Unusual rings and intermittent faults

[andrewscsyd]

Let me kick off this section of the new Community with the list of my issues, ranging from mere inconvenience to major drawback.

The landline rings differently since it was migrated to NBN a week ago. There is a single ring, then a long pause, then another single ring, then another long pause, etc. It's easy to miss if you are not listening carefully. Does anyone else have this problem ?

I'm on HFC with a TP-Link Archer VR1600v modem. The Phone-1 Led does not light up, even at times when the phone line works for both incoming and outgoing calls. Is this normal ?  Anyone with a similar problem with this kind of modem ?  ( I can try another cable, but bringing in another handset requires more fiddling). 

Every second day or so, the phone line goes down for 3-4 hours, usually in the morning. Incoming calls just don't get through to us. I saw many people making a similar complaint on Whirlpool. Is it a transient situation, caused by works for fellow subscribers in the suburb ?  My NBN box has all 4 leds lighting up, and internet works all the time. But it's quite annoying not being able to be contacted on a landline.

[MarN]

Hi @andrewscsyd

Since the internet works fine, there is only a very slim chance that the issue is with the network. Troubleshoot first the connectivity between the modem and the handset by unplugging/replugging the cord at both ends or try a different phone cord.

[andrewscsyd]

When it comes to routing a landline,  things may still go wrong deep in the bowels of exhanges, even if otherwise internet works well. Not surprisingly, the plot thickens with this phone. 

On Sunday, we could easily make a phone call to US (we are on an XXL plan with calls to 10 countries) . But on Thursday, we were unable to ring UK. The call was not going through. Occasionally, we got a message "the number you called cannot be connected from this service". 

I tried another cable to the phone. I tried another phone. Same result. So I rang TPG. 

To my surprise, I got to talk to a person almost immediately. A tech ticket was raised. This afternoon, the voice calls are more clear, but the rings are still erratic and there is an extended pause for outgoing calls to go through. We keep watching. 

[KarenC]

Hi @andrewscsyd

The ring could be different to what you are used to. With some handsets, there are options to adjust the ring tone. Check if your handset has that kind of feature.

[andrewscsyd]

thanks Karen,

someone else on the TPG Community Forum seems to have a similar problem:

https://community.tpg.com.au/t5/SIM-Only-Plans/Longer-phone-ringing/m-p/537

Regards,

Andrew

[KarenC · Accepted solution]

Hi @andrewscsyd,

Looking at the other post, it is about an enquiry of a mobile user asking on how to extend the ringing duration (The actual time in seconds) it takes before it reaches the message bank/voicemail.

[Dave]

I have the same question regarding the changes in the way the phone rings since connecting to the NBN. I've tried the troubleshoot suggestions but there is no change. The TPG help desk seemed surprised that this had occured & checked the modem setting for options to change the ring. Unfortunately there isn't a setting that can be change the ring. Have you any other ideas or are we simply stck with it the way it is? I find it hard to recognise incoming calls at the moment & have missed a few. I'm using an Alcatel  phone provided by Telstra. Buying another phone to try isn't really an option I would consider unless I knew it would ring the same way this phone did before moving to the NBN.

[orbistat]

Hi @Dave Welcome to the community.

Because the ring signal is regenerated from within the modem / router it is normal for it to sound different to when it was plugged into a normal PSTN line.

The ring interval on both the Hauwei HG659 or TP-Link Archer VR1600v is around 5 seconds, is the Alcatel phone you're using a wired or cordless model? I would suggest using a cordless system which will give you the choice of several different ring tones and more flexibility overall.

[Dave]

Thanks. The Alcatel phone is wired (Touchfone Executive) to a TP-Link Archer VR1600v. A cordless was connected but it too rand with just one long burst then a pause. If the ring signal is generated from with the modem do some phones have the ability to convert it to two short bursts & pause, as sent from the exchange?

[orbistat]

The ring interval seems to be set at a fixed 5 secs, I find that the Panasonic cordless I use has a large selection of ring tones with different durations so using one with a duration of 4 secs leaves just a 1 second pause between rings on the VR1600v.