Can I connect to Vonage witout a modem?

Posts: 1 · New Forum Member Joined: Jan 10, 2008 Posts: 1

Hi, I just got Vonage for my office, which is in a commercial building. Its a suite with 6 other offices. I connect my laptop (for internet) directly to the data outlet in the wall. I believe the internal wiring is eventually connected to a Comcast cable modem in a separate room.

I connected the Motorola hardware that came with Vonage directly to the data outlet in the wall of my office. However, it does not seem to be working and there was no light on the device signaling an internet connection. The Vonage tech support has told me it has to be connected to the modem. Unfortunately that is not possible as the modem is too far from my office and I cannot run a wire for my phone all the way to my office. Can someone tell me if there is a way for me to use Vonage service in my office and how to do that. I believe I may be able to put a wireless router in my office, would that do the trick?

Thanks for your help.

Posts: 4 · New Forum Member Joined: Jun 15, 2006 Posts: 4

Well if there wasn't even a light on the Vonage box to indicate Link then chances are you are connecting with the wrong kind of cable. The Vonage box should have come with two cables, try the other one. You should always at least see a Link light.

Posts: 2 · New Forum Member Joined: Feb 11, 2008 Posts: 2

You do not need to connect the Vonage line directly to the modem; any wide-area-network (WAN/internet) connection will suffice.

When you say there's no internet light, are you referring to status light, or the connectivity light on the Motorola's Ethernet port? There should be an amber link light and a green signal light- the former should be steady and the latter blinking.

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

Keep in mind that your office LAN may have blocks that will prevent the Vonage system from working. You really need to work with your network administrator.

Posts: 831 · Vonage Forum Evangelist Joined: Jun 08, 2007 Posts: 831

Steve48 wrote:

Keep in mind that your office LAN may have blocks that will prevent the Vonage system from working. You really need to work with your network administrator.

Steve is right. Many orgaizations use proxy servers and other methods to filter Internet traffic to protect the network and the orginization. An example is ISA (Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration Server) , which for the most part requires rules for any and all internet traffic coming in and going out.