no incoming calls

[marklin]

Hi,

My SP2100 died on me this week and I just replaced it with a Dlink DVG-2001S. The outgoing calls are fine, but the incoming calls are flaky, people claim they have to make 4-5 attempts before connecting, when they call, there's about 10 secs of silence, followed by a fast busy tone. If I reboot the ATA, the incoming calls go through only for the first 5 min. or so, then the problem comes back again. I've also noticed that my SIP registration status is always offline even though I can make calls. Any ideas? could it be my ATA config. since I can't find one in the device section.. much appreciated!

Edit: I should also add that connecting the ATA directly to the modem works just fine both ways! Does that mean I have to change settings in the router? (I didn't have to with my old Linksys ATA though)

[FONGO_steve]

It seems as though your new ATA isn't playing nicely with your router when it comes to NAT traversal.
Just set the router to port forward UDP port 5060 to the ATA and the problem should go away.

Out of curiosity, what model of router do you have?

[bridonca]

After you are done forwarding 5060 to the ATA, see if you can set the register expiration period on the ATA to something like 180 seconds to remind that substandard router that your ATA still needs that port forwarded to it. I consider the router substandard for other reasons, but in this particular case, the router will only remember the incoming port route for 5 minutes if the SIP ATA does not tell the router the SIP ATA still needs that port. So the ATA has to remind the router it is still there, and 3600 seconds is too long for a router that gets amnesia after 300 seconds.

I am not particularly enamored with your DVG-2001S either. Besides needing massive coddling when it comes to NAT issues, I do not see any setting for a RTP port, which I also prefer to forward. Hope you do not need it!

[marklin]

...

Out of curiosity, what model of router do you have?

I have an old Trendnet TEW-432BRP router. I'll try your method and see. Thanks.

[marklin]

After going through a few old threads, I tried reducing the registration expiration down to 60 sec. it seemed to have worked for a while yesterday, until just now when I tried to call home from work, it couldn't go through for the first 2 tries, then it went though on 3rd attempt!

Yeah there doesn't seem to be a lot of options in the DVG-2001S to play around with. Anyways am going to try your suggestions, if it still turns out unstable, I'll swap for another model.

Thank you guys for all your help!

[bridonca]

I would be more apt to look for a new router instead of an ATA, I do not like your DVG-2001S, but it is good enough when paired with a decent router. A bad router, on the other hand, is just trouble. Not only is it bad for VOIP, it is a drag on other transfers also.

If I was going to get a router, I would get one that can be also be flashed to a 3rd party firmware like DD-WRT. DD-WRT tends to be more stable than the stock firmware, and better supported. The stock firmware may be fine, but it is nice to have extra insurance.

The TEW-432BRP is not total junk. It can be converted into a decent access point which can extend your WIFI range and ports.

[marklin]

So I forwarded port 5060 and 5061 on my router to ATA, so far everything looks good, both incoming and outgoing calls are getting through. One thing though, my SIP registration status on the FPL portal still shows Offline! what gives? does that mean there's something wrong with my configuration?

PS. I assigned a static IP to my ATA as I read from portforward.com that in order to forward a port, it needs to be a static IP, doesn't seem to make any difference static or dynamic...

I feel that I am getting there! Thanks!

[Ice]

Great to hear you're getting there... does this mean your problem is solved now?
If not, let us know what does/doesn't work. Because of the NAT, sometimes port forwarding is *the* solution.

[marklin]

Well it turned out that my joy was sort lived, as by the time I got home from work last evening it wasn't working again. Calls sometimes go through, but other times they just go straight to VM! Something is still wrong here as my SIP registration status has always shown 'Offline' throughout, working or not. At this point I don't know what else I can do...

[FONGO_steve]

Well it turned out that my joy was sort lived, as by the time I got home from work last evening it wasn't working again. Calls sometimes go through, but other times they just go straight to VM! Something is still wrong here as my SIP registration status has always shown 'Offline' throughout, working or not. At this point I don't know what else I can do...

Since it works perfectly when connected to your modem, it looks as though that Trendnet router is still causing havoc. Have you checked to see if Trendnet has any firmware updates available for it? I know that D-Link had a few router models a couple years ago where they botched up SIP support, but later fixed it in a new firmware release.

[marklin]

I'll check for firmware update for my router. It's so just frustrating that either the router or the ATA could be the factor, making it harder to troubleshoot. Maybe I should just get the exact Linksys ATA that I had, it worked right out of the box, no tweaks needed around my router at all!!

[FREEA_k]

i have used 432brp successfully for last 3 years.. no problem after port forwarding to static address ATA.

try changing port to 5068,5070 etc. both in the ATA and router

[cu2o2o2]

I have an old Trendnet TEW-432BRP router. ...

About 5 years ago, I had a Trendnet TEW-452BRP (essentially the same as TEW-432BRP but with 108 Mbps radio) that I used with Primus TBB, so I hope I can help you configure your router for VoIP. As I had given away that router in 2008 to a friend who lives 50 kilometers away, I had to refer to the manual for these settings (there might be inaccuracies as a result). I don't believe there is a firmware upgrade for your router, but the stock firmware should work.

I am assuming that you know your way around a router except for VoIP settings, and that the WAN port of TEW-432 is connected to modem, and ATA is connected to LAN port of TEW-432.

- Log in to your TEW-432.
- Click ACCESS menu on left.
- Then, click SPECIAL AP tab.
- On the Enable field, click "Enabled" button.
- Type a name beside the name field. FPL is a good example.
- Change the Trigger Protocol to UDP.
- For Trigger Port Range, type 5060 in first box and 6060 in second box.
- Change the Incoming Protocol to UDP.
- Type "5060-6060,13000-20000" in the Incoming Port box (no spaces and do not type the quotes).
- Click ADD.
- Make sure that you save your settings by clicking APPLY.

I think that's how it was. We'll be glad to hear back from you!

[marklin]

...
- Then, click SPECIAL AP tab.
...

Hi cu2o2o2, that's interesting you mention that! When I googled 'port forward' for my router, they all directed me to change settings in the 'virtual server' tab while I thought it should have been in the 'special app' tab!! I'll definitely give it a try again tonight! Though I won't know if it's actually working until the next day since it always works well for the first few hours..

I will report back, thanks everyone for your help/suggestions.

[marklin]

i have used 432brp successfully for last 3 years.. no problem after port forwarding to static address ATA.

try changing port to 5068,5070 etc. both in the ATA and router

I too had no issue at all before when I paired it with my Linksys sp2100, I did not even have to forward ports! I guess it depends on your pairing, some are just more compatible with others.

[marklin]

I've tried all possible suggestions and still no luck with incoming calls. I am going to swap the ATA and see. Stay tuned...

[marklin]

Just to give you an update, after a week of hair-pulling frustration, I finally gave up and swapped another ATA, a relatively unknown Welltech ATA-S2. To my surprise, after entering the SIP info and reboot, my registration status turned green light! No fiddling or tweaking of the router! I guess my router has finally found a perfect match!

Thanks everyone for your advice and support. This case is now closed..