Calls, voicemails intermittently not received, CID

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No phone, "Password is invalid", SIP settings have delet

Postby Erft » 10/06/2018

Edit by LiptonBrisk: This thread was originally merged into viewtopic.php?f=8&t=15926 by Fongo Support. I then responded in that thread. Erft then created another separate thread called "
FPL, ATA settings changed on own, stopped phone; Why?" So that I'm not responding in two separate threads for the exact same issue, I've merged all the posts here."



Hi. Freephoneline is my only phone, and I have used it every day for the past 5 years. There is no reason why it would be deleted for non-use.
I have been experiencing intermittent phone service interruptions for about a year. I'll go to make a phone call and I won't have a dial tone. And then I'll see that I've got voice mails in my email because no-one could get through. So I'll unpower and repower both the modem and the ATA, several times with an occasional reset, and that has worked...until today.

This morning I tried to make a phone call and I had no dial tone. Both phone line LEDs on my ATA (Cisco SPA 122) were out. So I powered up the computer to check my internet connection, and it was fine. I unpowered and repowered the modem and ATA several times but that didn't work. I went into the ATA setup, and things have changed. Some settings have changed, like ring tones, there are strings of information when previously there were non, packet size has changed, etc, and most disturbingly, in the "Quick Setup", ALL the information had been deleted. I re-entered voip.freephoneline.ca and voip2.freephoneline.ca as proxies for Lines 1 and 2, and re-entered my password, the only password I have written down on the printout of my freephoneline ATA settings. The phoneline LED lit up and I got back a dial tone, but when I tried to make a call, I got the message "That password is not valid". This seems to be permanent. Suddenly my password is not valid.

I tried downloading the desktop app to see if I could make calls with that, and although I could enter in the phone number to call, when I clicked "Call", there was no response. However, the call log shows that the first time I tried that number, it went through. It doesn't show the next 5 times I tried the number. So the log shows that I made a call of 32 seconds with normal call clearing, but at my end, nothing happened. I closed the desktop app, and tried to open it to try again later, but it wouldn't open.

For some reason I don't have the unlock key with the settings and password stored anywhere. That's very unlike me and I wonder if perhaps gmail deleted it like it has with other emails. The password I tried today was the one I wrote on the printout of my ATA settings. It is obviously one generated by Freephoneline because it's nothing like one I would have chosen for myself.

I thought the problem was the ATA, and maybe it is. The way all my information has just disappeared means that I have no way of programming the new ATA I bought today.

I have emailed Fongo/Freephoneline proof of purchase in the form of a copy of the bill that the Freephoneline Unlock key charge appears (2013). Freephoneline will be able to see from the email address I sent with the email to them that I did indeed purchase an Unlock Key (surely the password would have been included with that). I am hoping that they will resend me my information so I can reprogramme the ATA. I paid for it, I need it regardless of whether it's some sort of communication problem, or if I'll need to programme the new ATA.

Would anyone know if this might be a mistake on the part of Fongo/Freephoneline? Is it likely that they will resend my Unlock Key (I don't want to purchase it twice)? Does this sound like an ATA problem? If so, how do I fix this??

Volunteers, HELP!
Erft
Active Poster
 
Posts: 61
Joined: 05/14/2018
SIP Device Name: Cisco SPA122
Firmware Version: 1.3.3 (015)
ISP Name: Teksavvy, cable
Computer OS: Windows 10
Router: SPA122, LAN, 2 FXS

Re: No phone, "Password is invalid", SIP settings have delet

Postby Liptonbrisk » 10/06/2018

Erft wrote:Hi. Freephoneline is my only phone, and I have used it every day for the past 5 years. There is no reason why it would be deleted for non-use.


If you bought a VoIP unlock key, it will never be deleted due to inactivity.

I have been experiencing intermittent phone service interruptions for about a year. I'll go to make a phone call and I won't have a dial tone. And then I'll see that I've got voice mails in my email because no-one could get through. So I'll unpower and repower both the modem and the ATA, several times with an occasional reset, and that has worked...until today.


Before I begin, since I'm taking the time to help you, please, in your spare time, take the time to read the preamble on pages 1-4 of this PDF guide: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=18805#p73839. I appreciate that the guide is not intended for your ATA specifically, but the preamble applies to everyone.

Proper device reboot order is always modem–>router (wait for Wi-Fi SSIDs to populate first)–>ATA (in that order).


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 < UDP Assured Timeout (in your router) < SIP Registration Failure Retry Wait Time (Reg Retry Intvl)

“<“ means less than.

A 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. NAT Keep-alive Interval is supposed to be 20 with
FPL.

Getting access to both UDP Unreplied Timeout and UDP Assured Timeout settings in consumer routers may be
difficult, if not impossible. Asuswrt-Merlin, 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.
The keep alive interval for FPL is 20. The SIP Registration Failure Retry Wait Time (Reg Retry Intvl setting in your ATA) is supposed to be 120. I use 10 for UDP
Unreplied Timeout and 117 for UDP Assured Timeout.




1. What brand and model

a) modem and
b) router are you using?

(do refer to the preamble I mentioned earlier on pages 1 to 4 of the PDF guide)



This morning I tried to make a phone call and I had no dial tone. Both phone line LEDs on my ATA (Cisco SPA 122) were out. So I powered up the computer to check my internet connection


Always check registration status in the ATA and also your SIP status after logging in at https://www.freephoneline.ca/showSipSettings.
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.



and it was fine. I unpowered and repowered the modem and ATA several times but that didn't work. I went into the ATA setup, and things have changed. Some settings have changed, like ring tones, there are strings of information when previously there were non, packet size has changed, etc, and most disturbingly, in the "Quick Setup", ALL the information had been deleted.


Either your ATA has been reset--or you've been hacked. Don't port forward; don't use DMZ; and always use a restricted or port-restricted cone NAT router. Refer to point #3 in the PDF guide on page 2. Also visit https://forums.redflagdeals.com/freepho ... #p29299104.

I re-entered voip.freephoneline.ca and voip2.freephoneline.ca as proxies for Lines 1 and 2, and re-entered my password, the only password I have written down on the printout of my freephoneline ATA settings. The phoneline LED lit up and I got back a dial tone, but when I tried to make a call, I got the message "That password is not valid". This seems to be permanent. Suddenly my password is not valid.


Your SIP Password is found after logging in at https://www.freephoneline.ca/showSipSettings.

I tried downloading the desktop app to see if I could make calls with that, and although I could enter in the phone number to call, when I clicked "Call", there was no response. However, the call log shows that the first time I tried that number, it went through. It doesn't show the next 5 times I tried the number. So the log shows that I made a call of 32 seconds with normal call clearing, but at my end, nothing happened. I closed the desktop app, and tried to open it to try again later, but it wouldn't open.


When calls drop after 32 seconds, the problem is the ACK (acknowledgement) response isn't being received after the 200 OK status.

Image

200 OK is sent to your ATA (or desktop app in this case) by FPL. Your ATA/desktop app is supposed to send ACK (acknowledge) back. If ACK is not received by FPL's server, then
FPL eventually stops waiting for ACK and replies with BYE (likely at the 32 seconds), ending the call. SIP signalling can be completely broken by faulty SIP ALG features in routers or
modem/router combos. SIP ALG features in many routers (but not all) often modify SIP headers, incorrectly. Typically it's best to have your own (good) router, disable SIP ALG in it, and stick whatever modem/router combo your ISP gives you in bridge mode. SIP ALG/SPI is sometimes enabled by default in the modem/router junk combos that ISPs give customers with the option to disable it hidden from customers. Possibly your ISP can disable this feature for you. However, typically the first rep you speak to will be completely clueless. Refer to page 1 and 2 of the PDF guide that I linked above (the SIP ALG section).

Additionally, in your ATA, make sure that the following settings are enabled (Under Voice >> SIP):

a)Handle VIA received: yes
b)Handle VIA rport: yes
c)Substitute VIA Addr: yes

Ensure those are enabled. Your public WAN IP will be substituted in the VIA header so that FPL's server won't send a response to your LAN IP address (192.168.x.x, which would be the same thing as FPL sending packets into oblivion).


For desktop app installation instructions, visit viewtopic.php?f=8&t=19063#p74810 (the instructions were posted for someone using Windows 8, but it's pretty similar for Windows 10 as well).

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.

If your ATA makes more than 5 registration attempts in 5 minutes, you may end up being temporarily IP banned by the specific FPL server the ATA was sending registration requests to. If you're temporarily IP banned, you could then try switching ProxyServer (refer to pages 14, 20, and 21) to a different FPL server than the one you were previously using (voip.freephoneline.ca, voip2.freephoneline.ca, or voip4.freephoneline.ca:6060), unless you need to use voip4.freephoneline.ca:6060 because you have SIP ALG forced on in your router. The purpose of voip4.freephoneline.ca:6060 is to circumvent SIP ALG features in routers. If you followed this guide properly, chances are you haven’t been temporarily IP banned and should skip ahead to step D.

From https://community.freepbx.org/t/trunk-s ... ca/22479/8
"As May 2013, our servers will rate limit REGISTER requests to a maximum of 10 requests per 5 minutes. Each authentication round usually consumes 2 requests (digest auth), so it is a fair number given our guidelines. Also, it does not affect INVITES (which are also authenticated)...

This rate limit is applied per IP address as our service is tailored to residential Canadian users (ADSL/Cable)."

If you're temporarily IP banned, you could then try switching Primary SIP Server to a different FPL server than the one you were previously using (voip.freephoneline.ca, voip2.freephoneline.ca, or voip4.freephoneline.ca:6060), unless you need to use voip4.freephoneline.ca:6060 because you have SIP ALG forced on in your router. The purpose of voip4.freephoneline.ca:6060 is to circumvent SIP ALG features in routers. Or you can disable FPL SIP registration in all devices (turn off your ATA) and wait several hours until the temporary ban clears.

https://support.freephoneline.ca/hc/en- ... redentials
These timers are important:
Registration Interval: 3600 seconds (1 hour)

Registration Expiry: 3600 seconds (1 hour)

Failed Registration Re-Try Interval: 120 seconds




For some reason I don't have the unlock key with the settings and password stored anywhere.


They can be found after logging in at https://www.freephoneline.ca/showSipSettings.

If you've forgotten your password for logging in at the Freephoneline web portal, you can click the forgot password link to reset your password.


I have emailed Fongo/Freephoneline proof of purchase in the form of a copy of the bill that the Freephoneline Unlock key charge appears (2013).


Support staff doesn't officially work on weekends or holidays. Monday is Thanksgiving. Also, if you wish to receive a response you would need to submit a ticket at https://support.fongo.com/hc/en-us/requests/new.
Select "VoIP Unlock Key"-->"My Account Inquiry" for the issue type.
I would not expect a response before Wednesday (given that Monday is a holiday . . . and then add 24hrs for a reply).

Would anyone know if this might be a mistake on the part of Fongo/Freephoneline?


That’s unlikely. My response continues on the next thread page because I'm limited to posting 10 links per post.
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.
User avatar
Liptonbrisk
Technical Support
 
Posts: 2763
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

service down or just me :)?

Postby Liptonbrisk » 10/06/2018

Continuing my response . . .

Erft wrote:Is it likely that they will resend my Unlock Key (I don't want to purchase it twice)? Does this sound like an ATA problem? If so, how do I fix this??


I suspect you were either hacked or your ATA was reset. ATA settings don't change magically.

Port forwarding and using DMZ are security risks. Don't port forward (UPnP is also a security risk in many routers), unless you have no other choice. Don't use DMZ. Change the default password for logging into your ATA. Refer to your ATA's manual if you don't know how. Using default passwords for devices connected to the internet is a great way to get hacked.

Use this guide: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=16206 (it's not the exact same model, but it's similar enough) and then make sure you follow all the steps listed in this post: http://forums.redflagdeals.com/anyone-h ... #p26234003.


You need to configure your ATA again after getting your SIP password.
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.
User avatar
Liptonbrisk
Technical Support
 
Posts: 2763
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

FPL, ATA settings changed on own, stopped phone; Why?

Postby Erft » 10/08/2018

Hi. I currently have a working phone, but I'm nervous that this situation may not continue.

I've been having intermittent problems with phone service just not being available usually after a night of non-use, for about a year. Some days, several times each day. There's just no dial tone. A reboot of modem and then ATA (Cisco SPA 122) has always worked before, with sometimes the occasional reset of each needed.

2 days ago it didn't work. I finally went into ATA settings and found that some settings had changed, and all my proxies and password had been completely deleted. I reentered the proxies and password, and got a dial tone. I was able to make calls. I thought everything was fixed.
The desktop app wouldn't make calls (a click on the "Call" button got no result), but the first call I tried registered in the call log. The next few tries didn't. I closed the desktop app, and when I tried to reopen it, it wouldn't. I wasn't too concerned because I thought everything was fixed with the analog phone.

Today being Thanksgiving, some people have tried to call me. The phone never rang. All calls immediately went to email voicemail. That was the only way I knew anybody had called. I looked at my Freephoneline account, and there was no Call Log. No calls showed up in my phone CID. I had my neighbour call me on his cell, and I could hear from his end that the phone didn't ring; it went immediately to voicemail. The problem wasn't my phone. So in my account, I went into Follow Me settings, and they had changed. Since I don't have a cell phone or other phone number, I keep Follow Me "Disabled", but suddenly it was enabled for Always Forward. I disabled it, and had my neighbour call me again, and this time the phone rang. I looked at my account, and now the Call Log was available. His call showed up.

I have looked at other posts and some people are saying it's Windows updates causing problems. A windows update the same day that my settings changed and my password and proxies deleted made a pop-up appear advertising Microsoft's new 2019 Office program, and suddenly my legacy MS Office wouldn't work. Trying to reinstall and repair with the CD doesn't work because apparently my computer has been scrubbed clean of Visual FoxPro, with MS not allowing anyone to redownload it. Is Microsoft screwing around with PCs, scrubbing things out, changing settings? Just conjecture right now.

So:
-Why have I been experiencing intermittent phone service disruption for the last year?
-Why won't the desktop app work?
-WHY ARE MY SETTINGS CHANGING? In both the ATA and in my Freephoneline account?

I'm sure someone here will recognise what's going on here.

Thank-you.



PS: I considered uninstalling and reinstalling Freephoneline, but it doesn't show up anywhere in my computer. Not in apps, not in program files, not in program files (86). A search of my PC doesn't find it. I have no idea how to uninstall and reinstall if this is what's needed.
Erft
Active Poster
 
Posts: 61
Joined: 05/14/2018
SIP Device Name: Cisco SPA122
Firmware Version: 1.3.3 (015)
ISP Name: Teksavvy, cable
Computer OS: Windows 10
Router: SPA122, LAN, 2 FXS

Re: FPL, ATA settings changed on own, stopped phone; Why?

Postby Liptonbrisk » 10/09/2018

Please don't create multiple threads on the exact same topic, which makes troubleshooting confusing. Thank you


Erft wrote:Hi. I currently have a working phone, but I'm nervous that this situation may not continue.

I've been having intermittent problems with phone service just not being available usually after a night of non-use, for about a year. Some days, several times each day. There's just no dial tone. A reboot of modem and then ATA (Cisco SPA 122) has always worked before, with sometimes the occasional reset of each needed.




Before I begin, since I'm taking the time to help you, please, in your spare time, take the time to read the preamble on pages 1-4 of this PDF guide: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=18805#p73839. I appreciate that the guide is not intended for your ATA specifically, but the preamble applies to everyone.

Also, visit http://forums.redflagdeals.com/anyone-h ... #p26234003.
Proper device reboot order is always modem–>router (wait for Wi-Fi SSIDs to populate first)–>ATA (in that order).


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 < UDP Assured Timeout (in your router) < SIP Registration Failure Retry Wait Time (Reg Retry Intvl)

“<“ means less than.

A 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. NAT Keep-alive Interval is supposed to be 20 with
FPL.

Getting access to both UDP Unreplied Timeout and UDP Assured Timeout settings in consumer routers may be
difficult, if not impossible. Asuswrt-Merlin, 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.
The keep alive interval for FPL is 20. The SIP Registration Failure Retry Wait Time (Reg Retry Intvl setting in your ATA) is supposed to be 120. I use 10 for UDP
Unreplied Timeout and 117 for UDP Assured Timeout.




1. What brand and model

a) modem and
b) router are you using?




2 days ago it didn't work. I finally went into ATA settings and found that some settings had changed, and all my proxies and password had been completely deleted. I reentered the proxies and password, and got a dial tone.


Either your ATA has been reset--or you've been hacked. Don't port forward; don't use DMZ; and always use a restricted or port-restricted cone NAT router. Refer to point #3 in the PDF guide on page 2. Also visit https://forums.redflagdeals.com/freepho ... #p29299104.

The desktop app wouldn't make calls (a click on the "Call" button got no result), but the first call I tried registered in the call log. The next few tries didn't. I closed the desktop app, and when I tried to reopen it, it wouldn't. I wasn't too concerned because I thought everything was fixed with the analog phone.


For desktop app installation instructions, visit viewtopic.php?f=8&t=19063#p74810 (the instructions were posted for someone using Windows 8, but it's pretty similar for Windows 10 as well).

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.

If your ATA makes more than 5 registration attempts in 5 minutes, you may end up being temporarily IP banned by the specific FPL server the ATA was sending registration requests to. If you're temporarily IP banned, you could then try switching ProxyServer (refer to pages 14, 20, and 21) to a different FPL server than the one you were previously using (voip.freephoneline.ca, voip2.freephoneline.ca, or voip4.freephoneline.ca:6060), unless you need to use voip4.freephoneline.ca:6060 because you have SIP ALG forced on in your router. The purpose of voip4.freephoneline.ca:6060 is to circumvent SIP ALG features in routers. If you followed this guide properly, chances are you haven’t been temporarily IP banned and should skip ahead to step D.

From https://community.freepbx.org/t/trunk-s ... ca/22479/8
"As May 2013, our servers will rate limit REGISTER requests to a maximum of 10 requests per 5 minutes. Each authentication round usually consumes 2 requests (digest auth), so it is a fair number given our guidelines. Also, it does not affect INVITES (which are also authenticated)...

This rate limit is applied per IP address as our service is tailored to residential Canadian users (ADSL/Cable)."

If you're temporarily IP banned, you could then try switching Primary SIP Server to a different FPL server than the one you were previously using (voip.freephoneline.ca, voip2.freephoneline.ca, or voip4.freephoneline.ca:6060), unless you need to use voip4.freephoneline.ca:6060 because you have SIP ALG forced on in your router. The purpose of voip4.freephoneline.ca:6060 is to circumvent SIP ALG features in routers. Or you can disable FPL SIP registration in all devices (turn off your ATA) and wait several hours until the temporary ban clears.

https://support.freephoneline.ca/hc/en- ... redentials
These timers are important:
Registration Interval: 3600 seconds (1 hour)

Registration Expiry: 3600 seconds (1 hour)

Failed Registration Re-Try Interval: 120 seconds
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.
User avatar
Liptonbrisk
Technical Support
 
Posts: 2763
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: service down or just me :)?

Postby Liptonbrisk » 10/09/2018

And continuing . . .


Erft wrote:Today being Thanksgiving, some people have tried to call me. The phone never rang. All calls immediately went to email voicemail. That was the only way I knew anybody had called. I looked at my Freephoneline account, and there was no Call Log. No calls showed up in my phone CID. I had my neighbour call me on his cell, and I could hear from his end that the phone didn't ring; it went immediately to voicemail. The problem wasn't my phone. So in my account, I went into Follow Me settings, and they had changed. Since I don't have a cell phone or other phone number, I keep Follow Me "Disabled", but suddenly it was enabled for Always Forward. I disabled it, and had my neighbour call me again, and this time the phone rang. I looked at my account, and now the Call Log was available. His call showed up.

I have looked at other posts and some people are saying it's Windows updates causing problems.


No. Windows updates and Microsoft have nothing to do with your ATA and Freephoneline online account being hacked. Change your online account password: https://www.freephoneline.ca/updatePasswordDetails.

Port forwarding and using DMZ are security risks. Don't port forward (UPnP is also a security risk in many routers), unless you have no other choice. Don't use DMZ. Change the default password for logging into your ATA. Refer to your ATA's manual if you don't know how. Using default passwords for devices connected to the internet is a great way to get hacked.

Always use a restricted or port-restricted cone NAT router. Refer to point #3 in the PDF guide on page 2. Also visit https://forums.redflagdeals.com/freepho ... #p29299104.


-Why have I been experiencing intermittent phone service disruption for the last year?



There could be a multitude of reasons, including, but not limited to, intermittent internet connectivity.

Are Freephoneline’s SIP servers down? My ATA isn’t registered.

A. Visit http://status.fongo.com/ to check server status.

B. If the service status website doesn’t note any issues, then chances are the problem is on your end. In
your in your SPA122, Navigate to Voice-->Line 1 (or whatever you're using for FPL)-->SIP settings, change SIP Port to a random number between 30000 and 60000.
Just pick a port number in that range. Change to a new port number in that range. Afterwards, reboot the ATA.


If changing the local SIP Port works, you were dealing with a corrupted NAT connection in your router.
Possibly a NAT router connection was never disconnected or never timed out properly. And, then, the
ATA keeps the corrupted connection in a persistent state over and over again. (Credit goes to Mango for
this information). Possibly, this problem is due to the router's UDP timeout being in excess of the ATA's
Failure Retry timer. With FPL, that's 120 seconds.

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 < UDP Assured Timeout (in your router) < SIP Registration Failure Retry Wait Time (Reg Retry Intvl)

“<“ 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, 10, 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_KeepaliveExpires is supposed to be 20 with FPL.


Getting access to both UDP Unreplied Timeout and UDP Assured Timeout settings in consumer routers may be
difficult, if not impossible. Asuswrt-Merlin, 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.
The keep alive interval for FPL is 20. The SIP Registration Failure Retry Wait Time (Reg Retry Intvl setting in your ATA) is 120. I use 10 for UDP
Unreplied Timeout and 117 for UDP Assured Timeout.

C. Double check your Registration timers.

i. Register Expires must be set to 3600 seconds
ii. Navigate to Voice-->SIP-->SIP Timer Values (sec)-->Reg Retry Intvl should be 120 seconds

If your ATA makes more than 5 registration attempts in 5 minutes (each time your reboot your ATA, it's attempting to register with Freephoneline; if the reg retry interval or Register Expires is too low, you also run the risk of getting temporarily IP banned), you may end up being temporarily IP banned by the specific FPL server the ATA was sending registration requests to. If you're temporarily IP banned, you could then try switching Proxy to a different FPL server than the one you were previously using
(voip.freephoneline.ca, voip2.freephoneline.ca, or voip4.freephoneline.ca:6060), unless you need to use voip4.freephoneline.ca:6060 because you have SIP ALG forced on in your router. The purpose of voip4.freephoneline.ca:6060 is to circumvent SIP ALG features in routers.


From https://community.freepbx.org/t/trunk-s ... ca/22479/8
"As May 2013, our servers will rate limit REGISTER requests to a maximum of 10 requests per 5 minutes. Each authentication round usually consumes 2 requests (digest auth), so it is a fair number given our guidelines. Also, it does not affect INVITES (which are also authenticated)...

This rate limit is applied per IP address as our service is tailored to residential Canadian users (ADSL/Cable)."

If you're temporarily IP banned, you could then try switching Primary SIP Server to a different FPL server than the one you were previously using (voip.freephoneline.ca, voip2.freephoneline.ca, or voip4.freephoneline.ca:6060), unless you need to use voip4.freephoneline.ca:6060 because you have SIP ALG forced on in your router. The purpose of voip4.freephoneline.ca:6060 is to circumvent SIP ALG features in routers. Or you can disable FPL SIP registration in all devices (turn off your ATA) and wait a few hours until the temporary ban clears.

-Why won't the desktop app work?


It works fine for me on four different PCs.

A windows update the same day that my settings changed and my password and proxies deleted made a pop-up appear advertising Microsoft's new 2019 Office program, and suddenly my legacy MS Office wouldn't work. Trying to reinstall and repair with the CD doesn't work because apparently my computer has been scrubbed clean of Visual FoxPro, with MS not allowing anyone to redownload it.


You may have bigger issues, in particular not having a stable, uncorrupted OS installed, that preclude you from getting the Freephoneline desktop app working. Possibly, a clean install of your OS may help.


For desktop app installation instructions, visit viewtopic.php?f=8&t=19063#p74810 (the instructions were posted for someone using Windows 8, but it's pretty similar for Windows 10 as well).
Also visit https://forums.redflagdeals.com/newegg- ... #p28415214.

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.





WHY ARE MY SETTINGS CHANGING? In both the ATA and in my Freephoneline account?


You've likely been hacked or someone else has access to your ATA and FPL account.

Port forwarding and using DMZ are security risks. Don't port forward (UPnP is also a security risk in many routers), unless you have no other choice. Don't use DMZ. Change the default password for logging into your ATA. Refer to your ATA's manual if you don't know how. Using default passwords for devices connected to the internet is a great way to get hacked. Always use a restricted or port-restricted cone NAT firewall router to protect your ATA and devices on your LAN. Update router firmware if you have your own router (sometimes firmware updates contain security patches).

Use strong passwords, and don’t use the same password at any site: https://haveibeenpwned.com/ (check your email addresses).

Run Malwarebytes on your PC: https://www.malwarebytes.com/premium/ (there's a free trail; run a scan). I find Malwarebytes is useful for ransomware and general malware that some other products don't detect.
Run a free scan with ESET's online scanner: https://www.eset.com/ca/home/online-scanner/. I like Eset because it has a really low false-positive detection rate in comparison to other products. In many cases, antivirus products are more annoying than viruses that never exist on a PC due to high false-positive detections.
Otherwise, you may wish to attempt a clean install of your OS.
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: 2763
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SIP Device Name: Obihai 202/2182, Groundwire
Firmware Version: various
ISP Name: FTTH
Computer OS: Windows 64 bit
Router: Asuswrt-Merlin & others

Calls, voicemails intermittently not received, CID

Postby Erft » 07/13/2021

Calls go out with no issue.

Last month someone told me that they had tried calling me and the phone had just rung and rung, no answer. I checked my SIP settings and they looked OK. As well, the phone had rung and I had received a call later that day, so I assumed that person must have been mistaken.

Today I was told yet again that the phone had rung and rung with no answer, while I was sitting right next to the phone. I called a friend and asked them to call. My phone didn't ring at all. I called them back and they said that when they called, the phone rang for a very long time, and then they got my voicemail. They left a message.
At my end, there was no "Missed call" on the phone display, and there was no voicemail.
My friend assumed they had called the wrong number, so they tried again. This time my phone rang. After we'd hung up, the CID showed both their calls (the lost one and the received one), and there was the "New Voicemail" notification. I listened to their message; yes they'd had the right number and left a message but Freephoneline hadn't let me know until I'd managed to receive a call from them.

-The missed calls (where people gave up leaving a voicemail because the phone just rang and rang) aren't in the Call Log.
-I don't know if it's related, but I just received a text through Textnow, and no notification went through to my email of its arrival.

I've read other posts where people have a similar issue. I think I actually recall people telling me, on the rare occasion last year (2020), that the same thing happened to them when they tried calling me.
What throws me is how my friend called, left a voicemail after a long time of rings, there was no indication that they'd ever called, then they were able to get through successfully right after. I've had at least two people give up on getting my voicemail because the phone just seems to ring and ring. I have no idea how many calls I've missed because phone display doesn't show a call as having been missed. The posts I've read by other people doesn't mention this.

Has anyone else solved this issue?
Erft
Active Poster
 
Posts: 61
Joined: 05/14/2018
SIP Device Name: Cisco SPA122
Firmware Version: 1.3.3 (015)
ISP Name: Teksavvy, cable
Computer OS: Windows 10
Router: SPA122, LAN, 2 FXS

Re: Calls, voicemails intermittently not received, CID

Postby Liptonbrisk » 07/13/2021

1. Click https://www.freephoneline.ca/followMeSettings and login. Is Follow Me enabled? Ensure "Follow Me" is disabled while testing.

2. Perform step 9 from viewtopic.php?f=8&t=20199#p78975 before testing.

3. Please click viewtopic.php?f=8&t=20199 and provide the requested information, in particular, the brand and model of your modem and router.

4. Which Proxy Server are you using? Does switching to voip4.freephoneline.ca:6060 change anything?
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: 2763
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: Calls, voicemails intermittently not received, CID

Postby Liptonbrisk » 07/13/2021

I've decided to merge two threads together because they appear related, insofar as some incoming calls were going to voicemail.

Upon skimming the older thread, this jumped out at the me, and I'm not sure why I never mentioned anything previously:

Erft wrote:I re-entered voip.freephoneline.ca and voip2.freephoneline.ca as proxies for Lines 1 and 2 and re-entered my password, the only password I have written down on the printout of my freephoneline ATA settings


It's not possible to register the exact same FPL account simultaneously on more than one line. Note that only one registration per FPL account is allowed at any time. Each Line is considered a separate registration.
Visit viewtopic.php?f=15&t=16340#p64442 for your SPA122's configuration guide. On Page 5, Line 2 is disabled for that reason (if you own two VoIP unlock keys, then enabling Line 2 makes sense).

When there are multiple devices/softphones/lines using the same account, only the most recent registration is valid. The previous device or line will lose registration, and, consequently, incoming calls will not work properly on it. 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, with another device, or with another line. Registration is required for incoming calls. It is not required for outgoing calls. A more significant concern, though, is that multiple registration attempts can lead to temporary IP bans. The more devices (or lines in your ATA) being used with the exact same FPL account can make the temporary ban happen more quickly. Note that each time you reboot or restart your ATA or SIP app, it's attempting to register with Freephoneline again (and twice with each line since it's using the same FPL account). Multiple registration attempts within a short period can result in temporary IP ban. Each time you reboot your ATA it's attempting to register with FPL's proxy server.


Also, with respect to the potential security issues I mentioned previously, I would consider those to be serious concerns.
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: 2763
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: Calls, voicemails intermittently not received, CID

Postby Erft » 07/16/2021

Hi Liptonbrisk, thanks for your reply.

I have gone through my SIP settings and found that I had voip2 as my line1, and voip4 as my line2. I had Voice>Line2 enabled, so I changed that to "No". I've made those adjustments and a few others as directed to in the past, to fix various issues with the phone over the years.
Line1 is still voip2.

In response to some points you made/questions you had:
-I got the two different voip.freephoneline address, one for each line, from a post in this help forum. I don't recall which one but I wouldn't have known to even try those different addresses without having read it first. Perhaps it was even a response to a post I made because I couldn't access Call Waiting.
-Rebooting the ATA: It reboots when the breaker breaks (can be a couple of times over a couple of minutes, but not a frequent occurrence) or a power cut (not frequent), and once a month when I power cycle the network.
-I shouldn't think that anyone else is using my credentials to sign into anything. I'm the only one with access to this phone and ATA, although I have multiple handsets and I do sometimes switch from one to another when on hold for a long time.
-I don't have a smart phone or any other device.

The pdf you linked to is the one I downloaded and referred to when I first set up my ATA years ago. No harm in going back to basics. :)

So now I wait and see if people are still having difficulty getting through to my number, and if not, if I'm able to access Call Waiting.
Erft
Active Poster
 
Posts: 61
Joined: 05/14/2018
SIP Device Name: Cisco SPA122
Firmware Version: 1.3.3 (015)
ISP Name: Teksavvy, cable
Computer OS: Windows 10
Router: SPA122, LAN, 2 FXS

Re: Calls, voicemails intermittently not received, CID

Postby Liptonbrisk » 07/16/2021

Erft wrote:Hi Liptonbrisk, thanks for your reply.

I have gone through my SIP settings and found that I had voip2 as my line1, and voip4 as my line2. I had Voice>Line2 enabled, so I changed that to "No".


Keep that set to No, or change Voice-->Line 2-->Proxy and Registration-->Register to No instead, with the understanding that incoming calls will not ring on Line 2. Otherwise, you should expect problems unless you purchased two Freephoneline VoIP unlock keys and are registering each one separately on each line.
Only one registration is permitted at any time per FPL account.

Line1 is still voip2.


Since you haven't provided me with the brand and model of the both the modem and router you're using, change Proxy to "voip4.freephoneline.ca:6060" without the quotation marks to help avoid SIP ALG.
Refer to point B in the post below.

Follow these steps down the list, step by step:

1. Check to see whether you've accidentally enabled Caller ID block on your ATA. Dial *68 to remove caller ID blocking on all outbound calls.
Don't use "Anonymous" for display name in your ATA. Don't use or accidentally dial *67.

This not related to your specific issue, but others have reported issues on outbound calls when *67 was enabled.

2. Login to your ATA. Select the admin menu. In your ATA, navigate to Voice-->Line (whichever you use for FPL)-->Supplementary Service Subscription-->Block CID Serv:
a) change to no
b) Click "submit"

This not related to your specific issue, but others have reported issues on outbound calls with Block CID Serv enabled.

3, Navigate to Voice-->Line ( (whichever you use for FPL)-->Proxy and Registration-->Proxy

Use "voip4.freephoneline.ca:6060" without the quotation marks.

voip4.freephoneline.ca:6060 is used to bypass SIP ALG in routers. Refer to point B in the post below.


4. Navigate to Voice-->Line (whichever you use for FPL)-->SIP settings.
Specify a high random SIP port in your ATA between 30000 and 60000.
Change SIP Port to a random number between 30000 and 60000. Choose a number in that range.
Do not use the same random SIP port for any other Line. Always choose a different random local SIP port for each Line you're using.

Using a high random SIP port may help to avoid SIP Scanners (or hackers).
Also, changing local SIP port will reset a potential corrupted NAT association that developed between your router and ATA.

Click the "Submit" button.

5. Navigate to Voice-->SIP-->NAT Support Parameters, and make sure that the following settings are enabled:

a)Handle VIA received-->yes
b)Handle VIA rport-->yes
c)Substitute VIA Addr-->yes
d) NAT Keep Alive Interval--> 20 seconds

e) click "Submit" button

This helps to ensure the RTP audio stream is being sent to your WAN IP as opposed to your LAN IP.

If people calling you are also using Linksys or Cisco ATAs, check to ensure they’re using those settings as well.

6. Navigate to Voice-->Line (whichever you use for FPL)-->NAT settings
a) NAT Mapping Enable should be yes
b) NAT Keep Alive Enable should be yes
c) NAT Keep Alive Msg should be $NOTIFY

d) click "Submit" button if changes were made

7. Navigate to Voice-->SIP-->SIP Timer Values (sec)
Reg Retry Intvl should be 120 seconds

Click "Submit" button if changes were made

https://support.freephoneline.ca/hc/en- ... redentials

Many older guides for FPL don't include this setting.

8. Click https://www.freephoneline.ca/followMeSettings and login. Is Follow Me enabled? Ensure "Follow Me" is disabled while testing.

9. Check the registration status or "SIP status" after logging in at https://www.freephoneline.ca/showSipSettings

Please note that if "SIP User Agent" does not reflect a device you're using, someone else is using your Freephoneline VoIP unlock key.
Only one device or Line registration is permitted at any time per VoIP unlock key. Registration is a requirement for incoming calls but not for outgoing calls.


10. Proper device reboot order is always modem (wait for it to be fully up before turning on your)-->router (ensure Wi-Fi SSIDs are populated first on your devices)-->ATA (wait for router to be fully up and running before turning on ATA). That's always proper device reboot order. Please reboot your devices now in that order.

11. Test calls.





I got the two different voip.freephoneline address


Those are proxy servers. Anyone with a Freephoneline VoIP unlock key can use them. They are voip.freephoneline.ca, voip2.freephoneline.ca, and voip4.freephoneline.ca:6060.
https://support.freephoneline.ca/hc/en- ... /212430746

The purpose of voip4.freephoneline.ca:6060 is to circumvent buggy SIP ALG in routers. Refer to point B in the post below.

It doesn't matter that you're using any of these servers. What matters is that you're attempting to register the exact same Freephoneline account on two Lines in your ATA simultaneously. You can't do that and expect Freephoneline to work properly for incoming calls. Only one registration per Freephoneline VoIP unlock key is allowed, and only the most recent Line that has been registered will work for incoming calls.


Rebooting the ATA: It reboots when the breaker breaks (can be a couple of times over a couple of minutes, but not a frequent occurrence) or a power cut (not frequent), and once a month when I power cycle the network.


The reboot device order can be significant, depending on UDP timeouts settings in the router being used, regardless of when rebooting occurs or the frequency of the reboots. The device order can matter. Refer to point D in the post below.

I shouldn't think that anyone else is using my credentials to sign into anything.


viewtopic.php?f=8&t=20213#p75930

Erft wrote:2 days ago it didn't work. I finally went into ATA settings and found that some settings had changed, and all my proxies and password had been completely deleted. I reentered the proxies and password, and got a dial tone.


viewtopic.php?f=8&t=20213#p75930

ErfT wrote:So in my account, I went into Follow Me settings, and they had changed. Since I don't have a cell phone or other phone number, I keep Follow Me "Disabled", but suddenly it was enabled for Always Forward.



Settings don't change by themselves, and Follow Me doesn't become enabled without someone making that change.
And if you didn't make the changes, someone else did. That would bother me a lot.

At the very least, I would

i) change my Freephoneline web account password: https://www.freephoneline.ca/updatePasswordDetails
and
ii) change the admin password in the ATA. Visit https://www.ukvoipforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=28
Instructions are the same for your ATA.

Also, refer to point A in the post below.

Additionally, don't use DMZ. Don't port forward unless you have no other choice. Those are security risks.

I don't have a smart phone or any other device


You have two lines in the ATA. Think of each line as a separate device in the context that was presented before with respect to only being allowed one registration per FPL account at any time and temporary IP bans that can result from too many registration attempts from a single account. Each line counts as a separate registration.
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: 2763
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: Calls, voicemails intermittently not received, CID

Postby Liptonbrisk » 07/16/2021

(Generic info)

Typically, for VoIP SIP services, especially for Freephoneline/Fongo, you want

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

Visit https://dh2i.com/kbs/kbs-2961448-unders ... -punching/.
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.

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

To understand why SIP ALG often causes horrible problems, please visit
https://www.voip-info.org/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.

C) 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 D) 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; for Grandstream, the setting is SIP OPTIONS Keep Alive Interval) < 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, 15, 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_KeepAlivesExpires (SIP OPTIONS Keep Alive Interval) is supposed to be 20 with FPL.



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 ... #p28059363.

Router firmware that allows users to adjust Assured and Unreplied UDP timeouts include

Asuswrt-Merlin
Ubiquiti
Mikrotik
pfSense
Tomato
DD-WRT


The keep alive interval for FPL is 20. The SIP Registration Failure Retry Wait Time is 120. I use 15 for UDP Unreplied Timeout and 115 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
Technical Support
 
Posts: 2763
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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