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#1

Broadband, Internet & General Computer News & Discussion / Re: Took the plunge...

Last post by nowster - Jan 17, 2026, 18:53:47

Well it is a router, not a specialised VoIP box, so compromises are often made.

But that said, the Grandstream on its own wouldn't be able to turn +44 into 0. It can change + into 00 however.

#2

Broadband, Internet & General Computer News & Discussion / Re: Took the plunge...

Last post by Simon - Jan 17, 2026, 17:28:08

I don't think I have anything like that.  I do have Call Forwarding, Call Blocking (or so it appears), and Do Not Disturb settings, but other than that, I just have this.  It doesn't even actually display my phone number, just a six character alpha numeric code (masked).  I also have a Digit Map, but I haven't a clue what that does so I'm not touching it!   

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#3

Broadband, Internet & General Computer News & Discussion / Re: Took the plunge...

Last post by nowster - Jan 17, 2026, 16:49:02

This is what is configurable for me:

#4

Broadband, Internet & General Computer News & Discussion / Re: Took the plunge...

Last post by Simon - Jan 17, 2026, 13:56:33

I'm not keen on fiddling with the router settings.  The UBOSS Voicemail was switched on by default, but as I have my own answerphone, I wanted to use that, so first tried disabling Voicemail in the router, but it seemed to be off anyway.  Next, I tried increasing the number of rings before the Voicemail kicked in, with the idea that if I set it longer, my device would answer first.  The setting seemed to stick, but then I couldn't make or receive any calls at all.  Incoming was saying the number isn't available and outgoing just resulted in constant beeps. 

So, I rang IDNet, and Chloe said the line had been 'blocked', but couldn't see why.  She unblocked it and also turned off the Voicemail.  I don't know if it didn't like me changing settings in the router, but I'm not inclined to try anything else outside of IDNet's support hours. 

With regards the Call blocker, the one I have is quite old, and there are other models on Amazon which do say 'Landline & VoIP' so I'm guessing the one I have just isn't compatible.  I may look at getting another one, but since the switch, I've not actually had any unwanted calls, so I may just see how it goes. 

I think the router is quite limited in what it can do with the UBOSS service, much of which seems to need to be configured by IDNet.  I'd rather have a service which is more user configurable, but again, I'm going to see how things go for a couple of months.  UBOSS is a monthly contract, so I'm not tied down to it. 

#5

Broadband, Internet & General Computer News & Discussion / Re: Took the plunge...

Last post by nowster - Jan 17, 2026, 13:14:02

Of course, if your box doesn't like seeing Caller ID numbers starting +44, it probably won't work.

(A&A get this right. You can select either +44 or 0 as incoming number prefix. It wouldn't affect me, as I would be able to manipulate the caller ID inside Asterisk.)

#6

Broadband, Internet & General Computer News & Discussion / Re: Took the plunge...

Last post by nowster - Jan 17, 2026, 13:09:11

I just tried it.  To my surprise, the call blocker was powered by the router, but clearly the system doesn't like it as it's not letting me receive calls.  It either blocks them, or the phone doesn't ring then the call goes straight to voicemail.  So I think it's probably best left alone. 

You might need to make sure that the router is sending out the right format of callerid. Many phones will cope with different variants, especially the US type "bellcore".

You'll want one that's labelled BT or UK. Again, on a Grandstream ATA, the options look like this:

#7

Broadband, Internet & General Computer News & Discussion / Re: Took the plunge...

Last post by nowster - Jan 17, 2026, 13:05:26

I didn't think it could.  Does the router port provide power, like a PSTN socket does?

It should. A few tens of milliamps.

On a Grandstream the config looks like this:



and the bottom one can be set to either 20mA or 30mA.

#8

Broadband, Internet & General Computer News & Discussion / Re: Took the plunge...

Last post by Simon - Jan 14, 2026, 18:39:58

Can't the new router power your call blocker device just like your phone line did?

I just tried it.  To my surprise, the call blocker was powered by the router, but clearly the system doesn't like it as it's not letting me receive calls.  It either blocks them, or the phone doesn't ring then the call goes straight to voicemail.  So I think it's probably best left alone. 

#9

Broadband, Internet & General Computer News & Discussion / Re: Took the plunge...

Last post by Simon - Jan 14, 2026, 10:09:20

Can't the new router power your call blocker device just like your phone line did?

I didn't think it could.  Does the router port provide power, like a PSTN socket does?

#10

Broadband, Internet & General Computer News & Discussion / Re: Took the plunge...

Last post by nowster - Jan 14, 2026, 00:20:38

Can't the new router power your call blocker device just like your phone line did?