a sale comes into the the picture. The sale price per account is generally based on one year of revenue that will be generated. An annual (or two year) account will generate zero revenue in a year. Since there is always attrition when sales like that happen, the other general rule is the final payment is based on how many customers stick around for at least 60-90 days. If a customer cuts bait during the transition or during that grace period, they don’t count as part of the final sale.

Honestly though, this isn’t a sale because I’m 100% sure they couldn’t find anyone dumb enough to pay for what they have. The assets are probably worthless and the customer base is probably not worth anything either. This is nothing more than a closure with a recommended provider to move to. Since there seems to be a global and generic announcement for this, I highly doubt that VoIPO had enough month-to-month customers to even make considering buying them worth it.

As for the ports, this puts people in a real bad spot. Sure there is 7 days until Aug 6th but ports don’t count weekends, so you really have 5 days to port your number(s). Since the average carrier port time is 3-5 days with everything being perfect putting in a port order today (and VoIP.ms is automated, i.e. a person doesn’t need to submit the port manually on their end) it will take 24-48 hours to get a response back be it confirmation or not.

So submitting a port today at best will mean that Aug 5th is the earliest port (on average) you will get. If it is a carrier that has a 4 or 5 day minimum you’re looking at the 6th or 7th. Basically your port requests will have to be flawless and done immediately. However, any form of rejection will delay this and it will most likely be due to something like End User or Address Mismatches, etc.

Even VoIPO’s death knell is screwing the customers over. Nice job, Tim.

OzarkEdge

Frankly, any VoIPo customer who has not already ported out a long time ago… should have.

px_eliezer_

OzarkEdge Frankly, any VoIPo customer who has not already ported out a long time ago… should have.

Agreed but it’s hard to break something off when you’ve invested…. 🙂

px_eliezer_

Samot Nice job, Tim.

A dick move, as said.

px_eliezer_

Samot As for the ports, this puts people in a real bad spot. Sure there is 7 days until Aug 6th but ports don’t count weekends, so you really have 5 days to port your number(s). Since the average carrier port time is 3-5 days with everything being perfect putting in a port order today (and VoIP.ms is automated, i.e. a person doesn’t need to submit the port manually on their end) it will take 24-48 hours to get a response back be it confirmation or not.

Samot, doesn’t it seem to you that they are violating the clear FCC requirement, as noted earlier ??

HardlyWorthit

px_eliezer_ Sounds like a ~~dick~~ Dick move for some customers.

FTFY

digger16309

What is the FCC going to do? Nothing. Are they really interested in going after some small-time operator who will never be in telecommunications again? This FCC? I seriously doubt it. Who is suing for fraud and in what jurisdiction? I think no one. It would have to be small claims in CA or TX. I am out about $200 but since I was under-paying for 14 years before that, in my mind, I’m spreading that cost across the months of service I did receive, which comes to an extra $1.20/mo I paid at the end. Tim Dick is an a-hole for trying to fleece customers to keep afloat when it was clear that the model was unsustainable. I’m sorry for all of the people who will be burned by this who didn’t see it coming.

Samot

px_eliezer_ They are but after a year of shadiness what is one more shady thing?

px_eliezer_

digger16309 What is the FCC going to do? Nothing. Are they really interested in going after some small-time operator who will never be in telecommunications again? This FCC? I seriously doubt it

Samot They are but after a year of shadiness what is one more shady thing?

Both of you are right of course.

I’m old enough (and was naive enough) to think that rules still matter….

toolman1990

I think that Voipo LLC and it’s owners should be under a criminal investigation due to all the unauthorized charges, not correcting the “alleged” systems issue that caused unauthorized renewals, and not promptly refunding which lead to them being locked out of their funds. Before they announced their closing, I was getting bombarded by renewal offers even though my Voipo account was fully canceled and adapter returned.

DWDM

I posted something here also, so please ignore it as I did not see this here.
Is Voip.ms worth it for someone who makes and receives perhaps 3 calls a month - I’m toying with porting it and I get to keep my number.
Any others that people can recommend?