Telo - 15 minute boot time

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ToastyNerd
Posts:10
Joined:Mon Jul 17, 2023 5:44 pm
Re: Telo - 15 minute boot time

Post by ToastyNerd » Thu Jul 20, 2023 5:09 pm

My ooma has the dreaded random reboot problem... but I'm not sure how bad it is...
Is there a way to get a log or count of the reboots?
Something like:

12:33:00 8/20/2023 UTC Reboot
15:33:00 8/20/2023 UTC Reboot

arrowcatcher
Posts:30
Joined:Thu Jul 06, 2023 5:56 pm

Re: Telo - 15 minute boot time

Post by arrowcatcher » Thu Jul 20, 2023 6:51 pm

I didn't see any accessible logs like that when I've connected my laptop to the Telo Home port. I fixed the random restart problem, which developed in the first few weeks, by doing a factory reset via the Home port (or through a set of button pushes I never figured out). You won't lose your contacts. The basic problem seems to be that the system may become unstable after a number of power-off restarts. My Telo was restarted daily.

arrowcatcher
Posts:30
Joined:Thu Jul 06, 2023 5:56 pm

Re: Telo - 15 minute boot time

Post by arrowcatcher » Thu Jul 20, 2023 8:02 pm

I kept a simple reboot log in Windows Notepad:

071423 14th restart
630 4:29
15th
2131 27:07
----------------------
071523 16th
657 13:36
---------------------------
071723 17th
600 9:46
18th
2005 8:44
-------------------------------
0718 19th
624 5:35
20th
1048 4:30
21st
1853 9:43
----------------------------
ETC., ETC...

Robek
Posts:249
Joined:Thu Sep 26, 2019 6:56 pm

Re: Telo - 15 minute boot time

Post by Robek » Mon Jul 31, 2023 10:51 am

It's unbelievable that Ooma's power supply would be so efficient, while the Telo itself is apparently not. The Telo Air (which supports wireless) is also different from the Telo 2 (which does not). If the wi-fi was not properly disabled, then how much would that add to the power consumption?

Only Ooma support can offer a definitive explanation for the slow booting. Anything else is just the blind leading the blind, which so far appears to be an even bigger pain with an even littler chance of success. Armchair experts can sometimes draw the wrong conclusions.

"de facto defective" is a big leap; for example, chronic power spikes from cutting/restoring power at the circuit breaker could also cause problems. Even if one device were defective, it doesn't follow that others must be, too. Has anyone else ever deduced that they need to perform regular factory resets, for any reason?

arrowcatcher
Posts:30
Joined:Thu Jul 06, 2023 5:56 pm

Re: Telo - 15 minute boot time

Post by arrowcatcher » Mon Jul 31, 2023 7:52 pm

I was using the Ooma unconventionally. It sat on a Cyberpower 2.2kW commercial grade UPS with much surge suppression. It was switched off nightly along with all my other IT room stuff and periodically for OhmConnect power-cut events. Most Ooma users just leave their Telo on continuously. It appeared to me after 2 months of experience with a brand new Ooma box that its operating system eventually became corrupted after so many power-off restarts, requiring a factory reset. After a time, the Ooma started to occasionally restart spontaneously in the middle of the day - very unacceptable. Others have mentioned this. The fix is a factory reset, which I did twice. With my frequent restarts, I evidently brought out latent Ooma issues that conventional users won't immediately experience.

After many, many such restarts, the Voiply adapter always takes 1:08 to restart, and the magicJack 17 seconds. The Voiply adapter when connected to its switching power supply draws 0 watts (unmeasurable) when idle and 1 watt when active with a call. The first clue as to the Ooma box's high parasitic power draw is that it gets warm to the touch while the Voiply adapter remains stone cold.

As well, Ooma is a comparatively poor value when compared to Voiply and magicJack. I decided to cut my losses and move on. Ooma survives on good marketing.

Robek
Posts:249
Joined:Thu Sep 26, 2019 6:56 pm

Re: Telo - 15 minute boot time

Post by Robek » Sat Aug 05, 2023 6:14 pm

Surge suppression is finite, and many surge protectors don't always indicate when they stop protecting. If the main power goes out frequently, for whatever reason, then turning off or unplugging any devices (including surge protectors) until after the power gets restored can prolong their useful life.
arrowcatcher wrote:Dunno if there were other temporary factors, but doing a full factory restore may have resolved the issue.
Something happened. But what, exactly? Was it an "unacceptable" restart, a corrupted operating system, a temporary loss of connectivity, or something else? Was it really related to the nightly shut offs, or was that just a coincidence? And where did it happen? In the Telo, or in the Ooma servers, or somewhere in between?

And what diagnostic information was available? Was the web ui accessible during those times? If so, what did it say? Did a factory reset really fix it, or was that just a coincidence, too? Without more definitive evidence, any guessing about what happened, where it happened, or why it happened is not worth much.

"poor value" is subjective. Some people prefer the features/services that Ooma offers, that its competitors don't. The Telo itself is not just an ATA; it includes a router, firewall/DMZ, VPN tunneling, DNS, DHCP, DECT, web server, a second line, DND, send-to-voicemail, 3-way conferencing, etc. All that for only 3 watts.

"parasitic" is probably the wrong term to describe normal usage, standby power, or no-load power. Some use "energy vampire" or "phantom load" instead. All electronics generate heat. Ooma could lower the Telo circuit board, add a bigger heat sink, or put vents in the outer case; then it wouldn't be so warm to the touch.

Anyone who doesn't work remotely, or run a business or agency, and yet needs a 2.2kW commercial grade UPS for their IT room at home could still have some even bigger "parasites" lurking about; for example, maybe anything with a fan or rechargeable battery, including the UPS itself. How warm is that to the touch?
arrowcatcher wrote:Ooma survives on good marketing.
Their marketing is not that good.

arrowcatcher
Posts:30
Joined:Thu Jul 06, 2023 5:56 pm

Re: Telo - 15 minute boot time

Post by arrowcatcher » Thu Aug 10, 2023 8:57 pm

The surge suppression is integral to the UPS, whose box is stone cold BTW.

Others have complained about the spontaneous restarts, such as "My ooma has the dreaded random reboot problem... but I'm not sure how bad it is...Is there a way to get a log or count of the reboots?" earlier in this thread.

All of the Ooma box system features together may make it vulnerable to corruption on power-off restarts. In the residential service scenario, the excess power consumption is parasitic when most of those system complexities go unused. Ooma's competitors offer a better value in residential situations such as mine. MagicJack offers full texting for instance. Compare all the Voiply, mJ, and Ooma features and the prices. When the Ooma box itself proved so flaky in my usage, that was the last straw. Voiply number porting was free, but $40 at Ooma. Unimpressive residential product.

Robek
Posts:249
Joined:Thu Sep 26, 2019 6:56 pm

Re: Telo - 15 minute boot time

Post by Robek » Sun Aug 20, 2023 11:25 am

One other person complained about an occasional "random reboot problem", after 10 years of use, but did not mention anything about performing nightly shut offs. An internet outage could cause exactly the same symptoms, but when the internet comes back up, the symptoms go away.

There could be any number of other explanations for a temporary loss of connectivity, most having nothing to do with the Telo itself. Nobody should trust these blind guesses about "de facto defective" devices, or damaged file systems requiring factory resets, without more conclusive evidence.
arrowcatcher wrote:... the UPS, whose box is stone cold BTW ...
So, it must not have been one of these then, with the air-holes, a fan, and an "online thermal dissipation" rating of 116 BTU/hour (~34 watts), right? Charging/discharging batteries can be very "parasitic", especially as they get older. After combing the house for (larger?) "parasites", a smaller UPS would be much greener.

Other users have their own opinions about which provider offers a better value. Ooma base stations can take 5 minutes to connect upon power up (for most users), and consume 3 whole watts; Ooma charges extra for some features, and have pushy customer reps. If that's important, then Ooma may not be a good value.

Voiply costs about a dollar or so less than Ooma Premier, but offers less than half of its features, and their web site can't decide whether calls to some European landlines are free, or cost $0.22/min. A VPN router is sold separately, (consuming up to 6 whole watts). If that's important, then Voiply may not be a good value.

Some (older) magicJack devices require installing spyware on a personal computer, and some additional features require installing spyware on a personal smartphone. Some browsers won't load magicJack web pages at all, whether due to browser privacy settings, ad-blocker plugs-in, or for whatever reason.

They reserve the right to unilaterally terminate user service at their own discretion, to change, reclaim, or terminate a user's phone number at any time, to play targeted ads before connecting incoming/outgoing calls, and to share any and all personal information (including call logs) with "affiliates" and "advertisers".

The file system on their USB sticks is also subject to corruption, if unplugged without "safely removing hardware", but magicJack may not transfer service to another device, and they won't offer refunds for unused services tied to dead devices, or for any other reason, (a really bad deal on day 31 of a 5-year plan).

They may arbitrarily disconnect "long" calls, and, (just like Ooma or Voiply), they can't guarantee service without disruptions, but their devices don't have a big, blinking red light to let their users know. If any of that is important, then magicJack may not be a good value either.

arrowcatcher
Posts:30
Joined:Thu Jul 06, 2023 5:56 pm

Re: Telo - 15 minute boot time

Post by arrowcatcher » Sun Aug 20, 2023 2:20 pm

I've had magicJack since Aug 2008. Just reupped again for 5 years on a promotion for $130, costing in total just $2.17/month. It has been fine. Unlike Ooma, free calling to Canada. In fact, their app still works in Canada so can call back to the US from Alberta when I'm there for free using my California home number, which I discovered accidentally. Also has full texting. Such a deal. Total bargain!

I went to a Voiply annual plan to save 2 months. MagicJack and Voiply are far better than Ooma for residential use, and their hardware isn't flaky. I could never do Ooma again, even for the bargain rates offered by customer retention.

lmacmil
Posts:80
Joined:Tue Nov 03, 2015 7:07 am

Re: Telo - 15 minute boot time

Post by lmacmil » Thu Aug 24, 2023 5:34 am

This is just another data point for the discussion. I rebooted my router this morning around 9 a.m. It took the telo only a couple minutes to come back online. Last time I rebooted my router (I don't remember the time of day) it took 15 minutes which is unusually long.

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