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EOL for OBi 200, 202 and 212

Started by SteveInWA, December 18, 2021, 06:04:00 PM

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SteveInWA

Let the "but, but, I was guaranteed free phone service for life" comments begin:

https://www.obitalk.com/info/products/obi212

rjniles

Is there a planned replacement for these devices?

drgeoff

#2
Can't say that I am surprised. The whole Obitalk operation has been going downhill for years and Poly has shown no interest in doing anything marginally more than continuing to sell whatever devices they had in stock or were contractually committed to having manufactured for them. While at the same time withdrawing features and services.

But to be realistic, the current and future market for ATAs is probably not one where profits can be generated.  As such I don't expect that Poly would go to the expense of developing replacement products.

As an indication of Poly's indifference, the statement doesn't even acknowledge that there are many OBi100s and OBi110s currently using Obitalk service. And what of the OBi50x models. Are they for the chop too?

And for the paranoid, the statement that the listed devices will not be able to be configured for GV after 18 December 2023 is not a guarantee that any changes GV makes between now and then will prompt Poly to develop and release a firmware update.

MSRobi

I'm not surprised, the writing has been on the wall for a while now.  As drgeoff says, we have until December 2023, or until GV makes a change requiring a firmware update, which is very unlikely to be developed and released by Poly.

"but, but we were guaranteed free phone service for life", but it doesn't say WHO's life :)

This board will have a good consensus on what we should do well before December 2023.  My first thought is callcentric with my Obi202 (although it may not be wise to use an out-of-support ATA).

drgeoff

#4
Anyone running a book on when this forum will be closed down?

drgeoff

That notice says the last day of sale was 18 December 2021. Yet as I type this on 19 December 2021 the left side of my screen is showing adverts for the three mentioned products.  Left hand certainly unaware of what the right hand is doing.


SteveInWA

Quote from: MSRobi on December 19, 2021, 08:13:04 AM
I'm not surprised, the writing has been on the wall for a while now.  As drgeoff says, we have until December 2023, or until GV makes a change requiring a firmware update, which is very unlikely to be developed and released by Poly.

"but, but we were guaranteed free phone service for life", but it doesn't say WHO's life :)

This board will have a good consensus on what we should do well before December 2023.  My first thought is callcentric with my Obi202 (although it may not be wise to use an out-of-support ATA).

Correct:  you can simply use any of the other Internet Telephone Service Providers (ITSPs) you wish.  My votes go to Callcentric or voip.ms, as very reliable and reputable service providers with a very long track record.

It shouldn't matter at all whether or not the device is supported.  People still use ancient PAP2 or old Grandstream ATAs, which were long ago EOL'd.

SteveInWA

Quote from: drgeoff on December 19, 2021, 09:30:29 AM
That notice says the last day of sale was 18 December 2021. Yet as I type this on 19 December 2021 the left side of my screen is showing adverts for the three mentioned products.  Left hand certainly unaware of what the right hand is doing.

Well, we know that this forum was built by somebody at Obihai years ago, who is long gone, and since then it hasn't had any maintenance.

BTW, if you click on the link for the OBi 200, for example, you will see that they are being sold by various third-party scavengers, not by Poly.  It's been this way for months.


MSRobi

Quote from: SteveInWA on December 19, 2021, 03:59:30 PM
Correct:  you can simply use any of the other Internet Telephone Service Providers (ITSPs) you wish.  My votes go to Callcentric or voip.ms, as very reliable and reputable service providers with a very long track record.

I know I could look this up, but with Callcentric or voip.ms, if I want to use my GVoice "landline" number, would I port my GV number to the ITSP?  Or just get a new number from ITSP and use GV to link to my new number?  If I do it by linking, will I be able to call out and have my GV number be displayed for caller ID?


SteveInWA

Quote from: MSRobi on December 19, 2021, 04:59:51 PM
Quote from: SteveInWA on December 19, 2021, 03:59:30 PM
Correct:  you can simply use any of the other Internet Telephone Service Providers (ITSPs) you wish.  My votes go to Callcentric or voip.ms, as very reliable and reputable service providers with a very long track record.

I know I could look this up, but with Callcentric or voip.ms, if I want to use my GVoice "landline" number, would I port my GV number to the ITSP?  Or just get a new number from ITSP and use GV to link to my new number?  If I do it by linking, will I be able to call out and have my GV number be displayed for caller ID?

You would port your Google Voice number out of Google Voice and into the ITSP (Callcentric, for one, does this for free).  The number would then behave like any other telephone number (sends caller ID of that number).

SteveInWA

#12
To those who are still asking the same questions already answered, here you go:

Poly is giving us TWO YEARS more service before they shut it down.

No, this is not a Google decision. It is a simple End of Life decision by Poly. No, Google is not shutting down Google Voice. They've invested many millions of dollars in modernizing the service to support the paid, business-class version for Google Workspace customers, and the consumer version uses the same infrastructure. Google has also done a ton of work to modernize and convert the consumer side to the same back-end and the same mobile and desktop user interfaces.

People go ballistic every time Obihai/Poly announces the end of life of a product. There is absolutely no "but, but, I was guaranteed free phone service for life!" clause. Companies phase out products all the time.

No, there will not be any follow-on Analog Telephone Adapter (ATA) products that work with consumer Google Voice. As someone already pointed out, landline phone use is rapidly declining, and there is no money in making/selling/supporting landline ATAs.

The remaining market is in business IP phones that work with cloud-based or PBX SIP phone systems.

Your OBiTALK device does now, and still will support any SIP VoIP service provider that provides open SIP credentials. Free? No. Affordable? Yes.

MSRobi

There are definitely advantages to old style landline.  I have a base station with 6 handsets throughout the house.  When grandma calls, any of us (wife, 3 kids, 3 cats) can pick it up and talk to her.  Call quality is still better than cell phone, but cell phone quality has noticeably improved in the last few years.

With a cell phone, I invariably leave it downstairs and when it rings, I'm invariably upstairs.

:D :D :D

doctor34

Quote from: MSRobi on December 19, 2021, 08:13:04 AM
I'm not surprised, the writing has been on the wall for a while now.  As drgeoff says, we have until December 2023, or until GV makes a change requiring a firmware update, which is very unlikely to be developed and released by Poly.

"but, but we were guaranteed free phone service for life", but it doesn't say WHO's life :)

This board will have a good consensus on what we should do well before December 2023.  My first thought is callcentric with my Obi202 (although it may not be wise to use an out-of-support ATA).

It's NOT JUST GV that you might need some sort of update or at least a programming change (via the direct portal after Dec. 18, '23), as ANY SIP service provider could require a change and leave you out of luck if they don't post a hack you can make on any specific ATA to make it work.

Someone else mentioned the Obi50x (4- or 8-phone port adapters), and still others here and on DSLReport.com's forum for this issue (see link in a prior post) have mentioned the Obi10x2 (22, 32, & 62) units, of which Amazon has the 22 for $60 right now & the 32 is $146, there's no word on if they are next, but the scuttlebutt is that these are aimed at businesses, so are likely to be continued to be supported for the time being.

(Vs. the 2xx, as they are aimed at individuals more than businesses, and sales have been steadily dropping, so they stopped making them, and are selling off the remaining stock 2 yrs. before discontinuing support for them.)

psuPete

Quote from: MSRobi on December 20, 2021, 05:57:10 PM
There are definitely advantages to old style landline.  I have a base station with 6 handsets throughout the house.  When grandma calls, any of us (wife, 3 kids, 3 cats) can pick it up and talk to her.  Call quality is still better than cell phone, but cell phone quality has noticeably improved in the last few years.

With a cell phone, I invariably leave it downstairs and when it rings, I'm invariably upstairs.

:D :D :D

Consider a base station that also has bluetooth capability.  [The landline of the base station is plugged into the OBi.]  One brand calls it "link-to-cell" --thus when my cellphone or OBi rings, it simultaneously rings all wireless handsets.  Makes life very simple.

azrobert

Quote from: MSRobi on December 20, 2021, 05:57:10 PM
There are definitely advantages to old style landline.  I have a base station with 6 handsets throughout the house.  When grandma calls, any of us (wife, 3 kids, 3 cats) can pick it up and talk to her. 

If Poly continues to support GV on IP Phones, you can use a phone as a GV server for an OBi20x. There are several threads on the forum explaining the setup.

Here is an OBi2182 for $70:
https://www.amazon.com/Obihai-OBi2000-Gigabit-Phones-OBi2182/dp/B076JKV5CL/ref=sr_1_2?crid=V7S9BQV6P6GB&keywords=obi2182&qid=1640106224&sprefix=obi2182%2Caps%2C119&sr=8-2

drgeoff

I'm struggling to think of a good reason why Poly would continue to run a portal and back end (Obitalk Provisioning, GV configuration and **9 OBi to OBi calls) for the IP phones but actively prevent the ATAs from using it.

Possibly the Poly statement really applies to everything that uses the portal but some PR person who wasn't given the whole story has been told to get a notice out quickly.  What's the significance of 18 December 2023 other than Poly have just decided they want to do this as soon as possible and reckon that 2 years is the minimum notice they can get away with?

Arizona480

Quote from: SteveInWA on December 20, 2021, 01:25:48 PM
To those who are still asking the same questions already answered, here you go:

No, there will not be any follow-on Analog Telephone Adapter (ATA) products that work with Google Voice. As someone already pointed out, landline phone use is rapidly declining, and there is no money in making/selling/supporting landline ATAs.

I'm seeing more cord cutters who had landlines bundled with cable asking about landline alternatives on the neighborhood social media platforms.  I wonder if that is enough of a market?

dircom

From Poly support:

Is the Obi Dashboard going away for all devices on Dec 18 2023 or just the ones mentioned in the notice?

Answer:  No.  OBiTALK portal will remain, to allow customers to register with other 3rd party VoIP Service Providers.

Can you clarify the *** Important notice to OBiTALK customers*** ?

Answer:  OBi2xx ATA Device Series End-of-Life (EOL) will be at end of December 2023.  Afterwards, no longer supported and troubleshooting info can be found at OBiTALK Forum if needed.
 
Will Google voice continue to work (on devices previously configured) at least until /unless Google Voice requires some sort of firmware update?

Answer:  Yes.