Desktop App issues

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Desktop App issues

Postby mpelletier92 » 12/11/2018

Hi all,

I am currently testing the Desktop App (DA) to have an idea if the Freephoneline (FPL) service is good but I'm having an intermittent issue.

So far I've had success receiving and making phone calls with excellent audio quality but here is what I noticed:

    As long as I'm calling from the DA to another line I have connection and audio:

      Call from DA to cellphone, talk for a while, hang up. Repeat process multiple times and it works.

    After calling from DA to cellphone I try the opposite:

      Call from cellphone to DA, Auto-Attendant takes over: The person you are trying to reach is not available please leave a message.
      Phone never rang on the DA.

    I test again from DA to cellphone:

      Call from DA to cellphone, cellphone rings, I answer but no audio is audible from both sides.

    Then I restart the DA, log back in:

      Call from cellphone to DA (or the opposite), everything works loud and clear.

At first I suspected a Firewall issue so I turned it off during troubleshooting but it didn't fix the issue. I also tried port forwarding without any success either.

Having a two way conversation in the beginning made it clear to me that Firewall/Router were out of the equation. In the end, restarting the app is what's working.

If you guys have an idea of what could be causing this issue I'd like to know about it. However, don't sweat it too hard, I already ordered an OBI200 and can't wait to play with it. I guess that with an ATA this kind of problem won't happen.

I'm sharing this experience in case that'd be something the developers would be interested to hear about.

Thanks for reading, will wait for your answers.
mpelletier92
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Router: Netgear WNDR3700v4 DD-WRT

Re: Desktop App issues

Postby bridonca » 12/11/2018

I do not think there was much for resources put in the desktop app for quite some time. that is works at all is a minor miracle!

You will like the SIP settings. As you already know, they cost a pretty penny, but they are worth every cent! Same goes for the Obihai device! The Obihai call attendant is a nice bonus!
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bridonca
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Re: Desktop App issues

Postby mpelletier92 » 12/11/2018

I should've mentioned in the first post that I'm using DD-WRT so it might be part of the intermittent issues I'm getting. Still interesting that everything works after an app reboot.

Haven't bought a VoIP Key yet (since buying the ATA already took a good chunk on my budget) so I can't troubleshoot/test with DD-WRT and Milkfish settings yet.

Hopefully it'll almost be a plug and play experience.

Thanks bridonca for the reply. It makes me wanna learn more without thinking I wasted money.
mpelletier92
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Computer OS: Windows 10
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Re: Desktop App issues

Postby Liptonbrisk » 12/12/2018

mpelletier92 wrote:
Having a two way conversation in the beginning made it clear to me that Firewall/Router were out of the equation.


This is the wrong conclusion to reach for at least two reasons: UDP timeouts and SIP ALG. I would encourage you to read the preamble of the PDF guide found at viewtopic.php?f=15&t=18805#p73839 (pages 1 to 4, in particular points #6 and #1). After reading the preamble, read pages 42 to 44.

As far as I know, DD-WRT doesn’t have a SIP ALG feature to disable, but #6 can still be an issue.


. I also tried port forwarding without any success either.


"The FPL desktop app uses ports 5060-5061,6060-6061,13000-13001 if you're going to port forward for the desktop app (you need to port forward to the LAN IP of the computer you're using. For most home networks the IP will begin 192.168.xxx.x). Refer to your router's manual to learn how to port forward (if your router came from your ISP, contact your ISP).

I would start just by port forwarding 13000-13001 only, which is for RTP (audio packets). If that still doesn't work, you can try adding 6060 or 6061. The most dangerous ports to forward are 5060-5061 and really shouldn't be necessary. I guess if all else fails, forward all of them: 5060-5061,6060-6061,13000-13001

These are all UDP ports."


Note that port forwarding is a security risk and should only be done when all else fails.



I guess that with an ATA this kind of problem won't happen.


It can, assuredly, still happen due to points #6 and #1 in the preamble. Unfortunately, I'm not overly familiar with the router firmware you're using and will be unable to assist with questions regarding it. I've fiddled with DD-WRT once, but I don't use it.

By the way, and this is unrelated to the issue you encountered, if the ATA loses registration for any reason, incoming calls won't work on it. Note that only one registration per FPL account is allowed at any time. When there are multiple devices/softphones using the same account, only the most recent registration is valid. The previous device will lose registration. This is especially important to consider if someone else is using your SIP credentials (username and password) that are found after logging in at https://www.freephoneline.ca/showSipSettings (or if you're trying to register your FPL account with a smartphone SIP app or with another device). Registration is required for incoming calls. It is not required for outgoing calls. If you simply want to make outgoing calls using your FPL number, configure, but don't register the account, on the SIP app being used. This is also important to consider if you're using Freephoneline's desktop application (don't have it running while using your ATA with the same FPL account). Additionally, keep in mind that if someone else is also attempting to register the same SIP credentials on another device where you live, too many registration attempts can result in a temporary IP ban. Always check registration status in the ATA and also your SIP status after logging in at the above link. If you see a device listed under SIP User Agent that you don't recognize, you've either been hacked or someone else is using your Freephoneline SIP username and SIP Password.

Hopefully it'll almost be a plug and play experience.


It won't be if you configure your ATA properly by using the PDF guide. Using the preconfigured FPL profile at Obitalk.com, which is what some uniformed people do because it's faster and seems easier until they encounter issues, can lead to problems.
Please do not send me emails; I do not work for nor represent Freephoneline or Fongo. Post questions on the forums so that others may learn from responses or assist you. Thank you. If you have an issue with your account or have a billing issue, submit a ticket here: https://support.fongo.com/hc/en-us/requests/new. Visit http://status.fongo.com/ to check FPL/Fongo service status. Freephoneline setup guides can be found at viewforum.php?f=15.
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Re: Desktop App issues

Postby Liptonbrisk » 12/12/2018

(Generic info)
Typically, for VoIP SIP services, especially for freephoneline, you want

1) a router that does not have a full cone NAT,

Visit https://www.think-like-a-computer.com/2 ... es-of-nat/.
Mango from 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.

2) a router that lets you disable SIP ALG if it's buggy,

To understand why SIP ALG often causes horrible problems, please visit
http://www.voip-info.org/wiki/view/Routers+SIP+ALG (scroll down to the section on SIP ALG problems).

If you're dealing with a modem/router combo issued by an ISP or a router with SIP ALG forced on, you may have
to use voip4.freephoneline.ca:6060 for the Proxy Server. The purpose of voip4.freephoneline.ca:6060 is to circumvent
faulty SIP ALG features in routers.

3) a router that allows you to set QoS or assign highest priority to your ATA or IP Phone over all other devices on your LAN (local area network),

For a very general description of what QoS can do for you, visit https://www.voipmechanic.com/qos-for-voip.htm.
The basic idea is if you're torrenting or have a bunch of other computers, smartphones, tablets, etc. downloading and uploading (hogging all your available bandwidth), you don't want
your ATA not to have access to enough bandwidth to make or receive calls properly. So QoS or a Bandwidth Monitor feature (which is just another form of QoS) is a really good idea for VoIP users.

I often get an occasional relative complaining to me, "Hey my calls sound choppy." And then when I go visit, some kids are playing MMOs on a computer, while another person is downloading a huge file,
and another person is backing up files to a cloud service all at the same time someone else is trying to talk on the phone. All those devices, without QoS enabled, are fighting over available bandwidth along with the ATA.

and 4) A router that lets you adjust both Unreplied and Assured UDP timeouts.

Thanks to Mango, many of us now understand that in order for ATAs to remain registered and working properly with a VoIP SIP provider like Freephoneline, in particular after power failures, the following conditions must be met:

UDP Unreplied Timeout (in your router) < NAT Keep-alive Interval (in your ATA; for Obihai ATAs this is X_KeepAliveExpires) < UDP Assured Timeout (in your router) < SIP Registration Failure Retry Wait Time (or RegisterRetryInterval in Obihai ATAs)

“<“ means less than.

When a modem leases a new IP address, a problem can arise where prior associations using the old IP address are maintained in the router. When the ATA attempts to communicate using the old IP address, the response is unreplied, and then if the UDP Unreplied timeout is greater than the Keep Alive Interval (and UDP Unreplied timeout is often set to 30 by default in consumer routers) a problem arises where the corrupted connection persists. If UDP Unreplied timeout is, for example, 17, and the NAT Keep Alive Interval is 20, then the corrupted connection will timeout or close. A new connection will be created, and everything will work fine.

Another problem can occur when the Keep-Alive interval is greater than UDP Assured Timeout (often 180 by default in consumer routers): the NAT hole will close due to the ATA not communicating frequently enough with the SIP server. In turn, incoming calls may, intermittently, not reach the ATA. Again, X_Keepalives expires is supposed to be 20 with FPL.

(the above settings are making reference to those in Obihai ATAs)

Getting access to both UDP Unreplied Timeout and UDP Assured Timeout settings in consumer routers may be difficult, if not impossible. Asuswrt-Merlin (I would avoid any model below/less powerful than an RT-AC68U), third party firmware for Asus routers, does offer easy access to these two settings, which are found under General–>Tools-->Other settings. My understanding is that third party Tomato firmware has these two settings as well. So if your router supports Tomato firmware, that may be another option. Note that I will not be held accountable any damage resulting from failed firmware updates. Apparently, Mikrotik routers also allow users to change both Assured and Unreplied UDP timeout settings as well: https://forums.redflagdeals.com/recomme ... 2115672/2/

The keep alive interval for FPL is 20. The SIP Registration Failure Retry Wait Time is 120. I use 17 for UDP Unreplied Timeout and 117 for UDP Assured Timeout.



ISPs do not issue customers routers that can do all four things I just listed. Typically it's far better to have your own router with strong QoS functions and a restricted cone NAT firewall,
disable whatever SIP ALG feature is enabled in the router, and stick whatever modem/router combo your ISP gives you into bridge mode. For Bell Hubs, visit http://forums.redflagdeals.com/please-s ... r-1993629/. For Rogers, visit https://www.rogers.com/customer/support ... ridgemodem.
Please do not send me emails; I do not work for nor represent Freephoneline or Fongo. Post questions on the forums so that others may learn from responses or assist you. Thank you. If you have an issue with your account or have a billing issue, submit a ticket here: https://support.fongo.com/hc/en-us/requests/new. Visit http://status.fongo.com/ to check FPL/Fongo service status. Freephoneline setup guides can be found at viewforum.php?f=15.
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Liptonbrisk
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Posts: 2764
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SIP Device Name: Obihai 202/2182, Groundwire
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Computer OS: Windows 64 bit
Router: Asuswrt-Merlin & others

Re: Desktop App issues

Postby mpelletier92 » 12/14/2018

Problems fixed.

Problem #1:

    When starting the Desktop App (DA) right before login I had two available hosts.

    DesktopAppLogin2hosts.JPG
    DesktopAppLogin2hosts.JPG (22.58 KiB) Viewed 9485 times


    A second network adapter on my PC came from Nmap sotfware.

    Using command prompt I noticed that after 30 seconds (more or less) the DA switched automatically to the 2nd adapter (169.254.20.229).

      Command used: netstat -ano -p udp | findstr <PID>

    Once switched it was impossible for incoming/outgoing calls to go anywhere. Deactivating the Nmap adapter fixed this issue.

    NpcapLoopbackAdapterDeactivated.JPG
    NpcapLoopbackAdapterDeactivated.JPG (15.42 KiB) Viewed 9485 times



Problem #2:

    Once problem #1 fixed I've had like many others on the forum the problem of not having any audio with incoming calls.

    Port forwarding 13000 and 13001 fixed it.

    Deactivating the port forwarding back and forth confirmed that it was indeed the solution.

Thanks Liptonbrisk for sharing so much. As you can see, you were right. I'm glad you helped.

I received my OBi200 a few days ago so in a few weeks I'll buy a VoIP key and start configuring the beast. Will update the thread when needed/done.

Thanks for reading.
mpelletier92
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Posts: 6
Joined: 12/11/2018
Location: Quebec, Canada
Computer OS: Windows 10
Router: Netgear WNDR3700v4 DD-WRT

Re: Desktop App issues

Postby Liptonbrisk » 12/15/2018

mpelletier92 wrote:
Problem #2:

Once problem #1 fixed I've had like many others on the forum the problem of not having any audio with incoming calls.

Port forwarding 13000 and 13001 fixed it.




When you setup your Obihai ATA, I would encourage you to disable all port forwarding unless all else fails.
viewtopic.php?f=15&t=18805#p73839 (Pages 42 to 44 in the PDF guide).
Also, UDP 13000 and 13001 aren’t the same RTP ports used by an ATA at default settings.

Port forwarding is a security risk.

Thanks Liptonbrisk for sharing so much. As you can see, you were right. I'm glad you helped.


Thank you for reporting back.
Please do not send me emails; I do not work for nor represent Freephoneline or Fongo. Post questions on the forums so that others may learn from responses or assist you. Thank you. If you have an issue with your account or have a billing issue, submit a ticket here: https://support.fongo.com/hc/en-us/requests/new. Visit http://status.fongo.com/ to check FPL/Fongo service status. Freephoneline setup guides can be found at viewforum.php?f=15.
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Liptonbrisk
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Posts: 2764
Joined: 04/26/2010
SIP Device Name: Obihai 202/2182, Groundwire
Firmware Version: various
ISP Name: FTTH
Computer OS: Windows 64 bit
Router: Asuswrt-Merlin & others

Re: Desktop App issues

Postby mpelletier92 » 02/06/2019

Finally bought my SIP credentials today and wanted to let you know that it works perfectly.

I followed the instructions given in the Obihai OBi20xfailover155 PDF file and it's been enough. The only thing I've done with my router is setup QoS.

Liptonbrisk wrote:As far as I know, DD-WRT doesn’t have a SIP ALG feature to disable


    You were correct, I looked through every DD-WRT menus just to make sure I didn't miss the feature and there was none.

Thanks again Liptonbrisk for the support, links and info you shared.
mpelletier92
Just Passing Thru
 
Posts: 6
Joined: 12/11/2018
Location: Quebec, Canada
Computer OS: Windows 10
Router: Netgear WNDR3700v4 DD-WRT

Re: Desktop App issues

Postby Liptonbrisk » 02/06/2019

Hi,

Thanks for letting me know!

By the way, the latest version of the PDF guide is version 1.60: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=18805#p73839.
Please do not send me emails; I do not work for nor represent Freephoneline or Fongo. Post questions on the forums so that others may learn from responses or assist you. Thank you. If you have an issue with your account or have a billing issue, submit a ticket here: https://support.fongo.com/hc/en-us/requests/new. Visit http://status.fongo.com/ to check FPL/Fongo service status. Freephoneline setup guides can be found at viewforum.php?f=15.
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Liptonbrisk
Technical Support
 
Posts: 2764
Joined: 04/26/2010
SIP Device Name: Obihai 202/2182, Groundwire
Firmware Version: various
ISP Name: FTTH
Computer OS: Windows 64 bit
Router: Asuswrt-Merlin & others


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