Obi/GV to call Toll-Free (888)?
jclark5093:
I am having trouble dialing out toll-free numbers.
The most recent was 888-298-9274 (ADT Home Security). Is this something I should be able to do (call 800/888 numbers)?
Thanks in advance!
SteveInWA:
Specifically, what do you mean by "having trouble"?
If you mean that you dial the number, and it rings and rings with no answer, I have been experiencing intermittent problems calling various toll and toll-free long distance numbers via GV for the past few days.
I just now tried your ADT number on my OBi. I have GV provisioned on SP1 and Callcentric on SP2. The call rang and rang with no answer when dialed with GV, but was promptly answered when dialing with Callcentric.
It's a Google problem, not an OBi problem:
it should work, and it used to work for me, as recently as with the current OBi firmware levelI just now tried calling the ADT number using the GMail "call phone" web interface, and the call just rings, too.
MichiganTelephone:
Here's how you can bypass Google Voice on toll free calls, providing that you have a sip account set up for Service Provider 2 or at least can configure it as a "fake" sip account (these calls will NOT go out via SP2):
Under Voice Services, Gateways and Trunk Groups, pick an unused Voice Gateway - I used Voice Gateway 1 (remember to use the OBiTALK portal's expert configuration mode to make these changes if you allow the portal to configure your device).
Change only the Name (optional - whatever you want it to say) and then change the AccessNumber to:
sp2(tf.callwithus.com)
(You can use any toll free provider that accepts anonymous incoming calls; there are several and I don't have any specific recommendations).
EDIT: Optional: put your 10 digit Caller ID number (just digits, no punctuation or spaces) in the AuthUserID field if you want to try sending accurate caller ID on outgoing calls. Many toll-free providers will just ignore it but occasionally you may find one that actually passes it. See my next post below for more information.
Assuming you use sp2() as shown above then as I said, Service Provider 2 must be set up as a sip account, though I don't think it actually has to be an active connection - if you want you can just point it to any free service where you can get a SIP account if you don't already have one, or maybe even just put in some dummy credentials and point it to an unused address on your own local network (example, 192.168.0.250)?
Next, under Physical Interfaces, Phone Port change the OutboundCallRoute and ADD the following string to the existing rules, probably right after the existing {(<#:>|911):Mpli}, string:
{(1800xxxxxxx|1888xxxxxxx|1877xxxxxxx|1866xxxxxxx|1855xxxxxxx|1844xxxxxxx):vg1},
Make sure that once the string is pasted in there is a single comma separator at the start and end of the above rule. The vg1 near the end points to Voice Gateway 1; change it if you used a different Voice Gateway.
This will route all your toll free calls out via whatever provider you have specified in VG1.
Besides tf.callwithus.com here are a few others I know of - again, no recommendations, just a list:
proxy.ideasip.com
sip.tollfreegateway.com
tollfreetollfree.com
(there's also tollfree.future-nine.com but they require that you prepend ** to the 1-8NN number, which means the Voice Gateway DigitMap would have to be changed just for them. Plenty of other services for now).
In theory you could configure multiple Voice Gateways with different toll-free providers and then assign them to a Trunk Group, so that if one is failing it would roll over to another, but I have not attempted to do that thus far.
Bypassing Google Voice for Toll Free may result in a faster connection (GV typically sends you about 6-10 seconds of fake ring tone before the called number even starts to ring, whereas when using one of these services you'll probably hear actual ring tone (or busy signal or whatever) from the number called).
RonR:
There's something strange about 888-298-9274 (ADT Home Security). It fails to connect through Google Voice here also, regardless of how Google Voice is accesed (OBi, Sip Sorcery, GV web site).
What's strange is:
1. Calling it through tf.callwithus.com via Sip Sorcery works.
2. Calling it through tf.callwithus.com via OBi PHONE Port works.
3. Calling it through tf.callwithus.com via OBi InboundCallRoute fails.
4. Calling it through sip.ideasip.com via OBi InboundCallRoute works.
MichiganTelephone:
Well, this may or may not be part of the problem...
There are some companies (usually cheap-@## companies) that buy "restricted" toll-free service. The idea is that if you only have customers in certain states, then you only accept calls if the caller ID (or, in some cases, the ANI, which can be different from the Caller ID) matches a number in "your area." If it comes from an area code that's not considered to be in your area, the carrier drops the call before it ever reaches the company. The idea is that by doing that, the company saves a few bucks a month on wrong numbers, sales calls, and other traffic they don't want to pay for.
This was a great idea back in the 1980's.
Today, of course, there are two issues. First, a customer may have a phone number that bears no relation to their actual geographic location. But second, if you are using anything other than a traditional landline phone company, there is a very good chance that your true Caller ID or ANI will not be sent. That's particularly true when you are not providing it to the carrier in the first place.
One way you can tell what number is being sent is to call MCI at 1-800-444-4444. In the first few seconds they will read back the number they think you are calling from. When I call from a Google Voice number in Michigan, using Google Voice, it accurately reads back my Google Voice number. But that may not be the case for calls from all areas of the country. If I am using tf.callwithus.com it reads back 567-255-9999, a Mansfield Ohio number. So if some company accepted calls from Michigan area codes but not from Ohio area codes, the call would go through (for me) when using Google Voice, but not when using callwithus.
(Another test: Call TellMe at 1-800-555-8355, say "Weather", and after the short ad plays see if it offers to read the weather for your city, or some other city in another part of the country, after it prompts for your city and state or zip code. If it actually says the city and state associated with your phone number, then it's probably getting an accurate number.)
To make things even more confusing, if you actually supply a number during call setup, some toll-free providers will use it while others (most of them) will not. I think the number of toll-free carriers that will pass caller ID is dwindling because of new anti-spoofing laws (apparently passing a totally bogus Caller ID is not considered spoofing, but they don't want people pretending to be calling from the White House or something). If using a Voice Gateway on an OBi device you can try putting your desired 10 digit Caller ID number in the AuthUserID field and see if it will pass through, but unless you are actually authenticating with a provider in some way I doubt they will pass it (tf.callwithus.com appears to be an exception in that, at least as I write this, they will pass a 10 digit caller ID placed in the AuthUserID field - if you try that make sure to use numbers only, with no punctuation or spaces).
So, to make a long story short, sometimes the trick is to use a toll-free provider that sends a number that the company you are trying to call will accept calls from. Of course you could call up the company and try reminding them that we are not in the 1980's anymore, and suggest it might be time to stop limiting incoming calls based on area code (assuming you know for a fact that they do that, and chances are they're not going to admit it). Or for home alarm service you could switch to a company that actually knows that some of their customers have broadband Internet and VoIP (I've heard some good reports about NextAlarm, but have never used them personally).
By the way, a simple explanation of the difference between Caller ID and ANI is that Caller ID is supposed to be the CALLING number, while ANI is the BILLING number. They are not always the same. For example, many companies send the Caller ID of the main switchboard, or some other number they want people to use when returning the call, but will send an ANI reflecting the actual extension the call came from, so when they get the phone bill they can break down the calls by individual extensions. For residential landline users, Caller ID and ANI are nearly always the same. BOTH are transmitted during the setup of a toll-free call, but as noted above there are many cases where one or both may not accurately reflect the actual caller.
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