Screening landline and VOIP calls

MSG56

Member
I'm a couple months away from my new home and diving into home automation.  One of the things I'm looking for is way to screen phone calls that I can't find in the offerings I'm seeing at Amazon.  I would like to have a white list with multiple tiers to provide different messages based on the caller ID.  For example, if the number is in my "family" list, I would like to phone to ring.  If it is in my "friends" list, it would answer during certain hours of the day, and offer a pleasant message to the caller to leave a message at other times.  If there is no caller ID I would like it to play a particular message (not so pleasant) and then hang up.  If it is an unknown number, I would give them a chance to leave a message, after I manually review the message at a later time I may want to add the number to a black list, etc.  But in all of these cases, I don't want to hear the phone ring unless the screening process allows it.  (Actually, I'd rather trigger a particular voice message to be played on my audio system, but I'll work on that later.  Anybody have any idea how to achieve this?  Just brain storming I guess what I need is some way to capture the caller ID and do some sort of IFTTT, but not sure about any of this. 
 
Is the box you are using the Way2Call Hi-Phone Desktop Pro or Lite?  Where would I learn how to set this up?  I'm planning to also have HS3.  
 
You'll want the Desktop Pro.  The "Lite" version doesn't support all the functions.  Also, try to find one on eBay.  The price for new ones is sky high!
Be aware that HSphone is built-in to HS3, but will be discontinued when HS4 is released.  If you get an HS3 license, you'll still be able to use HSphone after you upgrade to HS4 (if you elect to do so), but you'll need to continue to run HS3 on a separate PC (or virtual PC) in order to continue to use HSphone.  I've been doing just that (separate PC - an old pentium box running Windows XP) for about six months and it works fine.  You should be able to accomplish everything in your "wish list" using HSphone.  Here's a post from the Homeseer forum to give you some ideas.
 
https://forums.homeseer.com/forum/legacy-software-plug-ins/legacy-software-older-versions/hs2-hspro/homeseer-phone/101763-block-100-of-robo-calls-using-hsphone
 
Also, there's an active HSphone group on the forum to give you help.  Come join us!
 
Thanks!  Can't wait to give this a try.  I've been living overseas for the past 11 years waiting to get back to the US and settle down and have been thinking about all the automation I want to do in my new home.  Less than two months away now.  Getting excited.
 
Welcome to Cocoontech and Homeseer MSG56.
 
There is also a Homeseer user that got the original Homeseer source code such that he has been working on an autonomous plugin for the Way2Call box.
 
I am not sure of where he is at with the developement of the plugin other than having some issues with Windows 10. 
 
The devices here have never failed and I did originally purchase them on Ebay as refurbs well over 10 years ago. 
 
Nevermind on the new plugin ...just got an email stating that is is not a viable option anymore.
 
None the less here running it on an Oracle Virtual Box running on my Ubuntu Server and it works fine.
 
Many folks have now gone to using only cell phones and have no phone lines going to their homes these days such that there is really not much interest in using or connecting up a Way2Call box.
 
Here have my copper (still) mixed in with VOIP and one cell number going to a telco patch panel which then goes to the Way2Call box(s) and utilize older style multiple line Panasonic phones.  You can also get a hybrid mini PBX configuration and put your lines on it.
 
I do this with asterisk, I set up a dial plan that looks to see if a phone number is in my phone book. If it isn’t is send the caller to an ivr script that makes them press 1 to get the house phones to ring.

I initially integrated analog inbound lines and phones using obi devices. Getting the call quality and full duplex right was such a pain I eventually just ditched all the analog gear, went all sip inbound and ip phones in the house, and everything has worked much better since then.
 
Back
Top