OBiTALK Community

Region Specific Technical / Service Provider Support => North America - Including Google Voice, Skype, etc. => Topic started by: wadewood on May 13, 2014, 09:25:07 AM

Title: Anveo issues - not good choice for set and forget
Post by: wadewood on May 13, 2014, 09:25:07 AM
I manage a Obi device for phone service for an elderly relative.  We had used Obi/GV for a while with no issues.  I had used Anveo for the e911 service, so when it came to to select a GV replacement, I selected Anveo.  I provisioned Obi device and things looked fine.  But then sip scanners kept calling and ringing the number at all hours - fail #1.  Anveo then announced they had solved this but obi would need to be reprovisioned.  So I walk through these steps and phone will not connect to Anveo.  I tried everything and eventually had to do a hard reset on Obi, which is very tough for elderly relative to do (I manage this remotely) - fail #2.  After hard reset and reprovisioning it worked fine for a few days.  This morning the relative calls me and says she has no phone service.  I check status online at Anveo and sure enough device is not connected and I can't get it to connect - fail #3.

At this point, I will try to obtain refund and will look elsewhere.  If you are looking for a set and forget voip replacement for GV on Obi,  I suggest not using Anveo.
Title: Re: Anveo issues - not good choice for set and forget
Post by: AlanB on May 13, 2014, 09:34:39 AM
I would have to disagree with some of your comments.

One, the provisioning has been changed, so SIP protection is now supposed to be included.  Two, you don't know for sure yet that the latest problem is related to Anveo. I suggest you update us once you troubleshoot. 

Finally, in a sense there are two completely separate Anveo products.  One is the Anveo for ObiTalk product which has controlled SIP access and requires automated provisioning.  Anveo's standard offerings are not so tightly controlled and can be provisioned manually.

I would agree that Anveo is not a good choice for anyone who wants a lot of "hand holding".  They have some powerful features, but not a high level of customer support to go along with it.
Title: Re: Anveo issues - not good choice for set and forget
Post by: wadewood on May 13, 2014, 10:30:20 AM
OK one possible scenario is that there is something wrong with the Obi 100 device itself.  I took the relative's Anveo account info and put it into SP2 of the Obi device at my house.  It worked fine.  I'm able to manage device through the web, so it should have a good connection to internet, which means it's a not a connection or cable issue. 

I'm not 100% convinced my relative was able to do the hard reset correctly with paperclip.  Is there anyway to to perform hard reset remotely?
Title: Re: Anveo issues - not good choice for set and forget
Post by: zorlac on May 13, 2014, 10:46:18 AM
I think ***81 on the handset will do it too. (http://www.obitalk.com/forum/index.php?topic=28.0)
Title: Re: Anveo issues - not good choice for set and forget
Post by: drgeoff on May 13, 2014, 11:11:47 AM
http://www.obitalk.com/forum/index.php?topic=28.0

Applicable to other models as well as 110.
Title: Re: Anveo issues - not good choice for set and forget
Post by: JH2011 on May 13, 2014, 06:01:08 PM
Quote from: AlanB on May 13, 2014, 09:34:39 AM
I would have to disagree with some of your comments.

That's no big surprise... you generally always disagree with anyone who has issues with Anveo.

Quote from: AlanB on May 13, 2014, 09:34:39 AM
Two, you don't know for sure yet that the latest problem is related to Anveo.

Does he really need to be sure "the problem is related to Anveo" before posting here?

Quote from: AlanB on May 13, 2014, 09:34:39 AM
Finally, in a sense there are two completely separate Anveo products.  One is the Anveo for ObiTalk product which has controlled SIP access and requires automated provisioning.  Anveo's standard offerings are not so tightly controlled and can be provisioned manually.

Wadewood is talking about Anveo for ObiTalk... which he correctly states is not a good choice for set and forget.

What does "Anveo's standard offerings" have to do with this?

Quote from: AlanB on May 13, 2014, 09:34:39 AM
I would agree that Anveo is not a good choice for anyone who wants a lot of "hand holding".

"I would agree that Anveo is not a good choice for anyone"<<< Correct!

The "hand holding" you suggest is total condescending garbage.

Anveo should write scripts for Obi boxes that actually work.

Anveo should promptly refund people who are not satisfied without resorting to calling them "fraudulent" while at the same time hijacking funds from unsatisfied customers accounts.
Title: Re: Anveo issues - not good choice for set and forget
Post by: AlanB on May 13, 2014, 07:14:19 PM
Quote from: JH2011 on May 13, 2014, 06:01:08 PM
The "hand holding" you suggest is total condescending garbage.

I don't want to get into an argument, but this was not meant to be condescending.  We all have our comfort levels.  Some of us can program the Obi with no problems (not me) and others barely know what VOIP is.  In other matters, some of us want an financial advisor to guide us, where as some of us are comfortable using a discount broker and making financial decisions with little help.   Anveo is much more like a discount broker than a full service one.  They have limited help documents and customer support.  Some people would never be comfortable without that, others wouldn't mind at all.

My other point was that the ObiTalk version, even though it was meant to be simpler I think, actually can be much more limiting than a standard Anveo plan.

I agree that the scripts can be a pain.  The Anveo e911 script had very few complaints.  The new Anveo and PhonePower scripts seem to been lots of resets.  It would be good if Obihai did a little more testing on them before they roll them out.
Title: Re: Anveo issues - not good choice for set and forget
Post by: JH2011 on May 13, 2014, 08:59:40 PM
Quote from: AlanB on May 13, 2014, 07:14:19 PM
I don't want to get into an argument, but...  it would be good if Obihai did a little more testing on them [scripts] before they roll them out.

No argument: Anveo's scripts are certified junk, so stop blaming Obi.

Hopefully, Obi will soon trash Anveo's "official Obi provider" masquerade.
Title: Re: Anveo issues - not good choice for set and forget
Post by: MikePA on May 14, 2014, 01:34:53 AM
Help me understand...

I assume the 'scripts' being referred to are the same for everyone. If true, why would the same script work for some and not others?

Like many, my original configuration was a 110 with GV.

I replaced GV with Anveo with no problems. Thought I'd try PP and put that on SP2 and had nothing but troubles.

Learned PP had to be on SP1. Why? No idea why.

More problems.

Finally replaced 110 with a 202. Put PP on SP1 and Anveo on SP2. Made SP2 primary for outgoing and incoming plus e911.

It's been this way for over a week. No problems. No SIP scanner calls. My Obi environment has gone back to normal, i.e., it works.

As an aside, I also switched my landline to a ATT Wireless Home Phone and saved $25/month. The only 'downside' has been no callerid, but am working through that with adding names with numbers to the cordless phone phone book.
Title: Re: Anveo issues - not good choice for set and forget
Post by: AlanB on May 14, 2014, 09:57:22 AM
Quote from: MikePA on May 14, 2014, 01:34:53 AM
Help me understand...

I assume the 'scripts' being referred to are the same for everyone. If true, why would the same script work for some and not others?


Mike, I would think you are correct in assuming that the scripts are the same for everyone.  However, the initial configurations are not. 

I'm not a programmer, although I do write some simple scripts in a proprietary language not related to Obi. But, I can probably give you some simplistic examples.

Let's assume that you have three setting that must be set for the Obi to work with the provider.
A = 1
B = 2
C = 3.

Now lets assume the script writer set A and B, but did not set C = 3 because they thought no one changed the default.  Well, if you had changed C = 2, and the script did not change it, your service wouldn't work.  If most people still had C = 3 it would work for them.

Another example might be if there are two more values that need to be set.
Y = 25
Z = 26

Now let's assume that the script simply sets the values A, B, Y, Z in order.   Well Y didn't exist until Version 2.0 of the Firmware which has been out for a while.  If Y is present it needs to be 25, if it's not present the service will still work. Someone on Version 1.0 runs the script.  The script could check that Y is not present and then set Z.  The service works.  Now let's assume the script writer didn't know that Y was not present a year ago and doesn't check to see if it's present.  The script may go to set Y, not find it, and have no way to handle it, so it "crashes"  and never sets Z.  Thus your service does not work.

These are just simplified examples of course of how the same script can give different results.

As far as who writes the Anveo and PP scripts, I don't know.  I would think it would be Obi since they would be the experts at it, but I have no proof.  Either way, the script involves TWO parties, it can not be written without consultation.  A "handshake" of information must occur.

The SP is picked from the Obi website, so at a minimum, it must be passed on to Anveo or PP (a handshake) to then continue setting up the Obi.  More than likely, the script is mainly on the Obi side, you set pick the SP, and then the script logs you into the Anveo or PP website (a handshake) to provide some information.  Anveo or PP creates an account and passes the account number and SIP password back to Obi (another handshake) to finish the setup. 

This is similar to how paying through PayPal is often handled.  Often, the shopping website, passes the payment amount over to Paypal, you log in there, pay and are then passed back to the shopping website to complete payment.  I think I've also seen it where the entire transaction including the shipping, is actually completed at the Paypal site.
Title: Re: Anveo issues - not good choice for set and forget
Post by: wadewood on May 15, 2014, 08:36:40 AM
I did everything I could possible think of and it still would not register with Anveo.  I'm fairly knowledgeable when it comes to ATA and voip having coming from an Sipura SPA-3000 back in the day.  It was posted on this forum that they have a 30 day refund policy, so I decided to cancel.  I setup this account with voip.ms in juts a few minutes and it's working good. 

I submitted support ticket to Anveo 5-13 with request to cancel.  They responded back 2 days later with "please follow the steps at http://www.anveo.com/faqobitalk.asp?code=obitalk_troubleshoot to troubleshoot your OBI device." - which means they just ignored my request.
Title: Re: Anveo issues - not good choice for set and forget
Post by: JH2011 on May 15, 2014, 10:18:22 AM
File a dispute with Paypal and you'll get a full refund.

Anveo doesn't have the resources to argue with Paypal.

Title: Re: Anveo issues - not good choice for set and forget
Post by: wadewood on May 19, 2014, 03:16:13 PM
Quote from: JH2011 on May 15, 2014, 10:18:22 AM
File a dispute with Paypal and you'll get a full refund.

Anveo doesn't have the resources to argue with Paypal.

6 days after my written request to cancel account and Anveo has not done so nor responded to request, so yes I followed your advice and have disputed charge.
Title: Re: Anveo issues - not good choice for set and forget
Post by: MikeHObi on May 19, 2014, 05:48:11 PM
SIP scanner issues will occur with any provider.  It has been a discussion topic on the Obi forums here for quite some time with a number of recommended changes to solve the problem.  Anveo's promoted solution only works for people who have an Obi-Anveo account.  No reason why it wouldn't work with others, but Anveo has not bothered to document what settings they use for this.

I have an Obi110 using Anveo at my mom's home and have had no trouble maintaining it.  I expect the same if I had a different provider.
Title: Re: Anveo issues - not good choice for set and forget
Post by: baxtr on May 19, 2014, 05:59:40 PM
Try CircleNet if you want prompt attention to problems.
Title: Re: Anveo issues - not good choice for set and forget
Post by: wadewood on May 24, 2014, 07:29:48 AM
Since Anveo would not respond to my support ticket to close the account, I did dispute the charge. I guess they received word from Paypal that charge was being disputed and they sent an email with this:

"Please note that we take fraudulent activity very seriously and use of charge-back without following our dispute resolution procedure is in violation of Terms of Use."
Title: Re: Anveo issues - not good choice for set and forget
Post by: JH2011 on May 24, 2014, 07:53:40 AM
Quote from: wadewood on May 24, 2014, 07:29:48 AM
Since Anveo would not respond to my support ticket to close the account, I did dispute the charge. I guess they received word from Paypal that charge was being disputed and they sent an email with this:

"Please note that we take fraudulent activity very seriously and use of charge-back without following our dispute resolution procedure is in violation of Terms of Use."

Anveo are idiots to call their own customers "fraudulent". They should look in the mirror to see what fraudulent really means. You can ignore that email (I did too) and proceed with documenting everything on Paypal - you'll get your refund.

Paypal's terms are the only terms that matter. Paypal calls the shots.
Title: Re: Anveo issues - not good choice for set and forget
Post by: MikeHObi on May 25, 2014, 08:11:04 PM
Quote from: wadewood on May 24, 2014, 07:29:48 AM
Since Anveo would not respond to my support ticket to close the account, I did dispute the charge. I guess they received word from Paypal that charge was being disputed and they sent an email with this:

"Please note that we take fraudulent activity very seriously and use of charge-back without following our dispute resolution procedure is in violation of Terms of Use."

From Anveo's Terms of use

http://www.anveo.com/consumer/legal.asp

Quote16. CHARGEBACKS:
You acknowledge and agree that all credit card transactions (payments) are final once completed. We strongly discourage the use of charge backs. If you believe that your account was charged fraudulently or erroneously you must follow our dispute procedure 1) contact our customer support department via email at customer.support@anveo.com with 'chargeback' in the subject line. You must provide the following information a) your name b) your contact information c) last four digits of the credit card number in question d) name on the credit card e) Anveo account number f) the date when the credit card transaction occurred and g) the total amount charged to the credit card. You will be contacted by Anveo customer support representatives to try to resolve the matter. 2) If you did not reach an agreement with our customer support representative, you must then contact our legal department via email at legal@anveo.com to try to resolve the matter. If you take actions to reverse your Account charges with your credit card company or payment processor for any reason without first following the dispute procedure set forth herein, we reserve the right to pursue you legally through an attorney and or/collection agency and any other means for damages, including, among other things, fraud.

Essentially you violated their terms of use by having a charge back done and as such they may "pursue you legally through an attorney and or/collection agency and any other means for damages, including, among other things, fraud."

Note their actual options may be limited by the requirements of Paypal, as well as your local laws.
Title: Re: Anveo issues - not good choice for set and forget
Post by: JH2011 on May 26, 2014, 03:51:20 AM
Quote from: MikeHObi on May 25, 2014, 08:11:04 PM
Quote from: wadewood on May 24, 2014, 07:29:48 AM
Since Anveo would not respond to my support ticket to close the account, I did dispute the charge. I guess they received word from Paypal that charge was being disputed and they sent an email with this:

"Please note that we take fraudulent activity very seriously and use of charge-back without following our dispute resolution procedure is in violation of Terms of Use."

From Anveo's Terms of use

http://www.anveo.com/consumer/legal.asp

Quote16. CHARGEBACKS:
You acknowledge and agree that all credit card transactions (payments) are final once completed. We strongly discourage the use of charge backs. If you believe that your account was charged fraudulently or erroneously you must follow our dispute procedure 1) contact our customer support department via email at customer.support@anveo.com with 'chargeback' in the subject line. You must provide the following information a) your name b) your contact information c) last four digits of the credit card number in question d) name on the credit card e) Anveo account number f) the date when the credit card transaction occurred and g) the total amount charged to the credit card. You will be contacted by Anveo customer support representatives to try to resolve the matter. 2) If you did not reach an agreement with our customer support representative, you must then contact our legal department via email at legal@anveo.com to try to resolve the matter. If you take actions to reverse your Account charges with your credit card company or payment processor for any reason without first following the dispute procedure set forth herein, we reserve the right to pursue you legally through an attorney and or/collection agency and any other means for damages, including, among other things, fraud.

Essentially you violated their terms of use by having a charge back done and as such they may "pursue you legally through an attorney and or/collection agency and any other means for damages, including, among other things, fraud."

Note their actual options may be limited by the requirements of Paypal, as well as your local laws.

>>> Essentially you violated their terms of use by having a charge back done

Nobody "violated" anything except Anveo in taking money and not providing service or support.

Anveo's "terms" are absolute garbage... like their service.
Title: Re: Anveo issues - not good choice for set and forget
Post by: MikePA on May 26, 2014, 05:06:51 AM
Quote from: JH2011 on May 26, 2014, 03:51:20 AM

Nobody "violated" anything except Anveo in taking money and not providing service or support.

Anveo's "terms" are absolute garbage... like their service.


With arrogance and the inability to understand English any action can be rationalized.

Name calling will be next.
Title: Re: Anveo issues - not good choice for set and forget
Post by: JH2011 on May 26, 2014, 05:20:51 AM
Quote from: MikePA on May 26, 2014, 05:06:51 AM
Quote from: JH2011 on May 26, 2014, 03:51:20 AM

Nobody "violated" anything except Anveo in taking money and not providing service or support.

Anveo's "terms" are absolute garbage... like their service.


With arrogance and the inability to understand English any action can be rationalized.

Name calling will be next.

>>> With arrogance and the inability to understand English any action can be rationalized.

Paypal's terms override Anveo's terms. Do you understand that?

Anveo's terms are the perfect picture of "arrogance".

Title: Re: Anveo issues - not good choice for set and forget
Post by: MikePA on May 26, 2014, 06:13:28 AM
Quote from: JH2011 on May 26, 2014, 05:20:51 AM
Quote from: MikePA on May 26, 2014, 05:06:51 AM
Quote from: JH2011 on May 26, 2014, 03:51:20 AM

Nobody "violated" anything except Anveo in taking money and not providing service or support.

Anveo's "terms" are absolute garbage... like their service.


With arrogance and the inability to understand English any action can be rationalized.

Name calling will be next.

>>> With arrogance and the inability to understand English any action can be rationalized.

Paypal's terms override Anveo's terms. Do you understand that?

Anveo's terms are the perfect picture of "arrogance".



If you don't like Anveo's Terms of Service, don't sign up with them. Simple concept.

If you sign a contract, live up to the terms. Simple concept.

It's called honesty and honor.
Title: Re: Anveo issues - not good choice for set and forget
Post by: MikePA on May 26, 2014, 06:33:33 AM
Quote from: Harley on May 26, 2014, 06:28:01 AM
A simple concept called honesty and honor doesn't apply when your getting screwed especially when the onus should be on the service provider.

Then you don't have either because, by your own words, you will sink to the level of whomever you're dealing with.

Title: Re: Anveo issues - not good choice for set and forget
Post by: JH2011 on May 26, 2014, 07:47:20 AM
>>> If you don't like Anveo's Terms of Service, don't sign up with them. Simple concept.

>>> If you sign a contract, live up to the terms. Simple concept.


You talk about "inability to understand English" but do you really understand English yourself?

Anveo agree to be bound by Paypal's terms - not the other way around.

Paypal offers protection against non-performing merchants like Anveo.

Anveo have demonstrated that they have no clue about honesty.

There's nothing dishonest about seeking Paypal's protection.