Better Multi Line Phone Support

[CloaknDagr]

Thanks for adding that for Scott, Al. I guess I wasn't being clear enough which is not unusual for me...

I'd like to ask a personal favor too, please don't call me C&D, I HATE being called Cindy...

My real name is also Scott, after all these years online I've just gotten in the habit of not posting things like that in a forum but I really doubt it will hurt anything here. The CloaknDagr appellation hasn't really applied literally for many, many years now.

This is one of the nicer, more polite, more helpful forums I've been in for a long time. Usually there are more trolls and flamers than real people. I'm new to both Ooma and the forum so I beg your indulgence. The community of Ooma users appears to be several cuts above the standard internet riff-raff.

Thanks to everyone for making it that way.

[scottlindner]

Scott, if you really need more than C&D posted, let me know and I'll whip up some kind of diagram and post it on my site for you. It's really no more complicated than hooking up a 2 line phone to 2 separate wall jacks (1 "wall jack" is "Phone" on the Hub, the other is "Phone" on the Scout. The only new thing is a single line between "Wall" on the Hub and "Wall" on the Scout.) I'm using the same setup on a 2-line cordless system - any handset can go up on either "line".

Al

As far as I can tell, it's as simple as using a Scout for the second line. Which is what I thought the Scout was intended for. If that isn't the case, then I need a diagram

I do not believe I need any help. I was responding to the suggestions to buy a Hub to get a second line. My intent was simply to state that I think all you need is a Scout to get a second line. I still believe it is that simple, but you and a few others are making me second guess that simple view of what a Hub and Scout provide.

Scott

[WayneDsr]

Cloakndagr: We get trolls once in awhile, but I send the "racoon" after them! (Southsound).
Great to have you in the forum!

Wayne

[CloaknDagr]

Thanks Wayne.

I've noticed that there are people in here that have unreasonable expectations. Some that can't be satisfied with something for nothing, they want EVERYTHING for nothing and will complain if they don't get it. There are people that just like to argue and waste other people's time. When they've ticked everyone off in one thread they move on to another and start over. Stuff like that. It's normal for the internet but it seems to be kept to a minimum in here and once you learn who you're dealing with you can just ignore them. That's always the best policy for trolls anyway, though I have to confess that troll hunting is one of my favorite sports. Too bad I so rarely have the time to indulge. maybe the 'raccoon' and I could tree a few

I guess some folks are just lonely and any attention is better than no attention for them. Those types must not have anyone to call on their free telephone. Probably no one will pick up the phone when they call, and thank goodness for caller ID, huh?

Of course, one thing that probably keeps the trolls down is that it costs more than $200 to join this little club, even though it saves a ton of money in the long run. That probably keeps the smart-mouth kids out.

I do admire how willing people are in here to pitch in their own time to help out others and I hope to contribute to that also as I'm able. As time goes on I'll see who's worth the effort and who's not, there's a learning curve like anything else and I'm new at 'Ooma-ing'. So far this has been a 99% positive experience and that's not a bad ratio for any thing these days.

Cloak

[Colanth]

As far as I can tell, it's as simple as using a Scout for the second line. Which is what I thought the Scout was intended for. If that isn't the case, then I need a diagram

I do not believe I need any help. I was responding to the suggestions to buy a Hub to get a second line. My intent was simply to state that I think all you need is a Scout to get a second line. I still believe it is that simple, but you and a few others are making me second guess that simple view of what a Hub and Scout provide.

Scott

It's that simple, yes. If you want the instant second line - which, in POTS terms, is really just your call-waiting feature. (Which really is a second line, but with the same number as the first, which would get us into an infinite loop so, as an elderly aunt of my wife's would end her ramblings, "but we're not going there".)

The second hub thing is to have 2 real separate lines. Which is a good idea for a number of reasons, if you need such things. Especially if you can get the telco to give you two drops to different cables that go to 2 different COs. It may be the height of paranoia, but one company I worked for paid for fiber done that way - and when the idiots trenching for new construction across the street ripped one fiber pipe out of the ground, no one noticed - since all calls were multipled on both pipes at all times. "But we're not going there" one hub and one scout is really all you need for home phone service, unless you have a few teenagers.

[scottlindner]

As far as I can tell, it's as simple as using a Scout for the second line. Which is what I thought the Scout was intended for. If that isn't the case, then I need a diagram

I do not believe I need any help. I was responding to the suggestions to buy a Hub to get a second line. My intent was simply to state that I think all you need is a Scout to get a second line. I still believe it is that simple, but you and a few others are making me second guess that simple view of what a Hub and Scout provide.

Scott

It's that simple, yes. If you want the instant second line - which, in POTS terms, is really just your call-waiting feature. (Which really is a second line, but with the same number as the first, which would get us into an infinite loop so, as an elderly aunt of my wife's would end her ramblings, "but we're not going there".)

The second hub thing is to have 2 real separate lines. Which is a good idea for a number of reasons, if you need such things. Especially if you can get the telco to give you two drops to different cables that go to 2 different COs. It may be the height of paranoia, but one company I worked for paid for fiber done that way - and when the idiots trenching for new construction across the street ripped one fiber pipe out of the ground, no one noticed - since all calls were multipled on both pipes at all times. "But we're not going there" one hub and one scout is really all you need for home phone service, unless you have a few teenagers.

Thanks for addressing my question.

That is an interesting scenario. I'd like to pry more.

No teenagers yet (not for a while in fact) but just yesterday I may have found another reason to convince the boss that we want Premier service. We both periodically work from home and we both needed to be on the phone at the same time. She still isn't sold on Premier, but I think I'm getting closer to convincing her. If we do opt for Premier, I'll be all over these details for two line phone setups.

Cheers,
Scott

[oomg]

Thanks Wayne.

I've noticed that there are people in here that have unreasonable expectations. Some that can't be satisfied with something for nothing, they want EVERYTHING for nothing and will complain if they don't get it. There are people that just like to argue and waste other people's time. When they've ticked everyone off in one thread they move on to another and start over. Stuff like that. It's normal for the internet but it seems to be kept to a minimum in here and once you learn who you're dealing with you can just ignore them.

I do admire how willing people are in here to pitch in their own time to help out others and I hope to contribute to that also as I'm able. As time goes on I'll see who's worth the effort and who's not, there's a learning curve like anything else and I'm new at 'Ooma-ing'. So far this has been a 99% positive experience and that's not a bad ratio for any thing these days.

Cloak

Yup... one of the better forums for sure. For what it's worth, my setup has been very similar to CloaknDagr's except that I have added mulitple Scouts to make it easy for other family members to retrieve messages from different locations within the home. Also, I have a cordless phone unit (there are a total of 10) for almost every room. My hub is connected to one base (with 6 stations) and another base (with 4 stations is connected to one of the Scouts. I have my primary Scout at my desk which is assigned to my second number. I also have two VOIP lines with T-Mobile at my desk unit (wish I had found ooma first).

As for unreasonable expectations, just look at some of the posts that circulated on and after April 13. However, as CloaknDagr, Wayne DSR, and a few others have said, having a contingency plan in place is imperative, as there will occasionally be disruptions. In my particular case, we have had no less that four significant power disruptions during the last 4-5 weeks after having gone for several years without a single power outage. However, since I have a contngency plan, any disruption, whether due to power, internet, or ooma service interruption, has only caused a minor inconvenience.

I am saving a lot more than CloaknDagr, but then again, my monthly phone bills were much higher than his. On top of the savings, I am getting much better service. Thus, I have absolutely no reservation about recommending the ooma system to many friends.

[Wilsonium]

Howdy everyone...

Thanks for all the great ideas for a work around. Unfortunately a work around isn't what I was looking for. I shouldn't have to buy a 2nd scout or hub for what I would like. It might be an unreasonable expectation but here's what I'm really concerned about...

My home number is assigned to my hub and can't be set to ring only on the hub. My 2nd line I use for work and have it assigned to ring only the scout. However, the lights flash on all devices regardless of what line is in use. Meanwhile, I occasionally have an employee working for me here at my home office and more than once they have picked up a personal call when lights flash on all my devices when it really should flash only on the assigned device. This is even more complicated by the fact that you can't tell what line is ringing based on which button flashes on my devices.

By fine tuning what lights indicate what line is in use and/or flashing only the targeted device would resolve this. Unreasonable? Maybe. But shouldn't be hard to do with an update.

[Groundhound]

While true that the line 1 & 2 buttons on the scout can be confusing as to which line is ringing, the work-around is pretty easy. Tell your employee to ignore the flashing lights and only answer the phone if it rings. Changing the ring type for your second line makes it easier still.

Having line 1 incoming calls flash on your scout assigned to line 2 makes it possible to answer line 1 from that scout's phone if you want, although that scout's phone does not ring for line 1 calls. It would be less confusing if line 1 flashing always meant the primary line and line 2 flashing always meant the second line, but once you learn to just ignore the flashes and listen to the phones it works OK.

[CloaknDagr]

but once you learn to just ignore the flashes and listen to the phones it works OK

That's what I do, ignore the Ooma equipment when the phone rings. I have a two line phone, with two physical ports where the phone lines plug in. The appropriate button blinks when a call comes in and that's how I determine which line is ringing. I got the phone at an estate sale for $10, I'm sure there are similar deals and equipment out there. Mine is a Sony 2-Line Cordless SPP-M932 and it works great, it has a line 1 and line 2 button and the appropriate button is all that blinks for the incoming call. Same for outgoing, push the proper button and use the appropriate line for the call. With a phone like this you could just tell your employee to only answer calls on the business line and it would work fine.

The business line being on a dedicated scout only rings at my desk on the two line Sony phone. The private number, being shared at the hub, rings all over the house.

Like I said in an earlier post, I have both the hub and scout on my desk, they stack neatly with the scout directly above the hub keypad and speaker. I still have two phones cluttering things up because the private line is on a splitter and also connected to a cordless phone base station with answering machine, but no biggie for me as far as desk space goes.

Because you have to log into each telephone number to pick up your messages on Ooma lounge, which is a pain, I have it set up so that the Ooma Broadband Answering Machine gets the business calls and the answering machine on my desk takes the private calls. I can still access either remotely (like from my cell phone) by calling that number, one will ring into the Ooma system and the other goes to the toll saver answering machine when there's a message.

So, with a two line phone and set up this way you get all the benefits of the Ooma system with the added convenience of a dedicated two line phone, just ignore the Ooma lights when the phone rings and use the ones on the phone. I believe this gives the maximum options and flexibility to the phone system.

I really like my Ooma.