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Obi202 / Google Voice outbound calling not ringing through

Started by RandalThor, June 22, 2015, 06:52:22 PM

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RandalThor

Folks I need some help...

I have been using an Obi202 device for over two years.  Things worked great for almost a year and a half.  Then 10 months ago, back in August, I started having to reset the device to make outbound calls.  At times I can make calls fine, and then at random times I would try to make a call, still get a dial tome and call but then the call would not ring through.  The call attempts are not showing up in GV history.  I continue to receive calls fine (via Call Centric).  I have contacted support multiple times and the main response is to wait 5 seconds between calls when calling out and to reset the device and re-add the GV settings.  I have done that and upgraded firmware and I am still having problems.  The last respones from Obi was to pay a new maintenance fee to continue to receive support that up to this point has not resolved anything and has not seemed very in-depth.

A bit disappointed in the response as I have been a huge proponent and mention this setup to others all the time.  Seems to me maybe there is some sort of GV integration issue...maybe?

Any ideas / thoughts?  Would love some help so I can keep using this and not drive myself and my family crazy with not being able to make calls when we need to.

Thank you!

SteveInWA

Quote
...and to reset the device and re-add the GV settings.  I have done that and upgraded firmware and I am still having problems...

Have you actually, completely removed the OBi from the OBiTALK dashboard, factory-reset it, and then re-added it back to the dashboard?

I recommend following my instructions here, to ensure that you are truly starting from scratch and setting up GV again on your OBi, since the authentication method changed completely last year, and you also may have some invalid crud left over on your device from an old configuration and/or old firmware.

http://www.obitalk.com/forum/index.php?topic=8560.msg56460#msg56460

RandalThor

Thanks for the quick response SteveInWA.  I have just performed all the actions that your post recommended, including the factory reset.  Here's hoping all is fixed...  I will report back after the next week of use (or earlier if the problem surfaces).

Thanks again.

Rand

RandalThor

 Well, my problem has continued.  At random times the phone will not call out but still receive calls fine.

Any other thoughts?

Rand

SteveInWA

Sorry to hear that.  Given the steps you tried, the problem is likely unrelated to the Google Voice service; there is no known/widespread service issue that would cause this.  It's more likely that you have a home network or ISP signal quality issue.

RandalThor

Any suggestions how to determine if it is the ISP?  Seems strange that the problem fixes itself when I reboot the obi box...would that fix an ISP issue?  Seems like it may be some session / integration issue between the obi and GV.  When the calls don't ring through they don't even make it to GV...not in the GV history.

I am at a loss as to what to do.  Hard to believe all worked fine for over a year and then last summer the issue pops up with no way to resolve.

Thanks for the guidance.

SteveInWA

The dial tone you hear doesn't mean anything, except that the OBi is in a "ready to call" state.  It's generated by the OBi box, not by the service provider, as it would be with a classic "POTS" telephone system.  It's possible that your OBi or its power supply have gone defective, or there's some other reason why it is seemingly losing connection with the service provider, which comes back after a reboot.  Please describe your home network equipment, and how the OBi is attached to it.

I have no idea why your setup doesn't work.  It sounds like you are not using GV for inbound calling, just outbound.  You can try experimenting by temporarily adding another service provider slot (SP3 for example) set up with a different Google Voice account.  That account wouldn't even need its own GV phone number -- as long as you have made one outbound phone call using Google Chat (not Hangouts), you can use that account for outbound calling.  This test would determine if the issue has anything to do with your particular GV account, since you'd be making calls using a different account.  You can either use the same SP slot and just change the associated GV account it is using, or you can leave it as-is, and configure a different SP slot.  For example, if you set up SP3 with a different GV account, then dial **3 before the number when you make an outbound call.

SteveInWA

Also:  what is the firmware level of your OBi?  (you can either find it on the OBiTALK portal in Expert mode, or you can dial ***0, then 1# from the attached telephone to hear it read to you).

When this symptom happens, before rebooting the device, log into it on a web browser, go to the System Status page, and look at the status for the Google Voice SP slot.  What does it say, "Connected", "Backing off", or something else?

RandalThor

Good ideas!

I just tried calling out on a different GV number / SP as well as with the original and both are not calling through.  I also checked the system status and both the GV SPs say connected as well as my CallCentric SP for my inbound calling (you were correct).  GV forwards to CallCentric.

The firmware is 3.0.1.4738

And my Obi202 is internal off a port of my router in a "default DMZ" with an internal IP, opening it up for calls.  So cable modem to router to Obi.

Rand



SteveInWA

So, to be clear, when an outbound call doesn't work, what, exactly, does it do?  Do you just hear endless ring tones, or a busy signal, or dead air?  When this happens, if you hang up and try again, does it work (without rebooting the OBi)?  And, when this happens, does the system status always show "connected"?

Given that the problem persists between two different GV accounts, and your OBi is at the current firmware level, I have to suspect either a hardware problem, or something fishy with your network setup.  You described a "default DMZ".  The OBi should work perfectly fine, being connected on a standard port, not in any sort of DMZ.  If you have closed off any ports or otherwise tinkered with the router's firewall settings, that could explain the issue.

If you could take the OBi somewhere else, like a friend or family member's house, or otherwise plug it into some other network, that would be another troubleshooting step.  Another approach would be to temporarily disconnect your home network router from the cable modem, and plug the OBi's WAN port directly into the cable modem for testing.  This assumes that you can release the DHCP lease your router has on the cable provider's network first, before detaching it, and that you have the OBi's own router function enabled, and then allow the OBi to obtain a lease (otherwise, your cable provider might block the second MAC address trying to get a lease).