Obi202/Virgin don't hear caller's voice

[ChrisForumName]

HI

I've just received an Obi202. I set up the config recommended for sipgate.co.uk and it seemed ok except that the caller's voice can't be heard.

Research suggests that I need to switch off SIP-ALG but the Virgin hub doesn't allow that. There are some things to try:

1. Use the STUN server.
2. Disable (uncheck) "X_DiscoverPublicAddress"
3. Combinations of 1 and 2.
4. Try setting the Phone's local SIP ports from 5060 to something like 5065.
5. Set the router to modem-only and buy a router that can disable SIP-ALG.

I'm currently trying to do 4, but I can't find how to set the local ports. When I read this advice it was talking about VOIP phones, not the setup I have with the Obi202 and an oldish Siemens Gigaset C475 (not the C475IP version).

Obviously the phone itself will not have local ports but I expect that the Obi would, since (if I understand correctly) the Obi is effectively the IP part of what would normally be the VOIP phone.

I can't see any local SIP port settings in the wed interface (I'm setting this on the box, not using the Obi server to provision - once I discovered what that even meant and why my updates were not being stored).

Please note that this is all new to me. I'm fairly technical in other areas of IT stuff, but this is my first venture into VOIP - so I'd appreciate the 'idiot guide' version!

If anyone has any other suggestions beyond the 5 above, all very welcome. I'd prefer not to have to buy another router.

Thanks in advance.

[ianobi]

4. Try setting the Phone's local SIP ports from 5060 to something like 5065.

In OBi-speak the local SIP port is found here:
Voice Services -> SPx Service -> X_UserAgentPort

I would set each to somewhere above 30000. This helps avoid SIP scanners. I use sipgate.co.uk and they have no problem with whatever SIP port you choose.

However, I don't think that is your problem here. If the call is set up ok and the problem is one way speech, then the problem is more likely to be the RTP ports being used. Try putting the OBi202 into DMZ if possible with a Virgin hub, just as a test. If this works, then take it out of DMZ and port forward the relevant RTP ports - Look under Service Providers > ITSP Profile A (for sp1) > RTP.

Make changes via the OBi Expert Configuration pages. From your OBi Dashboard, click on your OBi number and follow the prompts to get there. To change a value uncheck both boxes to the right of the value and leave them unchecked. After changing the values on one page, press submit at the bottom of the page and wait a few minutes for the OBi to reboot. Then move on to another page if required.

[WelshPaul]

What super hub do you have?

There should be an option in the advanced settings of the Virgin superhub, "SIP ALG" setting (in the "firewall" menu).

[ChrisForumName]

What super hub do you have?

There should be an option in the advanced settings of the Virgin superhub, "SIP ALG" setting (in the "firewall" menu).

I have the Superhub 2ac (latest) unfortunately. They offered me a "free upgrade" a while back where I pay £20, supposedly for delivery - from what I've read, apparently only version 1 had the SIP ALG option, 2 and 2ac not.

[ChrisForumName]

4. Try setting the Phone's local SIP ports from 5060 to something like 5065.

In OBi-speak the local SIP port is found here:
Voice Services -> SPx Service -> X_UserAgentPort

I would set each to somewhere above 30000. This helps avoid SIP scanners. I use sipgate.co.uk and they have no problem with whatever SIP port you choose.

However, I don't think that is your problem here. If the call is set up ok and the problem is one way speech, then the problem is more likely to be the RTP ports being used. Try putting the OBi202 into DMZ if possible with a Virgin hub, just as a test. If this works, then take it out of DMZ and port forward the relevant RTP ports - Look under Service Providers > ITSP Profile A (for sp1) > RTP.

Make changes via the OBi Expert Configuration pages. From your OBi Dashboard, click on your OBi number and follow the prompts to get there. To change a value uncheck both boxes to the right of the value and leave them unchecked. After changing the values on one page, press submit at the bottom of the page and wait a few minutes for the OBi to reboot. Then move on to another page if required.

EDIT:
Thanks Ian, everything you said was spot on.

I  changed the UserAgentPort to a high value and that wasn't enough.

I put it in the DMZ and it worked ok.

I then set it to a reserved IP in DHCP and set rules to forward UDP ports for SIP and RTP and... bingo, all working!

Well... once I remembered to hit the Apply button at the bottom of the Virgin config pages! Sigh.

[ChrisForumName]

Make changes via the OBi Expert Configuration pages. From your OBi Dashboard, click on your OBi number and follow the prompts to get there. To change a value uncheck both boxes to the right of the value and leave them unchecked. After changing the values on one page, press submit at the bottom of the page and wait a few minutes for the OBi to reboot. Then move on to another page if required.

Sorry, one other minor question...

When you say use the Expert Config - I enabled the web client in the Obi box itself and used that (seems to have all the settings). Is there any advantage to using Obi site to "provision"?

It seems to me that it's just another step to go wrong (Obi servers down etc)? I think I've seen posts on here saying that Obi servers were not storing saved changes correctly so I used the local save option.
And it took me ages to figure out why my local changes weren't saving when I first got it

If there's an advantage then I might use it.

[ianobi]

If you only have one OBi device and you are in the same location, then there's no real advantage one way or the other. Using the OBi portal has the advantage that you can log in anywhere in the world and make changes to any OBi device that you have control over. However, as you say, it is another possible point of failure. There are some other reasons regarding authentication that apply to Google Voice users, but those arguments don't apply to us who use "Generic" SIP providers.

The important point is to use the OBi portal or the local admin pages, but never mix the two methods!

[ChrisForumName]

I seem to have it all working now (*haven't addressed any QoS issues related to reserving bandwidth though).

And I think I understand it much better now as well, so many thanks for your help Ian - if I knew how to up-vote you, I would!