Troubleshooting Guide

No Service

One of the more common issues is when a phone screen reads no service. In every case this happens due to the phone being unable to reach the CloudVoice servers in our data centers. That being said there could be many causes for this and several possible issues.

No Service showing on all phones:

When all phones are showing no service this typically means there is a network related issue for that specific location or for your entire organization.

• Verify that a computer connected to same VLAN as the phones as internet access and can reach your portal website ________.encoretg.net.
• Verify that DNS is working and can be reached. If the DNS servers that the phone connect to are offline, unreachable or not functioning then the phones will lose registration and stop working.
• Verify the phones are receiving proper IP addreses from DHCP. Pressing the OK button on most phone should pull up a screen showing the IPv4 address for the phone.
• Reboot a phone to see if it registers. Sometimes when a power outage or drop in internet connection occurs the phones may stop trying to reach out to the registration server. Rebooting the phone may clear this issue.

No Service showing on a single phone:

If a single phone is showing no service then the issue is the same as if the problem occurred for all phones, but may have a different cause.

• Reboot a phone to see if it registers. Sometimes when a power outage or drop in internet connection occurs the phones may stop trying to reach out to the registration server. Rebooting the phone may clear this issue.
• Connect the phone to another ethernet connection. Preferably to a connection that already has a working phone on it to see if the phone registers. It may be an issue with the switch port or cables.
• Verify the phone is receiving a proper IP address from DHCP. Pressing the OK button on most phone should pull up a screen showing the IPv4 address for the phone.
• Factory Reset the phone. The local profile on the phone may need to be refreshed.

Static Phone Calls

Call quality is very important. Typically the call quality is a product of a strong connection between the phone and the server.

• Verify the network prerequisites are being followed. Having a dedicated VLAN for voice traffic has resolved many issues in the system as well as maintaining consistent network speeds.
• Verify if this issue is constant or comes and goes. Network congestion will impact QOS for IP telephony.
• Verify if this is happening to all extensions or just specific extensions. There may be a congestion issue on a switch or port or an issue with the cable for a phone.

Phone Not Powering On

Phones receive power one of two ways. Through a power supply that plugs into an outlet or through POE when connected to a POE switch. If a phone will not power on try these troubleshooting techniques.

For POE:

• Verify the switch is providing enough power for the phone. POE may be turned off of the port or may not be strong enough.
• Try connecting the phone to a known working POE port. Connect the phone to an ethernet cable of another working phone.
• If available try connecting a power supply compatible with the phone.
• Replacing the phone may be required if the phone will not power on.

For power supply:

• Try plugging the power supply into a different outlet.
• Swap out the power supply for a known working power supply being used by another phone.
• Replacing the phone may be required if the phone will not power on.

Phone Not Receiving Calls

Phones being unable to receive calls can be frustrating for both the end user as well as the administrator. Here are some steps to troubleshoot this issue.

A phone will not ring when dialing the extension directly:

• Verify that the phone is not forwarded
• Verify that the phone is not set to do not distrub.
• Verify that the phone is registered.
• Test to see if you can make outbound calls from the phone.
• When dialing the extension directly from another extension what do you hear? (Busy signal, voicemail picks up, rings, silence, a recorded message, some other extension answers)
• Does the display on the phone show an incoming call when the extension is called? The ringer volume may be turned down all the way or the ringer may be broken. Verify the speaker phone works.

A phone will not ring when a ring group is dialed:

• Verify that no phone in the ring group is forwarded. The call forward feature should not be used when an extension is part of a ring group, however the follow me feature can be used if the ring group is set to allow it.
• Verify that the phone is not set to do not distrub.
• Verify that the phone is registered.
• Test to see if you can make outbound calls from the phone.
• When dialing the extension directly from another extension what do you hear? (Busy signal, voicemail picks up, rings, silence, a recorded message, some other extension answers)
• Does the display on the phone show an incoming call when the extension is called? The ringer volume may be turned down all the way or the ringer may be broken. Verify the speaker phone works.
• Is only one phone not ringing or are no phones in the ring group ringing?
• What happens when you call the ring group? (Call is dropped, voicemail picks up, rings, silence, a recorded message, some other extension answers)
• If an extension needs to be forwarded then that extension should be removed from the ring group so that the call forwarding doesn’t interupt the ring groups functionality.

BLF’s not ringing:

If an issue arises with wide spread issues with BLF’s having issues, such as not ringing on some or all phones, this could be a sign of signaling issues. When a call is initiated to an extension that has a BLF associated with it a signal is sent out to the other extensions with a BLF assigned for that number. If the signal isn’t received by the phone then the BLF will not show the call. This lack of signal is the primary issue with BLF’s not functioning.

• Confirm that the BLF is set correctly on the extension. Verify that the correct extension is being used.
• Verify that best practice in the network prerequisites are being used. Ports are open on the firewall, SIP-ALG is disabled, Phones are on their own VLANs.
• Verify if this is happening for other BLF’s and other phones.
• Verify both the source phone and the phone with the BLF are on the same subnet.

New phone will not register:

• Confirm that the MAC address on the phone is entered into the device section of the extension.
• Verify the registration server set on the phone is set to your cloud voice domain ***.encoretg.net (Phone purchused outside of Encore will not have this set automatically).
• Verify the phone is plugged into the voice VLAN
• Verify the phone is getting a valid IP address for the VLAN.