Newbie Support

[MurrayB]

AlanB is absolutely correct. Set up your Obi with your SIP account and have them port your number. You have to be vigilant after the port. I ported numbers from Verizon and on one occasion they told me the number was ported but they continued to bill for service.

I have multiple numbers that I ported to VOIP.ms with great success. They have a great porting department, website, and tech support.

Do not be bashful about asking any question!

[dudly]

Diane,

I just went through this whole process, probably like many others.  I submitted a request to Callcentric to port my Comcast number to Callcentric.  When I did that, Comcast within a few days raised my bill about $80.00, saying that I no longer had the Triple Play deal or what ever they call it.  I called them up and said that I only wanted Internet and TV ( I got it for $79.99 rather than $159).  I also said to leave my number active till the end of the billing period which was about 25 days away.  I was surprised the next day when Comcast gave me the Internet and TV and then canceled the voice along with my phone number.  The number has to be active to port it.  I had to call back and get my number reinstated, which took about 2 days.  The port went through a few days later and then I canceled the Phone. As an aside, when I reinstated the number, Comcast said it would be ready to use in 2 days.  Two days later it was not working, so I called up to find that it had to be activated again which you can do or have them do it.  comcast.com/activate

In looking back, If I had done nothing but port the number and not called anyone, it would have gone better.  Once ported and active on Callcentric, I should have then called Comcast to cancel the phone and then negotiated the new deal for internet and tv.  I blame myself as much as Comcast.  One of their agents along the way saw I had reverted to only internet and tv and canceled my number. 

There are many good carriers.  I decided on Callcentric, which is not the cheapest, but was easy to setup and does what I need.  I now have 3 lines.  My main number is the one I ported from Comcast.  Then I have 2 free lines which are NY numbers.  I have set up one for a dedicated inbound fax to email line which works great, and the other for my second phone line, which spoofs my google voice number.  The price I am paying is

E911 - $1.50/month
My ported number $1.95/month

I am on the pay by the minute plan.  I will see how the bills are the next few months to decide if I want to buy a plan with minutes included.  I do not think my bill should go over $10.00 total per month for the 3 lines.

[Diane]

Assimilating the wealth of info that everyone has shared and researching the fine points.  Will post the outcome in the very near future.  However, other input/comments always welcome 

[Diane]

Ok, so things are improving but ran into a gliche -

Replaced ethernet hub ("switch") with router.  Linksys N600 E2500 with one internet port and 4 ethernet ports.
Disabled firewall settings on router.
   Port 1 - laptop - working
   Port 2 - laptop - working
   Port 3 - fax - working
   Port 4 - OBi 100 - internet and phone light blinking intermittedly. No dial tone on Corded AT&T CL 4940 Digital Answering System. 

Says have to use OBi100 with Analog phone.  Looks like I'll be returning the phone. ??
Assuming that is the problem, any suggestions for an inexpensive (under $100) analog phone.  Is there such a thing as an analog phone with an embedded answering device or does that make it digital again?

[Taoman]

You have an analog telephone. It is only the answering machine that is "digital." The problem is not with the telephone.

[Diane]

Ok, got the phone to work.

Registered the OBi 100.  Maybe I missed something in the optimization of OBi set-up because when I attempted to signup for Vestalink and Anveo, it states near the end that it will call me with a PIN, but I never receive a call in order to activate!!!  I tried several times reentering the info. with Vestalink then went over to Anveo and the same thing happened.  It verifies that I can keep my number and everything moves along fairly smoothly until the end of the process.   Checked out Voip but it did not allow for keeping my current number. 

I have spent most of the day on this and frankly, am ready to just box it back up and send it back and keep the disgusting ripoff phone Co. that I currently use!!!    

Not a good day.

[Taoman]

Registered the OBi 100.  Maybe I missed something in the optimization of OBi set-up because when I attempted to signup for Vestalink and Anveo, it states near the end that it will call me with a PIN, but I never receive a call in order to activate!!!  I tried several times reentering the info. with Vestalink then went over to Anveo and the same thing happened.  It verifies that I can keep my number and everything moves along fairly smoothly until the end of the process.   Checked out Voip but it did not allow for keeping my current number. 

Was very confused by your post but since you edited it I have more of a clue........maybe. So you are trying to sign up with Vestalink and Anveo? May I ask why you're signing up with 2 different providers? I'm guessing by your post that what you are trying to do is port/transfer your Google Voice number to one of these VoIP providers. Is that correct? If so, may I ask why you are doing that at this time?

You say you "registered your Obi 100." With who?

My first suggestion would be to do one thing at a time and get that working before doing anything else but I'm not entirely clear on what you're trying to accomplish.

[drgeoff]

I'm guessing that Diane's "registered the OBi" means she has signed up for an OBiTALK account and added her device to the Dashboard by dialling the **5 number.

[Diane]

Went to OBi Talk Dashboard and registered to optimize the OBi set up per guide included in OBi box.
Went to Vestalink and tried to add as phone service and was fine until the end when it asks for PIN.  It said that someone would call my phone number (the phone number that I'm carrying over from my former phone carrier), but the phone did not ring.  Retried several times.  No way to contact Vestalink.

So, I went Anveo and essentially the same thing happened.  

So, I went back to see if I missed something on the OBi set up.  It took me to the configured "plans" available which included Phone Power and some other plan. Phone Power does not allow for my using my old phone number so I don't want that plan.  The other plan (I don't recall the name) was a two year sign up.  I don't want a two year plan.  An annual plan is ok.      

I'm not doing Google Voice.  
My corded phone is via ethernet as are my two laptops and fax which are working fine.
I've turned off my router firewall.
I tested the OBi via the Quick Start Guide enclosed in the OBi box and got the recording which indicated it was working.  Just can't seem to get the OBi connected to the phone service.

[Diane]

The screen gave a choice between being contacted by "text" or "call".  Since my landline that I"m trying to connect does not have text, I chose for them to call.  The purpose was that they were to issue the PIN so that I could insert the PIN and conclude the transaction.  It appeared to be the last step in the process.

[cluckercreek]

In case I missed it, try a different browser on you sign up with VL or Aveno.

[Taoman]

The screen gave a choice between being contacted by "text" or "call".  Since my landline that I"m trying to connect does not have text, I chose for them to call.  The purpose was that they were to issue the PIN so that I could insert the PIN and conclude the transaction.  It appeared to be the last step in the process.

So when you signed up for Vestalink did you get a temporary phone number? When you login to Vestalink do you see a phone number listed anywhere? Or were you unable to finish the signup process because of the "PIN" issue?

I assume you realize that porting/transferring a phone number can take days to accomplish? I don't understand your rush to port your old telephone number. You have no experience with your new carrier. What if it turns out you don't like your new service or it doesn't perform the way you want it to? Personally, I would never dream of trying to port my telephone number until I had some history with my new carrier and knew how it performed, how billing worked, what their customer support was like, is their feature set adequate for my needs, etc. The analogy I like to use (at least with guys) is would you give a girl an engagement ring on your first date? Of course not. Why not? You need to know the girl first and have some history with her. What if you aren't compatible together? But that is just my take on it. You may feel differently.

Again, my advice is to do one thing at a time. Sign up for Vestalink (or whoever) and use the phone number they give you for a period of time. Configure that carrier and number on your Obi device and test it out. If possible, forward your existing phone number to the number the new provider gives you. You can port your existing phone number at any time. My 2 cents and that is exactly how much it's worth.

PS. Just my personal experience...... I signed up for Vestalink and it took 2 months before I realized they weren't what I wanted. I would have been a very unhappy camper if I had already ported my phone number to them.

[Diane]

I did not get a temporary number.  It asked my city, and issued something like 555-19XX.  It asked if I wanted my old phone number.  I responded Yes and typed it in.  (They confirmed it was valid, etc.)
That's when it prompted me to type in the phone number and a timer counting down illuminated and that I was to expect a call to give me the PIN number to validate that I was the phone number "owner."

Not in a hurry to port my number.  I thought that I had to port it over before disconnecting my current phone Co. service (@$40/mo!!!) and once connected, I could disconnect with my current carrier.   I have no clue how all of this works! (obviously). 

If I simply accept a new number,  I won't be able to receive calls on my old number since the OBi is not "connected" with my current phone service.  How can I have the OBi (new number) set up and the old number set up at the same time?

[Taoman]

I did not get a temporary number.  It asked my city, and issued something like 555-19XX.  It asked if I wanted my old phone number.  I responded Yes and typed it in.  (They confirmed it was valid, etc.)
That's when it prompted me to type in the phone number and a timer counting down illuminated and that I was to expect a call to give me the PIN number to validate that I was the phone number "owner."

Strange. And you say the same thing happened with both Vestalink & Anveo? I've only ever ported to cell phone carriers so I can't be much help I'm afraid. Obviously, you can receive phone calls to your existing phone number? And you're positive it wasn't going to send you a text message? I would send an email to support@intelafone.com (this is Vestalink support email address) and ask what is going on.

Not in a hurry to port my number.  I thought that I had to port it over before disconnecting my current phone Co. service (@$40/mo!!!) and once connected, I could disconnect with my current carrier.   I have no clue how all of this works! (obviously).

Yes, you would need to port your current number over before your old service would be cancelled. If possible, I would continue paying another month of your old service before porting out your number but that is your decision. Again, I only say that because you have no experience with Vestalink and what happens if you don't like the service? You'll have to port out again. 

If I simply accept a new number,  I won't be able to receive calls on my old number since the OBi is not "connected" with my current phone service.  How can I have the OBi (new number) set up and the old number set up at the same time?

Well my thinking was that you would connect your Obi to Vestalink using a temporary phone number just to test things out. And hopefully (don't know this for sure however) you can forward your existing phone number to the temporary number that Vestalink would supply you. That way, calls to your existing phone number would ring your Obi connected phone connected to Vestalink. Does that make sense?

Again, this is just the way I would do it because of my experience with Vestalink. I'm not saying it's the only way or the best way........just the way I would do it. Lots of people port their numbers immediately without having any experience with their new provider and it works out ok. You are taking a chance, however.

[mo832]

Diane, imagine for a moment you don't currently have ANY phone service. Now you wish to set up your Obi with a voip provider. Normally, you would sign up, they give you your credentials and a new phone number. You enter these credentials and make sure you get a dial tone and can place calls. You sample the call quality. With your new phone number, you get a few people to call you at that number. See if the phone rings and you can speak to the caller. Use that new line with the new "secret" phone number for a few days or weeks. When you are satisfied that this is the service you want, THEN port your current POTS phone number to the new service. In the meantime, keep your "real" phone service with your current phone number and have 2 lines at the same time. One real phone company and one voip line. When you are ready, just port your real phone number over and the old service is terminated.

[MurrayB]

That sounds like real solid advice from mo832.

There is and will be all sorts of horror stories as people try to migrate in mass to other services over the next few weeks. I would really be cautious with all these new services trying to accommodate mass quantities of new subscribers and trying to ramp up facilities.

I went to VOIP.ms in December of 2013 and over a couple months ported three numbers as I gained experience. They have been around for years and have a long list of servers to choose from based on your location and a website with everything that you could want from info to flexibility. They also have a great port department and support. They are not FREE but their costs I feel are very low.

It is really worth checking out. Good Luck!

[Diane]

You guys are great!
A little off topic of OBi setup, but bear w/me...
So, I come home to work on reading the latest entries on ObiTalk forum (my huge learning curve) and my computer screen flashes green and displays that Windows will not start.  Did a couple of "repairs" per screen recommendations and called Lenovo. Purchased last August '13.  Only hardware under the one year warranty. They asked if I had done any software changes recently and that my Operating System needs to be purged and reset, assuming that will work...no guarantees. 

Lenovo tech and the computer screen mentioned something about configuration issues, and all I could think of was my multiple futile attempts trying to configure the phone in the past couple of days.  (Luckily I have a back up computer I'm using at the moment), but am reluctant now to make any changes once I get the Lenovo out of the shop and/or have to get a new computer.  I'm usually an eternall optimist, but this one is causing me pause.  It shouldn't be this difficult.

[AlanB]

Your OBI settings shouldn't be the cause of your computer problems.

[Diane]

That's music to my ears, thank you! 

I did turn off my router firewall when installing OBi.  Maybe that...
Water under the bridge at this point.

Did contact Vestalink customer service via email and they confirmed considering using another browser in order to get the PIN issue resolved.  Will try that once I get the laptop back from shop and will post results in case it helps someone else.

[Diane]

Computer is back up and running after crashing last week!

Switching browsers made accessing the PIN possible and sign up to Vestalink a SUCCESS!

Tested: Called new number w/my cell and vice versa and calls both ways a SUCCESS!

My AT&T analog phone device has a digital voice message system installed.  When I left a voice message from my cell phone on the answering system, it has a profound echo.   Will read the forum for anwers to fixing that.    I like using the analog phone external system since it sits right next to my computer and is easily accessible.  If there is no remedy for the echo, should I just switch off the answering mode and proceed to Vestalink answering system?