Zeico
join:2005-01-27
Elephant Butte, NM
| [Packet8] BPA410 Unlocked?
I signed up with P8 three months ago. After numerous billing (overcharging) and countless service problems, I'd like to switch. Today, I get a dialtone, dial a number and a message tells me I need to reboot the T/A by unplugging it and re-plugging it back in. It doesn't work. Now I have no pnone, obviously.
Can the BPA410 be used with any other VoiP provider, or is it "locked" only for use with P8?
Zeico |
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hwittenb
join:2003-12-20
 ·Future Nine Corpor..
·callwithus
·Callcentric
| said by Zeico  :Can the BPA410 be used with any other VoiP provider, or is it "locked" only for use with P8? You can "unlock" it by flashing it with the right copy of Leadtek firmware, but once you do you can't go back to Packet8. You must read this valuable research and thread by rizzo2dial before proceeding as their are hazards to be aware of.
»[Packet8] BPA-410 P8 (Downloader) + Leadtek (App Code) FW
Once unlocked the BPA410 can be used with some pay-as-you-go BYOD providers. |
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Zeico
join:2005-01-27
Elephant Butte, NM
| Thanks! I am just so fed-up with P8 problems. Admittedly, I use wi-fi with a crossover cable, so P8 tells me 50% of the time that it won't work and they don't support it (the other 50% of the time they can't understand why P8 techs would tell me that), but my service with them has been basically successful over the last 3 months. Suddenly, though, I am having problems. (People can hear me but I can't hear them, dropped connections, having to "double-dial", etc.) Now, today, the T/A won't reboot, and I am phoneless.
I hate to see this. I like P8's features - especially the 1-888 toll-free number add-on (which I have), and I don't know if anyone else has a similar feature. Do you know of any? And who are these "pay-as-you-go" providers? |
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hwittenb
join:2003-12-20
·Future Nine Corpor..
·callwithus
·Callcentric
| said by Zeico :Thanks! I am just so fed-up with P8 problems. Admittedly, I use wi-fi with a crossover cable If you get rid of P8 you can't be assured that you will not have similiar problems with another provider. In addition, other providers might not have technical support as good as P8's. If your ata is working behind a double or more network address translation, that could the the root of your problem. |
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Zeico
join:2005-01-27
Elephant Butte, NM
| Whatever that means. I'm a total newbie to VoiP.
All I know is that my phone worked last night, and today it doesn't. I emailed P8 because I have no phone, and it is essential to me for 911 services if I suddenly need it. (I am in bad health, living by myself and having had a heart attack and severe emphysema.) Wish they'd email me back with a solution quickly. |
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rizzo2dial
Premium
join:2004-08-05
| reply to Zeico
said by Zeico :I signed up with P8 three months ago. After numerous billing (overcharging) and countless service problems, I'd like to switch. Today, I get a dialtone, dial a number and a message tells me I need to reboot the T/A by unplugging it and re-plugging it back in. It doesn't work. Now I have no pnone, obviously. If the adapter was in the middle of an automatic firmware upgrade when you powered down the device, it may simply be without APPLICATION CODE firmware @ the moment. That can be easily fixed by going into the web interface of your BPA-410.
Since you're using ICS to connect your BPA to your computer, you should be able to get your IP address by opening up a Command Prompt and typing "ipconfig /all"
The 192.168.0.xxx IP address should be the one for your BPA410.
1) Go to your BPA-410's web-interface:
http://192.168.0.xxx (replace xxx w/ what you found above)
2) Look at the line which says "Application Code Version." If it doesn't have a version number, or more specifically, if it says it doesn't have any Application Code firmware loaded, that's the problem.
3) If there's no application code loaded on your adapter, download the latest version from here: »web.packet8.net/download/
Make sure you grab the firmware version which is BPA-410 compatbile!!! (The easiest way to upgrade your firmware is to use the DtaUpgrader utility written for the DTA-310/BPA-410. If that fails, you can download the raw firmware file itself: sipmh-0.xx.xx and upgrade the adpater through its web interface (click the link for "Upgrade Firmware" or "Download" and it should be self explanatory from there).
Rizzo |
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boosted3si
join:2005-07-05
Jefferson City, MO
| reply to Zeico
Not to sound like a stickler, but VOIP is not meant to be a single point of contact for anyone. So, with that in mind, you should have either a cell phone (if reception allows) or a landline for true 24/7 connectivity. You wouldn't have any grounds versus Packet8 if a health situation did arise needing 911 service as it's stated in more than one location about VOIP not being a phone replacement service.
Best wishes,
Nick |
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Zeico
join:2005-01-27
Elephant Butte, NM | Yep, that's cool, but when you're living on $704 per month Social Security and have no other income, it's tough to have two phones. I do the best I can. |
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hwittenb
join:2003-12-20
·Future Nine Corpor..
·callwithus
·Callcentric
| reply to Zeico
said by Zeico :I am in bad health, living by myself and having had a heart attack and severe emphysema. It is not wise to risk your personal safety on a technology that does not work all the time. In your area Qwest has phones that work all the time, even when you have no power, and you are assured that they know who to transfer the call to in the event you dial 911. In addition, the 911 center will know exactly where you are. |
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Zeico
join:2005-01-27
Elephant Butte, NM
1 edit | Please....enough of this health issue thing. FRONTIER is the phone service here, and is extremely expensive - including a $75 setup fee. I cannot afford this, and have looked at all options. For consideration, too, is the fact that I live in an R-V, and may stay at one location for less than 6 months at a time. Your concern is appreciated, however.
I am much more concerned in solving this problem of why the T/A is not rebooting properly. I just downloaded firmware 14.14, and installed it, but it still doesn't work. I have changed nothing in my hardware setup to cause this.
The P8 download page for firmware suggests calling 012-0003 to get the T/A's address. I did this, and got an address, but upon "rebooting" the T/A and calling 012-0003 again, I got a different address. Is this normal? |
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rizzo2dial
Premium
join:2004-08-05
| said by Zeico :The P8 download page for firmware suggests calling 012-0003 to get the T/A's address. I did this, and got an address, but upon "rebooting" the T/A and calling 012-0003 again, I got a different address. Is this normal? If the address you were given was a 192.168.0.xxx address, then yes that's normal. Each time you reboot ICS assigns a random IP Address to your ethernet port.
Rizzo |
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Zeico
join:2005-01-27
Elephant Butte, NM
2 edits | It was. Got a 192.168.0.90; then a 192.168.0.123.
Could this simply be a T/A gone bad? |
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rizzo2dial
Premium
join:2004-08-05 | I suppose it could. What happens now when you attempt to dial out? (This is something P8 Tech Support should be able to resolve if the TA isn't broken).
Rizzo |
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Zeico
join:2005-01-27
Elephant Butte, NM | Same thing happens. Pick up the phone, get a dialtone, punch in the numbers, and a message says, "Your account is active, but you need to reboot the telephone adapter by unplugging it momentarily and re-plugging it back in."
And that's it. |
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rizzo2dial
Premium
join:2004-08-05
| It really sounds like a P8 config issue. If you have another phone available to use, try calling them right now.
Perhaps their support repts (whom may normally not have much to do at this hour) may be able to concentrate on this problem and resolve it.
If they ask how you've got things setup, tell them that the adapter is plugged directly into your community router. Should they want you to plug it direclty into the broadband modem, tell them you don't have access to it. In other words, don't mention anything about the wifi situation. It'll simply give them an excuse to blame that (when clearly that's not the problem as things were working fine for you for quite some time).
Rizzo |
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Zeico
join:2005-01-27
Elephant Butte, NM
| I appreciate your suggestions very much. Unfortunately, this is my only phone. I have emailed them, but that could take days, I suppose.
I was using a Uniden cordless phone for the 3 months, but because it was a 2.4 Gig phone, P8 told me it would conflict with the wi-fi's 2.4 Gig frequency - causing "instability". So, yesterday, I plugged in a standard corded phone, and it worked for several phone calls - although it kept making the same error as the 2.4 Uniden, i.e.; I would be talking to someone for a few minutes and suddenly I couldn't hear them - but they could hear me. P8, of course, blamed this on the wi-fi and that the provider was probably using some kind of 3rd-party firmware.
But, today, it no longer works, and that's where I'm at. You know the rest. Dang! |
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rizzo2dial
Premium
join:2004-08-05
| I use a 2.4 Ghz Cordless phone system w/ my WDS (Wireless Distribution System) connected VoIP adapters. This means that my TA's are ultimately connected via a wifi internet connection (as is yours).
Since things were working fine for 3+ months, unless you've made major changes to your wireless setup, and unless your computer has gotten hit w/ some type of nasty virus/scumware, I'm skeptical that the problems are directly within your realm. It is possible that your ISP has changed things (although I'm somewhat skeptical of that too).
A sure fire test would be to take your P8 TA over to some place where there's a cable modem or DSL modem (and where you can directly connect the adapter to that modem). If the same problem occurs, it's either a bad TA or P8 has f'd up.
The lack of an additional phone to use (to call P8) is certainly slowing things down for you. Trying to resovle this problem via e-mail will take you a very long time.
If you haven't done so already, setup FreeWorldDialup on your computer via a SoftPhone (such as X-Lite). It works best w/ a PC Headset (i.e. earphone & microphone). With FWD, you can call toll-free #s for free.
Assuming P8 Tech Support can be reached via a toll free #, and assuming your existing broadband connection hasn't changed (i.e. is not blocking VoIP), you should be able to reach P8 support that way. 
Rizzo |
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Zeico
join:2005-01-27
Elephant Butte, NM | That's a great thought. I'll give that a try! I still have my headset from the days I used myphonecompany. |
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Zeico
join:2005-01-27
Elephant Butte, NM | Just my luck. Packet8 is closed for tonight. Tomorrow. Thanks for the FWD tip. I got thru to P8's answering system. |
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hwittenb
join:2003-12-20
·Future Nine Corpor..
·callwithus
·Callcentric
| reply to Zeico
said by Zeico :I'll give that a try! I still have my headset from the days I used myphonecompany. If you have a headset and microphone there are some companies that offer some free telephone outgoing minutes. These companies are no good for calling 911. Look at
»www.vbuzzer.com/chinesenewyear.php
»www.voipstunt.com/en/index.html
»www.gizmoproject.com/
»www.freedigits.com/ |
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