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Vox Hack
- Thread starter schurtek
- Start date
Thanks for the info Schurtek! Worked perfectly for me... I needed a better solution than putting the device behind a router that can have bridged PPPoE connections running over it as it seems that the Vox device will create a connection only over certain routers. Had success with a planet and a mega100wr. No luck with a netgear and siemens adsl router.
I did find something interesting here... http://www.packetman.com.au/kb/entry/497/
This will allow you to install a vox adsl phone onto an ADSL line that an individual is using for fax as well. Normally your vox phone would ring every time you receive a fax... After making this change it will only ring with voip calls yet still allow you to dial out over the pstn line...
I did find something interesting here... http://www.packetman.com.au/kb/entry/497/
This will allow you to install a vox adsl phone onto an ADSL line that an individual is using for fax as well. Normally your vox phone would ring every time you receive a fax... After making this change it will only ring with voip calls yet still allow you to dial out over the pstn line...
SilverNodashi
Expert Member
Have you been able to get the VOX modem to work behind a Linux firewall? i.e. let it not make a PPPoE connection first?
SilverNodashi
Expert Member
You can get SIP only accounts, but not from Vox Telepreneur, for that you have to go directly to Vox Telecom. But why would a customer want to sit and hassle with setting up a SIP Device, or even go to the expense of buying one... then spending hours trying to sort out the QoS ques? Much simpler answer... Vox ADSL Phone... works right out the box. Very little config!
Quite simple
Since it's a SIP phone number, it's more portable. And I would love to be able to take my "office phone" with me, i.e. take my SIP phone number with me, wherever I am. My cellphone can handle SIP numbers, yet I haven't been able to get it to work. I would also love to setup a SIP softphone application on my laptop (which has a built-in mic) so that I can use the office number wherever I have internet. Again, I have been unable to get it to work.
Yes and no.... Yes, when there are enough public IPs and you can put the phone on a DMZ. No when you are using NAT.
Quite simple
Since it's a SIP phone number, it's more portable. And I would love to be able to take my "office phone" with me, i.e. take my SIP phone number with me, wherever I am. My cellphone can handle SIP numbers, yet I haven't been able to get it to work. I would also love to setup a SIP softphone application on my laptop (which has a built-in mic) so that I can use the office number wherever I have internet. Again, I have been unable to get it to work.
Yes, a SIP phone number is more portable, however... big HOWEVER, the Vox ADSL Phone is not sold as a SIP account. If you want a SIP account then you can buy a seperate SIP account from Vox. Go to http://vox.co.za/product_SIPS.aspx to order one. Use my dealer number 504450 and I will bend over back wards to help you do what you want to do...
I do not suggest using SIP on 3G in south africa. The latency is so bad you can't even call it terrible. The other problem with 3G in South Africa is that you are behind a firewall and NAT becomes a problem. Next time you connect your laptop to 3G check your IP address. It will be 10.x.x.x, which is private not public. The way SIP works is beyond the capabilities of any modern firewall and router, and until IPv6 becomes standard defacto, you will not get around the problem unless you setup your own border control server on a public IP.
I seriesly think I need to put together a tutorial on Networking to help you guys understand what the problem is here...
SilverNodashi
Expert Member
I understand networking
But, you have confirmed something that the VOX staff won't tell me, and that is that the number that came with my VOX phone isn't actually a SIP number. I have a feeling it's hardware locked to the ADSL router's MAC address, but can't prove this either. I was hoping to use my existing VOX number (which is already printed on all our business cards, advertising, etc, and costs less than their SIP numbers) on a normal softphone application on my PC, and on my cellphone.
What get's me though, is that although I already have a VOX number (and dealer number 500197), they still force me to buy a SIP number. And if anyone from VOX is reading this, your modems are crap. I can't say anything good about them, or the handsets that only last about 4 hours before I have to recharge them. My other cordless phone can run about 2 days (with approx the same amount of calls) before I need to recharge it.
I have been looking at other more feasible options though. Vox's support sux, and their prices are not the cheapest.
But, you have confirmed something that the VOX staff won't tell me, and that is that the number that came with my VOX phone isn't actually a SIP number. I have a feeling it's hardware locked to the ADSL router's MAC address, but can't prove this either. I was hoping to use my existing VOX number (which is already printed on all our business cards, advertising, etc, and costs less than their SIP numbers) on a normal softphone application on my PC, and on my cellphone.
What get's me though, is that although I already have a VOX number (and dealer number 500197), they still force me to buy a SIP number. And if anyone from VOX is reading this, your modems are crap. I can't say anything good about them, or the handsets that only last about 4 hours before I have to recharge them. My other cordless phone can run about 2 days (with approx the same amount of calls) before I need to recharge it.
I have been looking at other more feasible options though. Vox's support sux, and their prices are not the cheapest.
Hi SoftDux
Yes, the VoxADSL phone accounts are locked to MAC Address. PM me and I can help you get your line converted to a SIP account only... it is actually cheaper than the Vox Phone, as one trunk will only cost you R25 per month.
You should have no problem in keeping your number, otherwise, just set your old number to forward to the new number... but I don't see them stopping that since they are all on about number portability.
Oh, and don't talk to 087 805 9111. They not that clued up anymore... all the jacked up guys either left or got better positions in Vox.
Yes, you will be expected to pay a minumum of R300 for out going calls. But if you anything like me, with a phone account exceeding R500 per month, then this won't be a problem. You seem like you make a lot of out going calls.
When it comes to the Thompson Router... replace the supplied batteries with Rechargable Engerizer NiMH AAA cells. I did that and now I can go several days with out charging, and talk full day with out charging. But get the ones with the biggest Ah you can find. I paid about R150 for 4.
Other than that the phone is locked down to prevent people from breaking it, but if you know what you doing then PM me and I'll send you a little 800 page PDF that will make you so hard you'll get cast in a porno.
Yes, the VoxADSL phone accounts are locked to MAC Address. PM me and I can help you get your line converted to a SIP account only... it is actually cheaper than the Vox Phone, as one trunk will only cost you R25 per month.
You should have no problem in keeping your number, otherwise, just set your old number to forward to the new number... but I don't see them stopping that since they are all on about number portability.
Oh, and don't talk to 087 805 9111. They not that clued up anymore... all the jacked up guys either left or got better positions in Vox.
Yes, you will be expected to pay a minumum of R300 for out going calls. But if you anything like me, with a phone account exceeding R500 per month, then this won't be a problem. You seem like you make a lot of out going calls.
When it comes to the Thompson Router... replace the supplied batteries with Rechargable Engerizer NiMH AAA cells. I did that and now I can go several days with out charging, and talk full day with out charging. But get the ones with the biggest Ah you can find. I paid about R150 for 4.
Other than that the phone is locked down to prevent people from breaking it, but if you know what you doing then PM me and I'll send you a little 800 page PDF that will make you so hard you'll get cast in a porno.
DapperDanMan
Honorary Master
Forwarding from VoIP number to VoIP number: Is it free if they're NOT on the same network?
By the way, if you changed the VPI and VCI values on the Vox ADSL Phone somehow, will it work if it's plugged into an overseas DSL connection?
No and No...
each network charges each network an interconnect fee... only when it's within the same network can you get away with free charges.
the sip account built into the ADSL phone only works from south african ip addresses. if you want a Vox SIP account over seas then please purchase the SIP account, not the Vox Phone.
SilverNodashi
Expert Member
.
but I don't want their crap modem, and don't see why I should be paying for it either. It doesn't work well with 5 PC's connected, and won't allow me to put into bridge mode, so I can't use my own Linux firewall & bandwidth management server.
heh, I already know that. so who do I actually talk to?
I honestly don't see the point in this. I don't want to pay R300 every month, if I don't always use that much. If they had the least bit of decent business sense, then they would drop this and have more clients use up more time and thus make more money.
I actually think the charger in the modem is a poor one, cause when I charge the batteries manually then they last a long time. Even the new GP 800mah ones I put in myself doesn't last that long. Yet, the same batteries last more than a week in my phillips portable - which runs on 2.4Ghz, and is in essence similar.
How do you mean, "break it"
+ R300 setup, AGAIN
but I don't want their crap modem, and don't see why I should be paying for it either. It doesn't work well with 5 PC's connected, and won't allow me to put into bridge mode, so I can't use my own Linux firewall & bandwidth management server.
heh, I already know that. so who do I actually talk to?
I honestly don't see the point in this. I don't want to pay R300 every month, if I don't always use that much. If they had the least bit of decent business sense, then they would drop this and have more clients use up more time and thus make more money.
I actually think the charger in the modem is a poor one, cause when I charge the batteries manually then they last a long time. Even the new GP 800mah ones I put in myself doesn't last that long. Yet, the same batteries last more than a week in my phillips portable - which runs on 2.4Ghz, and is in essence similar.
How do you mean, "break it"
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Phone 0878050000 and speak to Mark King..
+ R300 setup, AGAIN
The modem is already in bridge mode... seriesly, I have most of my clients using local only bandwidth on the modem, and running a PPPoE dialup from their PCs with International Bandwidth. Plus I also have a phone running on a network that has 300+ people connected via a WISP.
Me
Your statement was redundant. "Drop the R300 so that people will make more phone calls?" The R300 goes towards R300 worth of phone calls. The problem is that these VAS numbers cost money to get from ICASA, and they are not cheap. Vox are trying to avoid what other VOIP providers have experienced, which is number farming, where people sign up for often cheap and free numbers that they don't actually use, but the provider must pay license fees for it every month.
Yes, the charger is crap. But like I said, the energizer batteries seem to work better.
I had my first Vox unit for 3 days and it stopped working. I kept hacking it to see what it can and cannot do. Don't get me wrong... the powers that be soon caught wind and contacted me, but when they saw that I actually knew what I was doing, they started giving me advice. Only problem is that if I go to a Vox function, I get asked not to share to much, as most people do not have the know how to do these things with out causing damage that a simple RESET cannot fix. I post some of simpler hacks here, because many of the people who know what they are doing hang out here. But neither I nor Vox warrant any of the hacks.
It's like you buy a toaster, then you break it cause you tried to toast and egg. Should the store exchange the toaster? Toasters are clearly not designed nor sold to cook eggs, but they can be used to cook eggs, with a bit of modification. The point I am trying to make is, pretend the Vox phone is a toaster. You are only suppose to put bread in, and get toast out. Nothing else. If you manage to get more functionality out of it, then you are on your own. If you break it, then you are on your own.
Things are done like this to minimise support. I run an ADSL ISP. But I have hardly any support calls, as my clients receive their modem from us, preprogrammed and locked. It's a turnkey solution. You get your modem, you plug it in, and you surf.
Same with Vox. They supply the Router Phone, you plug it in, and you call. Very little technical know how to be done. Should you need something more fancy, then the standard SIP accounts are what you need. But, if you are not spending R300+ a month on phone calls, then why do you have the Vox Phone? When you consider the cost savings, you are not really experiencing them, as you are still paying to rent a phone line from Telkom, and for the ADSL, which you need to make calls on Vox. Even if you are only phoning mobile phones, then you are looking at R80 savings just on a R300 bill. Cost of Vox phone per month is R49, so you are only saving R31.
From 1st December your savings on calls will change from R80 to R110. If you consider this, the R300 minimum billing each month is not so serious, since you will need to make at least R500 calls per month before you start experiencing value...
SilverNodashi
Expert Member
I setup mine a bit differently last night. Setup the Netgear modem in bridge mode, and then setup the Vox modem behind it, with local-only bandwidth, and the Linux firewall with the international bandwidth. This way I can at least use my own firewall and security
Sure, but not eveyone spends R300/m on calls. And this is one of those cases where my "cheaper" clients won't use it, cause they don't want to commit to R300 if they only make about R100's worth of calls. For example our inbound sales & support doesn't need to make calls, so I don't see how it's going to benefit me by getting Vox's SIP numbers with R300 minimum commitment. Does this make sense? I'm also on a road a lot, so about 90% of my calls or from my cellphone.
[/QUOTE]
I setup mine a bit differently last night. Setup the Netgear modem in bridge mode, and then setup the Vox modem behind it, with local-only bandwidth, and the Linux firewall with the international bandwidth. This way I can at least use my own firewall and security
You are losing your QoS by doing this. If the International account get's busy, it will affect your calls. The Vox Phone needs to be primary point, as it needs to manage the QoS. When you make a call, it locks that bandwidth need for the call so nothing else can take it and interupt the call.
Again, if your clients are spending R100 per month on calls, then they are wasting their money going for Vox. Until Vox is able to provide their own connectivity and you don't need to use the ADSL cloud, you are just wasting money as the cost savings are not going to affect them.
One of my friends got a call from a Vox Agent today, while I was there. He was offering them a 21 day free trial with the Vox phone. But here's the catch. She only spends about R40-R60 a month on phone calls. The Vox phone will not save her any money!!! Sit down and work out your cost savings before selling the product. Also target heavy uses, as they will pay your commission. Not a R40-R60 or even a R100 per month phone account.
My average user spends R6000 per month of more on the phone bill. I have 11 phones and a PBX that I have supplied. I make an awesome profit. A friend of mine always mocks me, as he has over 100 phones out there, yet he makes only about R200 more than me a month in commission. Seems like he did a lot more work than me, for not much more reward.
SilverNodashi
Expert Member
Well, see that's my point. I don't necesarely want to use VOX to save money, although every call will be saving money already. BUT, I want it for portibily, and the fact that they offer rebates in incoming calls makes it a "passive income". It's just a very un-practicle solution for a call center. The charger doesn't regarge the batteries quick enough. I currently have a battery charger plugged in with 4x AAA batteries and swap them every few hours - not ideal. And buying new batteries every week / month isn't financially viable either.
So, the SIP account idea sounds good, but it's not practicle for everyone. And to say that you need to make R300's worth of calls just to have it isn't logical either. Our accounts lady doesn't need a switch-board, and the rebates we get on the calls she receive is great, but she doesn't make that many calls.
And the big saving comes in when she phones support, on the free 087 number. But, then again, there's no "one-size-fits-all" solution
So, the SIP account idea sounds good, but it's not practicle for everyone. And to say that you need to make R300's worth of calls just to have it isn't logical either. Our accounts lady doesn't need a switch-board, and the rebates we get on the calls she receive is great, but she doesn't make that many calls.
And the big saving comes in when she phones support, on the free 087 number. But, then again, there's no "one-size-fits-all" solution
czc
Honorary Master
I have made PPPoE connections through the VOX Phone. I assume it must be a modem therefore. So I want to know if I make a PPPoE connection through the VOX Phone is it still able to prioritize VOIP when you make a phone call?
schurtek would it be possible for me to see that 800 page document you have?
schurtek would it be possible for me to see that 800 page document you have?
Well, see that's my point. I don't necesarely want to use VOX to save money, although every call will be saving money already. BUT, I want it for portibily, and the fact that they offer rebates in incoming calls makes it a "passive income". It's just a very un-practicle solution for a call center. The charger doesn't regarge the batteries quick enough. I currently have a battery charger plugged in with 4x AAA batteries and swap them every few hours - not ideal. And buying new batteries every week / month isn't financially viable either.
So, the SIP account idea sounds good, but it's not practicle for everyone. And to say that you need to make R300's worth of calls just to have it isn't logical either. Our accounts lady doesn't need a switch-board, and the rebates we get on the calls she receive is great, but she doesn't make that many calls.
And the big saving comes in when she phones support, on the free 087 number. But, then again, there's no "one-size-fits-all" solution
PM me your direct phone number, I have a solution for you that makes use of your office Vox line, but not using their standard call forwarding, but rather a trick I call POTS to SIP conversion...
Hummercellc
Expert Member
I understand networking
But, you have confirmed something that the VOX staff won't tell me, and that is that the number that came with my VOX phone isn't actually a SIP number. I have a feeling it's hardware locked to the ADSL router's MAC address, but can't prove this either. I was hoping to use my existing VOX number (which is already printed on all our business cards, advertising, etc, and costs less than their SIP numbers) on a normal softphone application on my PC, and on my cellphone.
What get's me though, is that although I already have a VOX number (and dealer number 500197), they still force me to buy a SIP number. And if anyone from VOX is reading this, your modems are crap. I can't say anything good about them, or the handsets that only last about 4 hours before I have to recharge them. My other cordless phone can run about 2 days (with approx the same amount of calls) before I need to recharge it.
I have been looking at other more feasible options though. Vox's support sux, and their prices are not the cheapest.
The Vox ADSL phones do hold SIP accounts and only use the mac address of the unit for first time reg... I am using my 087 number assigned to my Vox Phone on my notebook through 3G when i am away. you can call vox and ask for the PBX engineer's who will give you your password to your sip account or you can get it off the phone unit itself (bit of code to read) if you would like the instructions i will post them...