Vonage and SKY systems

Posts: 4 · Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2005 3:00 pm Post subject: Vonage and SKY systems

Hell all,

I am a recent addition to the vonage network. I have a problem with my SKY box dialling out on the vonage line. SKY dials out periodically to tell SKY HQ of my puchases i.e films etc. It dials 448007317929, which should be fine, but if you dial this number from a vonage line, it just rings, rings and rings. If you dial 08007317929 SKY modems pick up. I have been into the secret menus of SKY and it is possible to change the prefix but was empty. Contacted vonage tech support, who said they would escalate the issue. (Don'y hold much hope of that).

Any advice?

Posts: 8 · Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2005 5:09 am Post subject: Re: Vonage and SKY systems

Try entering '08007317929' into the prefix box if you can.

The vonage exchange will recognise that as a valid number and ignore the rest of the numbers that the sky box continues to dial.

Posts: 4 · Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2005 3:35 pm Post subject: Sky

Thank you, I tried putting the telephone number in the prefix, but in only allows 5 digits.

Anyone managed to get sky/sky + working with vonage?

Posts: 55 · Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2005 5:29 pm Post subject:

try putting 00 in the prefix part of your sky box see if that lets it connect

this will then make your number

00 448007317929

vonage will recognise that number

Good Luck

Gordy Smile

Posts: 109 · Vonage Forum Senior Joined: Mar 30, 2005 Posts: 109

Chrisandsally,

I'm just about to finalise my move from NTL (phone and TV) to Vonage & Sky/Sky+.

How do you access the Sky "secret menus" to change this prefix?
(I won't tell anyone!)

Have you contacted Sky to get their advice on how to get the number right? But this does sound like a Vonage US to UK problem.

cheers
Ian

Posts: 4 · Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2005 4:46 pm Post subject: Sky/Sky + Callback issue

Hi,

An update in the Sky callback system. The Sky digibox wether + or not uses it's inbuilt modem to send a signal down the telephone line once a month to tell sky what movies / football that have been purchased above your montly subs so that they can bill you. You can simply unplug the telephone line from your machine and run up to the max credit allowance on your card which is £50 and sky would not know. Sky though have clocked onto this and are sending out letters after X months of the "no callback signal" and threating all kings of stuff like you read the terms and conditions etc. Anyway I digress.

As a law abiding citizen I want the sky box to dial sky every month. This was no problem with the BT Line but as we all know BT take our hard earned cash to readily so we look to other providers such as Vonage.

No problem I thought plug the sky box into the vonage line and bingo. Instead of the once a month signal, I get about 100 attemtps to sky, tying up the line every day.

There is an issue with vonage using 0800 with sky, so prefixing then with 00 does work if you dial it yourself on a standard phone, however when you enter a prefix sky dials the prefix then pauses then dials the rest of the humber. Vonage takes this pause as a sign that you have finished and generates a long tone. SO my friends the 00 does not work, Please try it. Go the services then system setup, type 01 then select and the hidden menu pops up.

All is not lost though, I called tech support of vonage again and eventually spoke with some one who said that they would change some settings on my broadband router. Now I can hear on the telephone line that my sky box does now dial and seems to connect but Sky still reports a fail. YOU can initate a callback whenever you change a prefix. (and click save changes)

Sky also needed to be informed of the the vonage number as it uses your CLID to identify who's who. Why it can't use the viewing card number who no's.

SO after all that, in my experience Sky boxes cannot communicate down a vonage line correctly.

If anyone has done please share it with us!

Posts: 55 · Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2005 8:31 pm Post subject:

maybe the problem is because vonage say you cant use a fax machine on these lines so maybe its the same with connecting other devices with modem.

never actually gave this a though :s

Posts: 4

I think you are right maybe you need a seperate vonage fax line and connect sky systems to that.

I have used a modem on vonage line to dial up alarm control panels and that works fine so maybe a certain type of modems.

The solution until naked DSL comes out so I can completly ditch BT is to run a BT line to it so bypasses vonage completly.

Regards All

Posts: 55 · Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2005 7:15 pm Post subject:

does anyone know when you can actually have dsl without the actual phone service ??

Posts: 18 · Vonage Forum Associate Joined: Jul 06, 2005 Posts: 18

Hi I am having the same problem my two sky boxes are failing to dial through the vonage line and have had letters from sky
So I have had to have a BT line installed just for my sky and its doing my head in.!!!!

So far I have only managed to connect via the vonage line to an ISP at 28.8k I think this may be the problem!!!

You can not change the speed that the sky v90/56k modem try’s to connect at. As for a pc or a fax machine this is not a problem as you can change the settings
as for having you phone number sky gets it from a successful attempt further dialling attempts from a unchecked cli seems to fail what I mean is if you dial the sky 0800 number via a pc modem lower the modem to 28.8 you will connect so far before sky realises its not a sky box and disconnects you.

Sorry if I have confused the problem a little but this is really doing my head in I no longer want a normal land line.

So to sum up the modem in a sky box is v90/56k
It seems to only try to connect via the fastest speed possible
The 0800 number dials fine
You do not need to tell sky your number
They will disconnect you if you have multi room or sky+ and the box hasn’t dialled home at least once in 2 months 3 months max

You can connect to an ISP at 28k max so far through vonage

This is due to the compression they use for the voice calls