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How to access POTS line (Line 2) with Obi212?

Started by webraider, March 08, 2018, 05:31:32 PM

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webraider

Here's Part two.

I Actually did this experiment first hence the earlier times, but I thought it was weird.  I called this time, did not pick up and I let it ring until it went to in house voicemail.  It appears to be creating a new call entry each and every time the phone rings.. VERY STRANGE...


drgeoff

I think we might finally be making progress.

The apparent multiple calls being ended almost immediately ties in with the phone not being rung until you changed the RingDelay.  And I should not have accepted your explanation of hanging up the call from your cellphone when I queried why the Ringing and Call Ended times were so close.

I wonder if there is something about the PBX that is just ever so slightly different from a standard telco local office.

Is there any possibility you can take the Obi212 and PSU to somewhere that does have a real POTS line and temporarily insert it between the wall jack and the phone?  Make a test call to that number and try to answer it.  The OBi does not need any network connection for that test.

Before that you could try the Physical Interfaces, Line Port, PSTN Disconnect Detection settings.  I'm assuming they are much the same as on an OBi110.  Disable DetectCPC, DetectPolarityReversal and DetectDisconnectTone.  (Be sure to use the portal, not the local GUI.) If that makes things work properly, re-enable one at a time to identify which is critical.

webraider

Quote from: drgeoff on March 12, 2018, 01:50:52 AM
I think we might finally be making progress.

The apparent multiple calls being ended almost immediately ties in with the phone not being rung until you changed the RingDelay.  And I should not have accepted your explanation of hanging up the call from your cellphone when I queried why the Ringing and Call Ended times were so close.

I wonder if there is something about the PBX that is just ever so slightly different from a standard telco local office.

Is there any possibility you can take the Obi212 and PSU to somewhere that does have a real POTS line and temporarily insert it between the wall jack and the phone?  Make a test call to that number and try to answer it.  The OBi does not need any network connection for that test.

Unfortunately no, I don't know anyone who has a POTS line...

Quote from: drgeoff on March 12, 2018, 01:50:52 AM
Before that you could try the Physical Interfaces, Line Port, PSTN Disconnect Detection settings.  I'm assuming they are much the same as on an OBi110.  Disable DetectCPC, DetectPolarityReversal and DetectDisconnectTone.  (Be sure to use the portal, not the local GUI.) If that makes things work properly, re-enable one at a time to identify which is critical.

I did this and It still did not work... :(

Any other thoughts on what It might be?

azrobert

#23
Quote from: webraider on March 12, 2018, 06:49:02 PM
Unfortunately no, I don't know anyone who has a POTS line...

You can use your OBi110 to emulate a PSTN line. Connect a cable from the OBi110 phone port to the OBi212 FXO port.  Now you have to call the OBi110 and have the phone port ring. I just tested this with two OBi110's and it worked.

Is the OBi110 still defined on OBiTalk? If it is, I think you can use the OBi212 to get the OBi110 to ring. If it isn't, you can configure it with the local interface. I don't know how much trouble you want to go thru to get it to ring. You can use a softphone on a smart phone or computer to make a call. You would have to define a dummy SIP trunk on the OBi110.

There is a trick using the Auto Attendant callback feature to get the phone port to ring. That is how I was thinking to use the OBi212 and still have the phone on-hook to receive the call. I didn't try this, but you might be able to do this with just the OBi110. Have a phone connected to the OBi110 and initiate the call back. Unplug the phone and connect the OBi212 FXO cable. The default is a 10 second delay for the callback, so you have that much time to switch cables.

Let me know if you want to try any of the above and I'll show you how.

webraider

Thanks for the reply...

Hmm.. this is a lot to go through to test this line port.  I know the line port works, or at least it does when the power is off.  I'm beginning to think that unless drgeoff or anyone else has some ideas of what other items I may be able to tinker with, I may return the OBI212 this weekend to Amazon and order a replacement from them (provided I can find on that they actually have available and if they don't I'll have to just wait). 

Then I'll see if the replacement does the same thing.  If it does, I know it's not a defect but something that's different about the OBI212 because this worked flawlessly on my OBI110.  It's just that my OBI110 was loosing Google voice connections occasionally, and I wanted to try to move away form a wired connection to Wifi or have an OBI with a passthrough ethernet port which this OBI212 provides.  It was supposed to be a replacement for the 110 for me and it almost is.  The fact that I have to dial ## to answer the POTS just doesn't make sense to me. 

I'll keep it until the weekend most likely to see if there are any more suggestions on this post as to what I can try in the settings, or if by some luck fo the draw, support get's in contact with me.  This Premium support thing they claim to offer is apparently a joke.  I may break down and call their customer service as to why it's taking so long to get someone in support to respond.

I do appreciate the suggestions though.  I'm down for a puzzle but I have a life outside of this whole OBI thing.  In the mean time I'll also keep trying to tweak some of the settings to see if I happen to stumble on what ever may be causing the issue.  ??? :(






drgeoff

Quote from: webraider on March 12, 2018, 11:15:05 PMI know the line port works, or at least it does when the power is off.
The power-off situation tells you almost nothing about the health of the Obi212,  There is a relay in the OBi212.  When power is on that relay connects the two jacks to the internal circuitry.  When there is no power, the relay is de-energised and its contacts switch over and provide a direct metallic connection between the two jacks.  Making or answering a call when via the LINE jack is not done by operating that relay.

drgeoff

I second azrobert's suggestion to use your OBi110 to act as a POTS line to do a test. If your Obi110 is still configured for GV that is really easy to do.  As of a few minutes ago one of my OBi110s with official 2886 firmware was connecting to GV no problem.

Connect the 110 PHONE jack to the 212 LINE jack.  Phone plugged in to the 212 PHONE jack.  Ethernet cable from router into 110's ethernet jack. (If more convenient you can use the existing one to the 212 as the 212 doesn't need a network connection for the test. Nothing plugged in to 110's LINE jack.)

Power up the two OBis, wait for the 110's Power LED to be steady green and its PHONE LED to be steady green.

Use your cellphone to call your GV number.  PHONE LED on 110 should start flashing. Phone should ring.  If it does, try to answer.  Does the ringing stop?  Is the call connected?

azrobert

The OBi212's ethernet cable must be disconnected, otherwise the OBi212 will receive the GV call.

If GV isn't defined on the OBi110, here is another method.

The OBi110 must be added to OBiTalk.
Connect a cable from the OBi110 phone port to the OBi212 FXO port.

Change the OBiTalk inbound route on the OBi110:
Voice Services -> OBiTalk Service -> InboundCallRoute: aa(0)

Dial **9200123456 on the OBi212
Replace 200123456 with the OBi number of the OBi110

Let it ring once and hang up.

The OBi110's Auto Attendant's callback feature will ring the phone port and the OBi212 via FXO port.

drgeoff

Quote from: azrobert on March 13, 2018, 07:48:41 AM
If GV isn't defined on the OBi110, here is another method.
Obviously, both the 110 and 212 need to be connected to the network for this one.

webraider

Quote from: azrobert on March 13, 2018, 07:48:41 AM
The OBi212's ethernet cable must be disconnected, otherwise the OBi212 will receive the GV call.

If GV isn't defined on the OBi110, here is another method.

The OBi110 must be added to OBiTalk.
Connect a cable from the OBi110 phone port to the OBi212 FXO port.

Change the OBiTalk inbound route on the OBi110:
Voice Services -> OBiTalk Service -> InboundCallRoute: aa(0)

Dial **9200123456 on the OBi212
Replace 200123456 with the OBi number of the OBi110

Let it ring once and hang up.

The OBi110's Auto Attendant's callback feature will ring the phone port and the OBi212 via FXO port.



I'll look this when I get home.  I don't mind tinkering with OBI212 as it's NOT working but I'm usually not too certain about tinkering with a device that's working.

I deleted my OBI110 from OBITALK and when I tried to add it back, it didn't complete the Google Registration due to being out dated or something.

Is there a way I can register it on OBITALK without adding the Google voice account, and then simply doing a test call (using my computer) with the OBI 110 number to ring the output of the 110, which would be plugged into the 212???

Also, on a side note I noticed that the default settings of the OBI110 don't always match the default settings of the 212.  I tried making them look the same on 212 but that didn't fix it so I revereted to defaults again but kept the settings the soft of work on the 212.

In general if you delete an OBI device, and add it, does it revert to the default settings?




drgeoff

#30
Adding an OBi to your Dashboard and configuring it are different things.  You can do the first without the second.

You would probably find that the problem you had (re-)configuring GV on the 110 doesn't happen now* as GV seem to have (temporarily?) reverted the server certificate changes they started making last autumn which prevented the OBi1x0 devices working with GV.  There was (and will not be) any effect on SIP services.

Anyway, the azrobert method of using the Obitalk service requires no configuring except the InboundCallRoute setting he specified.  If you still have the corded phone you can plug that into the 110 and keep the cordless one attached to the 212.

Easiest way to reset to defaults is to dial ***8 and follow the prompts.

(* or load the alternative firmware for the 110 which contains the additional new certificates.  You can revert to the official firmware if/when you want to.)

azrobert

If the GV setup failed, your OBi110 still should be registered to OBiTalk. Is the OBi110 listed on the dashboard?

It's been a long time since I registered an OBi device, but I think you get a pop-up asking if you want GV. You just decline.

You can try to use the green Call Button in OBiTalk to call the OBi110. Enter the OBi110's OBi number and click Call. I was just testing the Call Button yesterday and it was flakey. It only worked once, the 2nd try failed. I had to sign out and back into OBiTalk to get it to work again. Sometimes I had one-way audio.

webraider

but once it's added, I can plug the 110 output into the Line In put of the 212, but can't I then ring the 110 online using my computer to call the OBI 110?  (There's an option to call OBI).  Just wondering.


webraider

Quote from: azrobert on March 13, 2018, 12:34:22 PM
If the GV setup failed, your OBi110 still should be registered to OBiTalk. Is the OBi110 listed on the dashboard?


I deleted it completely.. Yeah I just looked and saw there is a box to uncheck.  this should work.  I'll try to then ust the green Call Obi button.  If memory serves this willl ring the OBI, and then I can pick up the extension and hear some kind of message...

I'll do two tests and post the results..


drgeoff

#34
The green 'Call Obi' button has never supported OBi1x0 devices.

azrobert

Sorry, I forgot the Call Button doesn't support an OBi110.

If you absolutely don't want to change the configuration on the OBi110, you can use the call button to call the OBi212 and then forward the call to the OBi110.

Voice Services -> OBiTalk Service -> InboundCallRoute: pp(200123456)

Change 200123456 to the OBi number of the OBi110

webraider

Okay... I actually did something a Little different.  I forgot that I had a GigasetONE which is a bluetooth to POTS box.  It lets you pair a bluetooth enabled cellphone and then outputs to a POTS.  I did this to call the OBI212. It rang immediately, I let it ring 3 times.. then I picked up the receiver and it answered the POTS...

So now I guess this means there is nothing wrong with the OBI212 right?  So how can I make this work on my in house POTS?

FYI.. I'm including my call log...


drgeoff

#37
The Gigaset One was a rebadged Xlink BTTN as is the Ligo Bluewave which is the version I have.  http://www.myxlink.com/xlink_bttn.aspx and http://www.ligo.co.uk/ligo-bluewave-hub .

I would surmise that another OBi212 is not going to give a different result with your PBX.

You could try other values of the various settings on the LINE port page. Notably the ones I've highlighted in the attached.  The actual values shown are what I use on a telco line here in the UK.  Standards are different on your side of the pond so don't expect to have success just by copying mine.

webraider

#38
okay.. here's an even weirder part.  If I plug my OBI110 into the passthrough ethernet port of the OBI212 , even though it's unregistered, the POTS line works perfectly.  If it rings I can simply answer it.  If I unplug the OBI110 from the passthrough ethernet port, the POTS line goes back to me having to dial ## to pick it up.  

It works either way If the OBI110 is registered or unregistered.  how is this possible???

So it (OBI212) works like it should if the OBI110 is plugged into the other ethernet port.

It doesn't work like it should if I remove the OBI110...

I'm seriously confused.

drgeoff

Earthing or floating voltage effects?

What happens if you use the old PSU from the 110 to power the 212?  (110 not connected.)