We are currently living in Okinawa, Japan. I recently hooked up a VOIP device to my computer (vonange, if it matters). This is a great thing, as it allows our family to call us using a local-to-them number. We’re very pleased.
However, it does not help us with local (Japanese) calls. For this we need a separate phone, one which is attached to the only other phone jack in the house. No problem, we have other phones–one corded, one cordless.
So we attach an ADSL filter thing to the other outlet and plug in the cordless phone ( the line is completely fuzzy without the filter). Dial tone is fine. Receiving calls is fine. But when we try to dial out, we get this Japanese message, which I would try to transcribe here, but it’s very fast and very fuzzy, and it would be pointless.
The corded phone works fine for receiving and making calls, and our other cordless phone, which is usually attached to the VOIP, behaves in the same way as the first cordless (both work fine with the VOIP).
The cordless phones work perfectly on the Japanese line as long as the VOIP is disconnected.
I live in Tokyo and am resonably familar with local servies, but I use Skype for VoIP, so I’m not sure if I can help or not, but a couple of questions.
What is your setup?
You have your computer going to an ADSL modum and then connecting an alalog phone to it?
The apartment only has two phone jacks, one is used for the computer/VOIP and the other is dedicated to local calls (through NTT).
Like I said, the corded phone works like it should on the “local” jack, and we can receive calls on the cordless, but not make them. I just can’t figure out why the two phones would behave differently. Is there something special about the (very expensive) cordless phones sold in Japan? And why would the cordless phones work fine as long as the VIOP isn’t connected?
Renee, I’d like to answer (and finally put some of that Vonage mandatory training to use), could you tell us what adapter you have? (PAP2, WRT54G, etc)
Why does the cordless phone not work is possibly related to the firmware on the adapter, just as a shot in the dark.
Can you plug in both phones to the same system? If so, does the problem repeat?
If it does not, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that the phones are somehow interfereing with each other when they are on different systems. When connected to the same system, they have the same signals being sent, so quality is just fine.
I’m not sure what you mean by adapter. The DSL filter has “LFT 4-2” written on the back. It’s a 2 WIRE. I tried a Japanese DSL filter and that didn’t fix the problem. Is that what you’re talking about? Or do you mean our Vonage box thingy? The model number on the back of that is VT2142-VD.
Okay, I just tried that and with both cordless phones plugged into the NTT system (local) I have the same problem (new data, yay!). To do that I had to unplug my VOIP/internet connection since there are only two jacks. I don’t know how to plug another phone into the VOIP.
What does that mean and how do I fix it? This was never a problem in the US. Thanks so much for everyone’s help, this is really driving me crazy.
Based on the new data, check to see if there is a way to change the channel used for transmission on one of the bases. It’s possible that if it’s a switch, it was moved during the long move to Japan. (Are the phone systems compatable? Are the power systems the same [frequency wise, 60hz US, is Japan 50hz systems?])
If they are older cordless phones, it’s possible that you’re broadcasting on the same frequency from both bases, and it doesn’t like it.
I agree with Butler1850 about the frequencies. Also, just to make sure, your Motorola Vonage device is behind the router, right? (That means it goes from God to the wall to the DSL modem to the router to the Vonage adapter).
First off, unless you’re paying for 2 phone lines, the 2nd green phone port is giving you a message that says you can’t dial out. That port is a backup if you only have 1 line just in case it burns out.
Since the corded phone works fine on the adapter, then the problem is definitely the cordless phones. If you have a wireless router that runs on 2.4GHz and 2 phones running on 2.4GHz, that will cause a lot of static, often.
Without being in Japan, it’s tough to tell the exact problem, but hopefully it points you in the right direction. Also, calling tech support is ok for Vonage, after the initial India encounter (just say you need Tier 2 support, please), most of the techs are fairly knowledgeable. Even the Argentina support group is really good.
I don’t see any switch on either phone for frequency. Both are American phones and pretty new. I don’t have a wireless router. Also, there is no static, just either silence or the japanese message when I try to dial out, and a clear connection when someone is calling in. I don’t have anything plugged into the second vonage line port. The vonage device is hooked up correctly. Both the phones are 2.4 GH, if that matters.
I don’t really know how to find this out, but they work on both systems, just not at the same time.
Renee - I want to know if your problem solved b/c I’m experiencing the same problem.
To all the smart Techs - I have a cordless DECT 6.0 worked perfectly with VOIP in the States before we moved to Japan. Got my internet connection today and I found out the cordless can only receive call, not able to dial out. It had dial tone but when I dialed a number, just some statics and went back to the dial tone.
Please help if you know why. thx
The way it ended up, we were able to use a cordless with the vonage, or with the local phone lines, but if we wanted to make a call on the local lines, we had to disconnect the vonage phone. (This was only true with the cordless–if we had a corded phone plugged in, we could make calls with it plugged in, and we were always able to receive calls on the local line.) We never did figure out why this was, we just dealt with it. Good luck.