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rmrper
join:2006-06-13
Wylie, TX

rmrper

Member

[VoicePulse] Random no dial tone

I am having a problem where randomly, I pick up the phone and have no dial tome. I can try again 3 seconds later and it works fine. I'd say it doesn't work about 25% of the time. Also, occasionally when picking up to answer the phone I have no incoming audio.

First, let me explain my setup.

Fios internet going into a Linksys WRT54G, the VoicePulse PAP2 is hooked into the router. The indicator lights on the PAP2 are on during the whole time, indicating a connection to their system. Interestingly, when I pick up the phone but have no dial tone, the line 1 light on the PAP2 doesn't blink like normal. It's as though the PAP2 doesn't realize I picked up the phone.

What I can't tell is if this is a wiring problem (doubtful, this wiring has worked find for years prior), or a problem with the PAP2. I don't think it is the phone, because I have duplicated the issue with both a cordless and wired phone. Also, I should note that I haven't yet tried hooking a phone directly to the PAP2 (it backfeeds the whole house), but this setup hasn't been a problem in the past and worked great since 2006 with AT&T CallVantage.

Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks.

usa2k
Blessed
MVM
join:2003-01-26
Westland, MI

1 edit

usa2k

MVM

Are you running 3rd party router firmware (Tomato or DD-WRT)?
It would likely do a better job IMHO.

Lack of dial tone usually means the router has timed out from the last registration with your VoIP Provider and your firewall closed the port. If I am right, the phone would not ring either. It may be time to register a moment later - you are just catching it at the wrong time. I expect VoicePulse can increase that interval.

EDIT:
(The ATA determines how often it registers, the router firewall determines how long a return path stays open.)
Mango
Use DMZ and you get a kick in the dick.
Premium Member
join:2008-12-25
www.toao.net

Mango to rmrper

Premium Member

to rmrper
If you switch to Tomato (and I recommend that you do) be sure to set "unreplied timeout" to 10 seconds on the Conntrack/Netfilter page in the Tomato config.
rmrper
join:2006-06-13
Wylie, TX

rmrper to usa2k

Member

to usa2k
No 3rd party firmware. From what I can tell we are not missing any calls, as nothing is going directly to voice mail. Also, I should note to help clarify, I can pick up the phone 10 times in about 1 minute and not have dial tone maybe 2 of those 10 times. Does that sill sound like the router is closing the port?
Stewart
join:2005-07-13

Stewart to rmrper

Member

to rmrper
My first suspicion is a wiring problem. If you pick up the corded phone (when you have no dial tone) and press number buttons, do you hear tones? If not, it's getting no current and it's likely either a wiring problem or a PAP2 hardware failure.

Can you view the Info page of the PAP2? If so, when you pick up a phone and get no dial tone, quickly refresh the page. The correct indications are: Hook State: Off; Registration State: Registered; Call 1 State: Dialing; Call 1 Tone: Dial. If you see Hook State: On, it's likely a wiring problem -- to confirm, connect the phone directly to the PAP2 using a known good cord. If Hook State is off, report the other status values.
rmrper
join:2006-06-13
Wylie, TX

rmrper

Member

Thanks Stewart, yes I can access the info page on the PAP2, so I will give your test a shot this afternoon and see what happens. I'll report back later with my findings.
rmrper

rmrper to Stewart

Member

to Stewart
I got it to happen again with the corded phone, here is what the info page showed:

Hook State: Off
Registration State: Online
Call 1 State: Idle
Call 1 Tone: None
Stewart
join:2005-07-13

Stewart

Member

said by rmrper:

I got it to happen again with the corded phone, here is what the info page showed:

Hook State: Off
Registration State: Online
Call 1 State: Idle
Call 1 Tone: None
Tough one; it does not look like a wiring problem. Perhaps it is losing registration for a brief interval. Try (without picking up the phone) refreshing the page every couple of seconds and see if Registration State ever shows anything other than Online. If you go two minutes without seeing a glitch that's probably not it. Have you tried connecting the PAP2 directly to the Actiontec (or whatever is supplied with FiOS)? Do you have any special settings in either the FiOS router or the WRT?
rmrper
join:2006-06-13
Wylie, TX

rmrper

Member

Registration state never seems to change from online. The WRT is the primary router, I don't and haven't used the Actiontec since I got Fios 3 years ago. The only special setting in the WRT is that Port 1 is set to High for QoS, since the PAP2 is hooked to that port. I haven't changed these settings in forever, and they worked fine with CallVantage. I'm thinking either the PAP2 or my WRT is getting flakey.
Stewart
join:2005-07-13

Stewart

Member

Now I'm really puzzled. Did this setup previously work correctly with VP? If so, are you aware of any change e.g. firmware update of PAP or router when it went bad? Have you asked VP for help? If so, how did they reply? Is the phone 2 port on your PAP active? If so, does it show the same problem? When you pick up the phone and get no dial tone, if you dial **** do you get the IVR prompt? Can you test using Actiontec instead of WRT? Connecting PAP directly to ONT? (Both of the above tests might not be feasible if the ONT is fussy about the MAC address, unless you cloned the Actiontec MAC when you set up the WRT.) Do you have / can you get admin access to the PAP?
Mango
Use DMZ and you get a kick in the dick.
Premium Member
join:2008-12-25
www.toao.net

Mango to rmrper

Premium Member

to rmrper
I am puzzled as well. This is not a problem I have ever encountered.

It may be useful to set up a syslog server. The one I use is Kiwi Syslog Daemon and it is free. Do you have admin access to the device? You would need to access the System tab and enter the IP address of your PC as the "Debug Server", and set the Debug Level to 2. This may show some additional information.
Dan_voip
join:2007-01-03
Saint-Hubert, QC

Dan_voip

Member

You can try to setup the 2nd port to see if it's working.
Do you have NAT enabled?
rmrper
join:2006-06-13
Wylie, TX

rmrper to Stewart

Member

to Stewart
Yep, this setup has been working fine with VP for about 6 months. Nothing has changed recently that I am aware of. I plan to contact VP tech support at this point. Normally, it works fine, but randomly I just get this odd behavior, and it has been more frequent in the last few weeks according to my wife. I have a new WRT54GL I am going to try as well. Sadly, VP never gave me admin access to the PAP2 and port 2 is not active.
rmrper

rmrper

Member

New router is in place and the phone is connected directly to the PAP2. If it continues I'm going to be pretty sure it is an issue with the PAP2. Thanks all for the input. I'll check back in once I have a resolution.

zoofreak
join:2005-01-05
Irving, TX

zoofreak

Member

I had the same issue and same setup (VP using WRT54G and PAP2). A simple reboot of the PAP2 solved the problem. See:
»PAP2T Failure?
rmrper
join:2006-06-13
Wylie, TX

rmrper

Member

Already tried a reboot a few times. Still is happening.
rmrper

rmrper

Member

Just thought I'd follow up on this. Voicepulse is sending a new PAP2. They tried to move my line from port 1 to port 2, just as a test and that didn't work at all. Port 2 wouldn't even recognize the phone was picked up and ever go off hook. So, at that point they agreed the adapter was not working right. It was almost as if the PAP2 has a short on the phone jacks that broke port 2 and makes port 1 work intermittently.

usa2k
Blessed
MVM
join:2003-01-26
Westland, MI

1 edit

usa2k

MVM

Sounds like they are working with you. Hope the new adapter dose the trick! The fact that it worked for (what was it ... 6 months) may support the mechanical/electrical failure theory.