Call blocking phone on 21cv problem - workaround

[Optimist1]

I have a BT4600 phone which on PSTN asked callers not in the contacts list to announce their name.  On 21CV, this feature no longer works (grrr).  However I have found a workaround which others might find useful.

Set the VIP status of all contacts to "on".

Set call blocking to "on".

Set blocking mode to answerphone.

Thus calls from numbers not in the contacts list go straight to answerphone, but those on the contact (VIP) list.  The only disadvantage for me is that the phone always rings, but if I see a number rather than a name I don't pick it up.

I hope this helps.

[Robert_P]

Hi Optimist1

Thanks for posting your workaround via the forums, we appreciate you sharing this as it will hopefully help someone experiencing similar issues resolve their problem 🙂

Rob

[Optimist1]

Oops - Sorry should say "Thus calls from numbers not in the contacts list go straight to answerphone, but not those on the contact (VIP) list."

[goslow · Accepted solution]

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@Optimist1 wrote:
Oops - Sorry should say "Thus calls from numbers not in the contacts list go straight to answerphone, but not those on the contact (VIP) list."

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There's no reason the call screening should stop working on your BT4600 after migrating the phone connection to the VM hub.

Some past topics have reported that a 'base reset' has restored the call screening operation on BT cordless phones. Refer to page 72 of the manual

https://shop.bt.com/content/uni2/documentation/by4j/3653_bt4600_ug_call_blocking_version_iss.4_[3].p...

Use at your own risk, as there is no guarantee it will fix your problem, and beware of inadvertently deleting your user data (second part of that page). A base reset would undo your workaround but would allow you to re-try the normal screening setup again post-reset.

If you don't fancy that, a further modification to your workaround might be to give your VIPs/known contacts their own unique ringtone (page 44 of the manual). That way you can tell from the ringtone if it is someone known to you, rather than having to look at the phone before answering.

[Optimist1]

Hi Goslow, I did reset the base as you suggested but test calls from my mobile just get terminated immediately.  Changing the ringtone is a possibility.  No urgency though as over the last twelve months the number of spam calls has fallen to almost zero (touch wood).  Thank you for your suggestions anyway.