Problems answering calls/picking up on satellite phones

Having trouble placing or receiving calls or using your voicemail system on Ooma Telo VoIP Phones? Post your questions here.
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suzeeq
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Joined:Thu Oct 23, 2008 6:09 am
Problems answering calls/picking up on satellite phones

Post by suzeeq » Thu Oct 23, 2008 6:16 am

I have my Ooma hooked up to a cordless telephone, and it works most of the time on all satellite phones. My problem is that when someone calls in, and I answer it on the satellite, no one else can pick up on that call elsewhere in the house. They get the Ooma dial tone on the line and cannot pick up the call. As far as I can tell, it's impossible to have two people speaking on home phones to the same caller.

Also, if I take a satellite phone out of its charging cradle, I cannot answer a call, either; I just get the Ooma dial tone and have to rush to the phone connected directly to a land line. What's going on?

BTW, I don't have Premier.

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Dennis P
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Re: Problems answering calls/picking up on satellite phones

Post by Dennis P » Thu Oct 23, 2008 9:29 am

When you say "satellite" phone, are you referring to cordless handsets that share the same base station, or to a separate phone connected to an ooma Scout device?

If the former, this would mean you have one cordless phone system with multiple handsets plugged into the ooma Hub and when you answer a call on one handset, you cannot join the call on another handset? That would indeed be very curious.

If the latter, this would mean you have one phone connected to the ooma Hub device and another phone connected to an ooma Scout device. When you answer a call on the Hub and someone else wants to join that call on the Scout, they have to press the line 1 button (or hit the flash key on the phone) to join the call. The default behavior is for the ooma system to give the user a new dial tone.

suzeeq
Posts:3
Joined:Thu Oct 23, 2008 6:09 am

Re: Problems answering calls/picking up on satellite phones

Post by suzeeq » Thu Oct 23, 2008 10:28 am

The hub is connected to a cordless base station. Last night, my husband was expecting a call, so we moved a cordless handset (out of its charger) to another room. The phone rang, but we couldn't answer it on the cordless. Yes, we received the Ooma dial-tone (showing that it was online), but it would not answer the call. This happened once before.

We've had similar problems on the one corded phone we have on the Scout. If someone answered on the wireless phone, we couldn't join the conversation on the Scout phone, even if we pressed the "one" button. (The point is moot now, since the Scout died unexpectedly and that phone is now connected exclusively to a land line, which takes it off-line for the Ooma. This is why I had to carry the cordless phone into the room.) So, when the inability to answer the phone happened last night, it had nothing to do with a Scout hooked up.

We use our existing landline, BTW, if that makes any difference. Two of our phones are exclusively landlines, although neither was in use when the call came in. In fact, I had to use one of the hardwired landlines to answer the call.

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Dennis P
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Re: Problems answering calls/picking up on satellite phones

Post by Dennis P » Fri Oct 24, 2008 5:50 pm

Here's what could be happening. You may actually be answering the call too quickly. Because you have phones connected directly to your landline, you may be hearing it ring on your landline phones right away, while the ooma system is still processing the incoming call (we delay ringing for a few seconds for reasons I won't go into now).

If you could run a test with your cell phone or something, try calling your number, but don't pickup until you hear your cordless phone ring. That should ensure that when you pick up the phone, you answer the incoming call. If that still fails, it's back to the drawing board for me.

suzeeq
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Re: Problems answering calls/picking up on satellite phones

Post by suzeeq » Fri Oct 31, 2008 8:31 am

Thanks, Dennis, but I've removed the entire Ooma system from my phone. My Scout stopped working after a few weeks, and the customer service reps at Ooma keep telling me that they will send a replacement. Over a month later, I have yet to receive one. The headaches I've experienced just aren't worth it.

I think that the reason I can't have two people on one phone conversation is because the cordless phones don't have their individual Scouts. I can't push line 1 to join a line 1 conversation that has already begun. Just conjecture, though. As for answering too soon, that's not the answer, either. I tried repeatedly to answer on a cordless phone BEFORE I ran to the non-Ooma phone in the house. I got the Ooma dial-tone (so it was working), just not the call itself. Maybe it was a glitch. Who knows?

Since I've already set up the account, I may decide someday to put a single phone on the hub to call out.

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