Obi 110 to make all phones ring ?

[MattAG]

Hello -
I am hoping to get some help. I think I need to change settings to enable the line port on the Obi 110. I have the unit hooked up and working properly, but I am trying to figure out if it is possible to have the Obi ring the phones plugged into my phone jacks. I currently have my Panasonic answering machine hooked up directly to the Obi and cordless handsets throughout the house. Those all work fine. But if I plug a regular trimline phone into one of the jacks, I get no dialtone.

Is this device capable of ringing all phones connected to the phone wires and, if so, how do I accomplish that feat ?

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

[SteveInWA]

Yes, the OBi should be able to power the ringer on both the Panasonic base station and the standard phone.  You could have an issue with your house's wiring.  Try plugging the trimline phone directly into the OBi, without the Panasonic unit.  Do you get a dial tone and does it ring?  If you have, or can buy a 1->2 line RJ-11 adapter, that would be the next test, so you can plug in both the trimline and the Panasonic to the back of the OBi.  If that works, it's your wiring.

You must disconnect your telephone or cable company's phone wiring from the demarcation box where the house's telephone wiring is connected, even if your telephone or cable company has discontinued service.  Failure to do so can ruin your OBi and possibly damage your phones.

[Rick]

After disconnecting the telephone company's wiring, you plug your OBi into the house wiring instead of the answering machine (or get a splitter and do both).  Assuming your house is wired in a daisy chain setup (outlet 1 to outlet 2 to outlet 3...) this will power all phone outlets.  If it doesn't, then it's possible you are setup as a individual line to each outlet, likely from where your phone line comes into the house.  If so, simply move the OBi to that location, connect it to the plug that was fed by the telephone company's wiring, and all outlets will be powered.  Then plug the answering machine into an outlet and the wired phones into outlets.