I bought an ObiHai device, had it sent to me, set it up and then sent it to my out of state mother. Everything went well, I was able to call out and have people call in and so I packed it up. My mom has installed it and I have checked everything via webcam, all the connections are correct. I can call her and the ObiHai phone rings fine and when you call her landline all the phones including the Obihai ones ring and she can call out on the ObiHai phones but she cannot access the ObiHai with the # or the **8. I didn't check the landline portion before sending it out as I don't have a line to check that with. I have gone into the settings and I see the Phone port digit map and everything appears to be correct. Do I have to setup the ObiHai again on her network or something?
I have done all the troubleshooting and settings checking I can think to do and so I am hoping someone can point something simple out that I missed.
Thanks!
I believe you press# from the phone plugged into the Obi to access the landline (assuming that you have the landline from the wall jack plugged into the Obi) . 2nd depending on which setting you setup you service provider you would press **1 or **2 to choose it. You can change the default that is used when making outbound calls under "Setup Wizard"/outbound setting.
Ohhhh okay so if google voice is setup as sp1 then **1 not **2 okay that could be the issue. Let me call her and see if that works, I'll report back.
Thank you!
Quote from: lincdeko on February 28, 2011, 06:36:55 PM
Ohhhh okay so if google voice is setup as sp1 then **1 not **2 okay that could be the issue. Let me call her and see if that works, I'll report back.
Thank you!
Yes you are correct you press ** then a 1 or 2 depending on which service provider or you can press # and it should dial from the landline.
If the default for outgoing calls was not changed -
then the LINE (landline) is the default and you should not have to press anything to access it, just pick up and dial. To access SP1 you need to dial **1.
If the default was changed -
to SP1 then you don't have to press **1 to access that line, just pick up and dial. But if you want to access the landline you would then have to press **8 or #.
Okay under PHONE port - Primary line it says PSTN Line so her land line is the default.
So she dials **1 and nothing happens
She dials **1 1-XXX-XXX-XXXX and she gets a recording saying to check the number and dial again (she is dialing the right number)
So we can't seem to access the obihai via the landline phones at all.
You don't access the obi from any landline phones. You can connect your landline to the LINE port of the obi, but you can only access it from the other phone that is plugged into the PHONE port, or by calling into it (circle of trust must be used to access the Atendanat when calling into the obi.
she might be dialing too many numbers from what you said (**1 1-XXX-XXX-XXXX)
To call using SP1 she should dial **1 xxx-xxx-xxxx.
Maybe it doesn't matter about that extra 1, but it doesn't have to be dialed.
Just picking up the phone and dialing should be the same as what she is used to and it should go out on the pstn line. Except she may have to dial 10 digits now instead of 7 (that can be fixed).
Okay that makes sense so she can use any phone for incoming calls (by way of the line port) but only the phone(s) plugged into the obihai can access the obihai. Well I guess what I was trying to do is not going to work. Well that simplifies things considerably.
As for too many numbers
**1 access the line and then just the 10 digits? I guess this is getting confusing because she lives in Hawaii and they only dial 7 digits and my brain is on Hawaii dialing so I want to dial the 1
To dial international would she dial **1 and then 011 still?
I am sorry I have so many stupid questions. I have a Ooma and it was so easy to setup, this is just a bit more complex for my wee brain. Thanks for helping.
by what you just said, it sounds like the existing phones are still connected direct to the LINE and not fed from the Obi.
something like this.
That diagram is exactly how it was setup. My mom has just decided that she is going to have 2 phone lines, one for long distance and one for local so she doesn't need all the ** this or that. :) She likes the simplified approach so I guess all this doesn't matter. We have unplugged the Line cord and they will just remain as 2 lines in the home.
Jimates, thank you so much for your help with this, I know your screenname from over on SD and you've been an amazing help over there too.
If she is only going to use the new line for long distance and doesn't mind using it as 2 separate lines that is sometimes the easiest way to do it unless there is someone to reconfigure wiring.
this is the intended configuration. But it could mean changing the existing wiring configuration to keep any voltage from the PHONE port of the Obi.
It's going to be very confusing unless all phones are connected to the OBi's phone port and only the OBi's line port is connected to the landline. If you do that, you can get everything you want:
7-digit local numbers and 911 go to landline
long distance (1 + area code + number) and international (011 + country code + number) go to SP1
There will be no **? involved.
To accomplish this, make the following changes:
Phone Port DigitMap : ([1-9]|[1-9][0-9]|911|**0|***|#|(Msp1)|(Mli)|**9(Mpp))
Phone Port OutboundCallRoute : {(<#:>|911):li},{**0:aa},{***:aa2},{(Msp1):sp1},{(Mli):li},{(<**9:>(Mpp)):pp}
Line Port DigitMap : (xxxxxxxS4)
ITSPA Digitap : (1xxxxxxxxxx|011xx.)
Yeah with me in Colorado and her in Hawaii I cannot imagine trying to get her to deal with the wiring. She was very positive with the idea of using 2 lines so simple is how we roll from here. She is just happy to have free long distance and 2 cents a minute to her friend in Japan.
Ohh since you seem so knowledgeable. Is there a way to get the Obihai to dial an emergency number? I figure if there was a bad situation and the closest phone was the obihai line one they might try 911 and if there is a way to set that up, it might be a good idea.
RonR It's great that it *can* be done but I know she won't be okay with losing the phone in the kitchen and her bedroom so with her being okay with 2 lines I think she's probably setup the best way for her. I'll also admit that the {{{[}]}]} stuff sort of freaks my brain out like it's algebra.
Quote from: RonR on February 28, 2011, 10:45:54 PM
Line Port DigitMap : (xxxxxxxS4)
Better for this particular situation, where all 7-digit calls are considered local (eliminates the four second delay):
Line Port DigitMap : ([2-9]xxxxxx)
By default, 911 goes out the landline.
You can also access the landline directly by pressing # first. You will get a landline dialtone and can make a landline call at that point.
I know that you can make it dial out on SP1 and also make it dial a certain number (emergency number) should anyone dial 911 from the phone connected to the Obi. Since I only have GV I was going to set mine up to do that but just haven't invested the time to figure it out.
I am sure that RonR knows how to configure it. But whether he can tell us in simple terms we can understand, I do not know.
As I said, 911 goes to the landline port by default. If you want 911 to dial some number on SP1, that can be accomplished also.
Quote from: RonR on February 28, 2011, 11:07:55 PM
As I said, 911 goes to the landline port by default. If you want 911 to dial some number on SP1, that can be accomplished also.
How would we do that?
She is not using the line port at all. Her landline has a set of phones and her obihai has a set and they will have nothing to do with each other so dialing 911 won't go anywhere because it won't have access to the landline.
To make 911 dial an alternate number on SP1, replace the first route in Phone Port OutboundCallRoute:
{(<#:>|911):li},
with
{(<911:???????????>):sp1},{(<#:>):li},
where ??????????? is a valid number for the SP1 provider.
lincdeko,
and did you change the primary line on the Obi to SP1, so she won't have to dial **1 to place calls from it.
911 will unconditionally send the replacement number to SP1.
You need to set Phone Port Primary Line to SP1 Service so everything else goes to SP1 without the need for **1.
To elaborate on RonR's earlier post, what needs to replace ??????????? is an 11-digit number of her local 911 center that is answered 24 hours a day. These can be tricky to find because first, it has to be a number for the 911 answering point that serves her area (wouldn't want the call going to the wrong island) and second, it has to be a number that emergency calls are expected to come in on, not a business office number that's only answered during normal working hours. Such numbers are often used by smaller cell phone providers.
Sometimes you can get the number by calling the non-emergency number and explaining that you need a way to access 911 from a computer phone service that doesn't have a direct landline connection and therefore cannot dial 911 directly. They might give you the number and they might not. They might even give you a hard time just for asking — it just depends on the local dispatch center.
This page may help you find the PSAP that serves her area, although unfortunately it doesn't give phone numbers:
http://hawaiiwirelesse911.hawaii.gov/psap/psap.htm
Quote from: jimates on February 28, 2011, 11:27:36 PM
lincdeko,
and did you change the primary line on the Obi to SP1, so she won't have to dial **1 to place calls from it.
Yes the Obihai is working fine, shes called me about a dozen times tonight, but thank you for checking.
RonR thank you for the instructions on setting up 911. I just talked to her again and suggested replacing ALL of her phones with cordless phones, she sounds a little iffy but perhaps we can use the instructions you posted earlier if I work on her a little more. I just wanted to make this as easy as possible on her and if I could be there, I would just do it all but this long distance walking her through stuff has her on edge now. Fortunately I can connected to her laptop and then the obihai if I need to. We may yet get her completely converted but in the meantime the 911 workaround is very welcome.
MichiganTelephone thanks for that link, I'll call HPD tomorrow and get the number, the local guys are usually very helpful out there. I also have a friend who is dating a officer so if all else fails I may have a work around there too.
I think we're set for now.
Thank you to everyone who chimed in you guys are all so helpful and it is very much appreciated!
Cordless phones are relatively inexpensive these days and is a simple solution that doesn't require any wiring changes. The net result using the OBi changes I outlined should make for a really streamlined phone system.
The OBi is a fantastic product.
Good luck with it!
Calling RonR or Michigan Telephone!
I got my mom to agree to take the plunge but I am having some issues.
Settings from earlier in the thread
Phone Port DigitMap : ([1-9]|[1-9][0-9]|911|**0|***|#|(Msp1)|(Mli)|**9(Mpp))
Phone Port OutboundCallRoute : {(<#:>|911):li},{**0:aa},{***:aa2},{(Msp1):sp1},{(Mli):li},{(<**9:>(Mpp)):pp}
Line Port DigitMap : ([2-9]xxxxxx)
ITSPA Digitap : (1xxxxxxxxxx|011xx.)
I unclick the default box and add the settings, save and reboot and they revert right back. What the heck am I doing wrong? Also will they have to be reset when I upgrade firmware too?
Here are her current settings and what it keeps reverting to
Phone Port DigitMap : ([1-9]x?*(Mpli)|[1-9]|[1-9][0-9]|911|**0|***|#|**1(Msp1)|**2(Msp2)|**8(Mli)|**9(Mpp)|(Mpli))
Phone Port OutboundCallRoute : {(<#:>|911):li},{**0:aa},{***:aa2},{(Msp1):sp1},{(Mli):li},{(<**9:>(Mpp)):pp}
Line Port DigitMap : (xxxxxxxS4)
ITSPA Digitap : (1xxxxxxxxxx|<1808>[2-9]xxxxxx|011xx.|xx.)
Thanks for all your help.
@ lincdeko
I thought you would be doing this remotely, sounds like you are using the web interface since you said you reboot the device.
if you are working from the web interface you have to disable Auto Provisioning or the Obitalk settings will overwrite your configuration every time.
web interface
System Administration > Auto Provisioning > Auto Provisioning - set to disable, submit & reboot
You may do better to use the Obi Expert Configuration from the dashboard. You can still make changes like on the unit, you just click submit and don't have to reboot. Obitalk will update the unit in about 15 seconds.
I skimmed over the previous posts and I think you wanted to change the default outgoing line to sp1 and also use an alternate number for 911.
You should be ok with default settings except for the primary line and if you need to set up the 911 see my guide here
http://www.obitalk.com/forum/index.php?topic=339.msg1766#msg1766
Hi Jim,
I didn't realize I could do this all from the obitalk site. I am logged in and in the expert area, there are 2 boxes after the settings device default and obitalk settings, do I uncheck both of them to put in the settings?
yes you will have to uncheck both.
If the Obitalk box is checked, unchecking it will usually check the default box, then just uncheck the default and make your changes.
Done and tested and it seems to be completely functional, of course we didn't test 911, but local calls go out on the phone and long distance goes out google voice.
Thanks for all your help Jim, Ron and MichiganTele.
One of the nice features is the call history. You can dial a number and hang up without completing the call and then the call history will tell you which line the call went out on, what number was called etc.
Great for verifying the alternate number rules. It shows what you pressed on the phone and then what number was actually called and how it was routed.
but not suggested for 911, lol. And without the line plugged in it returns a "no service available" error. I tested my 911 by plugging in my 2nd obi to the line port. The obi only needs for there to be service on the line to process the call so it worked great for me.