Obi212 vs Obi200+Obiline
blueman2:
I have an Obi200 that I was going to install for my elderly parents. I want to use Google Voice to monitor and filter callers trying to take advantage of them. But I have decided it would be best to retain their landline for 911 calls rather than using a 911 VOIP service. My choices are 1)buy Obi212 or 2)buy Obiline for my Obi200. I have heard some people reference problems using ObiLine with the Obi200, such as echo. What do you suggest? Cost is not a big issue and I do not mind throwing away the Obi200 if the Obi212 is better choice.
Also, with either, how easy is it to configure which calls go to POTS line vs Google Voice? I want to route 911 to POTS, but all others to GV. And hopefully, not force my parents to dial any special prefix when doing so. I want them to be able to use just as they always have, oblivious to the change I am making.
Thanks in advance for your help.
ProfTech:
First off, I have a brand new Obiline adapter that I would ship you for 1/2 the new price and I'll pay to ship it to the US if you want to experiment. I used an Obi 110 [the older brother of the 212] for years with a POTS line and it worked well if configured carefully. Never used the adapter so I make no statements about how well it might work. I saw another post that suggests it may have been discontinued by Polycom. If you're interested send me a private message and I'll contact you.
azrobert:
The OBi212 is about $30 more than an OBiLine. If cost isn't a factor, I would buy an OBi212.
It's just a check box for a VOIP provider to define them for emergency calls. I don't have an OBi212, so I don't know if the same is available for POTS. If not, it's just a simple 1 line change in OBi Expert. All calls will go to GV except 911 to POTS.
Your parents will still get spam calls from POTS. The OBi212 can block all inbound POTS calls, but I don't think that's a good idea. You can use NoMoRobo service on the OBi212 to block Spam from POTS. I'm using an OBi110 to block POTS spam. I just check my call history for the last 3 days and NoMoRobo blocked 73% of spam calls. I don't think it's normally that high. When a call is blocked by NoMoRobo it still rings once.
A 3rd option is to keep using POTS for all calls and use the OBi212 + NoMoRobo to block spam.
Edit:
If you use the 3rd option voice quality won't be an issue, so you can use the OBiLine adapter. The phones would be connected directly to POTS and the OBi connected using a splitter. The OBi would just be used to send calls to NoMoRobo.
blueman2:
Thanks, @ProfTech and @azrobert!
I think I will just go with the Obi212, but thanks for the generous offer on the ObiLine ProfTech! Since the Obi212 is a pretty new box, I figure it will get longer term support.
My current thinking is to forward the ATT landline/POTS number to the GV number using ATT's forwarding service. That way, all calls can be filtered by GV. I gave it a try, and it appears the correct originating number does indeed come through (as opposed to my parents' POTS number that I am using just to forward).
I may just have all outgoing calls to through the POTS line, since I am less worried about monitoring the calls they make out vs the calls that come into them. That way, should they lose internet service, I am hoping they can still make outgoing calls regardless (??).
azrobert:
I think that is the best approach. They would be able to make calls with the internet down. You also won't need any changes for 911. The OBi110 default for outbound is POTS. The OBi212 should be the same.
If they lost power they might not be able to make calls. The old version of the OBi110 had a relay, so when power was lost it would get hard wired to POTS. I don't think the OBi212 has this feature. You could keep one phone connected directly to POTS for this reason.
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