Virgin Media Community

[littlepixel]

We've been forced to swap from our analogue landline to IP phone Fibre (ie a dongle in the back of our router etc) and though the fibre landline seems to work (gets dial tone, calls out) it doesn't ring when called. 

If I call the landline from my mobile and pick up (knowing it should be ringing) the connection is made and it's a perfectly serviceable call - but it just doesn't ring at all, so it's basically useless if anyone wants to call us on it.

The receiver we have is pretty old (non cordless), and reading around my hunch is the dongle/router isn't supplying enough voltage to activate the ringer.

We've only really kept it because our aging parents don't like to call mobiles (!) - so don't really want to have to go out and buy a new handset since it barely ever gets used and the reciever worked perfectly on analogue.

Anyone have any clues on why it's not ringing?

[Kain_W]

Hi littlepixel,

Thanks for your post and welcome to the community! 

Sorry for any issues caused with the switchover.

From checking our service I can see that now everything seems to be provisioned, can I ask you to reboot the network and ensure the phone line is placed into the Hub's socket?

Thanks,

[littlepixel]

I have rebooted and the problem is exactly the same. Dial tone - fine. Ring from landline - fine.
But no ring.

[Paulina_Z]

Hi @littlepixel,

Thank you for coming back to us about your landline issue. 

Can you tell us if your volume on the landline is turned up all the way? If so, are you still not hearing any ringing when calling your landline? 

Let us know so we can help.

Thank you.

[littlepixel]

Yes - the volume is turned up all the way. No ring.

[Paulina_Z]

Hi @littlepixel,

Thank you for coming back to me and letting me know.

Have you tried a different handset connected to the cables to ensure that it is not the equipment that is causing this issue?

Have you checked all cabling to ensure that all connections are input correctly? You can always run some further landline fault checks on our website.

Are you experiencing a connection issue that could be impacting your landline services?

Please let me know.

[littlepixel]

The equipment is fine - it would ring perfectly every time when attached to the old analogue line.
It's not cordless, and pretty old but it 'just worked' on analogue and now it doesn't.

It's my view that the phone receiver is not at fault, unless it's just not compatible.
In which case you should be providing some sort of spec sheet with the changeover equipment, because if 'all' phones don't work with your VOIP dongle, you should be saying as much.

[Kath_F]

Hi littlepixel, 

Thanks for coming back to us on this one. 

There is a chance that the power levels are no longer high enough to allow the handset to 'ring'. I'd like to book an engineer to come out to check this. I just need to confirm the address to ensure we are booking the visit on the correct account. 

I have sent you a private message regarding this. Just click on the little plum envelope at the top right-hand side of the page to access your inbox.
Thanks, 

[Kath_F]

Hi littlepixel,

Thanks for coming back to via private message to confirm your information. 

I have booked you in for the next available appointment. To view this please sign in to My Virgin Media here: My VM. Once logged in, scroll down to Orders & appointments then click on View your orders. You can also view this in the My VM app. If you have any issues with accessing your account or unable to see your visit, please do let us know and we’ll pop you another message to pass data protection and then confirm the appointment details.

Just to confirm, there will be no charge for this visit unless:

• The technician diagnoses the fault as not being caused by our network/equipment 
• The technician discovers that the fault or problem relates to your equipment
• The technician discovers that the fault or problem relates to any system that we are not responsible for

The technician will confirm during their visit if any of these instances apply, and if so, a £25 charge will be applied to your account.

Please ensure that someone over the age of 18 is at the property for the time the engineer is there. If the appointment is unsuitable or if anyone living at your property has tested positive for Coronavirus, has been asked to self-isolate or has flu-like symptoms then please reschedule the appointment on the same link. If you do miss the appointment for any reason, a £25 missed appointment charge will be applied to your account on the day of the appointment so it is important to reschedule if needed. 

Lets us know how the appointment goes. 

Take care.

[goslow · Accepted solution]

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@littlepixel wrote:

We've been forced to swap from our analogue landline to IP phone Fibre (ie a dongle in the back of our router etc) and though the fibre landline seems to work (gets dial tone, calls out) it doesn't ring when called. 

<snip>

Anyone have any clues on why it's not ringing?

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Old phones (early 2000's and before) may require the presence of a 'ringing capacitor' (included as part of the master socket on the analogue telephone network, not present on the hub connection).

Cheap corded phone, no caller display, from the likes of Argos, Currys etc. costs £10-ish. Simple cordless phone, one handset about £30-ish. Alternatively borrow a phone from a friend, family, neighbour and check the phone connection from the hub with a different (modern) phone.

If you happen to have an old ADSL microfilter about the home, connect that to the VM adapter and plug the old phone into the microfilter and try your old corded phone. If your old phone rings, then you need a new phone. Using the ADSL microfilter is only suitable for test purposes as it is not designed for this type of connection.

Your technician visit might cost you £25 for nothing if your old phone turns out to be the problem.