MetroFax vs VoIPLy

I have had VoIPly's business offering for just about a year now, using their month-to-month billing. I'm also using a single VOIP to analog adapter that the company furnished. The service has worked for me, but it has been very quirky. Following is not an exhaustive list of observations: * When you order the service, they provide a control panel with its own unique URL. You'll need to bookmark that URL, because I'm not sure it was actually provided in any of the emails that I've received. * There is a very limited amount of online help at voiply.com, and often the help references the portal at https://my.voiply.com. But I noticed that I cannot use the portal, I can only use the special control panel mentioned above. And that special control panel may not have features that are available on my.voiply.com. I cannot tell why that is. * Customer service is mostly through a chat feature. There is often a delay of up to 5 minutes or so between your first message and the reply -- after that, the support is more timely. They always email you the chat, and sometimes they will email you every chat you've ever had, as if it were one long chat. * They have a music-on-hold feature that is very versatile. I tap the switchhook (on the telephone connected to my adapter) to start the hold. If I hang up the phone after that, I'll hear it ringing until I can get to a different extension. You can't change the hold music, but it's a nice classical guitar piece that's not very short and loops after a reasonable amount of time. * Sound quality seems comparable or better than Magic Jack. I have not lost or dropped calls as yet. That's as to the actual VOIP to analog adapter. * However, the Voiply app on my iphone does not work well. Dropped calls, unable to transfer calls (or worse, I transfer someone into the Twilight Zone), unable to use three way conferencing. I ultimately had to uninstall the app. * I have not tried to add any additional equipment to the service, but it looks like there's a monthly charge for the original adapter, and then an additional monthly charge for each additional item of equipment you want to add. * One line on their control panel mentions that you can add additional numbers for about $2.00/month, roughly. But then they don't give you any way of requesting it. * But they make it somewhat easy to port in a number. There's an online form that you use. The only problem is that after you submit the form, it gets converted to an email that is sent unencrypted to the provider with a copy to you. Bear that in mind if you are the concerned about the security of the number you are porting. That said, it takes about a week for the number to port successfully. * In my case, I ported in my original number, then I ported in a second number. But the result was entire unexpected. On the control panel, I can only work with the second number. The first number is listed as my main number, but if I actually dial that number, I get an instant hangup. If I use my second number, it rings on my actual adapter and connected extensions. Yet when I dial from my adapter, the caller ID is for the first (dead) number. I actually don't mind this result, but as I said, it was very unexpected. * Voiply doesn't supply busy signals or recordings. If you dial a number that is busy or disconnected, you don't hear anything except perhaps a ring or two. The line simply goes dead. I can sometimes dial out on a non-Voiply line to confirm what happened. * On the control panel, I like that you can create menu selections using an artificial male or female voice. The voice is authentic-sounding. As a bonus, you can save the voice as its own .mp3 file that you can then upload on another phone service such as Number Barn. BOTTOM LINE: I'm not sure the service is really ready for prime time in its current form, but I can somehow use it. Still, it's not for everyone, and it's certainly not for the faint of heart or for someone not reasonably versed in telephony or VOIP.