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I NEED HELP PLEASE. I'VE TRIED EVERYTHING ON THIS FORUM FOR 911 DIRECT CALLING.

Started by AngieA, January 29, 2013, 10:43:30 PM

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Rick

Azrobert:

You are correct, the problem that she had is when she set things up last May 911 was going out to her PSTN, i.e. landline.  That's why it worked.  

Then, she likely got rid of her landline.  That's why it stopped working.

Now, she only has Google Voice, and therefore has to call the dispatch line via Google Voice.  But she answers "Yes" to the PSTN question, not understanding that PSTN means "Public Switched Telephone Network", i.e. the phone company, with which she no longer has a line.

And, I fear, she doesn't understand that by using Google Voice to call the dispatch number, which see says she needs because of her kids, the dispatcher will have no idea where she lives unless the kids or whoever else dials the phone can supply complete address including city.

Unfortunately, people get things like OBi's without understanding the nuances, which is why I go back to what I've said all along - the OBi is NOT a device that people should get unless they are technically savvy.  This is a perfect example - they get an OBi 110, are happy with GV, cancel the landline, and don't realize they then eliminated the ability to dial 911.

I'm concerned that she never answered the questions that ianobi posed to understand what's setup on SP1 and SP2.

I do hope you and her can resolve this - having 911 service in any form is of course very important - but I'm afraid this will result in her head exploding.  

Rick

NO SERVICE CONFIGURED is because you are dialing out on SP1 and you haven't set it up with a provider, like Google Voice. 


azrobert

1st check if the changes I suggested are still set.

If they are correct then remove the 2nd test for 911.
Now Phone OutboundCallRoute should look like this:
{(<911:1815123456>):sp1},{([1-9]x?*(Mpli)):pp},{**0:aa},{***:aa2},{(<**1:>(Msp1)):sp1},{(<**2:>(Msp2)):sp2},{(<**8:>(Mli)):li},{(<**9:>(Mpp)):pp},{(Mpli):pli}

This will not correct the problem. It's for diagnostics.
I think you now should get "No Call Route Available".


azrobert


azrobert

QuoteAnd, I fear, she doesn't understand that by using Google Voice to call the dispatch number, which see says she needs because of her kids, the dispatcher will have no idea where she lives unless the kids or whoever else dials the phone can supply complete address including city.


Angie,

Rick is absolutely correct.  Is this what you really want?

AngieA


Ok, after azrobert's suggestion didn't work for me (AND I BELIEVED THAT IT SHOULD), I took a leap and deleted the obi device and then re-added it, hoping it would clear out any corrupted data, or left over data from my cancelling callcentric >:(, and then allow me to make my new configuration changes.

By the way, my advise here if I may provide a little, is that when things are not working and you believe they should be, try deleting and re-adding your obi device, but ask the professionals here if you should or not based on your problem.

Anyway, once I re-added the device, I wasn't even able to make a regular call, let alone a 911 call, but that was because I have a two step verification code with Google.  I generated a new code, and entered it into the configuration and poof, I am making calls again, and not just any calls, calls to the 911 center, because the code and steps I was given by (azrobert) worked.

The dispatcher and I had a nice chat about the crazy time I just had trying to get this to work, but it is working now, AND YES I KNOW/KNEW ABOUT THE ADDRESS ISSUE.  Did anybody see my original post that spoke about the fact that for 8 months of paying for and thinking callcentric had my back, and didn't,..... well, at least now I know that when I call 911, I'm not going to get a damn recording telling me there is no service.:o 

I am grateful to everyone here who tried to help me.  My only advise to those of you providing help is that you READ and ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS.  I had people doubting what I posted, and then ask me questions that I had already posted answers to which is very frustrating. 

In the end AZROBERT, knew exactly what I was trying to accomplish and in two steps, gave me my solution.

Thanks again EVERYONE!

lhm.

"well, at least now I know that when I call 911, I'm not going to get a damn recording telling me there is no service."

Don't be so sure. Ask the dispatcher "What happens to my call if all dispatchers are busy on 911 calls?
In my case with a setup such as yours I would get a recording to leave a message or call 911 if an emergency. Happened twice, so I switched to GV911.com for $12 bucks a year. I also use smart911.com, maybe available in your area. (free)

Good luck.




AngieA

I understand fully the risks here.  When I signed up with callcentric I was SO SURE, and look at where that got me.  Basically until there is a sure fire way that users like us are assured that VOIP will work with E911, (which will never happen) we are all taking a chance.  I will look into smart911.com based on your suggestion, but I will NOT pay for another service like callcentric.

Secondly I would suggest that everybody who thinks they are safe with these companies like callcentric, that they test 911 minimum once a month.  If I had done that I would have known that callcentric was collecting their fee, and that's about it for the 8 months that I was with them.

Bolt

What makes you so sure that callcentric was the problem with the no service configured error?  I don't think they are to blame for your paid service not working.

staceyeileen

Quote from: AngieA on January 30, 2013, 01:14:28 PM
  Did anybody see my original post that spoke about the fact that for 8 months of paying for and thinking callcentric had my back, and didn't,..... well, at least now I know that when I call 911, I'm not going to get a damn recording telling me there is no service.:o 

I must have missed that post.  How exactly is it Callcentric's fault that you had the Obi misconfigured?

AngieA

I must have missed that post.  How exactly is it Callcentric's fault that you had the Obi misconfigured?


You missed two posts then, because I didn't mis-configure anything.  Callcentric was set up, I tested it with 911 and everything was fine, so I thought, until a couple days ago (8 months later) when I tried to call 911.  According to callcentric my obi device fell off of their radar probably a week after I signed up with them, yet they continued to collect monthly fees.  I've had Google voice since day one, never had a pots line, therefore I had no reason to make any configuration changes since I set this up 8 months ago.

I don't know about you, but when I pay for a service, I expect it to work especially in a matter as serious as 911 service.   And, when it stops working for what ever reason, I expect for the company providing me service to alert me. 

Now, I didn't come here for anything other than help with how to put the code in correctly, so that I could program my device to call an 11 digit number.  That's it, that's all, it works now, so why am I having to defend my experience with callcentric?  If you like callcentric then bully for you, I don't.


CoalMinerRetired

CallCentric is not, nor is any other paid VoIP provider commonly used, going to pro actively alert you that your OBI device (or any other ATA device) is not registered.

In that way it's like a cable television subscription, you sign up and pay for the service, but it's up to you to turn on the TV and tune in to the various channels. 

CallCentric does have a status indicator on their 'dashboard' page when you login to your account on their website. It will show "your phone is registered" or "... not registered..." Like wise you can look in the Obi 'System Status' pages. Based on what you are saying here, and short of actually testing a 911 call, these are the only ways of 'observing' if your CallCentric, and hence your 911 service, is live and active.


AngieA

Yep, that's a great gig if you can get it.  Charge people for a service, don't tell the customer they you are not responsible for making sure it does what you're paying for it to do, and that you don't monitor a damn thing, and hope, and in fact count on the fact that the average person doesn't know any better, because it's complicated stuff we're talking about here, so you can sit back and rake in the dough. 

They sure know how to monitor whether or not your balance is low.  You mean to tell me they can't monitor unregistered devices.  Sure they can, but why would they if people accept and are OK with the fact that they don't.

I'll take my chances with my current set up. 




RFord

I think this post clearly demonstrates why some individuals with little or no knowledge shouldn't be messing with VOIP or a OBi ATA.  The worst part is when they have a bad attitude to begin with.  Obviously, the OP doesn't even know what a PSTN line is and had her device setup to use the PSTN Line as his/her Primary line.  To top it off, the expectation that a VOIP provider should alert her that e911 is not functional for whatever reason is just plain comical.  You DO NOT need to be registered to Callcentric's Server in order to make e911 calls, since a user could setup Callcentric on one of the Gateway Accounts and use this setup for e911 calls.  It has been mentioned repeatedly, that users should check their e911 system at least once per month, yet many still do not heed that advice.  The same is true of one's Alarm System.

It is rather interesting that the claim was the need to have a reliable e911 calling ability, yet now chose to accept the risk associated with calling a non-911 number, which in my experience, is a total joke.  In my jurisdiction, I don't think anyone answers that number after certain hours and often times, the calls goes to voice mail even during normal working hours!  I suspect that in this case, cost avoidance (although small) is at the crux of this issue.  Anveo e911 cost only $0.80 per month and with the help of Forum Members (althogh might not be necessary) can be easily set up to provide the reliability required, while mothly test would ensure that the set up is working properly.

There was a period when Callcentric had some issues and I'm not sure this was the time period the OP was experiencing problems with e911.  There is a thread on this site, which outlines a process which allows a "Roo-Over -e911" setup, where if the primary is some how unavailable, then the secondary or third provider would be automatically used.  Reading AngieA's rant about what others should do is hilarious, when it is obvious to any well thinking individual what the proper choices are.  I hope others would ignore AngieA's recommendations and think through what the proper course for e911 should be.  AngieA is clueless and in no position to be offering others any solutions!

CoalMinerRetired

Quote from: AngieA on January 30, 2013, 09:26:29 PM
Yep, that's a great gig if you can get it.  Charge people for a service, don't tell the customer they you are not responsible for making sure it does what you're paying for it to do, and that you don't monitor a damn thing, and hope, and in fact count on the fact that the average person doesn't know any better, because it's complicated stuff we're talking about here, so you can sit back and rake in the dough. 

They sure know how to monitor whether or not your balance is low.  You mean to tell me they can't monitor unregistered devices.  Sure they can, but why would they if people accept and are OK with the fact that they don't.

I'll take my chances with my current set up. 
You are expecting a whole lot for $1.50 per month. Which in CC's case goes (almost completely I presume) to taxes and fees for 911 services. So they are effectively offering this to you for no cost.

> don't tell the customer they you are not responsible for making sure it does what you're paying for it to do,
IMO you are wildly mistaken on this point. Multiple warnings on the Obi devices, the Obi portal, and in CC sign up process and their terms of service.  You can't possibly miss all that.

AngieA

Quote from: RFord on January 31, 2013, 07:02:35 AM
I think this post clearly demonstrates why some individuals with little or no knowledge shouldn't be messing with VOIP or a OBi ATA.  The worst part is when they have a bad attitude to begin with.  Obviously, the OP doesn't even know what a PSTN line is and had her device setup to use the PSTN Line as his/her Primary line.  To top it off, the expectation that a VOIP provider should alert her that e911 is not functional for whatever reason is just plain comical.  You DO NOT need to be registered to Callcentric's Server in order to make e911 calls, since a user could setup Callcentric on one of the Gateway Accounts and use this setup for e911 calls.  It has been mentioned repeatedly, that users should check their e911 system at least once per month, yet many still do not heed that advice.  The same is true of one's Alarm System.

It is rather interesting that the claim was the need to have a reliable e911 calling ability, yet now chose to accept the risk associated with calling a non-911 number, which in my experience, is a total joke.  In my jurisdiction, I don't think anyone answers that number after certain hours and often times, the calls goes to voice mail even during normal working hours!  I suspect that in this case, cost avoidance (although small) is at the crux of this issue.  Anveo e911 cost only $0.80 per month and with the help of Forum Members (althogh might not be necessary) can be easily set up to provide the reliability required, while mothly test would ensure that the set up is working properly.

There was a period when Callcentric had some issues and I'm not sure this was the time period the OP was experiencing problems with e911.  There is a thread on this site, which outlines a process which allows a "Roo-Over -e911" setup, where if the primary is some how unavailable, then the secondary or third provider would be automatically used.  Reading AngieA's rant about what others should do is hilarious, when it is obvious to any well thinking individual what the proper choices are.  I hope others would ignore AngieA's recommendations and think through what the proper course for e911 should be.  AngieA is clueless and in no position to be offering others any solutions!

And your recommendations were?  Do me a favor and stay out of my business buddy.  Callcentric is bull****, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.   I came here for help, I got help from a person who knew what I was trying to accomplish, and I'm pretty good with that.  Your comment was a waste of time and keystrokes.

AngieA


You are expecting a whole lot for $1.50 per month. Which in CC's case goes (almost completely I presume) to taxes and fees for 911 services. So they are effectively offering this to you for no cost.

> don't tell the customer they you are not responsible for making sure it does what you're paying for it to do,
IMO you are wildly mistaken on this point. Multiple warnings on the Obi devices, the Obi portal, and in CC sign up process and their terms of service.  You can't possibly miss all that.
[/quote]

What I failed to do was research on CC before I signed up.  What is clear and evident are the many posts on this very forum about people who have cancelled CC for various reasons, one main being their unreliability. 

I will not be monitoring any more asinine posts from people who have nothing better to do with their time than rant and rave about my problems, my issues, and my lack of knowledge, and blah blah blah.  I came, I saw, and I'm really impressed for the most part with the people who are truly knowledgeable here, and are truly interested in helping people.  Then there are others like Rford who well, never mind, it doesn't matter.

CoalMiner I appreciate what you are trying to tell me, I just don't think CC does a good job, and feel they could do better at informing their new customers of the risks involved, and informing them of network problems etc.   I saw nothing on their website when I signed up about potential problems, and I believe I saw verbiage like, you don't need to test 911 once it is set up.  Ahahahahaa, alrighty then.       

QBZappy

Hey folks.

Much vitriol in this thread. I think that it has set a new (low) stadard since the days of MichganTelehpne vs RonR. Man those were the days. Those exchanges were sometimes of epic proportions. It was like a Cecil B. DeMille movie (larger than life). It was all one sided since RonR would never reply.

The tone set is unfamiliar territory for those who are regulars here in OBi-land. It is not hard to predict that there is a very good chance that it will be deleted soon. This might be your last chance to take a picture of it and put it in your scrap book.

Peace
Owner of the 1st OBi110/100 units in service in Canada & South America. 1st OBi202 on my street. 1st OBi1032 in Montreal.