Why I can't have two Vonage Adapters with one line?

Posts: 2 · New Forum Member Joined: Sep 06, 2008 Posts: 2

I have a Vonage Adapter connected to my router on the first floor of my house. I have a phone and a fax connected to it, and everything works fine.

I wanted to be able to use another phone with Vonage upstairs, so I got a used Linksys router WRTP54G that is Vonage ready and has two phone ports. I added it to my home network, and it is working fine.

However, when I hook a phone to it, I get a message from Vonage that says that my phone may be connected to the wrong port.

I called Vonage and they told me that just one adapter may be used on each account, as the account is associated to the device MAC address.

They suggested that I either purchased an additional account (what would increase my expenses and give me a different number what would defeat my purposes), or switch all my phones at home to Vonage by plugging the Vonage adapter at the phone distribution box (what I don't want as I have a land line).

I cannot understand the point of such restriction. Why can't I add as many adapters I want, and they just create a table with all of them associated to my account?

Posts: 352 · Posted: Sat Sep 06, 2008 9:27 pm Post subject:

If you want additional phones, use a multi-phone cordless set or use your home wiring.
What you are asking, you could theoretically have phones across the country on the same phone number. It would cause a network NIGHTMARE.
The Vonage account is tied to the MAC address on the adapter. It is impossible to tie more than 1 MAC address to 1 phone number.

Posts: 2 · New Forum Member Joined: Sep 06, 2008 Posts: 2

kdf55 wrote:

If you want additional phones, use a multi-phone cordless set or use your home wiring.
What you are asking, you could theoretically have phones across the country on the same phone number. It would cause a network NIGHTMARE.
The Vonage account is tied to the MAC address on the adapter. It is impossible to tie more than 1 MAC address to 1 phone number.

I am not sure I agree: they could control it by pairing with the IP address. So, I could have as many MAC addresses I wanted, but any of them would be tied up to my IP address, and they could block simultaneous use from different IPs at the same time. If I would be traveling, I could update my account, the same way they allow today to move from one MAC to another.

As I said, I don't want to use my home wiring because it is being used by my land line which is needed for the house alarm.

I am sure it is not such a difficult technical solution if they wanted to resolve it. It is easier just tell to the customer to buy additional lines or additional devices...

Posts: 352 · Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2008 7:36 am Post subject:

Tying to an IP address is OK in theory but not all ISPs have static IP addresses for their modems. Some DSLs change IP addresses when it renews. This would then drop what is tied to the IP address.

Posts: 3

You can have multiple Vonage devices working on one account. Each device has two ports and thus, can hold up to two different telephone numbers. Each device has its own unique MAC address, to which the telephone numbers are assigned for port one and port two. You can not have a telephone number assigned to two different MAC id's.
If you want to have one telephone number in mutilple rooms and floors of your home, and you can not use the existing home wiring due to having a landline in your house already using the phone wiring, you can buy a cordless phone set with a base station that you can connect to the Vonage device, and extra handsets to plug into electric outlets in other rooms/floors of your house. This may be an intial expense, but the advantages are worth it. You are not tied down to any partical room for the extra handsets, you can move their locations if you rearrange you rooms, you can take them with you if you move, and just set them up again with just your one Vonage device, cordless base station, and extra hansets. Plus, most of the sets are pretty reasonably priced nowadays, and most can be expanded if you need to purchase additional handsets at a later date.

Posts: 323 · Vonage Forum Evangelist Joined: Jan 29, 2006 Posts: 323

A couple of things on this.

Supports recommendation of purchasing another account just doesn't make sense on any level.

Regardless of your concept of being able to use multiple devices for a single line, it simply doesn't work that way today. I agree that the idea is a simple one, but I doubt that the implementation is simple. If it was someone would offer it already today. As far as I know, none of the consumer Voip providers offer something like this.

Bottom line is you have 1 option to do what you want to if you can't use the home wiring. You need to get a cordless phone that supports multiple handsets so that you can put a second one at the upstairs location.

I know this isn't what you are looking to hear, but it is the only solution available to you at this time.

Posts: 1 · New Forum Member Joined: Sep 21, 2008 Posts: 1

Doesn't your house wiring support at least two lines (if not three or four)? Why not wire your landline into one pair of the house wiring and your Vonage line(s) into some of the others?

You can either rearrange the pair wiring and specific outlets or you external adapter to swap around which line is 1, 2, 3, etc.

-Jeff