Problems with HAI remote phone access

[humbug2]

I have a recently professionally installed Omnipro II with a C3 communications module and have several problems with calling in from my cell phone.
 
1. The C3 will not work if you have the old fashion phones with mechanical bells. So a new cheapie in place of a built like a tank handset solved that.
 
2. I have an answering machine on my land line. If I have the OP II answer first the system access works as documented. But then calls never get to the answering machine.
 
3. For a case like this the owners manual pg 48 describes an alternate method.  On the second call I enter the passcode and also tried the passcode followed by a #. I get three beeps (error) in response sometimes other times get silence.  Tried over a dozen times varying interval between calls from 5 to 30 seconds.
 
4. The C3 has a cell connection. Calling it gets a message saying number not available after 6th ring. I have been told "There appears to be a recent technical issue with the AT&T cell phone service and entails the DTMF system of tones passing dual tone info for each number sent. There appears to be a latency in the system ie. time shifting the tone info and causing it to be out of spec for the decoding end thereby not allowing the info to be passed along."
 
In any event I cannot have a working answering machine and call the system from a remote phone. Any information or ideas is appreciated.

 

[Desert_AIP]

Does the phone menu work from within the home?

Is the Omni the first terminal on the phone after it enters the home?


With an answering machine, set the Omni to more rings than the machine, i.e. 6, set the machine two 2 or more.

The answering machine should work as normal.
To call the Omni.
Call the house, let it ring once and hang up.
Call back within one minute and the Omni will immediately answer the line.
Key in your code and the option menu will start playing.

 

[humbug2]

Does the phone menu work from within the home?    Yes. 

Is the Omni the first terminal on the phone after it enters the home? Yes

With an answering machine, set the Omni to more rings than the machine, i.e. 6, set the machine two 2 or more. Done: AM 4 & Omni 8 

The answering machine should work as normal. Does
To call the Omni.
Call the house, let it ring once and hang up. I do
Call back within one minute and the Omni will immediately answer the line.  It does.
Key in your code and the option menu will start playing. Does not.
 
I have tried this sequence about 15 times and do not get the menu. Sometimes the Omni gives three beeps other times it immediately  disconnects the phone line, i. e. hangs up.

 

[RAL]

If you make the call from another land line rather than a cell phone, and the answering machine is connected, does the Omni work using the alternate method?  
 
Or, if you make the call  from the cell phone without the answering machine connected (still using the alternate method), does the Omni work?
 
There can be issues with DTMF tones being transmitted from a cell phone or VoIP connection. Trying these other combinations might help isolate whether this is a problem with the Omni itself or with the transmission of the tones, or some strange interference between the answering machine and the Omni.

 

[humbug2]

RAL: I have tried all your suggestions. F.Y.I. asking neighbors to use their landline: Whats a landline? Dropped that years ago.  Public phones are practically non-existent.  Found one with the world's worst voice quality.
 
After innumerable tests:
1. No matter what, the cell side of the C3 does not answer incoming calls. 
 
2. I can use a landline handset in my house to make outgoing calls over the cell circuit connected to the C3. Calling my cell phone that way has loud and clear voice quality.
 
3. Calling in on my landline works reliably if the OMNI number of rings is less than the answering machine or the answering machine is disconnected.
 
4. The alternate way to call in does not work. Period.
 
I am going to try and contact Leviton for support and post this information in a Amazon product review.

 

[Desert_AIP]

For number 4, if the Omni is answering the line and you are keying in you code and it doesn;t then go to the menu - but it works when there is no answering machine, then I'm stumped as to why it doesn't accept the code.
Once it's on the line, it's listening for tones.  It should be identical either way once the Omni answers.
 
For number 1, There are several ways to hook up the C3.
Have you tried hooking it up in the cell only mode?
When hooked up in conjunction with a land line, I don't believe it will kick over to the cell side until it detects a loss of carrier on the landline.

 

[humbug2]

Using the alternate method I had varied results:
     When I entered the passcode, there is a few seconds of silence then a disconnect.
     When I entered the passcode plus a "#" I received three beeps (trouble response) so I know it was listening.
 
The same things happen when the answering machine is disconnected as when the answering machine is connected but has a higher ring count than the OMNI.  
 
Outgoing calls will go to the land line if it works, otherwise the cell circuit. There is a sequence to allow an in-house handset on the land line to make outgoing calls over the cell circuit on the C3 and that works fine.

 

[RAL]

Using the alternate method I had varied results:
     When I entered the passcode, there is a few seconds of silence then a disconnect.
     When I entered the passcode plus a "#" I received three beeps (trouble response) so I know it was listening.
 
The same things happen when the answering machine is disconnected as when the answering machine is connected but has a higher ring count than the OMNI.  
 
Outgoing calls will go to the land line if it works, otherwise the cell circuit. There is a sequence to allow an in-house handset on the land line to make outgoing calls over the cell circuit on the C3 and that works fine.

 

I'm very suspicious that the DTMF tones are being corrupted when you call in using the alternate method with a cell phone.  If you could find a landline somewhere to call in with and it worked, that would help confirm that it is a truly a cell phone issue.  Or maybe a friend that has a different cell phone service provider might show that it is an AT&T issue.

 

[humbug2]

RAL:  I have been waiting for a week for my neighbor who has a land line and cell phone to be home and available at the same time I am. When this happens I am going to try all options again.

 

[humbug2]

...
For number 1, There are several ways to hook up the C3.
Have you tried hooking it up in the cell only mode?
When hooked up in conjunction with a land line, I don't believe it will kick over to the cell side until it detects a loss of carrier on the landline.

 
From Leviton C3 techsheet: "When a call is made to the phone number assigned to the GSM SIM card that is installed in the C3, any phones that are connected to the C3 will ring as they normally would when a landline call is received."
 
No in-house phone has ever rung when I called the C3 cell side. Today I disconnected the landline and called the cell number from my cell phone. There was no answer.
 
 
 

I'm very suspicious that the DTMF tones are being corrupted when you call in using the alternate method with a cell phone.  If you could find a landline somewhere to call in with and it worked, that would help confirm that it is a truly a cell phone issue.  Or maybe a friend that has a different cell phone service provider might show that it is an AT&T issue.

 
Today I made several attempts from my neighbor's land line with Answering Machine disconnected, OMNI rings set to 4:
 
1 above: cell side does not answer. As always.


 
3 above: landline answers, I get one beep,
 I enter passcode, and I am disconnected several seconds later. 
 This is a new problem. This works from my cell phone.

 
 
4 above: alternate method. Second call OMNI answers on 1st ring, I get one beep,
 I enter passcode, and I am disconnected several seconds later. As always.
 
At this moment I am awaiting a response from the installer. And I am thoroughly pissed at ATT & HAI for the problems and Leviton for the lack of locatable tech support. 

 

[Desert_AIP]

I'd remove the C3 and troubleshoot the call in problem first.

There may be an issue with it causing all the problems.