OBiTALK Community

Region Specific Technical / Service Provider Support => North America - Including Google Voice, Skype, etc. => Topic started by: Moonwalker on November 20, 2020, 03:56:08 PM

Title: RESOLVED RE: No response from service provider... AGAIN
Post by: Moonwalker on November 20, 2020, 03:56:08 PM
Here we go. Again...  >:( :o

So this seems to happen VERY frequently when one certain number is called. Oddly, it seems whenever I dial through OBI and get this massage, I'll try using my cell and get a busy signal. Obviously if that's happening, they're on the phone. Well, this happens to be our fave take out number, so they are VERY OFTEN busy. We've had so many issues connecting to this particular number, getting the no response from service provider, tonight a possible pattern occurred to me. I have NEVER ONCE gotten a busy signal calling ANY number, EVER, using my OBI. So I'm now wondering, is it possible that instead of getting a proper busy signal, the system is simply telling me it can't connect?

This has been happening for years now, with two different OBI's, and ALWAYS with this one number, which also always seems to be busy at the same times called from my cell phone. Beginning to think this cannot be a coincidence. Add to this the fact that I don't think I've ever even heard a busy signal over the OBI line an I think I'm onto something here. I could be wrong though.

Thoughts?
Title: Re: No response from service provider... AGAIN
Post by: Moonwalker on January 21, 2021, 11:31:51 AM
Guess nobody had any thoughts. Either that or y'all couldn't think of anything "nice" to say about my half-cocked postulate. No matter. We can FINALLY (after six years of use) confirm that we actually DO hear busy signals. My wife called the local hospital today. All lines were tied up, and she heard it. First time in six years! Almost forgot what it sounded like.🤣

However, this "has received no response from the service provider" issue has persisted now for years and there is still no satisfactory answer. I'm getting it consistently with one number that I KNOW is not a VOIP service. It's a land line. The message does come calling other numbers, on occasion, but nearly half or more of the times I call this one place, I get the no response message and cannot connect. Reboots of routers and the Obihai may help, but there's no way to know since it could just be something that happens and clears up on its own over time.

What gives?

Has anyone ever figured out what this issue is? Googling it ALWAYS turns up that it's an issue with either the Obihai or the Polycom system itself. What is this problem? Is it ever going to be fixed?
Title: Re: No response from service provider... AGAIN
Post by: jholme004 on January 21, 2021, 04:58:23 PM
Have you tried calling from the Google Voice app on your cell phone?

That message is usually from an Obi that literally has not heard from the service provider for that SPx. Based on this and, as you described, hearing other busy signals, I wonder if it is how Google is treating that number?

Trying a call from that app would help determine is it how GV is handling the call or the Obi/Poly.
Title: Re: No response from service provider... AGAIN
Post by: Moonwalker on January 21, 2021, 06:11:52 PM
Quote from: jholme004 on January 21, 2021, 04:58:23 PM
Have you tried calling from the Google Voice app on your cell phone?

That message is usually from an Obi that literally has not heard from the service provider for that SPx. Based on this and, as you described, hearing other busy signals, I wonder if it is how Google is treating that number?

Trying a call from that app would help determine is it how GV is handling the call or the Obi/Poly.

This is exclusive to Obi/Polycom. The message is unique to their system. It's the same message you get when the Obi/Polycom system chokes in certain areas from time to time. When that happens you get that message no matter what number you call and all you can do is wait until the issue is fixed in your region.

The same message is triggered by other issues too. It's these other issues that seem to persist but not for everyone. Regional service dropouts aren't as common as they once were. It's these seemingly random occurrences when the number called is not off line and can be reached by other means such as cell, land lines, and, yes, the GV app. It's a well known, and apparently random issue, that I personally don't believe is truly random at all.
Title: Re: No response from service provider... AGAIN
Post by: drgeoff on January 22, 2021, 02:20:44 AM
Only calls over the Obitalk network, ie those initiated by dialling **9 followed by a 9 digit Obi number, utilise any infrastructure operated by or onbehalf of Obihai/Poly.  For all other calls both the setup and voice data flow directly between your OBi device and your VoIP service provider.  As such, any "regional dropouts" cannot be caused by Obihai/Poly.
Title: Re: No response from service provider... AGAIN
Post by: jholme004 on January 22, 2021, 03:05:18 PM
Until a call is connected (i.e ringing begins on the other end), everything you hear is generated by the Obi device - dial tones, busy signal, reorder, intercept messages, etc. That doesn't mean the Obi is causing the error - it is programmed to play certain sounds when it receives certain codes from providers. This is how telephony has long worked - your local central office would do the same if you were calling the other side of the country in the POTS world.

The Obi initiates the call via Google Voice. A hardware issue would be all or nothing, a configuration or software issue could be intermittent, but wouldn't discriminate against a certain number. You could always removed the GV line and then re-added it to ensure it's not a configuration issue. (If you changed any settings under "Expert" go into the corresponding ITSP and SP profiles and ensure the "ObiTalk" check box is checked on every line).

It truly sounds like a GV issue, which may include the signaling to your Obi, which triggers the intercept.
Title: RESOLVED Re: No response from service provider... AGAIN
Post by: Moonwalker on April 07, 2021, 03:04:48 PM
Well, this particular issue (getting the no response message from one particular number), can now be considered to be resolved.

After many occurrences, and as many investigative calls using my cell phone whenever the message is heard over the Obi, I have confirmed that 100% of the time the Obi gets this message, the cell phone gets a busy signal. So I have no idea why the Obi (or GV or the other phone's service, I really don't care), won't sound a busy signal, but at least now I know (just as I suspected earlier in the thread) that for THIS ONE NUMBER that message simply means the line is busy. And they are often so busy they actually unplug their phone. It's just a stupid fluke.

Whatever. At least I can quit rebooting every device I own when I just want to order a darn PIZZA! ::)
Title: Re: No response from service provider... AGAIN
Post by: Moonwalker on April 07, 2021, 03:51:34 PM
Quote from: drgeoff on January 22, 2021, 02:20:44 AM
Only calls over the Obitalk network, ie those initiated by dialling **9 followed by a 9 digit Obi number, utilise any infrastructure operated by or onbehalf of Obihai/Poly.  For all other calls both the setup and voice data flow directly between your OBi device and your VoIP service provider.  As such, any "regional dropouts" cannot be caused by Obihai/Poly.

This makes sense, and although the average user probably doesn't care and thinks it's as simple as "this didn't happen until I plugged in the Obi," it's good information for people like me who do want to understand. There are a lot of different tech's at play here. In this case I don't really care what the exact cause is. I just wanted to know whether getting the message meant I need to continue rebooting crap or not, in this case it simply means wait and try again. The regional dropouts cause I mentioned earlier came from a much older thread wherein an Obihai technician replied explaining that it could sometimes occur and the only thing to do is wait until techs at wherever the cause is get it fixed. He did not specifically say it was anything to do with the Obi system. From what you're saying, I'm gathering there actually isn't an Obi system outside the boxes and inter-Obi calling, so issues like this are more to do with GV (or whatever VoIP we use), and how the Obi is programmed to respond to various telephony signals. And if you add other Voips into the mix a lot of weird stuff is bound to happen that really isn't anyone's fault in particular.

Think I'm gonna ask the owner of the shop if he's using something other than a hard line. Curiosity might kill the cat but I'm not a cat.  :o
Title: Re: RESOLVED: No response from service provider... AGAIN
Post by: ProfTech on April 08, 2021, 02:35:53 AM
This is an interesting thread. I've used 2 different Obi's in several different configurations since 2012 and NEVER have I seen the "Dead air" / "No response" error except when there was either a problem with the service provider or I had an incorrect setting in the Obi. Bottom line, you should always either hear ringing or a busy signal. You didn't indicate what provider you were using until you intimated in your last post but since this mostly occurs with a single number the problem definitely smells like either a GV problem or at the least some sort of interaction between them and the Obi. Not a problem you can fix on your end. They used to do some weird stuff and since they're free they aren't going to look into it.