CV21 Office Phone Query

[sandskater666]

Hi all,

I sincerely hope that you can help. I have recently just had my phone line switched from a traditional switched line to a line that comes out of the back of the router - my understanding is that this is a CV21 upgrade…? 

Anyway, to maximise the strength of Wi-Fi reception throughout the house, our router is situated in our Living Room. The problem is that I work from home using a traditional BT desk phone (an old converse 2300, which now doesn’t make an audible ring, which I assume is due to its age) in my office, some distance from the Living Room. I assume that I may need a newer model of phone that has a digital ringer, but this does not solve the problem of having to have the phone situated in an altogether different room.  

I’d like to continue using a Plantronics CS540 headset, which currently relies on a HL-10 lifter being physically connected to the phone to enable me to answer it from distance, although I understand that a phone with EHS compatibility will enable me to use the headset without the lifter. 

Most phones that have the EHS capability appear to be IP or VOIP phones, which are obviously unsuitable for the current Virgin setup, which relies on using an RJ45 port.

I’d like to know if there is a solution that will enable me to have my desk phone set up in my office, so that I can hear the ringer properly and still operate my headset without having it docked in the living room. I’m happy to have a base unit in the living room, but the phone in my office would need to be cordless. 

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. 

Thanks in advance for your help. 

Simon

[goslow]

Was your phone changed to 21CV as part of VM's planned programme of change or was it done instead of repairing a fault on your former landline connection?

You presumably had phone extension sockets around the home before the switch to 21CV?

Were these not reconnected as part of the switchover and has that left you at the moment with only the one connection point from the back of the hub?

Have you plugged your Converse 2300 phone into the back of the hub via the VM adapter and found it does not ring?

Non-ringing on older phones is often due to not having a ringing capacitor in the phone adapter which goes into the back of the hub.

(Edit: The Converse 2300 does not appear to be that old a model so there may be a different reason for the non-ringing issue)

[Ashleigh_C]

Hi there @sandskater666

Thank you so much for your first post and welcome to the community forum team! 

Thank you to @goslow for their help and advise on this so far. 

The best thing we would be able to recommend for this is using a cordless phone with the base unit plugged into the Hub and the phone in your office.

We can't really advise on the older handset but it is likely that as an older model it is not compatible with the new digital service. 

Thank you. 

[sandskater666]

Hi Goslow - thanks for the quick reply. 

I had the transition due to a fault with my traditional line that couldn’t be solved by the engineer, so it was an impromptu appointment and fix. 

I have numerous phone points across the house and indeed one in the office that was historically used as the base station. the telephone ports have not been reconnected as part of the switch to the new service and the feedback I have had now from two separate engineers is that the only option to expand my phone to the office is to have a base station in the lounge attached to the router, with cordless phones connected elsewhere. This however prevents me from using my headset. 

I was originally told by the first engineer that an IP phone would work in a power line in my office via Ethernet. This is balls - I have bought the necessary equipment and it didn’t work. 

Virgin customer service also indicated that it was possible to get an Ethernet adapter, to allow an IP phone to work. This is also incorrect.

There are numerous 2300 models, mine is an old one. A more current version does ring properly so I’m sure it just needs upgrading. I’m trying to see is there are alternatives before I just accept the fact that I need to buy a new 2300 or equivalent and have it based in the lounge, whilst I rely on my headset being off the charger all day in my office. 

[sandskater666]

That’s fine, but I need a cordless phone handset that is compatible with EHC pick up to work with my headset. This doesn’t seem to be an option on anything I can find?

[goslow]

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@sandskater666 wrote:

Hi Goslow - thanks for the quick reply. 

I had the transition due to a fault with my traditional line that couldn’t be solved by the engineer, so it was an impromptu appointment and fix. 

<snip>

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OK, well you have not received the best advice from the VM tech's IMO unless there is something particularly unique about your setup which prevents your extensions being reconnected. An IP phone will not work with VM’s 21CV landline service so that was nonsense. The TEL1 socket on the back of the hub just connects a standard phone.

Some suggestions of things you can try ...

The old 2300 model may not be ringing because there is no longer a ringing capacitor in the connection to the hub. There could be other reasons but, for the purposes of a test only, do you happen to have an old ADSL microfilter lying around the house anywhere? If so, use the VM adapter from the back of the hub, then plug in the microfilter and then plug in the non-ringing 2300 phone. Dial in and see if the phone rings (the microfilter should include a ringing capacitor to generate the ringing signal).

If it turns out you just need a ringing capacitor in the adapter, then you can get such adapters with a capacitor built in and I believe VM even do a version like this.

Aside from the non-ringing, your simplest option would be to reconnect your extension sockets to the TEL1 connection on the back of the hub.

Do you happen to have an existing old phone socket near to where the hub position is?

VM use a somewhat clunky method of disconnecting the old incoming copper phone line from the old master socket (to separate your internal phone wiring from the old system in the street) and then back-feeding a connection from the back of the hub using an adapter lead like the one here at message #9

https://community.virginmedia.com/t5/Forum-Archive/HUB3-to-Master-socket-adaptor/m-p/4507007#M143805

Depending on what your own tech/DIY skills are like you could make up your own connection to link the hub to the extension sockets

I wrote a description of doing that a little while ago

https://community.virginmedia.com/t5/Tech-Chatter/would-it-be-possible-to-connect-the-old-nynex-line...

(though not sure on the build quality of the Screwfix extension kit, which was listed for ease of getting hold of one). Use at your own risk, depending on your own level of tech/installation skills!

If your phone does require a ringing wire, then you would need to make sure to connect through pin 3 bell wire (using the orange/white wire) on all your internal extensions as well as pins 2 and 5 line pair (blue/white and white/blue) and use an adapter with a ringing capacitor in it at the hub.

You could get VM back to do the extension modifications for you for £25 standard fee. However, I find it amazing that VM can claim to have 'fixed' your phone line by disabling all your existing phone equipment and sockets then telling you to buy all new phones! I know the hands free/lifter equipment is not usually cheap.

Alternatively, you could find a local independent telecoms installer to do the job which might lead to a better/more reliable quality of job than from VM.

One of the forum team should respond here and may offer further suggestions as I think you have been somewhat left in the lurch by this conversion process which was done mainly for VM's benefit (to avoid fixing your conventional phone line) and has left you at a significant practical and financial disadvantage.

[Zach_R]

Hi @sandskater666,

Thank you for expanding on the situation. I'm unsure as to why you're having this issue with connecting, as it should be able to work as normal provided you have the necessary extensions and connectors.
 

I'm going to send you a private message in a few moments so that we can take some additional details from you to investigate further. If the issue remains today, please respond to this at your earliest convenience and we can go from there.

Thanks,