What are the advantages of using your service over my current line? The main advantage of using our service is SAVINGS. Compared to traditional phone lines, you can save up to 66% per month. Another big advantage is portability. With Digital Voice, you can get phone service, anywhere in the world as long as you have broadband internet access. This means, you can move anywhere, anytime you want. If you move a lot, you will no longer have to pay for expensive setup and moving charges. If you travel a lot, you will no longer have to pay long distance charges to call home.
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What are the differences between your phone service and my current phone line? Our phone service works virtually the same way as your phone current service. It has the same selection of call features and works with any a standard phone set. It is a lot cheaper than your current phone service and you will also save on long distance. Best of all, our phone service is PORTABLE, which means you can bring your phone line with you to anywhere you go. All you need is a High Speed Internet connection and you will be able to get phone service, anywhere in the world.
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Do I have to pay a deposit on the Phone Adapter? Yes, there is a $50 deposit which will be refunded to you provided that all components of your Digital Voice Phone Adapter device is returned in working and salable condition.
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Is there a setup or activation fee? There is no setup fee.
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What are your Long Distance Rates? Click here for a complete list of our long distance distance rates.
For even more savings, sign up for one of our Unlimited long distance calling plans. For details, click here
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What do I need to have to use your service? You only need 2 things:
a) High speed internet access
b) a Digital Voice phone adapter
What type of High Speed Internet will work with Digital Voice? Digital Voice works with any high speed internet connection including Cable or ADSL.
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Can I use your service with a dial-up Internet connection? No. Our phone service requires an "ALWAYS -ON" Internet connection.
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Is it very complicated to install? Not at all. You simply connect your existing phone to your ADSL/cable modem using our adapter. Then plug in the device to a power socket and you're ready to go! It takes only a few minutes to setup.
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My Cable/DSL Provider offers a Lite service, will Digital Voice work with this type of broadband connection? Yes. Even though Lite, or entry level, broadband connections are slower than regular broadband service there is still enough speed to support a Digital Voice phone call without any sacrifice in quality.
However it is important to note that many Lite broadband connections may only allow one device to connect to the internet at a time. In such cases you will need a router (~$60 CAD) to allow multiple devices to connect to a Lite connection. Routers also provide firewall protection to your network from hackers and many viruses. Shaw Lite is an example of a broadband connection which only allows one device to connect.
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Will my phone line work if my computer is turned off? Digital Voice does not rely on your computer to function. In fact, you don't even need a computer for your phone service to work.
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Will I be able to surf the Internet and use the phone at the same time? Absolutely. Your phone service is not related to your computer at all.
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How long does it take to get my phone line activated? You will need to get our Digital Voice adapter, which we will send to you in about 24-48 hours after we receive your application. Shipping takes about 7 days, but you can pick up the adapter from our office and and start using your phone service right away. Please refer to the Contact Us page for office our location.
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Can I make 911 calls? Yes, basic 911 service is available. Please note there are some important differences between 911 dialing with VOIP and traditional phone lines. For details, please click here.
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Can the service work with my monitored home alarm system? A monitored home alarm system that connects back to the alarm company either by using your home telephone line, or by using a cellphone-type service. Please check with your alarm company which method is used by your home alarm. If you have an alarm system that uses your traditional telephone line, we do not recommend trying to modify your phone wiring yourself. The procedure for connecting your VOIP service to the alarm system can be complicated and varies heavily, depending on the wiring methods used in your home.
A professional electrician will usually be needed to make the modifications for such a setup. Note that any fees collected by such professionals are strictly yours to bear.
Although our VOIP service can work with some home alarm systems, we do not recommend it. If for any reason you lose your Internet connectivity - whether due to a power outage or problem with your Internet Service Provider, for example - the VOIP line may stop working, thus rendering your monitored alarm system ineffective. Given the difficulty and expense in re-wiring, we would suggest instead that you consider upgrading your alarm system to a cellphone-type. Thus your alarm system would be able to use the local Cellular network to make emergency calls when the alarm triggers. Most alarm companies now offer such upgrades for minimal fees, usually worked into the monthly rate itself.
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Will my number be listed in the phone book? If you get a new number from us, it will not be listed in the phone book unless you request otherwise. Only business numbers can be listed. Residential numbers will not be listed unless your number was transferred to us and was previously listed before.
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What happens if I move? You simply unplug your phone & our adapter and plug it into your new home's high speed Internet line and you will get a dial tone immediately. Anyone who calls you at your number will get through to you at your new location. You do not need to configure anything. There is no need for any technician visits. There are no move fees.
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What happens if I travel? You simply bring your adapter along, plug it into your hotel's high speed Internet line and into your phone there. You will instantly get a dialtone. You can call anyone in home area code. Anyone in your home area code can reach you at your same home number. These calls are considered 'local' and there are no long distance charges.
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How do I check whether the international numbers I dialed are covered by my long distance plan or not? You can click here to check if the international numbers are covered by your long distance plan or not.
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Installation
How to setup your own adapter? This is a guide for your reference. Click here to see a Linksys PAP2 Line 1 sample setup.
You must reset your box before you program it. Here is how to reset your adapter depending on what adapter you use.
Sipura or Linksys
To reset your box, press * * * * to enter administrative mode then press 7 3 7 3 8 # and then 1 to confirm the change.
ATA 1000
To reset your box, press * * 00 to enter administrative mode then press 7 9 8 9 8 # and then 1 to confirm the change.
1.) Insert all the necessary cables into your phone adapter, including a CAT5 cable from the router where your computer is plugged into and a phone onto the phone jack of the adapter
2.) Wait until all lights are solid
3.) Access the phone and dial * * * * or * * 0 0. Wait for administrative mode confirmation voice
4.) Press 1 1 0 # or 2 0 # to get the IP of the Digital Voice adapter eg. 192.168.1.100
5.) Enter the adapter’s IP into a web browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Netscape) append with /admin/ into your url address bar eg. 192.168.1.103 /admin/
6.) You should be in the phone’s adapter web administration page
7.) Click on the line 1 tab on the page
8.) You should see a page equivalent to this.
9.) Enter Proxy as sip.yourvoipcompany.com.
10.) Input the User ID which is your phone number.
11.) Input the password as (you must contact our technical support department to get your SIP password).
12.) Make sure USE AUTH ID is set to yes
13.) your Auth ID is your phone number again.
14.) Click on Save Settings to finish process
15.) Click on the Advanced Tab
16.) Click on the Line 1 Tab and scroll to the bottom and enter the following into the Dial Plan line :
([3469]11|0|00|[2-9]xxxxxxxxx|1xxx[2-9]xxxxxxS0|*xx[2-9]xxxxxxxxx|*xx|xxxxxxxxxxxx.|[2-9]xxxxxxS2L2|*xx[2-9]xxxxxx|*67[0-1]xxxxxxx.)
17.) Click on Save
Wiring multiple phone outlets Click here for instructions on how to wire all the phone jacks in your home or office to use VOIP.
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Unable to automatically obtain an IP address If your adapter is unable to automatically obtain an IP address, the first step is to check that all the wiring is properly done. If you are certain that the wiring is correct and that you do not have a bad ethernet cable, then read on:
Some ADSL/cable internet providers have added security where they require each computer/internet-appliance to register with their servers first before it can gain access to the internet. They call this "registering your MAC address". Since your VOIP hardware has a different MAC address than your computer, you will need to register it with your internet provider. The following are steps for one such provider, which you can use as a reference. If your internet provider has different steps, you may need to call them for instructions.
Sample Step 1: Using your computer, login at your Internet Provider's account management page. If you don't know where this is, you should call your internet provider's tech support lines.
Sample Step 2: Click on 'Manual Registration and Administration of PC's and devices'.
Sample Step 3:
If the page is blank, click on the 'get update' button.
You are normally allowed 2 IP addresses per account, and the first dynamic address will normally be used already (for your computer). You can tell it's in-use because the mac address field has stuff (eg: 0:8:2:38:73:16)
Find the unused address - the field that says '0:0:0:0:0:0'. Change that to the MAC address of your VOIP hardware -- it will be on a sticker at the back of the device.
NOTE: There are 2 ways of writing down a MAC address - with/without colons. For example: If the device MAC address is '000E08BAF362', it can also be written as '00:0E:08:BA:F3:62'. You should try both ways as different internet providers have different preferences.
After putting in the device's MAC address, hit 'Submit'.
To confirm that the update worked, you can hit 'Get Update' again. It should show the MAC address.
Powercycle your VOIP hardware. It may take a couple of minutes for the MAC address to become allowed.
Linksys Router (RT31P2) Reset Because you are using a router and we cannot remotely reprogram or configure the adapter for you so you have to it yourself. To reprogram your Linksys RT31P2 you must plug your computer into the Linksys and visit this URL:
The unit will reprogram istelf and retrieve the latest configuration file from our server.
Another option is we offer Remote Assistance which will allow our technician to log into your computer and reprogram your adapter for you.
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Voicemail
How do I access my voicemail? Dial *98 on your Digital Voice phone.
If you are calling from an outside phone:
What is my voicemail password? By default, your voicemail password is the last 4 digits of your new Digital Voice phone number. You are strongly advised to change your password the first time you access your voice mailbox.
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Can I access my voicemail from an outside line? Yes. To reach the voicemail system, dial:
In Vancouver: 604-288-2333
In Victoria: (250) 483-1333
You will then be asked to enter your 10 digit phone number.
How long can my voicemail greeting message be? You can record your own personal greeting message of up to 1 minute long.
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How long can I store my voice message? Voice mail is saved for up to 14 days in our system before it is automatically deleted.
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How long can voice messages be? Callers can leave you voice messages of up to 3 minutes long.
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How many messages can I store in my voicemail? You can store up to 50 messages at any one time.
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Service Features
Call Display Our servers and any device we program for you are fully call display enabled.
We send the name and number for all calls. The receiving phone company can choose to accept or reject the info we send or they can choose to accept a partial amount of the information ie: name but not number, or number but not name.
Some recipient companies will also give preference based on the source of the number calling their users. For example a big phone company may choose to show all the information from another big phone company with whom they have a pre-arranged agreement, whereas they may not do the same for other phone companies. Unfortunately we cannot control what another company chooses to display or not.
You may have already noticed examples of this if you have ever used a cell phone. Most cell phone providers choose to only provide the number of the person calling in. Some companies actually charge extra to show the name of the caller.
For inbound calls we can only display the information to you that we receive. We will pass whatever we receive to your phone. However sometimes people calling us will have selected to use call-blocking or other such features so you will find that occasionally incoming calls may not have any call display information associated with them.
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Call Forwarding The call forwarding system currently has a limitation for telephone numbers beginning with certain area codes. The limitation effects the call forward always, call forward busy and call forward no answer.
The symptom of this problem is that when any of the forwarding services are activated your phone will still ring for 20 seconds (4-5 rings) before the call forwarding takes effect. Call forwarding will work normally after this time. However the added time may confuse the caller as to why it took you longer to answer.
At this time there is a very manual and partial solution that may offer some assistance. If your telephone adapter is turned off your phone will not ring the 4-5 times and therefore go directly to call forwarding as normal. We do not recommend this solution as it requires you to unplug and replug the power to your adapter each time.
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Can I add a toll free number to my line? Yes, toll free numbers can be added to your account.
Calls to your toll-free number will be forwarded to your regular VoIP phone number and ring your phone differently so you can know your toll-free callers.
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Can I fax with your service? Yes, but but fax mode on your account must be turned on before you can use it. To turn on fax mode, click the My Account link on our website, login to your account and go to the Phone Features area.
NOTE:
1. Please set your fax machine to 9600 baud (sometimes called 'Overseas mode')
2. Please disable ECM on your fax machine.
3. Lower speed Internet services (such as DSL light or Cable basic) will not support faxing.
Do we offer Voicemail to Email/SMS/Phone/Pager service? Yes we do offer Voicemail to Email/SMS/Phone/Pager service. Please log into "My Account" page and click on "update Voicemail-to-Email settings" and you can update your Voicemail-to-Email Notification Address and/or Voicemail-to-SMS/Phone/Pager Address.
Note: Your cellular phone providers might charge a fee for any SMS, Phone or Pager services.
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How do I add call features to my phone line? Simply contact our Billing Department at billing@digitalvoice.ca or call 604-288-4000 / 1-877-386-4225 (toll free).
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How do I use the Digital Voice calling features?
Feature
To Activate
To Deactivate
Notes
Say my phone number
*31
Says current phone number.
Echo Test
*32
Play Music
*33
Plays on-hold music for up to 1 minute.
Current Time
*34
Says current date-time
Call Block (Private CallerID)
Block on a per-call basis: *67 + number-to-call
Call block only blocks on a per-call basis. In other words, the very next call will show the caller id, unless *67 is used again.
Call Holding
Flash-hook to place the current call on-hold. Person will hear on-hold music.
Call Display (incoming calls)
Use CallerID phone/box.
Call Waiting
Phone will beep/ring on 2nd incoming call (waiting). Flash-hook to switch to call.
3-way Calling
1. Dial 1st number 2. After 1st party answers, flash hook to get new dialtone and then dial 2nd number. 3. When 2nd party answers, flash hook again to activate 3-way calling between everyone.
Call Forward Always
*72 + number Example: *726046067880
*73
Forwards ALL incoming calls.
Call Forward On-Busy
*90 + number
*91
Forwards incoming calls only when handset is in use (i.e. busy). Note: If you also have call-waiting service, then handset is only 'busy' on 3rd incoming call.
Call Forward No-Answer
*92 + number
*93
Forwards incoming calls if not answered.
Voicemail
*98
The default password is the last 4 digits of your phone number.
Can I have more than one phone line? Yes, you can add as many phone lines as you wish but each line will be charged separately. Additional lines may require additional adapters as each adapter only supports up to 2 lines.
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Can I add additional phone numbers to my line? Yes, you can add as many phone numbers to your line as you wish but there is a charge for each additional number. You can also set different ring tones to each number using our Distinct Ring Tone service.
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Billing
When do I get billed? You will be billed once a month, on the anniversary date of when you initially signed up. Monthly fees are charged in advance while long distance fees are charged at the end of your billing cycle.
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How do I get billed? In order to keep our cost low and pass on the savings to you, we invoice by email only. Paper invoice can be provided on a per request basis.
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How do I view details of my long distance calls? You can view detailed records of your long distance calls online at anytime. Simply log on to your account at http://digitalvoice.ca/login.php (click on My Account). You will be required to provide your account password to login. If you do not remember your password, please:
a) refer to the the Quick Start Guide you received with your phone adapter or
b) click on the link provided at the login screen and your password will automatically be sent to the email account we have on your file.
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I registered for Pre-Authorized Bank Payment (PAP). When will charges be deducted from my account? Registered PAP accounts will be deducted either on the 10th or the 20th of the month, depending on your sign up date. PAP customers will receive an invoice by email prior to charges clearing from their account.
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What is the Long Distance network access fee? Customers who have long distance enabled on their account are charged a $2.95 network access fee. Many consumers are unaware of this fee but it is a STANDARD telecomunications fee charged by the primary long distance provider of all phone lines in Canada, including Telus. If you look closely at your monthly Telus bill, you will notice a $3.95 charge for this. If you have switched your primary long distance provider to another company, this fee will be charged by your long distance provider instead of Telus.
More information about this fee can be found at Telus' website at
http://about.telus.com/publicpolicy/long_distance_fee.html
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How do I cancel my account? Cancellations must be done through our website at
http://digitalvoice.ca/cancel
using your password. If you do not know or have forgotten your password, there is a link on our website to retrieve your password (it will be sent to the email address we have on file for your account).
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Number Transfer
Can I transfer my old phone number if I have DSL (high-speed internet service through my telephone company)? Yes, but you must call your DSL provider and request to have your telephone and internet service to be UNBUNDLED (Click here for more info). Your DSL provider will then assign another number to your DSL connection and your existing phone number will become a stand alone line. This will allow us to port your existing number to our service without affecting your DSL connection. It is important that you DO NOT cancel your existing phone line until the transfer is completed which takes 4-6 weeks. If you are a new customer, we will assign you a new temporary number While your number is being ported.
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How long will it take to transfer my existing phone number? Transferring your number can take between 4-8 weeks to complete. Once you submit the necessary paperwork to us, a porting request is submitted to your current phone company within 1-2 business days. From there, it ultimately depends on how fast your current phone company can process our request and release your number to us. Your current phone provider may reject or delay our porting request for these reasons:
- Pending balance owing
- Name or address mismatch (must match exactly as it appears on your phone bill)
- Contract obligations
- Associated features such as ADSL, Distinct Ring, Additional numbers
What happens while my number is being transferred? During the number transfer process, we will provide you a temporary number so that you can begin using our service and all its free features immediately. When your number is transferred, your temporary number will be replaced with your ported number seamlessly. You will receive an email notificaiton that your number has been changed.
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What happens if my number cannot be transferred? In rare cases, we may not be able to transfer. In this case, you may choose give up your current number and and we can provide you a new number in your area or elsewhere. Or, you can also keep your existing phone line with your current provider with minimal service and use our line to help you save on outgoing long distance calls.
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Can I transfer an existing cellular number to your service? Yes, but only certain cellular numbers are portable. Click here to check if your cellular number is portable.
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Technical Support
Can Digital Voice works with wireless internet? The VOIP adapter needs to be plugged into a physical ethernet outlet. At some locations, the only internet available is via a wifi hotspot (sometimes called a 'wireless internet') such as in some hotels, cafes, shopping malls.
In such cases, here are some options you can try, starting with the easiest:
--- If you have a laptop that can connect to the wireless internet, then a softphone would be the simplest solution. Please go to http://www.yourvoipcompany.com/softphone.php to download the softphone and follow the instructions on how to set it up. You will need a headset to be able to use the softphone, but these are inexpensive and usually found at many electronics stores.
--- Any Windows XP/Vista computer that has both a wifi card and an ethernet plug can be configured to act as a wireless bridge. Basically, you plug the VOIP adapter directly to the computer, and the computer acts as the go-between so that the adapter can get to the internet. This requires some changes to your computer's settings. If you are unfamiliar with it, please contact us and we can use a remote assist tool to help you.
--- Some wireless routers can also act in "wireless bridge" mode. Bascially the router turns the wirless signal back to a regular ethernet one, so that you can plug your VOIP adapter into it to work. Not all wireless routers can do this. This also requires a fair amount of technical skills to get working.
We would also like to place a word of caution - some places (especially hotels) purposely block VOIP traffic. This means that no mater what you try, VOIP won't work at such places. They usually do this to force their customers/guests to use the house phones, which they would be able to charge for.
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Dial Plan Customers provisioning their own hardware devices should be aware that a special dial plan is needed to use our service effectively. Without the correct dial plan you may experience delays of up to 20+ seconds before hearing a ring tone when making outbound calls. The following dial plan is effective on all Sipura and Linksys* devices.
The entire string above should be pasted into the dial plan box as one line. After you save the update the delay problem should be resolved immediately.
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DMZ Activation for Routers We have found that routers are the most common cause of VoIP service disruptions. Activating the DMZ option eliminates the router as a problem source while still offering the same level of security and networking options to all the other devices within your network. DMZ also allows our technical support department to access your phone adapter for remote troubleshooting purposes.
DMZ is an acronym for "De-Militarized Zone". Enabling this feature tells your router to deliver all incoming traffic in an un-altered form to the device that you specify. In this case the device will be your VoIP telephone adapter. This elimates the router as the source of your VoIP problems.
Every brand of router has a different management interface. Please refer to your router manual or contact our technical support department.
Once you know the IP enter it in the DMZ section of your router. Be sure to enable the feature and save the settings. This change is immediate so you will be able to test your VoIP telephone right away to find the results.
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Faxing over a VoIP connection. In order for faxing over VoIP become more consistent, you need to make a few setting changes on the fax machine:
1. Slow down the transmission speed. Set the BAUD rate of the fax machine to 9600 bps or even lower (7200 bps would be the next lower setting).
2. Turn off or disable ECM error correction mode, a setting, usually defaulted on, that many fax machines have.
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How come I do not have dial tone? There are a few possibilities why you lost dial tone. Here is a checklist of things you can check.
1. Make sure your internet is working. If you internet is not working your phone will not work because VoIP requires high speed internet in order to work.
2. Make sure the telephone is plugged into the appropriate port, Phone 1 or Phone 2.
3. Disconnect and re-connect the telephone cable between the adapter and telephone.
4. Power cycle your phone adapter by unplugging the power wait for 1 minute and plug the power back into the adapter.
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How to obtain the IP Address of your Phone All Models (except Linksys RT31P2 Router and ATA 1000)
Get a pen and paper ready
Connect a telephone handset to the Digital Voice adapter.
Using the handset dial the star key (*) four times.
You will hear a man's voice say "Configuration Menu".
Dial 110# , the phone will then read out the IP address
Linksys Router Model (RT31P2 model)
Connect your computer to the RT31p2 to anyone of the 3 ethernet ports
Open your web-browser (Example: Internet Explorer)
How to troubleshoot one-way audio? The first step would be to try to limit the devices between the ATA and the Internet. To do this connect the ATA directly to the first device, which would usually be a modem. (You may have to do a power cycle of the modem to get the VoIP ATA to connect.)
If you still have problem with one-way audio here are some other things you can try:
1. Determine where the public IP address is sitting and if possible configure the network so the ATA/router receives a public IP address.
2. Configure any firewalls to allow the correct ports needed to pass directly to the ATA.
3. Place the ATA VoIP device in a DMZ or perimeter zone, where it will sit outside the firewall.
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Integrating an Alarm system with VoIP. Alarm companies are currently coming to grips with the realization that they will need to make their services work with VoIP. Some companies can get their equipment to make the necessary communications and line seizure, but many cannot and will not support the service over VoIP. The only way to know for sure is to call your alarm professional. Introduction of voltages into a telephone line connected to VoIP can interfere with the VoIP connection. In the event that you experience dropped calls or other issues with line quality, and have an alarm system integrated into the same wiring, try to connect a phone directly to the VoIP device, as a test. If the issue stops occurring, then it could be a result from voltage introduced by the alarm system.
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Must we activate 911? Due to the regulations and law by CRTC, 911 emergency calling is mandatory for end user. The end user and only the end user must input their information such as their name and address to activate 911.
What type of devices do Digital Voice support? Digital Voice support devices that are SIP enable. We also support softphone that are SIP enable for example X Lite.
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Why do I have Echo on my phone? Echo issues can cause by quite a few things. Here are a few checklist you can use to solving your problem.
- Try a different phone. If the audio is better, the problem is with your phone.
- Turn the volume softer on your phone
- Make sure all the wires are securely inplace. Replace any wires that are torn or have loose connectors.
- Make sure your Digital Voice adapter is at least a few feet away from any other electronic devices such as microwave.
- If you are using a cordless phones, change the frequencies or channels on the phone.
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Why is my voice quality very poor? We often find that clients may have call quality problems. A common cause of this is limited bandwidth. We have found that more and more internet providers are now offering entry level broadband plans with limited speed. These plans are often called 'Lite' or 'Basic'.
If you are on one of these entry level packages you may have just enough speed to support a VoIP telephone call. If you are unsure which package you are on, or how much bandwidth you have, you may perform a speed test at one of the following links. Please use the city closest to you :
Once you have run the test you should see your Download and Upload speed results. The lowest speed will be the limiting factor in your call quality. Here is what you could expect if either of your speeds are too low:
Upload speed too low -> Your voice will not be clear to people you call.
Download speed too low -> Your callers voice will not be clear to you.
Latency -> The time delay between when audio is sent and received.
We recommend a minimum of 128Kb/s for both upload and download speed for voice lines, and a minimum of 400KB/s if you have enabled the fax option.
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Will VoIP work with Dial-up Modems and Credit Card machines? Unfortunately, these devices will not work with any consistency over a VoIP connection and would not be recommended or supported by most providers. The codecs used by ATAs have been designed to compress voice, not the analog signals sent and received by modems. (Some users have had limited success by slowing down the transmission rates to very slow speeds, but the network connections would need to be very stable and a G711 codec supported. Some older machines are being used with some success, probably because they have slower BAUD rates.)
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