Reactivating a Motorola VT1000 to a new phone number.

Posts: 2

Hi, my first vonage account used the small Motorola VT1000 voice terminal. I was at that time just trying out the service to see how it was. We liked it so we LNP'd our home phone numbers and got new equipment.

If I want to add another vonage phone number somewhere, can I reuse the old Motorola VT1000 -- how do you "reassign" a deactivated voice terminal to a "new" vonage phone number ?

Gil

Posts: 22 · Vonage Forum Associate Joined: Mar 24, 2005 Posts: 22

the only way to do this is to set up a new account, and you really do need to be on the phone with customer care while this is done. Once you have completed the sign up, the customer care agent has to lock the order to make sure you don't get shipped out a new device. Then the agent has to create a ticket (internal message) to the engineers to add your old device to the new account. You will need to provide them with the MAC/WAN address from the old account (this can be found on the underside of the motorola MTA) afterwards, you would be credited back the shipping charge on the new account since you were not shipped out a new device. I actually have put in several suggestions in meetings that we should have a reactivation sign up for customers who have already had accounts and still have devices from us. Alas, no word yet on when that could happen. Hope this helps ...

Posts: 492 · Posted: Thu Mar 24, 2005 11:00 pm Post subject:

Vonage gets pretty strange about stuff like this. I suggest that you call them and ask them what their policy is on it.

Posts: 22 · Vonage Forum Associate Joined: Mar 24, 2005 Posts: 22

Since i wasn't totally clear about this ... the device had to have been ORIGINALLY registered to vonage ... it doesn't support outside devices ... if the device was originally on an account with the service it can be moved to a new account

Posts: 482 · Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2005 2:00 am Post subject:

Well FYI, there's a TON of people who have been shot down trying to do that. I'm not sure it's as simple or as sure-fire as you say it is.

Posts: 22 · Vonage Forum Associate Joined: Mar 24, 2005 Posts: 22

I'm only saying what i know ... i can't speak for what the other reps are saying ... i'm sorry if i caused a problem

Posts: 216 · Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2005 10:47 am Post subject:

I have been told by Vonage that it is possible and I know another poster here has also had the same experience. Check out this threadfor more info:

vonage-forum.com/ftopic4689.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" class="postlink">Any truth to this? Regarding Motorola VT1005 activation

I am just amazed that you could not find this info with a simple search on this forum. Wink

Posts: 482 · Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2005 9:24 pm Post subject:

jnuzzi wrote:

I have been told by Vonage that it is possible and I know another poster here has also had the same experience. Check out this threadfor more info:

vonage-forum.com/ftopic4689.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" class="postlink">Any truth to this? Regarding Motorola VT1005 activation

I am just amazed that you could not find this info with a simple search on this forum. Wink

Amazed, huh?

Before you go on bragging about your "amazing" searching abilities, let's see just how conclusive that thread is:

- The title of the thread asks "Any truth to this? Regarding Motorola VT1005 activation." (Clearly, confusion reigns already.)

- The first poster says, "I'm currently in the process of selling a brand new Motorola VT1005 Vonage branded Voice Terminal. I was emailed by a prospective buyer who stated that Vonage will not activate this type of modem. I've searched all through the forums and found nothing on this." (Apparently, this poster doesn't possess your "amazing" searching abilities, either.)

- The next poster simply links to thread which in the first post begins, "I purchased a pair [of Motorola VT1005Vs] from a person who had cancelled their Vonage account due to poor service. I have twice tried to change the MAC addresses on my account to the Motorola adapters and Vonage reps have told me that Vonage prohibits a device that has once been activated from being used on an other account. I asked "so can I sell the Linksys adapters [I got when I signed up]" and was told Vonage wouldn't turn them on since I had registered their MAC addresses." (Additionally, nowhere in that linked thread does anyone say they have been able to activate an adapter that was previously registered to another user.)

- Poster #3: "It is my understanding that if it has NEVER been registered or activated that it would be OK to sell it and the new owner should not have any problems with Vonage accepting it."

- Poster #4 says he got an email from a Vonage rep saying that a used adapter can be reactivated, but then closes with, "So, I am not sure about this one. Other people have reported that Vonage will only activate a device if it has NEVER been activated."

- "I recently purchased a Motorola VT1005V TA from an Ebay seller," begins post #5. "When I called Vonage to activate it they said they didn't recognize the MAC ID in their database and refused to activate it."

- Post #6: "Call Vonage and have them look up the MAC and get a commitment on whether they will accept it or not. I would be interested in hearing what they have to say."

- Poster #7 claims, "Vonage will reactivate a old device for a new account as long as it's in the database ... good idea to always call and check on the MAC address ... and if someone tells you yeah i'm sure its fine ... ask to speak to someone else ... they might not be able to tell you right away but they could get with the engineers if you give them the MAC/WAN address and let you know once the engineers respond back from checking the database."

- Post #8 closes out the thread by summarizing the still unclear situation: "That is very good to hear. I just hope it holds true."

Even within that single thread, there are conflicting answers directly from Vonage! So do you really believe that the issue in question has been so conclusively answered--and in such a clear and well-documented manner, too--that the notion that anyone could possibly search here and NOT find a clear answer is "amazing?"

The way I read it, confusion on this point still abounds, and like many other things, I suspect the real answer to the question may have much to do with whomever you happen to get at Vonage if you call asking for assistance with this issue.

Posts: 216 · Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2005 11:32 pm Post subject:

ToddlerTN:

It seems that you took my comment about searching the forums personally. I am not sure why since that statement was directed towards the OP. Maybe I should have made that clear in my original posting.

Anyway, I agree that there is some debate around this subject. I was simply trying to point out that if the OP had searched the forums they would have found the thread that I linked to and another thread, both discussing the same topic they posted about.

Posts: 482 · Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2005 2:17 am Post subject:

Our illustrious host here provides the definitive answer to this very question in vonage-forum.com/sutra26366.html#26366" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" class="postlink">another thread:

dconnor wrote:

I would like to step in here and give you my knowledge on this issue.

Technically - Can it be done? Yes.

However, Vonage has a very strict policy against it. It has to do with the early days when the boxes were given out for free (they still are) but users were attempting to hack them for use on another service (which will go nameless, but this service gave instructions on a blog on how to do it). This did not sit very well with Vonage.

So, as the story was told to me by the most senior executives, the method to lockdown the firmware goes hand-in-hand with locking down the MAC.

No one you call (unless things have changed since I had this conversation over two years ago) has the authority to change the MAC on a device. It is a very closely held secret.