TIP: Limits of Telo when using non-Ooma 2-line phones

[Wilsonium]

About the phantom calls... Do they happen about the same time of day? Is there a caller ID associated with the calls? I ask because I used to get telemarketer calls prior to Ooma that seemed to fit that behavior. Once I got my Ooma up and running I have blacklisted those numbers and the calls stopped. I know this might not be your case but it's worked for me.

[DCbeachboy]

No, these are not telemarketing calls....and trust me, I wish they were -- these calls are FAR more annoying. They were not occurring at all before I connected the Telo. And just to test, I disconnected the Telo and reconnected my phone directly to my landline....and no phantom calls. These calls resumed after I reconnected the Telo.

As for the frequency and timing: They are occurring constantly, thoughout the day AND night. I disconnected the Telo the 1st night before going to bed, but last night I instead activated the send-to-voicemail feature overnight. I've noticed for the past 12 hours or so that the calls are occurring exactly every 30 minutes (9:01am, 9:31am, etc.)...but that wasn't the pattern for the first 2 days, when they would occur sporadically -- sometimes only 2-3 minutes apart, other times a half-hour or so apart.

In order for the Ooma folks to troubleshoot the problem, I've been reluctant to disconnect the Telo again -- but until the problem's resolved I'm keeping the send-to-voicemail feature activated day and night. This rolls the calls into voicemail, which I then have to delete one by one. (You do the math -- with at least 2 calls/hour, these quickly add up...14 calls overnight.)

The caller ID for these phantom calls (nobody on the line -- just a dialtone) typically says "unknown", although a few times it has said "Call from Line 1". I noticed after signing into my online Ooma account that my call log shows that the calls were placed TO my Line 1 number FROM an unknown number. But in my online voicemail log, it shows that the voicemails came FROM my Line 2 number.

The Ooma folks are looking into this, but if it's not resolved later today I'm going to try switching back to a non-landline configuration.

[southsound]

The every 30 minutes timing might be a clue. I wonder if it might be a fax machine that is constantly trying to connect to a fax tone and when it does not, it redials? Some time ago I had a similar problem on my landline. A marketing company had put my landline number into their spam fax machine and since the number is a voice number, it would redial every 30 minutes trying to reach the non-existant machine. I finally cured it by using call rejection on my landline. Just a thought.

[DCbeachboy]

Well, there IS a fax connected to my Line 1 via a separate phone jack. That was 1st thing I did to troubleshoot...disconnected the fax machine, but these calls still continued. So that wasn't the problem. And the 30-minute pattern is not consistent...it's only the norm. Just now, as I'm typing this, for instance....I received 2 of these phantom calls exactly 1 minute apart.

I also don't believe it's a fax spam issue. I've never received a spam fax, and as I rarely send or receive faxes, there are few people out there who even know I have a fax machine -- only companies I've done business with who need to send me something that way (for example, my bank recently faxed me a form). I've received maybe 2 faxes total in the past 4-5 months, and I haven't sent one in at least that long. I have an entirely separate fax line that's a Verizon dummy line that forwards to my main Line 1. The fax machine automatically answers due to the distinctive ring it's set to recognize. I have no idea if this will continue to work with the Ooma...and I suspect not. But again, these calls still occur even when the fax is disconnected...so that cannot be the problem. But thanks for the thought....a nice try!

If caller ID were available for incoming calls, that may be of help. The last few calls have all said "Incoming Call from Line 1", where usually it just says "Unavailable".

I now suspect the problem's somehow related to my landline (Line 1) voicemail service, which I've had temporarily discontinued. It apparently takes 24 hours for it to clear, though, so I'll find out late tonight if that resolves the problem. And if not, then I'm abandoning my landline configuration.

[DCbeachboy]

UPDATE:
Discontinuing my landline voicemail service unfortunately did not stop the phantom calls. So I've abandoned the idea of using a joint Ooma/landline configuration for my Telo. Instead, I'm now using a separate wall jack for my Verizon landline -- bypassing the Telo altogether -- and plugging the Telo into my phone's 2nd-line-only port. This finally ended the odd phantom calls.

I'll eagerly await arrival of the upcoming Telo handsets, in hopes they will be more compatible with the Telo than my Vtech 2-line phone -- and enable me finally to cancel my 1 remaining landline account.

[Kevin]

I too am having the problem of phantom calls on my Telo. Also, my caller id also show up as "Unknown". I have the same configuration with a land line hooked up to the Telo. My phantom calls are less frequent (usually 1 or 2 per day), but quite annoying none the less. There isn't any pattern to when the calls come through, I have had it happen at three in the morning, 11:00 at night, as well as other inconvenient times. The voice mail system says the number calling is my line 1, which is my land line. My phone is a Siemens 2 line cordless system. My land line number is setup as the primary, and the number Ooma gave me as the secondary number.

This is obviously a problem with the Telo since multiple people are having the same issue. I hope there is some resolution soon, or my Telo is going back to Costco!!

[DCbeachboy]

Kevin,
I'm very hopeful that the new upcoming Telo handsets will prevent this problem when they're released later this month. From what I now understand, the Telo wasn't really designed to be used with non-Ooma 2-line phones...only single-line phones or the Telo handsets. One of their technicians told me they're planning to update their marketing materials to reflect this (and hopefully train their tech support staff also on this issue).

BUT...I've found a way around this problem that will satisfy me temporarily until the new handsets are available. This should work, assuming that your Siemens has 2 separate phone input ports (as my Vtech does):
1) Unplug all cables from your Telo.
2) You may have to also reboot your modem/router....but I didn't.
3) Call Ooma and ask to switch to a non-landline configuration. Be prepared to choose a new phone # for your new Ooma 2nd line.
4) Plug your ethernet cable back into your Telo's "Internet" port, plug your landline phone cable directly into your phone's Line 1/Line2 jack, then plug your Telo's "Phone" port into your phone's Line 2 jack, and finally connect the power cable to your Telo.

With this set-up, you will receive your traditional landline service on your phone's Line 1, and access Ooma on your phone's Line 2. You have the added benefit of gaining a 3rd line -- which you can access however only by being on Line 2 of your phone, then pressing the "2" on your Telo also. It's a little more complicated than I'd like, but it's acceptable....for now. No phantom calls, at least! The downside with this set-up is that you do not have free long distance using your Line 1...you just need to remember to use Line 2 (or your 3rd line) for any such calls. Good luck...hope this helps.

[Kevin]

Thanks for the information, I will give this a try when I get home this evening. I am curious if this fixed the caller ID problem too, or are calls still coming across as 'unknown'?

[DCbeachboy]

Assuming that you have caller ID on your landline, it will work as it always did for Line 1 after you reconnect it directly to your wall jack. As for Ooma calls, that's another matter. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but here is my current understanding on those....

Incoming calls: I'm told that Ooma's techs are working to resolve a known issue with the Telos that's preventing caller IDs from appearing in some cases. So stay tuned. They seem as if they're on top of this, but a solution ETA...like the caller ID itself, seems to be "unknown".

Outgoing calls: From what I've read, this works for some and not for others. Most likely, when you first begin service, only your phone number itself will appear on the receiving end -- not your name. They explained that it takes up to a week or so for new numbers to be registered. I think -- but am not certain -- that names may appear after that time. But I've also seen threads on this forum from users who have been waiting for 8-9 months. So it's anybody's guess....seems like maybe it varies from one service area to another, depending on where you live (?).

One other thing to remember is that you must choose a default outgoing caller ID for your account, in your Ooma profile. Every call you place on your Telo (from either line) will show this ID by default. Obviously this doesn't apply to your landline...only calls from the Telo. You can dial a prefix (**0 or **1) before a call to use the other line's caller ID, however. I'm told the prefix will not be necessary after the Telo handsets are available, which will enable you to assign the 2nd line to a specific handset. These are all things I wish were better explained in their official FAQs, but again, a work in progress from a fast-growing company.

[jeffthechemist]

I think I currently have the setup you are refering to and have had no issues. I have a 2-line Uniden, a standard Verizon line, and a Telo. A traditional 2-line phone cord has four wires. It has been a while since I set this up, but I think the 2 inside wires are for line 1 and the 2 outside wires are for line 2. On the board in the basement where the Verizon line comes in, there are 2 lines (4 wires) that are distributed to the house on one side, and the inputs for those lines on the other side. I have the bare wires from the incoming Verizon line connected to line 1, a phone cord with bare wires on one end connecting the Telo to line 2, and a 2-line Uniden connected using a 4-wire telephone cord between a house jack and the 1/2 port on the back of the phone. Installing the Telo was seemless because my second line has been a VOIP line for 3 years, although I had 3 different providers (SunRocket - bankrupt, Packet8 - hated the interface, and CallVantage - closed).

At this moment, my internet connection is being used for a VOIP call on Ring Central so I can not start pulling things apart and confirming some of the items in this thread, but I can post again tomorrow after I can take a closer look at the back of the Telo. But I can confirm that both lines are working properly, with CallerID on both lines and a working voice mail indicator on the Telo line.

11/22 UPDATE: I just finished porting my Verizon line yesterday, so I now have 2 numbers on the Telo and no more land line . I used a 4-wire phone cord from the Telo to the line 1 and line 2 jacks on interface board in the basement. It works very nicely with only one current caveat: I only have one device (the Telo), so I only have one voicemail box. I should be able to fix this once the handsets are available. The appropriate line will ring when the number is dialed, and it will support a phone call on each of the 2 lines without a problem. Looking forward to the updates on Dec 1 and the availability of the handset.