Ooma Phone Genie VoIP Home Phone Service User Guide

: June 16, 2024
: Ooma

Table of Contents

Getting Started
Activate Online
Connect To Your Router
Connect Your Phone
Power On
Alternative Setup Options
Add-Ons for Ooma Phone Genie
Troubleshooting
Ooma Usage Guide
Voicemail
Ooma Premier Features
Quick Reference
Status Lights
Have a question or need assistance?
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
References
Read User Manual Online (PDF format)
Download This Manual (PDF format)

Ooma Phone Genie VoIP Home Phone Service

Ooma Phone Genie VoIP Home Phone Service

Getting Started

Installing Ooma Phone Genie is easy! In fact, most users are up and calling in less than 15 minutes.
This guide will walk you through setting up your Ooma Phone Genie and introduce the basics of using your Ooma service.

Package Contents

Ooma Phone Genie

Ooma Phone Genie

Ethernet Cable

Ethernet Cable( A )

AC Adapter

AC Adapter( B )

Activate Online

Begin by activating your Ooma Phone Genie device online. Locate the seven- digit activation code printed on the bottom of the Phone Genie.
Activate Online

Next, navigate a web browser to: http://www.ooma.com/activate

The activation wizard will guide you through:

Selecting a phone number
Registering your 911 address
Adding billing information
Creating your My Ooma account

You’ll receive an email confirmation once your device is activated.

Connect To Your Router

Connect the Ooma Phone Genie to your router

Using the included Ethernet cable A , connect the INTERNET port of the Phone Genie to an open Ethernet port on your router.
Connect To Your Router

Connect Your Phone

Plug your phone into the Ooma Phone Genie

Using your existing phone cable, plug your corded phone or cordless phone base station into the PHONE port.
Connect Your Phone

Power On

Plug in your Ooma Phone Genie
Plug the provided AC adapter B into the POWER port. It is normal for the lights on the Phone Genie to blink for a couple of minutes while it boots up.

The light on top of the device will light up blue once the device is ready to be used. Pick up the phone and listen for the musical Ooma dial tone to confirm that your setup is complete.

If your device requires a software upgrade, the Ooma logo will blink purple while it is downloading the newest version.

This may take 5-10 minutes depending on the speed of your Internet connection. Do not unplug the Phone Genie while it is upgrading. It will automatically reboot after the upgrade is complete.

Congratulations, you’re done!

Place your first phone call
Pick up the phone you connected to the Ooma Phone Genie and dial just like you always do. Call a friend or family member and experience firsthand the quality of Ooma PureVoice™ technology. While you’re at it, you might want to tell them about Ooma!

Set up your voicemail
Initializing your voicemail account takes only a few minutes. To get started, pick up the phone connected to the Ooma Phone Genie and press the key on the Phone Genie.

Check out My Ooma
Access your online control panel at my.ooma.com. Here you’ll unlock the capabilities of your system:

Check voicemail and call logs
Configure preferences and set up advanced features
Purchase additional services and add-ons

And much more! The first time you log in, our Setup Wizard will help you configure our most popular features.

What’s next?

Transfer your phone number
In most areas, you can port your existing phone number to Ooma for a one-time fee. You must maintain phone service with your current provider until the porting process is completed, which usually takes about 3-4 weeks. To check availability, to learn more, or to get started, please visit: my.ooma.com/port

Alternative Setup Options

The Ooma Phone Genie is flexible enough to work in almost any home network and with a variety of devices. Review the following options to see if any of them apply to your situation.

Install Ooma Phone Genie between modem and routers
Installing the Phone Genie between your modem and router will result in the best voice quality. This setup allows Ooma to prioritize your phone calls over other network traffic.

Locate the Ethernet cable that connects your modem to your router. Unplug the modem end of the cable and plug it into the HOME port of the Phone Genie.
Use the included Ethernet cable and connect the INTERNET port of the Phone Genie to your modem.
Reboot your modem and router.

Connecting your phone jacks
You can link the Ooma Phone Genie to all the phone jacks in your home, allowing you to connect phones in multiple rooms.

NOTE: The PHONE port on the back of your Ooma Phone Genie is not designed or certified for connecting to your phone company’s wiring, whether through the phone jacks in your home or otherwise. In order to avoid an increased risk of fire and/or electrical shock, you must first completely and physically disconnect the telephone company’s wiring outside of your house from the phone wiring that is inside of your house, before you plug your Ooma Phone Genie into your phone jacks. Please visit www.ooma.com/homedistribution before you proceed with connecting your Ooma Phone Genie to your phone jacks in this manner.
Connecting your phone jacks

Add-Ons for Ooma Phone Genie

Ooma HD3 Handset
Ooma HD3 Handset is a wire-free, whole-house solution. Designed specifically for Ooma, the handset can tap into most advanced features like contact list syncing,Facebook picture caller-ID, custom musical ringtones, access to the Instant Second Line, and more.

Ooma Linx
Don’t let your home’s wiring stop you from putting a phone wherever you want.
The Ooma Linx device syncs wirelessly with the Ooma Phone Genie to support a telephone anywhere with an available electrical outlet.

Ooma Home Security
Give yourself peace of mind that everything is fine at home by adding Home Security to your Ooma home phone service.
With a variety of sensors to choose from for a fully customized setup, a safer home is within reach.

Ooma Mobile App
Available for both iOS and Android devices, the free mobile app allows you to make and receive phone calls, listen to voicemail, and manage your Ooma account right from your phone.

To learn more about these accessories for the Ooma Phone Genie, visit: my.ooma.com/products

Troubleshooting

The light is blinking red A blinking red light indicates that your Ooma Phone Genie is not operational. It is normal for the light to blink red for a couple of minutes during boot up. Otherwise, check the following to make sure everything is set up correctly:
Verify that you have activated your device as described in STEP 1. If you plugged in your device before going through the activation process, try rebooting it now.
Check that your network cables are plugged in securely. Verify that the INTERNET port is connected to your router (or modem). The LED at the bottom right of the connector will be lit green if the cable is connected properly.
Check that your Internet connection is working.
Try connecting a computer to the HOME port and browse to my.ooma.com. You should see the login screen for My Ooma. If not, troubleshoot your Internet connection.
Try rebooting your Phone Genie, modem, and router by pulling out the power and plugging them back in.
The light does not light up Check that the AC adapter is plugged in and power is being supplied to the device.
You don’t hear the Ooma dial tone If the light is blue but you don’t hear a dial tone, check that your phone is correctly plugged into the PHONE port.
■ Incoming calls do not ring your home phone When it is turned on, the light will light up purple and all incoming calls will go directly to voicemail without ringing your phones. To turn off the feature, press and hold the > > button or dial from your phone.
■ You are unable to hear your messages Check that the speaker hasn’t been turned off. Increase the volume level by pressing . The device will say what volume it has been set to.
■ Voice constantly breaks up Voice quality is dependent on the speed and quality of your Internet connection. For best results, it is recommended that you hardwire your Ooma Phone Genie between the modem and router as shown on page 7. This configuration allows phone calls to be intelligently prioritized over other network traffic. You can optimize how Ooma allocates bandwidth by connecting a computer to the home port, browsing to setup.ooma.com, then clicking on the Advanced tab.

Ooma Usage Guide

Basic Operation

Making and receiving calls
To place a call, pick up a phone connected to your Ooma Phone Genie and dial a phone number.

To answer a call, pick up the phone when it rings as you normally would.

Call-waiting
Switch to a second incoming call by pressing the Flash key on your telephone handset. The current call will automatically be put on hold. To switch back, press the Flash key again.

Blocking caller-ID
Disable your caller-ID on outgoing calls by dialing before you dial out. To disable caller-ID for all calls, visit: my.ooma.com/privacy

911 emergency calling
In case of an emergency, dial to reach first responders. For your safety, always keep your address up-to-date at: my.ooma.com/address

International and other calling services
A calling plan or prepaid balance is required to call outside the country. Visit my.ooma.com/prepaid to get started. Then dial followed by the country code and phone number. Your remaining time will be announced before the call completes.

NOTE: A prepaid balance is required for 411 calls.

Voicemail

Setting up
Pick up your phone and press the key on the Ooma Phone Genie. The system will walk you through setting up your PIN and recording a personal greeting.

Playing messages at home
When you have new messages, the key will blink.

Press the key to listen to your voicemail through the speaker. You can also listen to messages through your phone. Simply dial your own phone number and follow the voice prompts.

Checking voicemail remotely
There are three ways to check voicemail remotely:

Phone: Dial your Ooma number. When the call rolls to voicemail, press the key and enter your PIN.
Online: Listen to and manage your voicemail on the web at: my.ooma.com/inbox
Email: Forward your voicemail as an MP3 file to your email or mobile phone (requires Ooma Premier).
Set up forwarding at: my.ooma.com/voicemail

Changing voicemail settings
Pick up the phone connected to your Ooma Phone Genie and press the key.

From the main menu, select option 2: “Change your settings,” then follow the instructions.

Ooma Premier Features

Your Ooma Phone Genie comes with Ooma Premier, a bundle of over 25 premium calling features. Check out some of our most popular features below!

Making two calls at once
Press the Flash key on your handset, and you’ll get a new Ooma dial tone.

Forwarding your voicemail
Forward your voicemail to email so you can listen to messages from your smartphone or computer.
To set this up, go to: my.ooma.com/voicemail

Staying connected on the go
Afraid to miss a call? Set up your Ooma Phone Genie to forward calls to your cell phone. Choose to forward all calls, only when your Internet is down, or to ring your home phone and cell phone at the same time.
Set this up any time at: my.ooma.com/calling

Blocking telemarketers
Personal and community blacklists have been designed to help you filter out telemarketers and other unwanted callers. To start blocking callers, visit:my.ooma.com/blacklists

Choosing a virtual number
Select a number from almost any calling area for a home office or to make it easy for friends and family in another state to reach you. Get started at: my.ooma.com/numbers

Identifying callers
Don’t recognize the number? Enhanced Caller-ID will look up the caller’s name from a national database so you’ll have more than just the number to go by.

Monitoring your calls
Listen in as your callers leave their voicemail. The message will be played through the speaker in your Phone Genie. Only answer the phone if you decide you want to take the call.

Setting up 911 notifications
Gain some peace of mind by setting up your Ooma system to send email or text message alerts whenever someone dials 911 from home. To set this up, go to: my.ooma.com/911

Using Ooma on your smartphone
Use your Apple or Android smartphone to make phone calls over any Wi-Fi or 3G/4G data connection with the Ooma Mobile app. To get started, go to: my.ooma.com/mobile

Turning off the ringer
Need some peace and quiet? Just press and hold the > > button or dial on your phone and all your calls will roll straight to voicemail. To deactivate Do Not Disturb, press and hold > > again or dial .

And much, much more
Explore all the features and benefits of Ooma Premier: my.ooma.com/premier

Quick Reference

Status Lights

Play Key Press to hear your voicemail messages.
Press again to stop playback. Key will blink when there are new messages.
Fast Forward Key During voicemail playback, press to skip to the next message. Press and hold to toggle Do Not Disturb.
Rewind Key During voicemail playback, press once to replay the current message, and twice to skip to the previous message.
Press to adjust brightness of the status light.
Delete Key During voicemail playback, press to delete the current message.
Volume Adjustment Key Press to adjust the volume level.
Page Key (on rear of Base Station) Press to locate your Ooma handsets.
Press-and-hold for three seconds to register a new cordless Ooma device such as an HD2 Handset or Linx.

Solid Blue System Status Indicates that your Ooma service is working. You will hear the Ooma dial tone and all services are operational.
Solid Purple System Status Indicates that your Ooma service is working and Do Not Disturb is enabled. All incoming calls will be directed to voicemail.
Blinking Purple System Status Indicates that your Ooma Phone Genie is downloading a software upgrade. All services are unavailable.Do not unplug your Ooma Phone Genie when it is in this state.
Blinking Red System Status Indicates that your Ooma service is not working. All services are unavailable. You will not hear any dial tone and will not be able to make or receive calls.
White System Status Indicates that your Ooma Phone Genie is not powered on or that brightness is turned all the way down.

Have a question or need assistance?

Ooma has a wealth of available resources if you need assistance.
Support articles. Access our comprehensive knowledge base at support.ooma.com
User manuals. Access this guide and all other product manuals at ooma.com/userguide
Forums. Talk with your fellow Ooma customers and our support staff at forums.ooma.com
Live support. Still having trouble? Chat with a service representative at any time at support.ooma.com
Speak with a support specialist M–F, 5am–5pm PST, or Sat/Sun 8am–5pm PST at 1-877-629-1284.

CUSTOMER SUPPORT

© 2020 Ooma, Inc. All rights reserved. Patent Pending. Ooma, Ooma Phone Genie, Ooma Premier, Ooma HD2 Handset, Ooma HD3 Handset, Ooma Linx, Ooma Home Security, and the Ooma logo are trademarks or service marks of Ooma, Inc. Other company and product names mentioned herein are trademarks of their respective companies. Mention of third-party products is for informational purposes only and constitutes neither an endorsement nor a recommendation. Ooma assumes no responsibility with regard to the performance or use of these products. P/N: 700-0213-100

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