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Offline Status - Need Help Troubleshooting

Started by daisi, February 18, 2016, 09:01:49 AM

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daisi

Hi,

My Obi is not working anymore. It's been fine for years, and today, the lights all seem right, but it tells me it's offline. How do I even begin to troubleshoot that could be wrong? I have not changed my router settings.




dircom

As others have mentioned.  When you ask a question, you have to give enough information for an intelligent answer.
For example, who is (are) your service provider(s)
Have you power cycled your equipment?
Have you checked with your provider to see if there is an outage?
etc etc

daisi

This is my first time posting. No need to be rude to me.

As I mentioned in my posting, nothing is different from when it was working. The router config is the same. Yes, I have power cycled everything. I have even switched out the Obi with a new one (same model), and I have replaced all of the cables. As I also mentioned, the lights are all normal, but the system says it's "offline" when I log in and when I try to place calls. All other internet services are working fine in my home.

I was wondering why Obi would be listed as offline if everything is in order. I do not really understand how Obi works, so I can't figure out where to troubleshoot next.

I'm using an Obi 110 in case that matters. So aside from "checking that it's plugged in," what else can I try, please?


LTN1

Quote from: daisi on February 18, 2016, 02:01:22 PM
This is my first time posting. No need to be rude to me.

As I mentioned in my posting, nothing is different from when it was working. The router config is the same. Yes, I have power cycled everything. I have even switched out the Obi with a new one (same model), and I have replaced all of the cables. As I also mentioned, the lights are all normal, but the system says it's "offline" when I log in and when I try to place calls. All other internet services are working fine in my home.

I was wondering why Obi would be listed as offline if everything is in order. I do not really understand how Obi works, so I can't figure out where to troubleshoot next.

I'm using an Obi 110 in case that matters. So aside from "checking that it's plugged in," what else can I try, please?



dircom is a very helpful forum volunteer. He wasn't being rude to you. I think that most of us would agree with him that following your first posting (before he responded), additional information was needed and it is the responsibility of the one asking to provide those information. His response was normal and appropriate.

Unless you check your attitude, very few of us would care to assist. 

SteveInWA

Quote from: daisi on February 18, 2016, 02:01:22 PM
This is my first time posting. No need to be rude to me.

As I mentioned in my posting, nothing is different from when it was working. The router config is the same. Yes, I have power cycled everything. I have even switched out the Obi with a new one (same model), and I have replaced all of the cables. As I also mentioned, the lights are all normal, but the system says it's "offline" when I log in and when I try to place calls. All other internet services are working fine in my home.

I was wondering why Obi would be listed as offline if everything is in order. I do not really understand how Obi works, so I can't figure out where to troubleshoot next.

I'm using an Obi 110 in case that matters. So aside from "checking that it's plugged in," what else can I try, please?



Hi.  Okay, let's try to figure this out.

You have now proven that you don't have a hardware issue, and probably not a network issue.  OBi devices can be used with many different Voice over IP (VoIP) telephone service providers, to be able to make and receive phone calls.  They are not boxes that come with telephone service included (well, except for OBi<-->OBi calls).

What the other folks were asking was:  which service were you using?  This is what's failing now, not your OBi box itself.  "Offline" means that the OBi is unable to sign into that service provider.  We need to troubleshoot your service provider's connection.

Was it Google Voice, or some other service provider, like Anveo, Callcentric, PhonePower, etc?

SteveInWA

I will also point out that this was not your first post; you posted similar questions in 2014 that went nowhere, because of the lack of information you provided.

See:  http://www.obitalk.com/forum/index.php?action=profile;u=7248;sa=showPosts

daisi

#6
Perhaps the tone in text comes across as harsher than you all intend! Some of the messages come across as passive aggressive :-) This always happens with text rather than in-person interactions - they can be read into or come across differently than intended (this goes for my posting as well). I appreciate that you probably deal with technical idiots like me all the time, and I am not meaning to irritate you guys with my posting. I did not set up the Obi originally (a friend did), so I'm fairly unfamiliar with it and did not know exactly what to provide (it might have been him that posted that message one of you refers to before, as I don't recall ever asking for help before. I could be wrong though.) I tried to do a bunch of research before I posted and everyone seemed to suggest it was router settings - that's why I mentioned I had not made changes to my router. I thought that was helpful info, but apologies for not providing other info in addition. I wasn't intentionally being vague to annoy you guys. Really. I just have no idea what to even ask :-)

So this is everything I know... I have an Obi110. I have replaced all of the cables (except the power cable) to diagnose the problem. I have also reinstalled my LAN drivers on my computer. I also deleted the Obi out of my Obi account, and I reinstalled it using the instructions provided for "initial set up." I am using Google Voice, and I have my own Google Voice number. The Google Voice set up went fine, and it showed the "Configuring..." spinning wheel. Once that finished, it now shows "offline" again. So I'm back to where I started.

I am including screenshots of the online page (with my email blacked out). Please let me know if you know what I can do next. Thank you in advance for your help.





dircom

Quote from: daisi on February 18, 2016, 02:01:22 PM
This is my first time posting. No need to be rude to me.

No need to call us rude ......... but in any case, what is your location? ie country?

DoNoTUseYoureMail

I have the same problem. On Obitalk web site OBI100 unit shows as offline, and power light is steady ON. All other lights are off. I can access unit through local IP address on my network. Firmware update is 1.3.0-2872. The only weird thing I noticed is that for current date it shows 02/01/2010. Everything worked fine until two weeks ago. It looks like, from some reason, unit cannot connect to the OBI server. I tried to set IP address of the unit to be DMZ on my router but that did not help either. Using **9-222-222-222 does not do anything, nor ***1.

daisi

I am in Beirut, Lebanon. I have a fixed IP address. The phone says "This is a no service configured error. Please log in... etc."

There are four lights on the Obi. The power light is on. The ethernet light is flashing. The phone light is on. The last light - which is apparently for "the port" according to the manual - is off. Could there be a problem with the port? And if so, what does that mean?


SteveInWA

#10
Quote from: daisi on February 20, 2016, 09:41:41 AM
I am in Beirut, Lebanon. I have a fixed IP address. The phone says "This is a no service configured error. Please log in... etc."

There are four lights on the Obi. The power light is on. The ethernet light is flashing. The phone light is on. The last light - which is apparently for "the port" according to the manual - is off. Could there be a problem with the port? And if so, what does that mean?



Thank you for the additional details and the screenshots.  Yes, email, forums and similar non-face-to-face interactions are poor for interpersonal communications, since the participants can't see body language or hear tone of voice.

Now:  once again, you have proven that there is nothing wrong with your hardware.  The LEDs are illuminated properly -- the right-most LED is for the OBi's external telephone line port, which you are not using, so it's normal for it to be off (this is the LINE jack on the back of the unit, into which you could plug some other telephone service provider's connection to merge it with your OBi's VoIP connections).

Offline status means that the OBi was unable to set up your Google Voice configuration.  There could be several reasons for this.  There could be an issue caused by your country's government or internet service provider blocking the service, or there could be a problem with your Google Voice account.

When you went through the setup procedure, the OBiTALK web portal popped up a window, displaying your Google Voice/Gmail account name (for example, daisi@gmail.com).  It's possible that you were either logged into the wrong Google account at that time, or the account has a problem.

Using a laptop or desktop computer's web browser, log onto your Google Voice account, and go here:

https://www.google.com/voice#phones

Look at the lower left side of the page.  It should say "Your number", and not "Get a Voice number" or "Access number".  Does it?  Look at the main, middle section of the page.  Do you see "Google Chat" listed as a forwarding destination?  If so, is there a check mark next to it?

Finally, please click "modify" on your earlier post, where you attached your screenshots, and delete those attachments for your own privacy.  The screenshots contain your OBi's ID and password and your email address.

SteveInWA

Quote from: DoNoTUseYoureMail on February 20, 2016, 08:38:39 AM
I have the same problem. On Obitalk web site OBI100 unit shows as offline, and power light is steady ON. All other lights are off. I can access unit through local IP address on my network. Firmware update is 1.3.0-2872. The only weird thing I noticed is that for current date it shows 02/01/2010. Everything worked fine until two weeks ago. It looks like, from some reason, unit cannot connect to the OBI server. I tried to set IP address of the unit to be DMZ on my router but that did not help either. Using **9-222-222-222 does not do anything, nor ***1.

Please start your own, new discussion thread; your problem is unrelated to this user's problem.

daisi

Yes, when I set up Google Voice again the second time, I went through the instructions posted in this forum, which has me sign out of Google Hangouts, use Firefox, make sure it says what my number is, etc. So all of it looks right based on what you describe. Screenshot attached with my phone number and email blacked out.


SteveInWA

I assume, since you are in Beirut, that your Verizon phone number no longer works.  Delete it off of the account, and try one more time to delete the Google Voice configuration off of your OBi, and go through the setup.

If you are using Firefox browser with the Google Chat plugin installed and working, you can also test your network connection by attempting to place a call on the computer, instead of on the OBi, using the computer's microphone and speakers.

If that fails:  are you doing this from a residential (home/apartment) internet connection, or is it at a place of work or school, where somebody else controls the internet service?

I ask, because this looks like either the Lebanese government, or the internet service provider, is firewalling (blocking) Google Voice.  Some countries do this, either as a form of censorship, or to preserve their monopoly on telephone service, or as a means to prevent people from using forms of communication that they can't wiretap.  Lebanon isn't on Google's official list of countries where it won't work, but that doesn't mean things might have changed.

FYI, here is the list:  http://support.google.com/chat/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=1267644

LTN1

Quote from: SteveInWA on February 21, 2016, 02:30:05 AM
I ask, because this looks like either the Lebanese government, or the internet service provider, is firewalling (blocking) Google Voice.  Some countries do this, either as a form of censorship, or to preserve their monopoly on telephone service, or as a means to prevent people from using forms of communication that they can't wiretap.  Lebanon isn't on Google's official list of countries where it won't work, but that doesn't mean things might have changed.

I'm just wondering if she had a smartphone, whether she could install something like Hangouts and the Hangouts Dialer to test if her ISP is blocking VoIP calls? If it is, we will know more quickly why the OBi is offline.

daisi

Hmm. I have never had a problem before, and I have used the Obi and this Google Voice config in Lebanon for several months. I can call my ISP to see if there's a reason it may have been blocked all of a sudden last week.

I went into Firefox, and I was able to make a call using Google Chat (I did not try Hangouts). I was able to make and receive calls. However, I get the same error when I try to use the Obi phone (I even reset the Obi).

So, my ISP is not blocking VOIP. Skype is also working.

After testing all of that, I also deleted and re-setup the SP1 on Obi. Still says offline!

Any other ideas?? I'm stumped...

daisi

I should add... Google Voice does not work on my cell phone but does on my computer.

LTN1

Quote from: daisi on February 21, 2016, 07:51:30 AM
I should add... Google Voice does not work on my cell phone but does on my computer.

Assuming VoIP is not blocked--which it doesn't appear to be. We can turn our attention to the device. I would like to see if you can open a free Localphone (www.localphone.com) account, add it to one of your OBi SPs--then see if you can get it registered (it will say registered instead of connected). Assuming that works, see if you can use that SP to dial a toll free number in the U.S. (which is free). So if you have Localphone in SP2, then dial something like **218004359792 (or any other toll free number except 1-800-555-1212 since that number no longer works with Localphone). If it does register and dial out, we would know that there isn't any problems with the hardware.

Perhaps Steve will have better suggestions on how to troubleshoot this.

SteveInWA

Sorry, I am out of ideas.  I realize that Google Chat used to work on your OBi, but since it's not supported outside the USA, there's really nothing else I can suggest.

I think the Lt's idea of trying localphone.com would be a good alternative.

daisi

Localphone.com won't let me sign up from Lebanon. Go figure. I can add my DNS server to my WiFi settings and sign up that way. Will let you know.

But that got me thinking... would adding my US-based DNS address to my router work? I have SmartDNS through Overplay, and I sometimes have it set up on my computer (I did not when I was testing the Google Chat). If I set up my router to go through that DNS - rather than a Lebanese assigned DNS - would that potentially help at all? Or is that only useful if VOIP isn't working...?

It's interesting that Google Voice will not work on my cell phone either. So it works on my computer - but not on my cell phone or Ob, which are on the same network.