I wanted an extra Skype phone near my easy chair where I do a lot of my work and where I have a laptop. But I didn't want to buy another Skype phone as I have two already. So I thought I'd try this cheap adapter.
I was blown away! I didn't hook it to the land line as I have a land line phone nearby. I also didn't want to take a chance on making LD calls on the land line.
So I hooked up a phone I bought at a garage sale for a quarter. I set the Skypemate software to recognize the USB port first, not the land line, which is the default.
It worked like a dream. I can make regular calls or use the software. When I pick up the phone, Skype pops up. Really neat. I haven't received a call on it yet so don't know how that will work. But I mostly use it to call out anyway.
The really "great" news is that when I made a call to a regular phone, the sound was above par --- better than a regular call. Unlike another reviewer, I found the quality of the call far superior to a cell phone and equal to or better than a regular land line call. Whether that was due to my Internet connection or PC or phone, I don't know. I do know I tried two phones before I used this one. The first phone didn't give good quality. So it could be you'll need to try a couple phones. This one I'm using is just a cheap old regular phone.
I highly recommend this adapter to anyone who uses Skype or any VOIP that it will work with.
I bought the phone from Cable4Less and I recommend you do the same. Their prices are the best and I can tell you from experience their help is above average and "very" fast. Customer support is an area I really rate on and if it's bad, I'll tell the world. There's no excuse for bad customer support. But if you buy from Cable4Less, you'll be happy. They'll do right by you. (I have no financial interest in Cable4Less.)
I highly recommend this product.
Update: I've not been able to get the adapter to work with both Skype and the Land Line as advertised. As a Skype phone only, it's perfect. But, at least in my case using a standard, basic telephone (not cordless) the landline won't work along with Skype. It may be my unit is defective. But that's my experience thus far.
Update: I switched phones to try and get the adapter to work on both the land line and Skype. Instead of using my trusty SW Bell desk phone, I used the quarter phone and hooked both up to it. And, it works fine.
So my conclusion is that the adapter is somewhat particular in the telephone you use. That said, I'm looking forward to really enjoying this. By the way, it's easy to tell which line you're on. USB Phone Adapter for Skype, MSN, Yahoo, USB VOIP Interface connects your home phone to network
This type of USB to RJ-11 converter is a relatively new item (just the last few years). I've come to learn it takes at least 4 years for such new technologies to get the bugs worked out of them.
I purchased this device because I wanted to cancel my POTS landline (Verizon) and use Skype in my home exclusively. This adapter is designed to let you use Skype ALONG with a regular landline. The result is that if you don't have a landline to plug into this device (and try using only Skype) it will not work. The Enforcity adapter uses your landline dialtone as a foundation to make Skype calls... you pick up your regular house phone and hit "*" to switch to Skype calling. The problem is, if you don't have a landline that generates a dial tone, the device won't allow you to dial anything, let alone "*" in order to engage Skype. So basically, you still need landline service in order to make this thing work.
Another issue is receiving calls. When a call comes in via Skype, you don't hear it ring. The device does NOT generate a ring signal that will make your phone ring when a call comes in. So, if you're not near your computer, you won't know that a call is coming in.
There are also a few issues with "Skypemate" regarding sound settings. Once it configures Skype to work through your RJ-11 connection, switching back to regular- through your computer speakers & mic- is a pain. Unplugging the USB cord will not change this, you have to go into your sound settings, reconfigure them- and then restart your computer before Skype will work normally (through your computer speakers) again.
I did manage to get the device working after hooking up a POTS line and making all the configurations- and it sounded pretty good. Still, I doubt I will use this converter because there are just too many limitations for my needs.
An addendum to this review after having the unit for about a week:
DON'T buy this unit, it eventually becomes a paperweight (I tried reducing my rating to one star but apparently Amazon won't allow it). The software bugs are so problematic as to eventually make the unit worthless (sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't). I now understand what one of the other reviewers said about the device ceasing to work after a while. It comes from the basically useless software.
"Skypemate" is VERY buggy. Sometimes it lets you dial directly from your phone, sometimes it stops working and only lets you dial from your computer (probably because of glitches with your PC's sound settings). I really should return the unit, but frankly I'm too lazy and will just eat the $30 I paid. Don't make the same mistake I did. - Voip - Phone Adapter - Skype Adapter - Usb Adapter'
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