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 My calls sometimes go directly to voicemail
Solution

Calls go directly to voicemail if

- Your phone fails to update our servers correctly with it's location
or
- Your phone is not reachable

Failed Update

With a broadband phone service your phone must continually update our servers with it's location. The location information your phone provides is known as an IP (Internet Protocol) Address. If this update fails then your phone will no longer be reachable (You may still be able to make calls).

The are two types of failed update

1. Your phone failed to update our server and is no longer registered as 'online'.
2. Your phone provided an incorrect IP Address, hence it cannot be reached.

How can I avoid this ?This depends on the root cause of the problem.

Some common causes

Problem 1 is caused by a failure to register with our service and should be indicated on your phone (typically blinking - refer to manual). This is typically caused by a failure in your internet connection or a fault in your phone. Normally in this case of internet connection failure a phone will continue to try and re-register.

- In some cases you may need to reboot your phone (refer to manual)

The most common cause of reason 2 is dynamic IP address (The Internet address you are provided with by your ISP changes). This problem will be more apparent if your IP address is changing frequently. Some phones are better at detecting an IP address change than others and will be quick to send the new address to our service. It also depends on how your home network is configured and the problem will be more apparent if your phone is using a private IP (behind NAT).

- One solution is to contact your ISP and ask them to provide you with a fixed IP address.
- Another solution is to place use a router which is 'SIP aware' (such as ez-connect X5V/V3 or netopia 3347WG), in this case the routers will intelligently pass VOIP.
- You can also decrease the timer used for registration (set in your phone configuration
)

Another cause of reason 2 is bad STUN/uPnP implementation. STUN and uPnP are used when you are using a private IP (behind NAT). If STUN/uPnP detects the address incorrectly it will send the incorrect address to our service and your phone will be unreachable.

- The best solution is to change your hardware/software - unfortunately there are many different types of NAT so hardware which works well behind some NAT's will work less well behind others. We recommend you purchase from a reputable vendor such as http://www.digidave.ie which will accept returns.

Phone not Reachable

If the location of your phone is stored correctly in our service but your phone is not reachable then your calls will go directly to voicemail.

This normally occurs because.

1. Your phone is using a private IP (behind NAT) and the port forwarding has been closed (no route to your phone which is using a private IP from your public IP).
2. There is an Internet problem which stops routing beween our network and your home network.

Problem 1 can normally be solved by implementing a NAT traversal technique such as STUN or UPnP. If you already have STUN implemented and this happens often then try reducing your 'keep-alive' timer.

Problem 2 is a temporary fault and will normally be resoved by your ISP - If you have this problem you will also no longer be able to make calls or register with our service. If you continue to have problems inform your ISP.

If you are having continual problems with calls not reaching you then open a ticket with our support team. http://support.freespeech.ie/index.php?_m=tickets&_a=submit&step=1&departmentid=1

TIP on Eircom Netopia 3347WG
Make sure you turn off STUN/UPnP - this is a 'SIP aware' router and you should not be using any NAT traversal techniques.



Article Details
Article ID: 46
Created On: 27 Jan 2006 12:12 PM

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