There are known problems with using automated phone systems on phone lines that are connected via the Internet.
These are known as VoIP lines (the term used for "Voice over Internet" or "Voice over IP"). VoIP is used to deliver your phone conversations as digital data over broadband.
If you are using a phone line via cable or DSL then you have a VoIP line.
These are known as VoIP lines (the term used for "Voice over Internet" or "Voice over IP"). VoIP is used to deliver your phone conversations as digital data over broadband.
If you are using a phone line via cable or DSL then you have a VoIP line.
If your phone service is going through a box, take a look at it closely. It may be a telephony modem adapter. In that case you have VoIP phone service.
Some small phone carriers use Voice over Internet to reduce costs. It can be misleading because they convert back to analog in the central office and still use POTS lines (Plain Old Telephone Service) to the customer premises.
What Is A Telephony Adapter?
A Telephony Adapter is a device that gives you telephone service over the Internet. It has one or more phone jacks to connect your phones or phone system. It converts the analog phone signals to digital so that the data can be sent over the Internet. Your cable or phone company usually supplies these adapters.
Some modems have a telephone adapter built in, so that you have only one device, known as a Telephony Modem. They have an Ethernet Jack to connect to your computer, as well as one or two phone jacks.
Some carriers supply a separate VoIP adapter that connects to your Internet modem.
Broadband Speed for VoIP - IMPORTANT!
Voice over Internet requires a large pipeline to carry the amount of data that represents speech. This pipeline is known as Internet Broadband.
Data lose due to slow speeds can cause lost speech, echo, and other phone system problems that may be ignored by humans but can cause serious issues with telephone systems.
Broadband speeds are measured in kilobits per second (Kbps). Download is usually much faster than upload speeds. But VoIP requires both directions to be fast since you are not only listening to the other person (download), but you are talking too (upload).
VoIP will have problems when you don't have enough bandwidth to carry the data of the digitized speech in both directions.
We don't recommend using VoIP if you have less than 768 Kbps upload speed. If you have multiple VoIP phone lines then multiply this by the number of lines.
Download speeds are always faster, so you just need to verify your upload speed.
Check your carrier's website for their speed test tool.
Common VoIP Problems
Automated phone systems may encounter problems when connected to VoIP adapters that are not compatible. Common VoIP problems are...
- Problem detecting dialtone for outbound calls.
- Problem detecting incoming calls.
- Dropped calls due to erroneous detection of hangup.
- Echo while talking.
VoIP related problems are not the fault of your automated equipment. Your VoIP adapter may not be using standard BelCore signaling, or it may be interfering in some way.
The following equipment may encounter problems when connected via VoIP phone lines...
- PBX Phone systems
- Alarm systems
- DIRECTV®
- Tivo®
Compatible VoIP Adapters
You need to have a compatible adapter or telephony modem to avoid VoIP issues. We have had success with several modem adapters that are known to be compatible. These ring with the normal 20 Hz signal at 60 VAC, so inbound calls will be detected. They also provide the standard 48 Volts DC on idle lines, so an available outside line will be properly detected.
The following is a list of modem adapters that we tested and passed...
- Cisco Model DPC2203C broadband modem
- D-Link® Model DVG-2001S VoIP Adapter
- Motorola Model VT1005V Voice Terminal
- Motorola Model SVB5120 VoIP Cable Modem
- Motorola Model SBV5322 SURFboard® 4-Line Digital Voice Modem
- Motorola Model ONT100DGJ4 (see note below)
- RCA Model DHG535 telephony modem
- Viking Model ATA-100 adapter
- Viking LLA-1 Long Loop Adapter (Model 46222 and 46224)
- Vonage® V-Portal™ Phone Adapter (Model VDV21-VD & VDV22-VD)
- Scientific Atlanta Model DPC2203C
- NetTALK DUO - (See review below)
- Grandstream HandyTone 502 Analog Telephone Adapter [ADDED 4/11/2013]
- uBee DVW3201B Docsis 3.0 Telephony EMTA Wireless cable modem [ADDED 4/23/2014]
Incompatible VoIP Adapters
We have discovered problems when the VoicePro is connected to the following devices and therefore they are not supported...
- Magic Jack®
Unreliable line voltage causes trouble. Some people experience an echo. Incoming calls sometimes undetected. - Ooma Telo or Ooma Scout
Non-standard dial tone is not recognized by the VoicePro to make outbound calls. - Linksys Voice Gateway
Line voltage too low. Unreliable with the VoicePro. - Arris Telephony Modem - all models
Echo and random disconnects (Read details about Arris below). - ZyXEL Prestige 600 Series ADSL Modem
Drops calls and phone line hangs after disconnect.
We cannot support the VoicePro when used with any of the devices proven to cause problems. Ask your cable provider to give you one of the compatible modem adapters that we tested (shown in the first list above).
In all cases where vendors swapped with a compatible modem/adapter, the problems with the VoicePro no longer occurred.
If you wish to try the VoicePro with an untested modem that is not listed above, we will be glad to give you a 100% refund if the unit is returned within 30 days.
Experience With Arris Modems
Please read this entire section if you have an Arris modem:
We have had many reports of problems when customers use an Arris Telephony Modem and we have come to the conclusion that all Arris Modems fail. We never found one model that worked without issues.
Customers have experienced echo during phone conversations as well as dropped calls at random times. Both being a result of incompatibilities with the proper functioning of automated phone systems.
Some carriers have swapped modems and all those customers have told us that the problems with the VoicePro no longer existed when they used one of the compatible modems listed above.
Arris explains that resetting the modem can cure problems we have experienced. This is done by turning off power on the Arris modem for THREE MINUTES. Customers have informed us that this did not help.
[ADDED 9/04/2012] A new suggestion from Arris says to unplug BOTH the Arris modem AND your router (if you have one). If you have a battery backup built in, remove the battery. Wait three minutes, then plug both the modem and the router back in and wait for them to reboot.
NOTE: We had to take back the VoicePro when customers could not get their carrier to swap modems with a compatible model. Some of these units were received damaged and therefore we will no longer refund units that are returned due to Arris incompatibility.
If you have an Arris, check with your carrier to be sure they will swap modems before you purchase the VoicePro.
Experience With Comcast
Many customers have told us that Comcast is providing phone service with the Arris Telephony Modem. Many of these customers have had trouble with phone line echo and other issues.
We have discovered that the problems are not related to Comcast's network. We know this because for some of our customers Comcast has swapped the Arris modem with one of the compatible modems listed above, and all the problems were eliminated.
There is more to this story, however. Some customers tell us that Comcast has courteously swapped modems, immediately eliminating the problems with the VoicePro. Others report to us that Comcast refuses to swap and we end up taking the unit back and refunding those customers.
I am not sure why Comcast does not have a consistent policy nationwide, but it seems to depend on the whims of the regional office providing Internet phone service.
Due to the inconsistent nature of Comcast customer support, we recommend that before you buy the VoicePro, confirm with your local Comcast office that they will swap modems in case of trouble.
Experience With Cablevision Optonline®
We have many customers using the VoicePro with Cablevision's Optonline service and they report excellent results.
Many Cablevision customers are provided with the Cisco Model DPC2203C broadband modem. This has been personally tested by us and found to be compatible with the VoicePro.
We have never had any negative issues with Cablevision.
Experience With Verizon FIOS
Verizon FIOS provides telephone service with the Motorola Model ONT100DGJ4 Optical Network Terminal (ONT).
We generally have had no problems with this, except for rare cases where an echo is created by a combination of incompatible features. The most common cause of echo that we discovered is when a customer uses phones that have a Voice Enhancement feature.
The Voice Enhancement feature plays games with digital signals that can cause echo when used on digital lines. Since FIOS delivers the signal digitally, these two things don't live together very well.
Check to see if your phone has a Voice Enhancement feature. This needs to be disabled when using your phone over any VoIP line, such as FIOS. Follow your phone manufacturer's instructions to turn off the Voice Enhancement feature and test again.
If you still have trouble, contact Verizon's Fiber Solutions Customer Support and ask if they know of any issues with the telephone model you are using on the VoicePro.
Experience With Windstream [ADDED 10/02/2012]
We have had two cases of problems with Windstream. The VoicePro will not work for you if this is your carrier.
A Windstream tech confirmed that their lines are digital to the CO. They convert to analog POTS using a non-standard telephony modem to run from the CO to customer premises. This works fine for telephones that are manually used. But automated systems require Belcore standard signaling.
Even thought the modem is not at the customer's site, this is still a VoIP service. Evidently the modem they use is not compatible. The VoicePro does not recognize dial tone from Windstream and therefore one cannot dial outside numbers.
We cannot provide support with Windstream as their problems are beyond our control.
Experience With NetTALK
NetTALK makes a device very similar to Magic Jack®. It's called the NetTALK Duo. We tested NetTALK Duo with the VoicePro and it works well. However we do not recommend using it on a DSL line. We tested with cable, which has sufficient bandwidth to support VoIP.
The NetTALK Duo plugs directly into your router with a supplied ethernet cable. So you do not need to leave your computer on.
We did notice that the first two seconds of the outgoing VoicePro greeting was missed sometimes. This may be due to a delay in the network. A simple solution is to leave a pause before you start recording your company greeting.
We also noticed that once in a while when a caller hangs up, NetTALK does not send a disconnect signal and the VoicePro hangs the line for about a minute until it resets automatically.
These problems don't necessarily interfere with usage. Considering the low cost of NetTALK, it's worth this small nuisance. The unit costs $41 and that includes the first year of unlimited phone service. Renewal is only $30 per year after that.
Experience With PhonePower [ADDED 4/11/2013]
PhonePower is a VoIP phone service. They provide an Analog Telephone Adapter with the PhonePower logo on it. But is is actually the HandyTone 502 Telephone Adapter by Grandstream.
The VoicePro has been tested with this adapter and the PhonePower service. It has passed and is compatible.
Solutions with Problematic VoIP Adapters
- If your phone adapter or telephony modem has a reset button or reset feature, try this to see if it clears any issues you may have.
- You may also need to ask your carrier to remotely reboot your modem. This has been known to clear up many problems.
- If you have trouble detecting incoming calls, ask your provider if they can program the adapter to provide a normal 20 Hz ring signal.
- If you have trouble seizing an outside line to make calls, ask your provider to confirm that the modem or adapter provides -48 Volts DC standard loop current. A known solution we experienced is to reboot the modem.
- If you have an echo, this may clear up when resetting the telephony modem by following these steps:
- Turn off power on the modem for three minutes.
- If you have a battery in the modem, you have to unplug the battery as well.
- If you have a router, unplug that too.
- To be certain your modem resets, keep power off for three minutes.
- Plug both the router and your modem back in and wait for them to reboot.
- Another solution to eliminate echo is to ask your carrier to change your service to a Fax Service. This disables packet compression, which might be causing the echo when interacting with any voice equipment attached to the line, such as the VoicePro.
- If you still have problems, check that your VoIP telephony adapter follows BelCore Standards listed below.
BelCore Standards
Standard Loop current
The line loop current is -48 Volts DC.
Standard Ring Signal
The standard ring signal is 75 Volts AC.
The AC waveform in the U.S. is 20 HZ and in Europe it's 25 Hz.
The VoicePro is a Class B device as per FCC Part 15 rules and therefore will respond to ringing frequencies between 17 and 68 Hz with the proper cadence.
The timing of ringing and pauses between rings, called cadence, is typically two seconds on and four seconds off in the US.
