Author Topic: Needed: some voip recommendations/problem solving  (Read 2034 times)

MsPeacock

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Needed: some voip recommendations/problem solving
« on: January 02, 2017, 11:05:09 AM »
I have had voip from VOIPo for almost two years now. Over the two years I have had repeated problems with the serivice.  Problem one is occasional outages, which I don't notice for a couple days. Problem two is repeated slowing to dropping of internet service when the voip modem thing is attached to the household modem.  I've updated my household modem and router and internet service and these problems continue. I've found the VOIPo  help desk folks to be helpful, but that it eats up several hours of my time each time the service goes down to talk to them and get it straightened out. I do need/want a home phone for several reasons, which I won't detail here. One issue is that I am in a bit of a blackhole in terms of cell phone reception, so it is helpful to have a home phone. This is also a reason that transferring my home number to a cheap phone on ting isn't viable.  I had ting on my personal cell phone and did not have reception at home, coupled with voip pooping out, I was left without viable phone contact with the outside world.

I am not a techy person and I struggle with setting this kind of thing up and really flail and get overwhelmed when it isn't working.

So my questions are

Is there a different voip service that would be less prone to service failures and or causing the internet outages?

Is there a voip service that is easy to set up and reliable?

Is there a voip modem that is more reliable than the one that VOIPo provided that would be less prone to problems?

Thank you in advance for any advice and input.

Daley

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Re: Needed: some voip recommendations/problem solving
« Reply #1 on: January 02, 2017, 11:41:19 AM »
Given the problems detailed, I suspect your issues may have more to do with the stability of your network connection combined with some quirkiness of your home network equipment. If this is the case, then different providers may not be the magic bullet solution that you're hoping for. Some hardware and provider configurations from different vendors are more tolerant to the more problematic locations than others, but the best resolution is correcting the issues that cause the outages in the first place. Given VOIPo's server uptime versus your outages (especially measured against others lack of downtime), it's safe to say with some authority that the problem is unlikely to be on their end. I am encouraged to hear that they have still be generous and helpful when helping you troubleshoot in the past, however.

Your troubles could be linked to noisy lines, or flaky router firmware, improperly managed port handling, packet priority. A lot can go wrong, unfortunately, when VoIP does go wrong. As such, it's hard to give you useful information without greater details about everything in your network and the quality of your ISP. Some folks have had great success in improving VoIP service stability just swapping the stock firmware from their router to OpenWRT or DD-WRT if they own a model with a supported build, or swapping out routers entirely for another make/model that has better VoIP packet management. Some router firmware can even degrade VoIP quality and stability by turning on packet management and enabling VoIP priority, ironically enough. Others have found relief in scheduling weekly router restarts in the firmware, too. Sometimes, there can be problems with the ATA as well, but those problems are mostly linked to planned obsolescence by the manufacturer and the power problems caused by failing capacitors on the circuitboard or the power supply after time. If this is a problem that you've seen from the get-go with VOIPo, and they shipped you a new ATA device, then this would be an unlikely potential cause to focus on so early.

As for alternatives, let it be known that Ting GSM and Consumer Cellular using their #2 network SIM cards (read T-Mobile - most store locations with their SIM cards in stock carry the AT&T version only) both offer and provide UMA WiFi calling now. To get this service to work, however, you need to have a SIM card that supports it, the service turned on at their end, and you need a T-Mobile branded smartphone that has the necessary support and firmware baked into it. This may open up a few options for you regarding mobile service, however. The cheapest handsets that'll get you there if you don't give much of a fig about stuff beyond calling and texting will be the Microsoft Lumia 435. T-Mobile branded and still carrier locked, used in good shape, you should be able to get one for under $20. I use a 435 myself on Ting, and the UMA WiFi calling feature is silky if you leave the preferences set to prioritizing mobile network over WiFi. (As with all things in life though, YMMV.) Billing on usage remains the same no matter how the call and text is placed, but there you have it. It probably won't fix the underlying network stability issues causing you problems in the first place, however.

geekette

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Re: Needed: some voip recommendations/problem solving
« Reply #2 on: January 02, 2017, 12:34:52 PM »
I'd say stick with them and follow their troubleshooting.  I found them to be patient, even if the process was ssllooww...

We had a months' long back and forth with VoIPo, complicated by our internet provider's intermittent slowdowns (packet loss/latency).  All the troubleshooting (and waiting for the problem to reappear) culminated in us bit by bit having to complete isolate the VoIPo box from our network (running wires to plug it directly into an outlet instead of the UPS, more ethernet cable wiring it directly into our router instead of the switch, plugging only one phone directly into the VoIPo box).  Honestly, I thought it was crazy, and the box must be bad.  The problem persisted until it got escalated to...someone...who noticed that it was on the wrong side of the DMZ on our router (don't ask me which side - DH's problem).

Since then, no problems (well, except for our internet. Thanks, TWC). 


MsPeacock

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Re: Needed: some voip recommendations/problem solving
« Reply #3 on: January 04, 2017, 02:00:51 PM »
Thank you I.P. Daley and geekette. I am going to call VOPIo again. I say they have been helpful - but it is very time consuming and often they walk me through the same process repeatedly w/o fixing the problem. But they are at least nice about it, and patient. In the first 6 months - on my second call or so they told me to buy another modem from them, which I did not want to do because 1) I just started the service and 2) it was something like $125.  At that point I was not convinced that the modem itself is the sole source of the problem. Otherwise it is resetting the whole thing and reconfiguring it (I can't be more specific because I don't really understand what I am doing.)

I'll update when I talk to them further and also w/ the name and information about the equipment I do have.

geekette

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Re: Needed: some voip recommendations/problem solving
« Reply #4 on: January 04, 2017, 07:22:04 PM »
We always communicated via email.  I find having the troubleshooting steps written down is very helpful, especially if I don't know what I'm doing.

They seemed to start with a program that runs for a while, checking your internet connection.  Then they moved on to isolating the box and cable modem settings.

When you say "modem" do you mean the VoIPo box?  Because your modem usually means the cable modem, which either you or the cable company own.

MsPeacock

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Re: Needed: some voip recommendations/problem solving
« Reply #5 on: January 11, 2017, 09:38:42 AM »
I just sent them a detailed email and will wait for a response.

In terms of my home equipment I currently have Comcast services, a TP-Link model AC3150 router and a Zoom model 5370 router.

I can post the name of the voipo equipment when I get home.

I received a $185 bill for renewal which prompted me to finally get on the ball and try to fix this. Otherwise I will follow I.P.'s advice and get the number ported to a ting device that can use wifi to be the "home" phone.

With voipo device unplugged I have absolutely no problems with my internet service. It is speedy and problem free even with 3 people streaming stuff and various other things buzzing away via wifi in one form or another.

MsPeacock

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Re: Needed: some voip recommendations/problem solving
« Reply #6 on: January 11, 2017, 10:28:46 AM »
This is the reply that I just receieved:

We are understand the chronic problems you have had with your ISP can be frustrating. Please understand our system uses very little of your networks bandwidth. Unless our adapter is in front of your router in your network configuration our adapter would have no effect on your network speeds or reliability.
 One-way and no-way audio issues, as well as other connectivity issues are almost exclusively related to audio streams being mishandled at a NAT (router) level. Typically, some basic port forwarding settings enabled within your routing device will completely alleviate any and all audio connection problems. I do not see these steps being taken in the notes since the modem and router were replaced.

 If you are familiar with port forwarding, we strongly recommend forwarding UDP ports 5004-65000 to the internal IP address of the VOIPo ATA device. Disabling any unusual firewall restrictions such as SIP ALG or SPI filtering is also highly recommended.

 If you are unable or unfamiliar to take the steps mentioned above; a VOIPo Support Specialist is available to remotely make these adjustments for you at your convenience. Simply give us a call or open a live chat, and we'll be happy to assist you further.

 Please contact us by phone at: 949-829-4200 or 877-99-VOIPo (86476)

 You can also reach us through Live Chat: http://voipo.com/ (the live chat button is in the top right corner)

 We are open Monday - Friday from 6:00am - 8:00pm PST.

 Thank you for your time,

Have a great day!
 VOIPo



I will call them tonight because I don't understand what they told me or how to make those adjustments. Hoping for the best!

geekette

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Re: Needed: some voip recommendations/problem solving
« Reply #7 on: January 11, 2017, 01:32:43 PM »
I only somewhat understand the email myself (like I know the term port forwarding, but I'm not sure I could log into our router to do it without some handholding).  Honestly, I'd do the chat option instead of the call, but maybe that's me. I understand written instructions so much better. plus I feel so pressured when someone is on the phone breathing at me.  I'm never quick at this stuff...

When we had been having so many problems and were up for renewal, I didn't renew and just paid for a month.  Then when things settled down, I called about the renewal and got the 2 for 1 again ($185 for 2 years).  Maybe they aren't still doing that, but it can't hurt to ask!