Using additional channels on NodePhone

NodePhone2 services have one phone number but two 'channels' - specifically, 'the capability of carrying two concurrent calls'. The number of channels may also be increased using the 'MultiLine' feature in the NodePhone toolbox. This is often used by business customers to connect an IP PBX (please note that additional charges apply - further details).

• Of course, your VoIP equipment also needs to have the capability of handling multiple channels, in order to make use of this feature.

Another important item is the status of the Call Waiting setting in the NodePhone toolbox. By default, this will be set to 'Off'. This means that if there is already a call in progress, a second incoming call to the same number will be treated by the NodePhone network as if the line was 'busy' - the additional channel/s will not be used.

Hence if you intend to use the additional channel feature, please ensure that you have appropriate VoIP equipment and that you set Call Waiting to 'On' via the NodePhone toolbox.

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 (i.e., 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 tunnelling 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 NodePhone through my ADSL router

In some cases, some NAT firewalls or ADSL routers contain special features designed to make peer-to-peer VoIP calls work better. These features are called Application Level Gateway (ALG) support.

However, NodePhone does not connect peer-to-peer VoIP calls - all NodePhone calls are automatically client-server calls, connecting outward to our Session Border Controller. Because of this, ALG features can actually stop NodePhone from working - by literally getting in the way.

If you are having trouble getting your device to register properly with NodePhone, make sure that any VoIP specific 'ALG' features in your NAT device/ADSL router are switched off This usually solves the problem.

My calls are broken and/or cut out. How do I fix this?

First, check your Internet connection - your NodePhone service relies on it to make and receive calls. If your Internet connection drops out, or suffers performance problems, you may experience call dropouts, or garbled/incomplete calls.

If your Internet connection is OK, check that the cables are all OK, and consider trying another telephone handset.

Finally, check if there is a regular pattern to when calls drop out - for instance, on outbound calls only, or after a certain time. If so, this may indicate a problem with your ADSL router/firewall. In this case, we recommend updating your router's firmware - consult your router's user manual for instructions.

My phone makes humming, crackling, or fuzzy noises.
How do I fix this?

If you have humming, crackling, fuzzy sounds, or other unusual noises on your calls, first check your telephone cables. For example:

• Damaged cables and loose connections can cause crackling and popping sounds.
• Phone cables that run close to power cables/adapters can cause humming noises.

If your cables are OK, try another telephone handset. Nearby electronic devices and mobile phones are another cause of interference - especially with cordless telephone base stations. Wherever possible, keep your base station away from devices such as: mobile phones, speakers, microwave ovens, and wireless modems/routers.

My ringing tone sounds 'American' or like an 'engaged' tone. How do I fix that?

Most people use NodePhone through either an Analogue Telephone Adapter (ATA) - such as a Sipura SPA-3000, or an OPEN Networks 812L - or through an Integrated Access Device (IAD) - such as a Billion 740x series router. Some of these devices have their default ringing tone (what you hear when you make an outbound phone call) set to the 'American' style, which sounds similar to the engaged tone used in Australia.

In practice, this does not cause any problems making and receiving calls - it's just a different ringing tone than you may be used to.

The ringing tone that is heard on your NodePhone service can originate in two places:

• When calling another NodePhone service the ringing tone originates from our network. Technically this is 'SIP: 183 Session Progress', and it means that a traditional Australian fixed line ringing tone will be heard.
• When calling services on the traditional telephone network, your NodePhone equipment may be directed to play its default ringing tone. This is 'SIP: 180 Ringing', and it means that you'll hear whatever has been set on your equipment.

You can change the default ringing tone on a Billion router by:

1. Log into the Billion modem interface via this address: 192.168.1.254 in any web browser.
2. On the left hand side select Configuration, then VoIP, then Ring & Tone.
3. On this screen change the Region to Australia.
4. Underneath Tone Parameters there will be a row Ringback Tone. On this row change the following fields to the corresponding values:
   • Freq 2: 400
   • Power 2: -24
5. Click on the Apply button on the bottom of this screen, then once this has been done click onto Save Config on the bottom of the screen. This will load a new page Save Config to FLASH - click onto the apply button here. After several seconds a prompt will come up saying the save was successful.
6. After this is done click the Restart button at the bottom, and select Restart with current settings. Click the Restart button and wait for the timer to reach 0.

We are currently working on a solution for the OPEN Networks 812L - meantime, just ignore any slightly odd ringing tones and keep making calls as per normal! For other equipment, please consult the manufacturer's documentation.

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 6404/740x 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.

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

A 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 affect 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 utilising 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?

Some of our voice gateways support T.38 fax relay - so if your Voice over IP equipment (ATA/PABX) supports it, faxing may work through these gateways. However we neither guarantee, nor provide technical support, for faxing through NodePhone.

To ensure your outbound call goes via a gateway that supports T.38, please prefix calls with the access code *38#. For example, dial *38#0855501234 instead of 0855501234.

On supported Billion routers a minimum software version of 5.60c is required. Make sure the T.38 Relay check box under VoIP --> General Settings --> Advanced is checked. The Billion must be able to use G711 for T.38 to work.

If you wanted to insert this access code on all calls you could adjust your Billion Dial plans to insert the feature code. For example:

• The standard dial plan with 'insert *38#' would be <:*38#>0[23478]xxxxxxxx|<:*38#>[2-9]xxxxxxx|*xx|111|<:*38#>13[1-9]xxx|<:*38#>1[38]00xxxxxx|<:*38#>001xxx.T|x.T
• The voip only dial plan with 'insert *38#' would be 000|106|<:*38#>0[23478]xxxxxxxx|<:*38#>[2-9]xxxxxxx|*xx|111|<:*38#>13[1-9]xxx|<:*38#>1[389]00xxxxxx|<:*38#>001xxx.T|x.T

 

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. Or encourage your recipient 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 (i.e.: * * * *). 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.

• For more information on the Sipura SPA-3000, see the
  NodePhone Configuration for Sipura SPA-3000 Guide

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