Outbound Calls - 1 ring, then dead air - Wife ready to kill me.....

[gls101]

I've been having intermittent problems for the last several weeks. The symptom:

Outbound calls to some numbers intermittently ring one time, then we hear dead air. The called party also hears one ring, but their Caller ID displays our phone number.

This doesn't affect all called numbers - just certain, repetitive ones. Most have been Brighthouse Cable VOIP phones, but at least one was an AT&T POTS line.

The ATA is a Grandstream TH502, and it's in front of the router. I've power cycled the ATA numerous times, which doesn't change the symptom.

There have been a total of three tickets opened (including one this morning) concerning this problem. In each of the 2 previous tickets, the response is to "try it now", and of course, when we try it, it works.

However, as soon as a few hours later, it's back to the same problem.

My spouse is fit to be tied, and has issued certain ultimatums, that involve my future ability to father children, and other sundry threats. You see, one of these problem phone numbers belongs to her sister, and another is a close friend that she calls frequently. This is NOT a 'discussion' I'll win, until the phone is working properly again.

Has anyone else run into this problem, and if so, how was it resolved?

Gary

[holmes4]

I would suggest trying it behind the router, and enabling port forwarding. I had issues like this with my Linksys RTP312 in front of the router.

[DaveH]

gls,

Interesting, as my wife is claiming something similar, although there have been no threats or ultimatums.

Calls to one neighbor in particular, who also has VOIP (although through Optimum Voice,) intermittently go straight to their voicemail.

Another is calls to her mother. Sometimes they ring once, and then nothing.

I made an interesting observation (perhaps) when my wife calls me at the office. Recently, like the past week or so, the number comes up on our fancy Cisco IP phones twice on the caller ID. Almost as if the call is being served twice, possibly through VOIPo on both ports. Could one be the "real" call, and the other be a "ghost?" Then it just becomes the luck of the draw on which one gets connected? This would explain the intermittency.

Anyway, I kept blowing it off as an anomaly until I read your post.

Now, I think we may be on to something.

Dave.

[hertz]

Gary, Dave:

I have the same problem...its been about 3 weeks or more...only to select numbers. My ATA is behind my firewall and port forwarding doesn't seem to help...The numbers that exhibit the problem were initially dialing just fine with no port forwarding enabled...what's changed?

Hertz

[DaveH]

Interesting. My ATA is also behind the firewall with port forwarding enabled and SIP-ALG disabled.

I have opend a ticket with VOIPo support, text follows.

I will keep you guys updated when I hear back.

Dave.



Gentlemen,

I seem to have an intermittent issue with outgoing calls. I wasn't too concerned about it until 2 other VOIPo customers posted on the forum with the same issue. Interestingly, 2 of us have the ATA "behind the router" topology, and one has the ATA outside the network.

It seems when calls are made to 2 numbers, one a VOIP number (through Optimum Voice, not VOIPo) and one to a standard POTS number, the former goes directly to voicemail, and the latter drops after one ring. The latter sees the number come up on caller ID, but the call is not completed.

I also noticed a strange behavior recently when my home number calls my work IP phone.

The number comes up twice on the caller ID, as if the call is being served twice. Once correctly, and once as if it were a "ghost" call. Sometimes it completed successfully, sometimes not, as if I have a 50-50 chance.

Not sure if it is helpful, but I have clipped 3 call references, 2 are unsuccessful calls, the 3rd was a call to my work when the number showed up twice on the caller ID.


Call Reference ID: 870781483-5078-66@BJC.BGI.B.FA
Call Reference ID: 900834840-5078-68@BJC.BGI.B.FA

Call Reference ID: 1974826232-5078-97@BJC.BGI.B.FA

Any insight into the issue is appreciated, as I suspect you may be hearing this from others as well.

Thanks.

[ai2000]

this seems to be standard operating procedure for VOIPO service. Some calls don't go through, some do. They add the routing and fixed. Seems very scary they have to manually add routing. Are the using a home pc hosted by gator to manage calls?

[DaveH]

My issue was also fixed by doing route work on the 2 numbers. From what I have read on the Broadband forums, this type of issue is not exclusive to VOIPo.

Not making excuses, just saying.

Dave.

[ai2000]

My issue was also fixed by doing route work on the 2 numbers. From what I have read on the Broadband forums, this type of issue is not exclusive to VOIPo.

Not making excuses, just saying.

Dave.

Good input, which other providers have this issue too? Any large ones? Never saw it with TimeWarner over 2 years of service.

[DaveH]

I've seen posts regarding Callcentric, VOIP.ms.

I posted a question on the Broadband VOIP tech board:

A few weeks ago I had issues with outbound calls to 2 specific numbers. One would consistently go to the recipient's voicemail, the other would drop after one ring. I contacted my VOIP provider (VOIPo) and the fixed the issue by modifying the routes.

Is this common among VOIP providers?

What can they actually modify and how much control do they have over the route a call takes?

... and got this answer:

As with all providers they do choose the routes that your calls take.
The routes are generally chosen by what is called least cost routing. That means that in practicality, the provider tries to choose the route that cost the least and hopefully works.
When that route doesn't work for some, they simply put them over another carrier that maybe costs more or maybe has better access to the terminating point.

Mostly has to do with cost to the provider but as in any business in the world, cost is a major factor..

With respect to VOIPo, I have been around since the beta testing days and they have evolved into a first class VOIP provider and at one of the lowest cost...service, in my opinion, is second to none, as in many cases the owner of the company gets personally involved in any issue that routine support cannot solve..

No, I don't work for them..

[burris]

Good input, which other providers have this issue too? Any large ones? Never saw it with TimeWarner over 2 years of service.

Maybe not, but what is the difference in cost between TimeWarner and VOIPo?