Obihai 1062 Cannot make calls when connected using VPN

[CapnKip]

I purchased an Obihai 1062 IP phone. This phone will ultimately be in a country that has apparently started blocking VOIP calls. I was previously using and OBihai 200 for this purpose. So I specifically purchased this phone now because it has the ability to connect to a VPN using OpenVPN technology and thereby bypassing the country's efforts to block VOIP calls.

I can make calls to and from the phone when VPN connectivity is turned off on the phone. No problem.
However, when I turn on VPN connectivity I can see that the phone is connected to the OpenVPN server on my router but I cannot make calls to or from the phone.

I have asked Obihai support for help but am receiving little useful assistance.
Since the phone works when the VPN is turned off, it seems like the issue has to be with the VPN settings.

I even signed up for a VPN service and the phone works fine with it. The problem with the service is that you have to pick a specific server IP address to put in the OpenVPN config file on the phone. They do not have the ability to create 'dynamic' OpenVPN config files. I haven't found any service that has that ability. So if that server goes down or is decommissioned then the config file on the phone would need to be changed to point to a different server's IP address. The people that will have the phone are older and not tech savvy. They would never be able to update the IP address on the config file.

So that leaves me with trying to get this to work with the VPN on my router.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[SteveInWA]

You can download the VPN configuration document here:

http://www.obitalk.com/forum/index.php?OBTKSID=3cs1ktu40hkc5r4aq7a490rqq7&topic=12289.msg79006#msg79006

Disclaimer:

Keep in mind, that this is a security tool, not a tool to bypass a country's telecom regulations.

The fact that you can do this doesn't mean it will work in countries that aggressively block VPNs, nor that such use is legal in that country, and it may also violate the terms of use of the service provider (such that the provider could be legally liable for violating that country's telecom regulations).

[CapnKip]

Thanks Steve! Unfortunately I had already found the document you directed me to. Nothing in it has helped to resolve my problem.

I understand and appreciate your disclaimer. The country does not block VPNs. For a couple of years I have had a VPN setup on my router. When I am there I regularly connect to my VPN when paying bills or doing banking to make sure my info is secure. The country also does not openly state they are blocking VOIP. I have searched the internet for info related to this and found nothing. We also talked to the internet provider there and they state that VOIP is not blocked.
However, I had an Obihai 110 there for 3 years and it worked flawlessly. In December of 2017, it stopped working. Family members there stated that the country had started blocking things like Skype and social media sites. I also read info from Obihai stating the 110 would no longer work. So I purchased a 200. The 200 worked perfectly in testing it here in the U.S. but did not work when I took it there.

This set up is a way for my wife and her aging parents to stay in frequent communication with each other. We now use Google voice and pay for calls to them. However that setup does not allow them to call us. I'm trying to get that fixed with this 1062 phone and the use of my VPN.

[drgeoff]

Don't know if this will work but worth a try if you have not already.

If you call an OBi by dialling **9 followed by its 9 digit OBi number I think that only port 10000 is used.  That might not be blocked.

[SupTeamGuy]

Per drgeoff's scenario:

Outside the US, simply power up your OBi110 device, connect to router for internet communications (no need for any VoIP services).  Call direct to your OBi1062 phone by dialing **9 + that OBi 9 digit numbers (600 XXX XXX).  Connect and talk?

Then reverse call from OBi1062 phone to OBi110 unit, dialing **9 200 XXX XXX.

You should be able to connect/talk.  Please try and let us know.

[CapnKip]

While Google voice is setup on both boxes, we have always called each other using the Obihai number on the boxes (**9 nnn nnn nnn) rather than using the Google voice phone numbers.

Until Dec 2017 that worked without issue. Since then it doesn't.

I don't know if the VPN path with the Obihai 1062 will fix the problem or not. I need to get it working here first.

Even though the phone shows it's connected to my VPN (displays a lock on the screen) it must not be properly connected. I will keep working with the OpenVPN config file on the phone to see if I can get it to work.

[CapnKip]

I have tried everything I can to get this to work.

I have VPN capabilities on my router via OpenVPN. I can connect my phone, my iPad and my laptop to the VPN on my router... no problem... all work perfectly! However, when I use the same config file on my 1062, it indicates it's connected to my VPN (shows a lock on the screen) but gives an error when trying to make any call whether its to a phone number or a **9 nnn nnn nnn to another Obihai device.

I have also been successful at connecting my 1062 to the NordVPN service using OpenVPN. The problem with this is that it requires me to put a specific IP address in the config file. If that specific server goes down or is overloaded, the config file would have to be changed to point to the IP address of a different server. The phone is going to my wife's parents. They are old and would never be able to make such a change.

So I continue to try to find a way to get it to connect to the VPN on my router.

The latest thing that I think could be the issue is the time. I have read that with OpenVPN the date/time needs to be consistent between the device (my Obihai 1062) and the VPN server. When I connect not using the VPN OR connect to NordVPN, the date/time displayed on the phone is current and everything works.
However, whenever I connect to the VPN on my router, the time on the phone displays 1/1/2010 at 7:00pm.

Since it works on my phone and iPad and laptop, it feels like there is something my Obihai 1062 that is not getting the date/time when connected to my VPN. Everything in the config seems to be right though.

Help!!!

[drgeoff]

What server is the phone using for DNS queries?

[CapnKip]

Thanks for the question drgoeff.

The IP address provided by my ISP changes so I setup a Dynamic DNS with NO-IP.com. For my smart phone, iPad and laptop my OpenVPN config file points to the DNS name I have setup on NO-IP. I've tried using my DNS name and my current direct IP address in the config file for my 1062. Neither works.

Based on your question I tried changing settings on my 1062 to see if I could get the date/time to set properly. I tried changing the DNSSERVER1 and 2 settings to NO-IPs addresses, no luck. I tried setting them to my ISP DNS addresses, no luck. 

Are there other setting I should be looking at or changing so my 1062 gets the correct date/time when connected to the VPN on my router?

[drgeoff]

Based on your question I tried changing settings on my 1062 to see if I could get the date/time to set properly. I tried changing the DNSSERVER1 and 2 settings to NO-IPs addresses, no luck. I tried setting them to my ISP DNS addresses, no luck.

Try 8.8.8.8

And see page 42 of https://www.obitalk.com/info/documents/admin_guide/OBiPhoneAdminGuide.pdf

[CapnKip]

I tried 8.8.8.8, no luck. I also looked at and changed ntp settings for time and still did not work.

It doesn't seem like it should be this hard to get it to work but I have spent more than 80 hours working with this over the past few weeks and I just cannot get it to work with my VPN.

My mobile phone, iPad and laptop all connect to my VPN using OpenVPN but this 1062 phone cannot. At this point I am just throwing my hands up in the air and giving up getting it to connect to my VPN.

I can get it to connect to the NordVPN service. So we will have to go that route and hope nothing happens to the server that I code into the config file.

Thanks everyone for trying to help!