Hard working Canadians saving their hard earned money from the Goliaths that burden us on top of life's more pressing issues.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

FreePhoneLine Port Forwarding on your Router (Netgear)

Included with the ATA (Analog Telephone Adapter) are "Setup Instructions" which help you to log into your Grandstream HT-286 ATA. You will need to connect the adapter to your router using a CAT-5/CAT-6/LAN cable, and attach a Phone to your adapter in order to log in. 

My ATA Adapter Configs: 

1. Changed the default password (Not important, but just me being a little paranoid) 
2. Changed my Caller-ID (LOL - Funny Prankster's tool) 
3. Changed telephone number (Once Porting of my original number had completed) 

Your adapter readily works out of the box, but if you do experience the following one-way communication problem, which I did, follow the note included in your instructions as mentioned: 

 ----------- Tech note:
Should you ever experience one-way audio or sound/connection issues with your Grandstream HT-286 ATA, please configure your internet router to forward :
UDP ports 5060-5061 and 10000-20000
to the IP Address of the ATA device. This IP address is acquired by dialing *** on your phone and then 02 at the voice prompt. We do not provide support for third party routers so please contact the manufacturer if you need assistance doing this.
----------- ATA Setup Instructions - freephoneline.ca


Logging into your Router for Port-Forwarding

1. In Windows: Start -> Run
2. Type : "cmd"  Press Enter
3. Type : "ipconfig" Press Enter


Your Default Gateway is your Router's IP Address, which you will type into your browser to connect to your router using your login/password. For Netgear users, typing "routerlogin.net" into your browser works as well, which is the router I used to show (below) how to these ports were forwarded.

The Server IP Address, in the picture above, would be your Grandstream Adapter's IP address which you obtained by dialing *** on your phone and then 02 at the voice prompt. 

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Switching to Freephoneline.ca? " FREE and NOT A SCAM "

Having transferred my home phone and destroying the shackles of a Rogers bundle, I can honestly tell you "I LOVE FREEPHONELINE.CA" It cost me $158.13 (including taxes) to get my old Rogers number transferred and the adapter purchased; and the fact it is FREE for LIFE makes it really AWESOME! Quit paying the minimum $32 Rogers charges for their Home Phone and switch to FreePhoneLine.ca! The phone line quality is exemplary, and it includes everything for a Home Phone (Keeping Your Existing Phone Number, Call Display, Caller ID, Call Forwarding, Voicemail).

FEATURES
  • The freephoneline home phone adapter allows you to make calls to any freephoneline user.
  • Calls to landlines and mobiles in most Canadian cities are included with this service.
  • Caller ID, Call Display, Voicemail, Call Forwarding
  • Send or travel with your adapter anywhere in the world, and talk for free using your local number, as long as you have INTERNET!
HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL NEED
  • Freephoneline account with correct service address information for E911 purpose.
  • High Speed Internet (broadband) connection.
  • Router with spare network port (ethernet RJ45), or network that provides DHCP IP address.
  • For use with standard analogue home phones (pulse dialing not supported).
  • Standard North American power outlet
STEP 1:
Sign Up for a FREE User Account, and download their software to use the phone on your computer.

STEP 2:
Call them up "1-866-515-5550" and say you want to ORDER the adapter ($99), and keep your existing home number ($25). They will send you some forms to sign to get your number transferred (ported), and will take care of your transfer and disconnection. So DON'T call your current phone company to cancel.

STEP 3:
Once you get your adapter in the mail, attach it to your router, connect and start using your phone with the phone number you signed up for in Step 1. This number would be temporary until the transfer of your current phone number completes.

NOTE: I just needed to configure minor things in my router and needed to move the main Phone base station closer to the router to get everything to work perfectly.

I will post further details of the unboxing of the adapter, configuring of my router, and pictures of the process later.