5 beeps before dial tone and strange numbers in log

[Benno]

Hi there, recently I have 3 issues (after years of trouble free FPL usage)!
1) I have 5 beeps before dial tone but can dial out
2) can not dial in - goes straight to voicemail
3) strange numbers in caller log showing a call from an unknown US number (instead of OUR number) to a foreign (overseas) number sucking money out my account for calls NOT made by me!

Please help if you have any ideas!?

[Liptonbrisk]

1) I have 5 beeps before dial tone but can dial out

That typically indicates you have voicemail waiting. Dial your own FPL phone number using the phone attached to your ATA. Or dial *98.

Or visit https://support.freephoneline.ca/hc/en- ... l-remotely.

Please note that it takes 10 minutes after all voicemail has been deleted for the voicemail notification to disappear. It also takes 10 minutes after voicemail has been left for the notification to appear.

2) can not dial in - goes straight to voicemail

Always check registration status in your ATA when this happens. The reason for your ATA not being registered could be any number of things.

By the way, the proper device reboot order is always modem-->router (wait for it to be fully up and running)-->ATA.

3) strange numbers in caller log showing a call from an unknown US number (instead of OUR number) to a foreign (overseas) number sucking money out my account for calls NOT made by me!

You've been hacked.
Don't port forward in your router nor use DMZ. Port forwarding creates security risks.

What brand and model router are you using? What brand and model ATA are you using?

[Benno]

1) (calls directly going to voicemail); I do NOT have voicemail set up on FPL but have an old fashion separate answering machine. I have call forward set up to my cell in case of problems with internet/FPL (good thing I did otherwise people could not get hold of me)

2) (incoming calls going directly to voicemail); double checked an my router/ATA is registered (same as shown online - checking thru FPL website account log in).

3) (strange numbers in caller log) ; I am using linksys spa2102 installed after the shaw modem and before the wireless router

[Liptonbrisk]

1) (calls directly going to voicemail); I do NOT have voicemail set up on FPL

That doesn't matter. FPL's voicemail picks up anyway, in particular when calls are going directly to it (and when your ATA is offline).

(incoming calls going directly to voicemail); double checked an my router/ATA is registered (same as shown online - checking thru FPL website account log in).

Never use FPL's website account to check registration status. It lags behind what's actually going on in your ATA.

I am using linksys spa2102 installed after the shaw modem and before the wireless router

What brand and model router are you using?

Click http://forums.redflagdeals.com/freephon ... #p26808549, and follow all the steps (all the way down to the bottom), slowly and carefully. The same instructions apply to your ATA.

[Benno]

3) The linksys SPA2102 is a router AND phone adapter

[Liptonbrisk]

3) The linksys SPA2102 is a router AND phone adapter

and before the wireless router

Then you would reboot the modem followed by the ATA.

The WAN to LAN throughput on the 2102 is horrible with NAT enabled, so that's an odd placement.

Log in to the ATA. Navigate to Router-->LAN setup-->Networking service.
Set that to NAT if you're going to connect your ATA directly to a modem. In bridge mode, you'll be unprotected.
If it's on AUTO, it will default to bridge mode but only if it correctly detects that it's on a private network.

And once you set Network service to NAT, chances are you won't want to use it as a router anymore because it's so slow--
which, in turn, leads me to asking again, what is the brand and model (wireless) router that you're using? What you don't
want to use is a full cone NAT router. Visit https://www.think-like-a-computer.com/2 ... es-of-nat/.

Mango on the Obitalk.com forums writes,

“Use a restricted cone NAT router, and do not use port forwarding or DMZ. Restricted cone NAT will only permit inbound traffic from the service provider you're registered to. If you have a full cone NAT router, it will allow traffic from any source. This is probably not what you intend.

If you have a Windows computer, you can test your router using the utility here: http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22292023.To run it, use stun stun.ekiga.net from a command prompt.” Essentially, you download the stun-test.zip file; extract the stun.exe file from within the zip file to an easily accessible location; use an elevated command prompt (visit http://www.thewindowsclub.com/how-to-ru ... inistrator); change directory (cd) to the directory or location where you extracted stun.exe (visit http://www.digitalcitizen.life/command- ... c-commands); and type “stun stun.ekiga.net” without the quotation marks followed by the enter/return button on your keyboard.

Asus routers, at the time of this writing, produce port restricted cone NAT routers, for example and are fine, provided you’re using one with Asuswrt-Merlin, third party firmware installed: https://asuswrt.lostrealm.ca/about.


So, ideally, what you would want is the following setup:

modem (if it's a modem/router combo, you want this in bridge mode)---->router (port/restricted cone NAT router . . . if you're on DSL use the router to do PPoE login)-->ATA.

Anyway, the same instructions from the link apply: http://forums.redflagdeals.com/freephon ... #p26808549.

[Liptonbrisk]

Another possibility, with respect to you being hacked, involves someone else using your Freephoneline SIP credentials elsewhere.

You can find your SIP username and Password by logging in at https://www.freephoneline.ca/showSipSettings.

Only one registration per Freephoneline account is valid at any time.

Registration is required for incoming calls. It is not required (only the correct SIP username and password are required) for outgoing calls.
So the most recently registered device will ring for incoming calls, while the previous one will not.

Here's what happens:

1) The registration period with FPL is 3600 (1 hr). Your ATA is registered.
2) Cracker steals your FPL SIP Username and Password somehow and registers your FPL account on his device. His registration is valid. Yours is not.
3) Because your ATA doesn't bother communicating (except for Keep-alive packets) to FPL for this 1 hr registration period, your ATA still indicates that it's registered
(actually, with FPL, even if the password is wrong, the ATA can still indicate it's registered; FPL is a bit odd this way) when it's really not during that 1 hr interval. The cracker's device is registered instead.
4) You can't receive calls, but you can place outgoing calls so long as more than two channels aren't being used. The cracker can receive and place outgoing calls, so long as more than 2 channels aren't used (each active call uses one channel).


If you want to manually reclaim registration, you would have to reboot your ATA. But that's not really a solution.

If you believe your SIP credentials have been stolen, you will need to submit a ticket: https://support.fongo.com/hc/en-us/requests/new.
Select "VoIP Unlock Key-->My Account Inquiry" as the issue type. I would, in that case, request that your SIP password is changed.

This above scenario is not as plausible to me though as someone/cracker running a port scan on your ATA, which may be unprotected, in particular if you're running anything your SPA2102 (typically issued by an ISP) in bridge mode and using it as a router, using DMZ, or are port forwarding.
A cracker then gains access to your ATA and services, which allows him or her to place calls for free. So, the information from the following link is a good starting point for troubleshooting:
http://forums.redflagdeals.com/freephon ... #p26808549. Start from the top, and work your way down to the very bottom. Do not skip steps.

[Benno]

Wow, thanks for your follow up response! Will perform the suggestions tonight when I am home. I do have a netgear n750 after the linksys SPA2102

[Liptonbrisk]

Wow, thanks for your follow up response! Will perform the suggestions tonight when I am home. I do have a netgear n750 after the linksys SPA2102

Okay, latest router firmware is located at https://www.netgear.com/support/product ... x#download.

Disable SIP ALG in your Netgear n750: https://kb.netgear.com/30796/How-to-dis ... -interface.

I don't know if you have a modem/router combo issued by your ISP, but if you do, ensure that it's in bridge mode. Contact your ISP if need be.


So you would want the following:

modem/router combo in bridge mode--->Netgear n750 with SIP ALG disabled and no DMZ or port forwarding enabled (if you're using DSL, make the Netgear router do the PPoE login; all devices should be connecting to your router)--->SPA2102 (Do not have Networking service set to "NAT"; do not use this device as a router)

It makes no sense to use the SPA2102 as a router.

ATA setup guide can be found here: http://forum.fongo.com/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=16198.
Note that these older guides don't show that the failed retry timer is supposed to be set to 120 seconds: https://support.freephoneline.ca/hc/en- ... redentials.
Failed Registration Re-Try Interval: 120 seconds
So, login to your ATA and navigate to Voice-->SIP-->SIP Timer Values (sec)-->
Reg Retry Intvl should be 120.

And then, again, I strongly suggest working your way through this post: http://forums.redflagdeals.com/freephon ... #p26808549.

[Benno]

New Problem! When i signed up with FPL 6 years ago i bought an unlocked ATA (SPA2102) which didn't require a password to access the web menu! NOW is asks for a password which of course i don't have! Did FPL add this after the initial use!?

Any ideas!? I do have all info if I were to start anew. Should I buy an unlocked ATA and start from scratch?

[Benno]

I had a spare ATA (linksys Pap2T) configured years back (just in case) and installed AFTER the netgear router and it worked!! Hope they are no longer able to hack the ATA! The old Linksys SPA2102 is no longer usable as it seem to now to have a password protection (that I did not add)!

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR HELP AND ADVISE!! I realize that some people do a lot of work on volunteer bases and you are one of them!! THANKS AGAIN!!

[Liptonbrisk]

Did FPL add this after the initial use!?

No. Freephoneline can't add nor change device passwords. Crackers that have access to your device may be able to.

I don't have experience unlocking these ATAs (if it really has been locked previously by another provider, for example) and am reluctant to suggest a factory reset, which may be your only option (if it was just some cracker changing your admin password).
But on a normal, SPA2102, by default, there's no password (blank) for the admin or the user.
For example, visit http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r28235381-. for a related topic.
You can also visit http://www.toughdev.com/content/2012/06 ... e-adapter/, but I accept no responsibility for any issues that arise from following those instructions.
You can try asking at the dslreports voip forum (http://www.dslreports.com/forum/voip) for additional help if no one else responds here, but based on your last post you've moved on.

Again, I strongly recommend that you do not port forward or use DMZ. Doing so is a security risk.
And it's smart to change the default admin password for any of your devices that are connected to the internet.

[jalascoo]

Hi there, recently I have 3 issues (after years of trouble free FPL usage)!
1) I have 5 beeps before dial tone but can dial out
2) can not dial in - goes straight to voicemail
3) strange numbers in caller log showing a call from an unknown US number (instead of OUR number) to a foreign (overseas) number sucking money out my account for calls NOT made by me!

Please help if you have any ideas!?

5 beeps before dial tone probably means you have voice message. Did you check it?

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