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Help! Obi200 stopped working

Started by samp010, July 06, 2018, 08:56:29 PM

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samp010

Hi - I had to replace my ATT router recently and since then, my Obi200 has stopped working. I deleted it off ObiTalk and have tried numerous times to Add Device on the Obi Dashboard but the **5-xxxx call does not connect. Have a solid Green Power light, and a blinking internet light, but the phone LED is not on and will not come on despite re-booting the Obi200 many times.
Thanks for your help.
Sam

drgeoff

Can you connect to the OBi echo test number? Dial **9 222 222 222.

samp010

Sorry, i should have mentioned in my initial post. I dialed the **9-222 number also numerous times after the **5 call attempt would time out. The echo test call also does not dial out. The phone LED remains off.

drgeoff

Quote from: samp010 on July 07, 2018, 06:23:53 AM
Sorry, i should have mentioned in my initial post. I dialed the **9-222 number also numerous times after the **5 call attempt would time out. The echo test call also does not dial out. The phone LED remains off.
Exactly what response do you hear when you dial **9 222 222 222 ?

What do you hear if you dial ***1 ?

samp010

I don't hear anything. The call does not go through. ***1 does not go through either. I get dead air when I dial any number.

drgeoff

Do you hear dial tone when you take the phone off-hook?

samp010

Hi drgeoff - no dial tone when I take the phone off-hook.

drgeoff

Quote from: samp010 on July 07, 2018, 06:55:06 AM
Hi drgeoff - no dial tone when I take the phone off-hook.
That problem has nothing to do with the router change except the possibility that you disturbed the wiring between phone and OBi.  A powered OBi should always give dial tone.  It doesn't need any configuration to do that.  it doesn't even need the network cable plugged.

No dial tome almost always means a hardware failure of phone cord, phone itself of the OBi's phone port circuitry.  Check the cord and phone by substitution or by trying them with a known working POTS line socket.

samp010

Just changed out the phone and phone cable to a new phone and cord. Still no dial tone when the phone is off-hook. None of the calls go through, **5, **9, etc. The phone LED remains off.

drgeoff

Quote from: samp010 on July 07, 2018, 12:31:59 PM
Just changed out the phone and phone cable to a new phone and cord. Still no dial tone when the phone is off-hook. None of the calls go through, **5, **9, etc. The phone LED remains off.
Looks like the OBi has a hardware fault.  The following might provide conclusive evidence.

1. Use a browser to access router's management interface and find out the IP address of the OBi200.

2. Use the browser to access that IP address.  The OBi will request a username and password.  Username is admin and the default password is also admin.

3.  Click on Status on the left hand side. A sub menu will open.  Click on Phone Status.

4.  With the phone on-hook, what numbers, if any, do you see for VBAT and TipRingVoltage

samp010

All the fields are empty for Phone Port Status

drgeoff

Quote from: samp010 on July 07, 2018, 12:49:13 PM
All the fields are empty for Phone Port Status
That confirms that part of your OBi is dead.  Repair is not possible by ordinary end-user nor economically viable to have it done by a professional.

samp010

Understood. Thank you for your help, drgeoff.

drgeoff

Quote from: samp010 on July 07, 2018, 01:00:20 PM
Understood. Thank you for your help, drgeoff.
Hang fire a while. See http://www.obitalk.com/forum/index.php?topic=9983.msg91760#msg91760 where SteveInUS appears to be saying that buggy firmware can cause loss of dial tone.  This would be a "first" so I've requested confirmation.

samp010


drgeoff

@samp010

I have always told people that lack of dial tone is usually a hardware failure.  The phone cord, the phone or the OBi.  It is possible to customise the tones including dial tone so there is the remote possibility that it has somehow been configured with parameters that yield silence.  That is why I also tell people to look at the voltages under Status, Phone Status.  I believe there are no user configuration options which can set those to zero or to return blanks on that page.  I also doubt that there would be any (hidden from the user) software controls which could affect those voltages but I have no evidence to prove that so need to keep an open mind about it.

However the recent posts by SteveInUS (not to be confused with someone else with a similar username) say that there are circumstances where lack of dial tone is not caused by a hardware failure and that dial tone is restored by a reset to defaults.  (Note that SteveInUS's posts have not said anything about the values reported on the Phone Port Status page.)

You have nothing to lose by trying a reset.  You will need to use the button on the underside of the OBi as detailed at https://www.obitalk.com/info/faq/Troubleshooting-sec/How-to-Factory-Reset

I admit to being doubtful that this will restore dial tone and the missing voltages in this case.  OBis contain a DC to DC converter to obtain from the 12 volt wall-wart the 50 volts for the phone interface.  It is a fact that the time when failing DC-DC converters (not just the ones in OBis) finally stop working completely is most likely to be when input power is reapplied.  Did your OBi have its power interrupted either deliberately or inadvertently when the modem was changed?

samp010

@drgeoff,

The reset did not fix it. Still no dial tone.

Not sure if the power was interrupted when the ATT tech came to replace the router as I was not home then. My wife did not watch what he was doing. The tech did have to connect a Cat 5 cable to the Obi from the new router so he may have interrupted the power to reset the unit.

drgeoff

Quote from: samp010 on July 09, 2018, 06:51:13 PM
@drgeoff,

The reset did not fix it. Still no dial tone.

Not sure if the power was interrupted when the ATT tech came to replace the router as I was not home then. My wife did not watch what he was doing. The tech did have to connect a Cat 5 cable to the Obi from the new router so he may have interrupted the power to reset the unit.

1.  Your "no fix" is in line with http://www.obitalk.com/forum/index.php?topic=9983.msg91904#msg91904.  Your loss of dial tone is different from that of SteveInUS.  My earlier diagnosis that you need to replace the OBi stands.

2.  I would be surprised if the AT&T technician did not power cycle your OBi.  He would have wanted to ensure that it got a suitable dynamic IP address from the new router.

samp010

@drgeoff
I tend to agree with your initial read. Thank you for all your help.