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OBI200 operation unreliable since May 2018

Started by NoObiKnObi, July 03, 2018, 11:28:45 AM

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NoObiKnObi

I've been using Obihai devices (110 and 200) with GV successfully, with factory default settings, for around 7 years. My GV is set to forward to both my OBI 200, and my cell phone. I have the latest firmware build 5859EX, and latest GV. My Obi200 is beyond the support warranty.

Sadly, since May 2018 my obi200 device has been unreliable. I have found work arounds which are ok for the short term, but long term are unsatisfactory solutions.

Here are the issues:

1. After powering up my obi and computer in the morning, I get a "Service provider can't access" error message on my phone attached to the OBI200. The rightmost (phone) LED is off or faint. The workaround fix is to do a software reset (not factory default) of the obi200 each day after powering up the device. This must be done daily to restore correct operation.

2. In normal "correct" operation, when I receive a call to my GV number GV will ring my OBI three times. If I don't pick up, the caller is transferred to GV voicemail. Occasionally, however, a GV call will ring my obi200/IP phone only once, instead of the expected three times, then immediately transfer the caller to my cell phone voice mail rather than the expected GV voicemail transfer. Once started, this behavior continues on an ongoing basis. The workaround is to completely remove my obi 200 device, do a factory default reset, remove GV, then reinstall everything as if it is a new OBI200. This solves the problem, at least for a week until it reappears. Then the reinstall process must be repeated. 


Both of these problems seem related to software/firmware modifications which occurred in May 2018.

Is anyone else having these issues? Is this an issue with the current firmware? Are there settings different from factory default which might help? My Obi's have always worked with factory defaults; hence I suspect a firmware issue. Polycom will not help unless I update my support contract. My past experiences with Polycom support have not been positive.

Thank you

adatt

 >:(

I am having the same issues. I have had it for 10 plus years. I guess I upgraded the firmware in May and now I my security provider cannot connect my phone

ProfTech

Interesting observations. Our 200 was updated to 5897EX by Polycom sometime last night and one of two [both sip] service providers has stopped working. The other still works. We are still trying to see what the problem might be.

lrosenman

I think the 5897EX version has a bunch of bugs.

chilirock

#4
Just adding a data point to the discussion. I have two Obi200's that I manage, our's and our in-laws. Both devices were updated to 5897EX a couple of days ago. Both are working fine. Our device uses GV for outbound calls and CallCentric for inbound calls. Our in-laws device uses CallCentric for both outbound and inbound calls. No issue so far with either device.

NoObiKnObi

Thanks for the input. Yes, I'm also currently evaluating 5897. Crossing my fingers....

ProfTech

I looked our Obi 200 over to try and figure out the issue. We had 2 sp configured. Callcentric for both inbound and outbound. CallWithUs for outbound only. CallWithUs does not require registration if you are only using them for outbound so the sp slot was not configured to register. CWU did not work so I thought it might just need to be rebooted. I went ahead and set CWU to register and rebooted just to see if it was a problem with the ITSP. It came up and registered immediately. So I shut off registering and rebooted again. Made a test call and it failed. Re-enabled register and it now works. I opened a ticket with Polycom but haven't heard anything yet.

NoObiKnObi

Looks like Polycom rolled back to the 5859 firmware. 5897 was a bust from my perpective. Receiving calls improved but couldn't call out. It would ring the receiver once then freeze.
I just disconnected my OBI200. Polycom's only offered soltuion is to buy a service contract. It's not clear to me What good will that do given unstable firmware.



SteveInWA

Quote from: NoObiKnObi on July 08, 2018, 12:21:47 PM
Looks like Polycom rolled back to the 5859 firmware. 5897 was a bust from my perpective. Receiving calls improved but couldn't call out. It would ring the receiver once then freeze.
I just disconnected my OBI200. Polycom's only offered soltuion is to buy a service contract. It's not clear to me What good will that do given unstable firmware.




This is now old news.  The bug(s) were fixed and new firmware was pushed out that works fine.  The current firmware, as of Friday, is 3.2.2 (Build: 5898EX).

NoObiKnObi

Thanks for the update Steve. We were having power outages here in LA from the heat, so mine just now got updated. That's great news. I'll have to test for a while, hopefully I'll get the same results. 

SteveInWA

Quote from: NoObiKnObi on July 08, 2018, 02:19:10 PM
Thanks for the update Steve. We were having power outages here in LA from the heat, so mine just now got updated. That's great news. I'll have to test for a while, hopefully I'll get the same results. 

Wow, I guess everyone's air conditioning is overwhelming the grid.  My friend in Burbank said it was 118 the other day.  Good luck staying cool!

NoObiKnObi

Thanks Steve. It's still hot here, but power has been restored and I think the worst is behind us. I'm not quite so sanguine regarding Polycom, however. In my case 5898 fixed all the new bugs induced by 5897, and it's a marginal improvement over 5859. I can make calls out fine, received calls are improved. I now need to perform a soft reboot every few hours to avoid "service provider" errors. Received calls mostly work but a little flaky. Sometimes my cell phone doesn't ring with the IP phone. So still not back to the old days of consistently solid operation. How is everyone else doing?


NoObiKnObi

Update: Having had more time to test, I would say that 5898 is the same or worse than 5859, which was described in my original post in this thread. Sadly, after about ten years, I'm starting to think it's time to find an alternate solution to Polycom.

SteveInWA

Quote from: NoObiKnObi on July 16, 2018, 09:28:45 AM
Update: Having had more time to test, I would say that 5898 is the same or worse than 5859, which was described in my original post in this thread. Sadly, after about ten years, I'm starting to think it's time to find an alternate solution to Polycom.

Nobody else is reporting the exact same symptom as you, so I doubt there is any overall issue with firmware at this time.  You may just have a failing unit.

NoObiKnObi

That's an interesting data point. OK, in that case perhaps replacing it makes more sense than a service contract, in which case they would probably just tell me to replace it.  So glad that you are on the forum Steve, that's a big help. Thank you!

SteveInWA

Well, you won't be thanking me, if you buy a new one, and it fails the same way   :o :o :o :o

But, the only other thing I can suggest to isolate the issue to a bad device vs. a bad network service, is to physically take the existing OBi device somewhere else, connect it to some other internet service, and see how it performs over a couple of days.

NoObiKnObi

That's an idea, although difficult for me to implement. Maybe my first shot will be to swap the switching power adapter with the one from my old Obi110, to rule out unstable power. 

hamfastgamgee

Quote from: NoObiKnObi on July 16, 2018, 05:13:09 PM
That's an idea, although difficult for me to implement. Maybe my first shot will be to swap the switching power adapter with the one from my old Obi110, to rule out unstable power.  

Your situation sounds eerily familiar to the one I posted in another thread.  Did you ever make any headway on this?  My device loses the third light and its network connectivity and needs a manual reboot roughly every 24-26 hours.

NoObiKnObi

Yes, hamfastgamgee, it sounds similar. I have been attempting to isolate the problem without much success. Recently, however, I noticed that if I boot the Obi200 after the router finishes it's boot process the OBi is much more stable for the day. So I am suspecting the handshake between the OBI and router. Sadly, I have a four year old rented Spectrum Arris DG1670 modem/router. If you tell me you have the same router then that is very likely the issue.  I think my next step will be to buy my own modem and router, and also save the outrageous rental fee in the process.

hamfastgamgee

Well, I do use Spectrum, but I have my own (Apple) router.  The modem is included in the Internet fee and they no longer offer discounts to bring your own, so I do use one of their modems, which I am getting swapped out next Monday for a newer model.

However, given that several of the issues I was having were present in one version of firmware and went away with the next, I am still suspecting some edge case in the Obi firmware, maybe related to some daily refresh token or similar.