Hi, I'm new with Obi202. Got it to use with Google Voice, but I am very surprised that GV does not set visual message waiting indicator (LED on my phone) / stutter tone with voice mail. The documentation that I've searched for from obihai online suggests indicates that it does, but some posts seem to indicate not this documentation is actually not correct anymore since Obi officially started supporting GV again...
Can someone confirm definitively (or reasonably so) that setting the message light on your phone anymore with Obi? Every phone service I've ever had with voicemail supports this so this is a big disappointment to me.
Thanks.
This feature was removed in a recent firmware release. Unfortunately, there is no way to downgrade your current firmware revision.
Thank you for the explanation / confirmation. I guess I'll check out some other providers before I return this...
Is there any plan to restore support for the message waiting indicator? I view it as a core feature that should be supported. I'm really not happy that it has gone away with no advanced warning. My obitalk was working just fine and I would not have taken the upgrade if I had known this.
Thank you
Quote from: MLD100 on January 28, 2015, 10:02:07 AM
Is there any plan to restore support for the message waiting indicator? I view it as a core feature that should be supported. I'm really not happy that it has gone away.
Know how you feel, the old obi firmware flashed a little green led on our kitchen phone when we had GV voicemail, I really miss that. :'( I put our GV #'s into speed dial slots so 3# will get me to my voicemail quick.
Quote from: Vestalink on February 27, 2015, 07:34:22 AM
Vestalink can fix your MWI issue for less than $2.50 a month with our current pricing by using our voicemail service. ......
Vestalink, You are spamming our OBiTalk forum with you sale pitches.
I currently use Vestalink service and I'm happy with the service -BUT- if Vestalink keeps spamming this forum, I will seriously reconsider my use of your service when it comes time to renew for another two years..
This is not spam. I am trying to help users who need to have the MWI feature back. If you created a product to get MWI back and posted on this forum would it be spam?
Quote from: Vestalink on February 27, 2015, 10:31:02 AM
This is not spam. I am trying to help users who need to have the MWI feature back. If you created a product to get MWI back and posted on this forum would it be spam?
Forum Members, What is your opinion on this?
He's posting the same thing over and over -> SPAM.
He should post ONCE with a pointer to a WWW page that explains what his product(s) / Pricing / etc are.
(IMO of course)
There are multiple threads going right now regarding this issue, I want to be apart of all of them. Its not spam.
post ONE thread (standalone) with ALL the details, and then point to it ONCE per thread.
I looked at the vestalink site and didn't see anything about this.
You look VERY desperate for customers.
I am always trying to grow our customer base. Business is all about discovering where there is a problem and fixing it for people. I have information regarding the MWI issue on our main website. I don't think Obihai has the ability to fix this issue using their new "Approved" method.
Quote from: BigJim_McD on February 27, 2015, 11:17:11 AM
Forum Members, What is your opinion on this?
It's not spam. It's harmless and relevant. Greater community participation... users and suppliers... enriches the community experience. Just ignore what does not interest you.
Quote from: BigJim_McD on February 27, 2015, 11:17:11 AM
Quote from: Vestalink on February 27, 2015, 10:31:02 AM
This is not spam. I am trying to help users who need to have the MWI feature back. If you created a product to get MWI back and posted on this forum would it be spam?
Forum Members, What is your opinion on this?
Appears like desperation SPAM to me--even if it was unintentional.
Quote from: 202Owner on February 27, 2015, 01:03:33 PM
Quote from: BigJim_McD on February 27, 2015, 11:17:11 AM
Forum Members, What is your opinion on this?
It's not spam. It's harmless and relevant. Greater community participation... users and suppliers... enriches the community experience. Just ignore what does not interest you.
Thank you 202Owner, I completely agree and appreciate that.
Quote from: 202Owner on February 27, 2015, 01:03:33 PM
Quote from: BigJim_McD on February 27, 2015, 11:17:11 AM
Forum Members, What is your opinion on this?
It's not spam. It's harmless and relevant. Greater community participation... users and suppliers... enriches the community experience. Just ignore what does not interest you.
I have to agree. What is "spam" to one person may be useful information to someone else.
And let's not forget we've had other VoIP providers (Nitzan of FutureNine, Sam of CircleNet, etc) posting about their products/services in this forum.
Be glad you have VoIP products and services and suppliers to choose from. If you have a legitimate complaint, present it to the forum moderator/owner. Unleashing and recruiting spam judgments from a 'moral majority' to pressure a participating community member is bad form.
Quote from: BigJim_McD on February 27, 2015, 11:17:11 AM
Quote from: Vestalink on February 27, 2015, 10:31:02 AM
This is not spam. I am trying to help users who need to have the MWI feature back. If you created a product to get MWI back and posted on this forum would it be spam?
Forum Members, What is your opinion on this?
These posts have more Spam in them than the Monty Python Cafe's Spam, Spam, Spam, bacon and Spam, loverly Spam. It's the very definition of Spam to post the same advertisement across multiple discussion threads in a forum, offering to "fix" something by instead buying a different service.
The only annoying spam I see on this forum daily is the columns of repeating advertisements down the margins that cause each page to load slowly and to not fit in in a standard 1024 display width, causing the user to have to scroll horizontally to read this forum. Spam and poor forum design... whine about something that matters.
For anyone that REALLY misses this feature, I would point out that it is possible to set up you own PBX on a Raspberry Pi for around $50 or maybe a bit more (cost of Raspberry Pi 2 + power supply) using the RasPBX software (http://www.raspberry-asterisk.org/) (pro tip: DON'T install the Incredible PBX addon mentioned on that page; you don't really need it and for most users it's useless bloatware). Then you can loop your incoming Google Voice calls through the PBX as described in this article (http://tech.iprock.com/?p=6416), which among other things allows you to use the internal Asterisk voicemail system, which will still provide MWI to your phones.
It's a bit of a convoluted solution just to get one feature back, but it is possible. A far less expensive solution is to simply have Google Voice email you copies of all your voicemails. If you have set up a separate Google account just for Google Voice and you don't normally check the Gmail account associated with that account, then what you can do is log into that Gmail account (NOT Google Voice, you want to be in Gmail but logged in under your Google Voice account) and go to settings and set up mail forwarding (https://support.google.com/mail/answer/10957?hl=en), so that any email that is sent to your Google Voice account gets automatically forwarded to the primary email account that you do check regularly.
Quote from: Ryan_Tilton on February 27, 2015, 12:10:52 PM
I am always trying to grow our customer base. Business is all about discovering where there is a problem and fixing it for people. I have information regarding the MWI issue on our main website. I don't think Obihai has the ability to fix this issue using their new "Approved" method.
The problem I have with this is that you aren't offering an add on service for our Google Voice setup. I checked with your chat service and what you are referring to are modifications to your existing voice mail setup and this only applies to Vestalink subscribers. Spam or not, I don't think you are being direct in your aims.
The fact is we are getting signups based on this alone. People are willing to pay to have this feature back.
[link deleted]
And just to clarify, its an entirely different service from Google Voice.
Vestalink (Ryan Tilton),
Please stop the parasitic marketing tactics on the OBiTALK forum. You are welcome to start a Vestalink specific post promoting your service to OBi device owners.
Thank you
The reason MWI is not working is because Google has no interest in the OBi device, otherwise it would be working. I am in no way defaming them in their own house. I think Obihai is just not being clear with what "Official" support means which could confuse certain customers.
"To be clear about the term "supported", there are two different ways to look at the term: "we allow access to something we control" or "we provide technical or development support for you to do something we control." In the case of Obihai, it's only the former definition.
Historical background: Obihai was formerly using an unauthorized, unapproved method to access Google users' accounts to use the Google Chat (XMPP) protocol for calling, etc. This method was turning over the Google user's user ID and password to the third party -- a security exposure. Google did not approve of (or "support") that access.
Google has a safer method of controlling access to its users' account data and services, via a secure authentication method known as OAUTH 2.0. Google "supports" the use of that method to authenticate (verify permission) to use their customers' accounts, and the user controls which services to which the third party is given access. "Support" means, Google publishes the method and makes it available for use by others. Obihai converted their device firmware to use this supported authentication method. Google is not supplying any "support" to actually make use of the data or services accessed.
After Obihai upgraded their products to use OAUTH 2.0 authentication, Google said, in effect, "we agree that you are using a supported method to access our users' accounts". That's all. The rest is up to Obihai."
http://goo.gl/ooH7tE
I am glad that Vestalink's previous posting has been self deleted.
No doubt from a historical standpoint that what Obihai did when it piggy-backed on Google Voice's technology in the early days was in violation of Google's TOS.
As for what type of legal relationship between Obihai and Google at the moment, the details hasn't been disclosed. As to what "Google Voice supported" or "Google Voice approved" means, that too, hasn't been defined. I don't know if it is helpful for third parties to define the relationship when they don't know the internal details. And neither Google nor Obihai has to disclose anything as long as no one is doing anything illegally.
Google is very protective of its brand name. I don't think Google would allow a company like Obihai to mislead the public of their relationship for long. I don't know the details but I just know that the new OBi202 I purchased, has that Google Voice logo that I would prefer not to have. I suspect that the "support" or "approved" between Google and Obihai is more than just using the right OAUTH 2.0 authentication as the darn devices now are advertising Google Voice! I don't think any business would advertise for another in such an overt at your face manner unless there was an agreement that went beyond just a tacit allowing for the use of proper log on.