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Issues with phone based answering machine

Posted: Mon Nov 19, 2012 2:31 pm
by goflowerlady
I have spent hours testing, calling Ooma support and trying to determine the issue to no avail. I am so incredibly disappointed in Ooma as I read all the positive reviews and have a neighbor next door who loves it. (She also has spent hours trying to help me figure this out.) We have the same Internet provider and same speed. She also has her voice messages sent to the phone base. Before I go on with my story, I will say that I still have a week left of my Vonage VOIP subscription and when I change everything over to Vonage (using my second line from Vonage), everything works perfectly, so it is an Ooma issue. The phone support people can't understand the issue (Language barrier?)...I have called at least 4 times and it is soooo frustrating as they are not recognizing the issue. Issue : When leaving a message that is directed to the phone base, there is a screeching sound after the Greeting, and then after the person leaves the message, the dial tone is audible as part of the message left and the Ooma chimes are audible. (Hook up Vonage and do the same thing with my other number---no problem.) Why do I want the message going to the phone base? Because I have four hand sets and messages can be heard on all sets that way, plus, it is a Panasonic 6.0 Plus set with all the bells and whistles. I want to use this phone set and should be able to as it totally works with Vonage, as I said. One of the four support tech people was intuitive enough to listen to the message machine and actually agreed with me that it was an issue and maybe had to do with frequency; however, sent an email with suggestions that were totally off topic. I am soooooooooooooooo frustrated. Have only a week left on my Vonage---don't want to give it up unless I can figure this out.

Re: Issues with phone based answering machine

Posted: Mon Nov 19, 2012 2:45 pm
by murphy
Did you set the Ooma voicemail answer time (ring count) to the maximum value (59 seconds)?

Re: Issues with phone based answering machine

Posted: Mon Nov 19, 2012 4:33 pm
by thunderbird
goflowerlady:
I misunderstood when you said phone base. I though your were talking about the Ooma Telo phone base. But your were talking about the Panasonic DECT 6 phone base.

Did you know that you can also access the Ooma phone messages from any phone connected to the the Ooma Telo, by just dialing your own Ooma phone number. Also you can access and listen to, the Ooma phone messages using a computer.

Using the Ooma Telo phone answering system is a much better system because of the increased flexablity.

I have a Panasonic DECT 6 Plus cordless phone system also. And I have the same results that you have when using the Panasonic DECT 6 phone base. But I don't use answering machine part of the Panasonic DECT 6 Plus phone system. I just press the "Answer On" button located on the Panasionic phone base, so that the little red light goes out. Then only the Ooma Telo answering system will answer all phone calls that you want to go to voicemail.

If you go to the site below you can setup and use the Ooma phone system per the instructions listed. You can also access the Ooma phone messages from any phone connected to the the Ooma Telo or from a computer. There is also a procedure for checking your Ooma Telo phone messages from any phone, anywhere.

Go to "Ooma Voicemail" at https://www.ooma.com/app/support/ooma-voicemail for instructions on how to setup Ooma Voicemail.

Re: Issues with phone based answering machine

Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2012 12:51 pm
by Capt'n Bob
Another avenue to check, would be to see if the problem is in your Panasonic phone. This is probably only worth the trouble if nothing else works, because probably it's not the phone.

However, I have a new Panasonic cordless DECT 6 also, connected modem-teleo-router. Its sound quality and pickup have always been terrible. An older Panasonic cordless set actually works much better. I have no idea why, and this can't be universal or we would have heard about it. But nevertheless it's a slight possibility.

I just replaced the Panasonic with 4 HD2 handsets and can't believe how good the new handsets are. Voice quality is fantastic and all the lags and static are gone. Again this could be something about my particular setup, but I just pass it along for what it's worth.

Re: Issues with phone based answering machine

Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2012 1:03 pm
by murphy
The Telo has a DECT 6 transmitter and receiver.
The cordless base of another DECT 6 phone system should not be within a couple of feet of the Telo.
The transmitter of one will interfere with the receiver of the other.

Re: Issues with phone based answering machine

Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2012 1:42 pm
by Capt'n Bob
Wow that answers that question!

The base unit was within 1 inch the Teleo. The earlier Panasonic was older technology, so no interference.

Did Ooma point this out somewhere and I missed it?

Bottom line doesn't matter, because the new HD2 handsets have so many features I would get them no matter what.

Re: Issues with phone based answering machine

Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2012 2:01 pm
by murphy
Capt'n Bob wrote: Did Ooma point this out somewhere and I missed it?
Not that I am aware of.

Re: Issues with phone based answering machine

Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2012 8:10 pm
by agent23
I have a Panasonic DECT 6.0 phone system hooked up to my Telo, and I also prefer to use the Panasonic's voice mail over the Telo voice mail. But I too have the issue where, where someone leaves me a voice mail message on the Panasonic's base unit, the Ooma chime and a few seconds of a LOUD dial tone are appended to the end of their message. I sometimes screen calls, so I can hear the person leaving the voice mail message, and when they hang up, I can hear the Ooma chime and the LOUD dial tone.
I was excited to hear that the issue could be the fact that the Panasonic's base unit was right next to the Telo on the kitchen counter. I moved the Telo down to the low-voltage wiring cabinet in the basement, hooked it up, and called my home phone with my cell phone, and left a message. Unfortunately, the chime and ring tone were added to the end of my message.
Does anyone else have this problem, and know of a solution?
I have Comcast for my Internet provider, and the low-voltage wiring cabinet (which now houses the Ooma) also has the cable modem, a HDHomeRun network-based TV tuner, a coax distribution panel for an OTA TV tuner, and the distribution unit for the whole-house audio system. Could any of these cause interference?
I know I could simply switch over to using the Ooma voice mail feature and quit using the Panasonic unit's voice mail, but I'd rather not.
Thanks in advance!

Re: Issues with phone based answering machine

Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2012 8:46 pm
by goflowerlady
murphy wrote:Did you set the Ooma voicemail answer time (ring count) to the maximum value (59 seconds)?
Yes. Thank you.

Re: Issues with phone based answering machine

Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2012 8:53 pm
by goflowerlady
Capt'n Bob wrote:Another avenue to check, would be to see if the problem is in your Panasonic phone. This is probably only worth the trouble if nothing else works, because probably it's not the phone.

However, I have a new Panasonic cordless DECT 6 also, connected modem-teleo-router. Its sound quality and pickup have always been terrible. An older Panasonic cordless set actually works much better. I have no idea why, and this can't be universal or we would have heard about it. But nevertheless it's a slight possibility.

I just replaced the Panasonic with 4 HD2 handsets and can't believe how good the new handsets are. Voice quality is fantastic and all the lags and static are gone. Again this could be something about my particular setup, but I just pass it along for what it's worth.
It is not the phone. But that is a worthy thought incase I failed to realize it could be an issue. I hooked up to an older Panasonic with the same issues. I have always used Panasonic and just purchased this 4 handset combo, so I am not wanting to replace. The 4 HD2...is that an Ooma product? As far as general quality, it is just fine, it is the the issue with the answering machine portion. Thank you for your input. It is worth considering.