OBI2162 Missed call indicator

[geonjay]

Hi.
I like the "Turn Display Off" screensaver feature of this phone - great idea!
Is there a way to make an LED blink when I've missed a call?  I see the on-screen indicator, but I'd like to have an LED (preferably the MWI) blink while the main screen remains off when I've missed a call.
Thanks

[SteveInWA]

It's sad that the state of hardware and firmware engineering can be so sloppy that we assume the worst about functionality...I am often surprised when things "just work", to quote the old Apple slogan.

In this case, things do just work as you wish.  When an OBi 2000 series phone has the screen saver (or more accurately, the "turn off the LCD") feature enabled, and someone calls and leaves a voicemail message, the big red message waiting bar will illuminate, and the LCD will of course wake up.  After the timeout, the LCD will go dark, but the VMWI (Visual Message Waiting Indicator) will remain lit.

Now for the caveat:  VMWI is a feature that depends on the telephone service provider to turn on or off.  It also depends on you, the user, enabling it.  Assuming that it's enabled on your phone (if you use the OBiTALK portal's pre-configured service provider templates, it should be), and assuming your service provider supports it, it just works.

Google Voice does not support VMWI, so it can't control the indicator.  It depends on you, to set up notifications to your mobile phone or email, when you get a message.

[drgeoff]

In my vocabulary a "message waiting indicator" is not the same thing as a "missed call indicator".  The latter would show when someone rang my number but hung up before the call was answered by human or phone's answering machine or service provider's voicemail.

[SteveInWA]

True enough.  The only "missed call" indication would be the red rectangular box at the lower corner of the LCD.  OF course, since the LCD is turned off, nothing appears on its screen.  There is no physically separate "missed call indicator", so whether or not the screen is on or off is irrelevant.

[geonjay]

This is why I asked.  There are a LOT of options for controlling the various LEDs on this phone.  If the screen is off, you don't get the "Missed Call" indication.  I am using GV as my provider, so the MWI indicator isn't being used.  Given the automation and UX controls that are provided, I was just curious if anyone had tackled this already.  I didn't see anything in these forums, or the internet at large that seemed to be related.

Thanks for the replies.

[SteveInWA]

Well, no.  The VMWI physical LED above the LCD screen is only turned on or off by the carrier VMWI signal.  Since Google Voice doesn't send that signal, there is no way to turn on or off the LED.  Of course, when the LCD screen is off, you can't see anything on that screen, including the "missed call" rectangle at the bottom of the LCD. 

The mostly-free, consumer version of Google Voice was not designed as a full-function telephone carrier to work with desk phones.  It was designed as a call-forwarding and now a VoIP calling service.  Google allows OBiTALK devices to use the service, but not every function on those devices are supported.

If you need that function, disable the screen saver, or use your mobile phone or email account to be notified.  Otherwise, look into a different service provider.  For example, I use Callcentric, and it supports both VMWI (the light) and MWI (the stutter tone)/