Forum Discussion

am549's avatar
am549
Joining in
2 years ago

BT Handset call blocking no longer working

Since the switch over to digital my BT 8610 call blocking features no longer work for withheld numbers. All other numbers announce as expected.

I've tried the first call setting on the call settings and a factory reset however this had made no difference. I'm suspecting it's something to do with how the line sends withheld held numbers through in capitals (WITHHELD) rather than the previous method of "Withheld".

Has anyone managed to get this resolved?   

  • Good Afternoon am549, thanks for your post and I'm sorry to hear of the issue that you've encountered with this service, since the switching of the phone line to our 21CV services.

    Can you please confirm if this has been raised with BT at all, and if so, what has been advised? 

    Thanks,

    David_Bn

    • am549's avatar
      am549
      Joining in

      I have not raised it with BT as it's not their issue.

      Since you changed over to the 21CV service the call blocking function on my landline no longer blocks withheld calls (model number as above).

      • David_Bn's avatar
        David_Bn
        Forum Team

        Thanks for coming back to me am549

        As this is a piece of equipment and functions provided by a third party, we would advise speaking to BT to see if they have any known work arounds for this matter.

        Thanks,

        David_Bn

  • To resurface an old topic, apart from the Truecall service (which has an associated cost) can anyone advise:

    • Why my BT8610 call blocking features no longer screen withheld numbers (they simply bypass the announce function)
    • What a suitable replacement handset would be to screen withheld numbers

    I can't seem to be able to get anyone from VM to speak to me regarding this in an appropriate manner so am hopeful the community can provide some answers here.

  • goslow's avatar
    goslow
    Alessandro Volta

    This issue has been mentioned quite a few times before on here (no filtering for withheld numbers on BT phones with trueCall features post-switchover)

    You are unlikely to get any help from either VM or BT since neither has any vested interest in investigating or fixing the problem.

    The trueCall technology in the BT phones is licensed by trueCall but it is hard-coded into the phone with no means to update it and make changes AFAIK.

    The separate trueCall device

    https://www.truecall.co.uk/category-s/116.htm

    does have the means to be updated where trueCall support have been able to 'dial in' remotely (via the phone line) to the trueCall unit and tweak its settings to match the VM line conditions and caller ID type. There have been several past topics about this on here.

    The trueCall unit itself is fairly expensive at £109.99 but second hand units crop up on eBay at much cheaper prices. There is an optional £20 subscription (free for the first year with a new unit if I recall correctly) which allows you access to a web portal to configure and monitor the unit. You may possibly need to use the subscription to get support on a second-hand unit so check all the details above with trueCall before purchasing anything.

     

    One past suggestion for the BT phones is mentioned here

    https://community.virginmedia.com/t5/Home-Phone/TrueCall-phones-announce-feature-after-switchover-to-21CV/m-p/5325321

    I believe others have tried the above but without success.

    Someone has also claimed success with a complete reset of the cordless phones and base station, inc batteries out etc. (with the obvious likelihood of losing all your phone contacts if you can't back them up)

    https://community.virginmedia.com/t5/Home-Phone/bt-premium-phone-call-blocking/m-p/5244630#M186037

    Use any of the latter suggestions at your own risk, and with caution, to avoid losing any contact data and personalised settings in the phones.

  • Client62's avatar
    Client62
    Alessandro Volta

    Looking over our phone logs for 3 phone lines we have hardly any calls where the Caller Id is not presented, but those callers are almost always Barclays Bank or Colchester Hospital or Basildon Hospital.

    Scam VOIP calls where the Caller Id is faked to look like a genuine business are by far the greatest risk especially to older generations that tend to assume a phone caller is who they claim to be.

  • Did you manage to find a solution to this? We’ve just been switched over to digital voice and now the Call Guardian feature on our BT phones isn’t working either, can’t say I’m happy as in the couple of days since we’ve switched we’ve already had several unsolicited calls. It’s not a BT issue as the phones we were working perfectly fine up until the switchover.

  • Client62's avatar
    Client62
    Alessandro Volta

    I suspect it kind of is a BT product issue, the BT branded phones are configured to work perfectly with a BT style of telephone exchanges introduced in the late 1980s.  The VM Telephone service via the Hub is a close but not perfect emulation of BT Exchange line. "WITHHELD" vs. "Withheld" being one of the gaps. Not having a ringing signal on a 3rd wire being another, this is required only for support of the most ancient telephones.

    The real pity is the new VM telephone via Hub service should have included comprehensive call management and voice message functions online and for free.  But it even appears beyond VM to provide an outbound / inbound call list !