What Is A VoIP Converter?

A VoIP is a device that enables you to take advantage of VoIP (Voice over IP) without the need to buy a VoIP handset or feel silly wearing a microphone headset while talking to your computer screen.

Similar in appearance to a Flash Memory stick, a VoIP converter fits into a spare USB port. Thanks to some technical wizardry, the VoIP converter picks up the signal from a normal landline phone, DECT or cordless phone and converts it into digital data for transmission via internet telephony. The converter allows users to make and receive internet phone calls with their standard landline handset when their computer is switched on. When the computer is off, the converter routes calls over the normal landline until the computer is available again.

Something that might be an issue for some people is that this type of device requires its own USB port. Depending on the number of peripherals you run already, may require the purchase of a hub.

Manufacturers do not recommend plugging a converter into a spare USB port on a router as they cannot guarantee it will work reliably or at all.