If you already use Verizon’s personal service, adding Verizon One Talk for your business might seem like a logical next step. But before you commit, it’s worth taking a closer look at its user reviews.
One Talk is a fairly limited phone system. It offers some useful features, but many are only available on specific Android and iPhone devices (and there’s no way to know how much they’ll cost per month).
In this article, we’ll break down One Talk’s pricing, features, and limitations. If you decide it’s not the right fit, we’ll present an alternative with better features for your business.
What you need to know about the One Talk app
Verizon One Talk is an add-on service you can bundle with existing Verizon accounts (only in the US). For $20 per number per month, you can use the One Talk app to make and receive calls with your team.
You get a few basic features with your One Talk service, like:
- Automated receptionists
- Texting support (SMS and MMS)
- Video calls
- Call routing
- Optional desk phones for traditional offices
- One Talk mobile app
But while One Talk bills itself as a “full-featured” business phone solution, it comes with major limitations — starting with how it works.
How the Verizon One Talk app works
Once you have your One Talk line, you can download the app to work from anywhere. You’ll have two options: the mobile or desktop app.
Here’s what to expect from both of these:
Mobile app
The Verizon One Talk mobile app is available on iOS and Android. To get started, you’ll need to verify your number via the activation PIN, then enter your name and the name of your device.
You’ll see two calling modes to choose from:
- App calling, which sends callers directly through your Verizon One Talk number
- Call through, which uses your personal number (although callers only see your One Talk caller ID)
Verizon itself warns you might have poor call quality with app calling, so you should consider choosing call through instead.
You should know different devices have different One Talk features, so you might not have access to all the tools you want. For example, Android devices are compatible with One Talk Premium Visual Voicemail, which has higher message storage capacity, but that feature isn’t available for iPhone users.
In addition, the following features are only available on the mobile app:
- Messaging for hunt groups
- Conference calls with up to six participants
- Call transfers
Desktop app
You can download One Talk for desktop on either Windows or Mac. Like the mobile app, you’ll need to verify the number through email, then enter your information to activate your account.
There are also desktop-specific features that are not available on mobile. Bridge lines — which let your team cover incoming calls for each other — are a desktop-only feature.
Compared to other VoIP providers, the features available on the mobile and desktop apps aren’t that advanced. They include call forwarding, visual voicemail, and text messaging. Device-specific features could be a pain for distributed teams — for example, you can’t forward calls from your desktop to another team member’s mobile device.
Key limitations to keep in mind
Verizon One Talk may be a convenient way to get a second phone number for existing Verizon customers, but is it the best choice for growing businesses?
Maybe not.
Here’s what to know before signing on the dotted line.
Shared lines are limited to just a few devices
You can use One Talk to share a business number with your team, but you can only connect up to eight devices at a time. This includes one cell phone with the native dialer, two desk phones, and up to five users using One Talk’s mobile or desktop apps.
If you do rely on Verizon’s simultaneous ring feature to avoid missed calls, One Talk caps you at three simultaneous calls across all devices. This may be restrictive for growing teams that need to collaborate on incoming calls.
Poor reliability and performance issues
Verizon One Talk has a rough reputation when it comes to quality and service reliability. Customers repeatedly cite performance and reliability issues, which are made worse by its slow customer support (more on this later).
Commonly reported issues include:
- Frequently dropped calls
- Calls not going through or taking a long time to connect
- Long lag times (latency) between callers
- Messages delayed, not sent, or sent multiple times
- Voicemails not alerting the user properly
These issues get in the way of delivering high-quality customer experiences, which has a trickle-down effect on your brand and bottom line.
We’ll let a past One Talk user do the talking:
“App continually has to reconnect. Also, the app drops calls constantly. Customers say they have tried to call, but I don’t get anything, or they say the line is busy. I have called to get it fixed, but nobody calls back from Verizon after escalating the service ticket. … For the premium price you pay, you would expect better customer service.” — Google Play
Not a fully functional VoIP system
While One Talk can work on WiFi alone, it’s inherently tied to Verizon’s cellular network. This means it’s not a true VoIP service — and as Verizon itself admits, this can result in poor call quality, flexibility, and performance.
Speaking of performance:
“Not good…the performance of the One Talk app on the phone is poor. It will work normally for a week at best, and then hit some bug where the app can’t open without immediately crashing. When this occurs, I will delete the app and then re-download it and login. That usually works for about a week, where the cycle repeats.” — App Store
Clunky user experience and interface
Past One Talk users report an unintuitive user interface (UI) that requires a steep learning curve. Some of One Talk’s features are equally clunky: users say the call transferring and voicemail navigation features are difficult to learn (and even more difficult to make work correctly).
User reviews speak for themselves:
“…Whenever I try to start the app, it comes up with a window that says “Unable to Show Content.” … Is there a known solution for this? What’s worse is I am the system administrator and I have no idea what’s wrong!” — Verizon Forums
“…Every single time a certain client phones in, the call hangs up when I [go] to transfer her. I reset my phone and it still did this. She is getting quite upset, and it makes the company and me look bad.” — Verizon Forums
“…When calls go to voicemail on some of our phones, the recorded (or built in) greeting doesn’t play. It’s just dead air. … We get a lot of people calling back saying they were disconnected.” — Reddit
Customer support may be slow and ineffective
Since Verizon One Talk is an add-on service, there’s no dedicated support team — just a general Verizon customer care support team, of which customers don’t have high opinions. Canned responses and nonlinear conversations are some of the most frustrating points.
Here’s an example:
“[Verizon One has] sent me 9 [customer support] notes from a bunch of different reps, where each rep has me start over, and each rep leaves or signs off before we get to discuss the issue. … We have been with Verizon for a long time, but it looks like it’s time to switch carriers.” — Verizon Forums
Pricing isn’t clear
While $20 per number per month may seem attractive up-front, that’s likely not all you’ll pay for Verizon One Talk. Unlike other VoIP apps, no clear pricing page is available (just an FAQ). It’s also not clear if basic features like auto-receptionist, call queue, and hunt groups cost extra.
You may get a discount if you purchase 10+ lines, but Verizon doesn’t say how much this will be. Plus, customers report billing issues and unexpected charges, which could require hours on the phone to get an explanation or fix.
See for yourself:
“Why can’t I recommend [Verizon One Talk], and why are we ditching it? We will save about $24K per year by “rolling our own.” Support was super frustrating, the system is annoyingly inflexible, and some changes require a knowledgeable support rep at Verizon.” — Reddit
Limited integrations
Want to connect your phone system to other business apps? One Talk won’t make this easy. Its built-in tool, Side View, can only handle two integrations at once — one Office Suite app and one CRM app.
This is just the beginning of Side View’s limitations:
- You can’t add integrations to lines that have hunt groups, auto receptionists, or call queues.
- You’ll need specific editions of specific business integrations (AKA you’ll need a paid plan for Google Workspace).
- Side View is only available on certain apps, devices, and versions, which means you can’t always switch between devices and still access the same integrations.
Why businesses switch from Verizon One Talk to Quo (formerly OpenPhone)
Verizon One Talk may have a few decent features, but at the end of the day, it doesn’t measure up to other VoIP providers. Its quality issues are a dealbreaker for most growing businesses, and with a less-than-transparent pricing structure, it’s hard to know what you’re getting on each plan.
But with a VoIP system like Quo, you’ll know exactly what you’re getting, starting at $15 per user per month. You get all the basics of Verizon One Talk, plus many other features designed to help your business grow.
Here’s what makes Quo the smarter choice for small businesses:
- Straightforward pricing you can review at any time. No nasty surprises at the end of each month or mystery surcharges you didn’t expect. We even list our prices for international rates for calls and texts, so you’ll know what’s on your bill and why.
- 100% scalable plans. You can add as many devices and team members as you need to shared lines, then upgrade (or downgrade) whenever the need arises. Each member of your team gets their own free number (local or toll-free) so you’re never forced to buy more before you’re ready.
- Easy to use (and reliable!) desktop and mobile apps. All our apps support the same core features, which means you don’t need to worry about buying specific hardware. We’re serious about maintaining reliable uptime to keep your business running smoothly for you and your customers.
- 7,000+ third-party apps and integrations. This makes it easy to keep your tech stack connected using tools like Make and Zapier. We also natively connect with tools like HubSpot, Salesforce, and Gong so you can automate routine tasks (read: push your contacts, recordings, call logs, and summaries into the tools you use most).
- A truly shared inbox for calling, texting, and more. With Quo (formerly OpenPhone), you can use internal threads and mentions to tag coworkers in questions or delegate tasks. You can also use our lightweight CRM to leave contact notes and comments for your team.
- AI features that take repetitive tasks off your plate. Call transcriptions and summaries generate action items for quicker after-call work. You can also use tools like AI-generated text messages to quickly answer customers on the go.
- Easier ways to keep your inbox organized. AI call tags (available on the Scale plan) assign custom labels to calls and voicemails so you can sort your messages by topic or customer sentiment. That way, you can easily look for trends in calls and prioritize callbacks to the customers who need it most.
For all these reasons and more, over 58,000 customers trust Quo to build better relationships with their customers.
Ready to try us out for yourself?
Sign up for Quo and test us free for seven days.
