obi110 hook up

[jjfrisk]

Good Afternoon,

I am contemplating buying a OBI110 and would like some help just to make sure I understand how it works. I have a traditional home phone with a long distance plan through AT&T. They also provide my DSL service. My imediate goal is to be able to drop my long distance charges and eventually also drop my local service and just use the VOIP.

Am I correct that when I install the OBI110 I can have a dedicated VOIP phone connected to the OBI unit and also connect my existing home phones to to receive both calls that come in on my AT&T number as well as my Google Voice Number by using the line jack to connect into an existing phone jack in the wall. If this is true, when I make a long distance call do I have to use the VOIP phone that is connected directly to the box or can I use any phone and it still route through the internet without being charged by AT&T.

Thanks for the help,

jj

[Rick]

Your understand is not correct, but it is close.

The 110 has a line port and a phone port.  You connect your AT&T incoming line to the line port, then you connect the phone port to EITHER a phone or the wall jack, powering all your phones.  If you plug it into the wall jack, every phone can then CHOOSE which line it makes the call out on, SP1, SP2 (both VoIP) or the AT&T line.  Simple instructions on how to choose for every call. 

You cannot do that AND have a dedicated VoIP phone.  Only one plug on the OBi 110.

In order to do this, you need to disconnect the AT&T line coming in from feeding the entire house, and just feed the OBi.  I, and others, have posted instructions on how to do this.  The key is you can't have a live jack fed by AT&T and then plug the OBi's phone port into it.

Another option is to leave the AT&T wiring alone, and plug in a wireless phone base into the OBi, which then powers multiple handsets around the house that aren't plugged into anything.

If you need reference to the posts I mentioned, let me know.

[Felix]

You cannot do that AND have a dedicated VoIP phone.

And you usually don't need to do that. What's important you will receive both AT&T and VoIP calls to the attached phone; and out of the box you will make your calls over VoIP provider avoiding long-distance charges. 911 will go over AT&T.

With simple configuration you can make outgoing calls more flexible if you need to, so some outgoing calls will be made over AT&T. If you really need to!

[jjfrisk]

Thank you guys, I'm starting to be educated. Let me ask a couple of more questions. Is the difference between the obi100 and the obi110 the ability to have all incoming calls ring on both the AT&T phone and the VOIP phone. If this is correct I would be able to disconnect most AT&T phone and make all calls from the VOIP phone. Since my internet comes over my phone lines does that pose any problems?

Thanks Again,

jj

[Rick]

The ONLY difference between the OBi 100 and the OBi 110 is that the 110 ALLOWS you to hookup your POTS (plain old telephone system) line to the OBi.  The 100 doesn't allow you to do that.  

You shouldn't confuse yourself with "VoIP" phone.  If you hookup an OBi 100, and plug it into a phone OR a wall jack (after disconnecting your POTS line from the wall jack line), all phones will be with whichever provider you select (Google Voice or a traditional VoIP provider).  If you buy a 110, and hook it up in the same manner, then all phones can use either your AT&T line OR the other two lines.

Where your internet comes from isn't a factor.  The OBi hooks up to your router just like a computer does.

You may want to read here:  http://www.obihai.com/product-primer.html

and here: http://www.obihai.com/features-and-set-up.html

If your plan is to keep your AT&T line for now and then shut it off, then buy the 110.  Hookup the AT&T line to it (and disconnect the AT&T line from your wall jacks), and plug the OBi into your wall jacks so all your phones use whichever service you want - and when you shut off the AT&T service they still work fine (but you may want to setup E911 service with a provider before you do that).

[jjfrisk]

Once again thanks for such quick responses and good information. I don't know why I have never heard of the OBI products before, but it just seems to be the way to go.

Thanks,

jj

[Felix]

Since my internet comes over my phone lines does that pose any problems?

If you want to keep your phone number, then the answer is yes.

I've just gone through this process with a friend, and it is a pain. The reason is that there is catch-22... You can't port the number if there is a service associated with it (namely, DSL), and you can't convert your internet service to "Dry loop DSL" if you have phone service. At least AT&T makes it very difficult.

DSLR forum has many posts on the topic.

On the other hand, if you have your new VoIP number for awhile, and your friends and relatives switched to it, and you don't mind giving up the old number - the answer to your question is no. You call AT&T and cancel phone service, and switch internet to dry loop (Note: anything can go wrong when you are dealing with AT&T - but that's a different topic)