I changed my dialup password and updated my NodePhone service to the new password. Now it doesn't work! How do I fix it?

If you change your dialup password with Internode, your NodePhone password does not change. Your NodePhone password will remain as the password originally assigned to it (ie: your dialup password at the time you created the account).

If you have changed your dialup password, and attempted to update it in your NodePhone service, the service will not register. To resolve the problem you can do one of two things:

1. Change the password in your NodePhone hardware / software back to the original dialup password or;
2. Log into My Internode, go to the NodePhone tools, and change your NodePhone password.

Do I have to open up any ports in my firewall to use NodePhone?

In most cases, you do not need to do so.

NodePhone, by its design, converts VoIP calls from peer to peer mode into client-server mode - meaning that your connection data is triggered 'outbound' through your firewall, and that you do not normally need to open firewall rules up to allow an inbound call to be delivered directly to your device.

Hence, the use of NodePhone generally avoids any need to configure 'STUN' or other VoIP tunneling protocols, or to configure special rules to enable it to work - for most customers, it is as simple as 'plug in and go'.

In some cases, however, some firewalls do manage to block the operation of NodePhone. If you need to open up firewall rules, the simplest approach is to open all ports to the IP address 203.2.134.1. All SIP and RTP traffic for NodePhone is originated and delivered via that IP address.

(Note that this IP address is serviced by a fault tolerant SBC cluster - it is not a single machine, and the system has designed-in security and DoS attack protection)

I can't register into NodePhone through my ADSL router

This is rare, but not unheard of. The design of NodePhone is such that you do not need to make any special configuration changes in a NAT gateway or other firewall to use NodePhone.

This is because, unlike 'peer to peer' calling services, NodePhone calls are all, automatically, 'client-server' calls - with your voice interface device connecting outward to our Session Border Controller.

In some cases, some NAT firewalls or ADSL routers contain special configuration features designed to make peer to peer VoIP calls work better. Sometimes these are called ALG (Application Level Gateway) support. These features, if turned on, can actually stop NodePhone from working - by literally getting in the way.

So the first thing to try, in cases where you cannot get your device to register properly with NodePhone, is to make sure that any VoIP specific 'ALG' features in your NAT device or ADSL router are switched off. This usually solves the problem.

My outbound calls drop out after about 11 minutes. How do I fix that?

In some limited cases, some customers may experience call failure (call becomes silent, but does not actually hang up) after about 11 minutes of outbound call duration.

If this occurs, it is generally caused by a problem in the NAT implementation in your ADSL router/firewall. The firewall may be 'timing out' the NAT entry that permits the VoIP conversation to work, and the re-registrations for NodePhone to continue to occur.

We are currently researching potential server-side workarounds (if possible) for this (rare) issue.

However, it can be avoided in almost all cases by modifying the configuration of your NAT gateway/firewall in one or more of the following ways:

• If you have your re-registration interval in your VoIP device set to anything above 10 minutes, lower it to 240 seconds.
• If you have any VoIP-specific 'Application Level Gateway' configuration enabled, try turning it off
• If you have a setting to enable 'NAT Keep Alive', try enabling it (if disabled)

At worst:

• Lock your VoIP endpoint device to a fixed IP address, and set up a fixed mapping in your NAT gateway/firewall to send all traffic from 203.2.134.1 to that fixed IP

My phone line is crackly. How do I fix it!?!

Crackling is an irregular form of light static. It is commonly caused by poor electrical connections, particularly poor phone cable connections, however it can also be caused by electrical interference, or a poor quality phone.

To fix this problem ensure that all phone cables are securely plugged in, and not damaged in any way. Also ensure that devices that emit strong electromagnetic fields are not too close to your phone line.

My call is broken and cuts out. How do I fix this?

This is usually caused by data being lost during the phone conversation. This can be caused by a number of factors:

• A flooded ADSL link (ie: an ADSL link that is being 100% utilized in either direction) where your ADSL router isn't properly supporting Quality of Service (QoS).
• Misconfigured ADSL router QoS settings
• Poor cabling and physical connections

To fix this type of problem try the following:

• Restart your computer and ADSL router
• Ensure you are not running any form of software that may 100% utilize the ADSL connection in either the upstream or downstream direction
• Check your computer for viruses and spyware
• Configure your ADSL router to apply QoS to all NodePhone services.
• Ensure all cabling is not damaged, and is securely plugged into the correct ports
• If you are using a non-QoS enabled router, cease any data uploads during your call(s) until you can obtain a QoS enabled router.

My phone is making a humming noise. How do I fix it?

Humming on a phone line is usually caused by electromagnetic interference (for example the noise that can be heard on a radio when a mobile phone is held close to it). Power cables running near to phone cables can cause this type of electromagnetic interference (or humming) on a line.

To fix this problem ensure the phone cables connected to your NodePhone service are not too close to any strong power sources or power cables.

I get dropouts on calls. How do I fix this?

Dropouts on calls will usually be in conjunction with ADSL dropouts. When your ADSL service loses connection, it will cause the NodePhone service to fail. By using an Internode supplied device and correctly connecting it to the PSTN (standard phone line) you can minimise any phone downtime caused by an ADSL fault. If the ADSL service goes down the Internode supplied hardware will failover to the standard phone line, allowing you to continue to make phone calls.

In most cases correcting the ADSL dropout problem will fix the issue with phone call dropouts on your NodePhone service. Please consult the ADSL section of the troubleshooting guide for more information.

Please note that Internode is not responsible for calls that you place via your standard telephone service, including calls placed because your NodePhone telephone adapter 'failed over' to using the standard telephone service for any reason.

I get echo on my calls, how do I fix it?

Echo is generally caused by differences in audio volume at each end of the phone call. Most endpoints have some form of echo-cancellation or another, if yours doesn't, please consider obtaining one that does.

Some occasional echo is quite normal, even on "normal" phone services, but if it happens all the time, make sure your endpoint's speaker device isn't turned up too loud.

You may even be able to adjust the input gain / output impedance settings in your endpoint, before they hit the audio output device (speaker/headset).

On the Billion 6404/7404 series, you can adjust the volume of your handset speaker and microphone, by navigating the web-based configuration screens in the following manner:

Configuration > VoIP > Phone Port > Edit Phone Port 1 > Volume Control

Adjusting these down, may help to reduce echo.

The phone call is unintelligible and garbled. How do I fix it?

Garbled phone calls are usually caused by voice codec mismatches. To fix this ensure your VoIP device uses one of the following voice codecs:

• G729.a
• G711 A-Law

To eliminate this further ensure both parties of the conversation are using the same audio codec.

This form of codec mismatch is fairly rare these days, and is very unlikely if you use our recommended NodePhone hardware.

The phone call sounds fuzzy. How do I fix it?

Fuzzy voice sounds similar to the radio being turned up too loud and the voice is shaky. This is commonly caused by too much gain on the signal.

To correct this problem adjust the FXS and FXO gain controls on your VoIP device.

Please consult your hardware (software) manufacturer for advice on how to do this.

My softphone is not working properly. How do I fix it?

Your softphone (such as X-Lite / X-Pro) is a program that runs on your computer.

It shares system resources with your computer. If your computer is under heavy load, or experiencing problems this is likely to effect the quality of your NodePhone service.

To fix problems associated with a softphone try reinstalling the softphone software. Also confirm that your computer is virus and spyware free. Ensure that no software on your computer is utilizing all of the system resources, or network resources.

The single most beneficial quality improvement for most Softphones is obtained by ensuring that you use an off-board headset instead of relying on the built in microphone and speakers in your computer.

Examples of this are USB headsets and Bluetooth headsets,

Can I send faxes through NodePhone?

Our voice gateways support T.38 fax relay - so if your VoIP equipment (ATA/PABX) supports it, faxing will work through our gateways.

However, we have not yet performed extensive testing of Fax over our services, and we do not currently guarantee that they will work with all fax destinations (or in some cases, that they will work at all).

In case of problems sending faxes using NodePhone, please over-ride your call to your standard telephone service and use that to send the fax instead.

Internode intends to do further work on Fax over IP mechanisms in the future. However, frankly, it's somewhat of a black art.

The best thing to do - for all sorts of reasons - when contemplating sending a fax - is to encourage your receipient to consider email instead!

Sipura SPA-3000

How do I access the Sipura SPA-3000 web configuration pages once a password has been set?

Note: This applies only to Sipura SPA-3000 units supplied and pre-configured by Internode.

Firstly you will need to determine the IP address assigned to your Sipura unit. You can do this by unplugging the PSTN phone line and pressing the star (*) key 4 times (ie: * * * *). When you hear the Sipura configuration menu voice press the following key combination: 1 1 0 #. The IVR will then read out the Sipura's current IP address.

Alternatively you can get the IP address from a DHCP lease table in your router.

The next step is to enter this IP address into address bar of your web browser. A login box should appear. You need to enter the username as 'user'. The password you enter will be your NodePhone password. To then access the Administrator area click on the 'Admin Login' link in the top right corner of the screen. Another login box will appear. The username for this area is 'admin', with the password being your NodePhone password again.

How do I factory reset my Sipura SPA-3000

You can reset your SPA-3000 to factory default values by doing the following:

1. unplug the SPA-3000 Ethernet cable
2. use your telephone (connected to the SPA-3000) to access the voice menu (press * * * * on your telephone)
3. then press 73738# on your telephone to reset the SPA-3000

Please note that resetting your SPA-3000 will erase all the configuration settings.

Cisco

After upgrading to IOS 12.4(6) when I use G.711, my call hangs up prematurely

Add the following to your Cisco config:

no ip nat service sip tcp port 5060
no ip nat service sip udp port 5060