Can't Dial *123 when hard-wired with RTP device

Posts: 4 · New Forum Member Joined: Feb 11, 2006 Posts: 4

I followed the directions to hard-wire into my existing wired phone system. I do get dial-tone. I can dial out and receive calls.

However, I cannot pick up the phone and hit *123. Instead I have to dial the local access number for my area code. I should also state that I do not get the voice mail waiting indicator (rapid-dialtone) either.

Is this a "feature"?

If I hook a phone directly to the phone port on the RTP device, *123 works.

Posts: 1123 · Vonage Forum **MVM** Joined: May 26, 2005 Posts: 1123

How many total phones do you have connected to your house wiring?

Posts: 83 · Posted: Mon Feb 13, 2006 3:31 pm Post subject:

This sure sounds to me like your "existing wired phone system" is NOT connected to Vonage, but some other (presumably your old) carrier.

What does dialing 933 yield when using the house wiring? If it is Vonage it should get you the status of your 911 setup, if it says your call cannot be completed as dialed it isn't Vonage.

Posts: 4 · New Forum Member Joined: Feb 11, 2006 Posts: 4

I have 4 total phones connected.

I know for a fact that my old phone system is not connected because before I connected Vonage to the home wiring I:

1.) Listened for dialtone from local carrier on all extensions
2.) Walked to garage and unplugged line from box (my phone system has a little cat5 looking connector)
3.) Listened for dialtone on all extensions. There was none. Validates I disconnected correctly
4.) Put phone cable from Vonage phone1 jack into house wiring
5. Listened for dialtone on all extensions. There IS one. Validates I am using Vonage
6.) Made a call with Vonage. Looked at activity on web site. Saw the call was logged. Further validation I am using Vonahe.

Sorry to be so verbose. Any other suggestions?

Posts: 1123 · Vonage Forum **MVM** Joined: May 26, 2005 Posts: 1123

Try only plugging one phone into the house wiring and testing VM. It may be a REN problem, that is, not enough signal to that many phones. Try just one phone first, then add one phone at a time. I suspect if this IS the issue, when you get to phone number 3 or 4, it will crap out again. CS can increase the REN a bit for you, but try it first. Excess voltage for no reason is not a good idea.

Posts: 4777 · Vonage Forum **MVM** Joined: Aug 30, 2005 Posts: 4777

Kuurus wrote:

I followed the directions to hard-wire into my existing wired phone system. I do get dial-tone. I can dial out and receive calls.

However, I cannot pick up the phone and hit *123. Instead I have to dial the local access number for my area code. I should also state that I do not get the voice mail waiting indicator (rapid-dialtone) either.

Is this a "feature"?

If I hook a phone directly to the phone port on the RTP device, *123 works.

The RTP device is the RTP300? What firmware are you running? The RTP300 had an assortment of issues with home wiring prior to about version 55 firmware. The current version is 60.

Have you tried re-booting the system, powering up the components of your system in the correct order?

Posts: 4 · New Forum Member Joined: Feb 11, 2006 Posts: 4

Where can I get the firmware updates?

Posts: 4777 · Vonage Forum **MVM** Joined: Aug 30, 2005 Posts: 4777

If you've checked and you have an old version, and it's not updating automatically (it should), then call Vonage customer service and ask them to push the latest version to you.

Posts: 4 · New Forum Member Joined: Feb 11, 2006 Posts: 4

FYI. I went and bought the Uniden 8860 phone with 2 additional handsets. I plugged the phone directly into the RTP300 and everything works now. No more worries as to what the phone companies gonna do to my wiring that could possibly harm the router.

Posts: 2257 · Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 4:28 pm Post subject:

Kuurus wrote:

FYI. I went and bought the Uniden 8860 phone with 2 additional handsets. I plugged the phone directly into the RTP300 and everything works now. No more worries as to what the phone companies gonna do to my wiring that could possibly harm the router.

That's great, but I'd still look at the firmware version. A LOT of things got fixed in the most recent (1.00.60) firmware on the WRTP54G and RTP300.

Just take any computer hooked up to the RTP300 and surf to http://192.168.15.1 - the firmware version number is in the upper-right corner of the configuration web page, above the model number, in the blue banner.

If that doesn't read "Firmware Version: 1.00.60" then it's worth calling Customer Service and asking them to force the latest firmware to you. It SHOULD be done automatically, but sometimes they don't for whatever reason.