Living in the sticks in Italy with no landline available we get Internet and Voip phone via a microwave signal from the other side of the valley. I have a modem which powers the dish and it has a single RJ45 female OP which I connect to a Wireless Belkin Router for the internet and I also have a cordless analogue phone connected to the router with an RJ45 cable via an ATA (analogue phone adaptor) . Most of the time it is OK but, like today, where we have had lots of snow, the power has been on and off many times (often for a few seconds) so we lose the phone and internet. Now I know that is bound to happen - no power no VOIP/No internet hence I have a mobile phone. BUT....... quite often when it comes back up I find that the phone bit doesn't work unless I reset the Router (sometimes this happens when there hasn't been a power cut). Two different symptoms: 1I find if I call out from the VOIP I get engaged tone (even when I know it is not engaged e.g. ring my mobile) people ringing in get engaged also. 2 At other times callers ring me and I cannot hear them but they can hear me. This is a problem 'cos we don't know the phone isn't working until we get silent calls. In both cases internet and network are unaffected it is only the VOIP. These problems don't seem to happen when the phone is connected direct to the modem!! SO...... ....would an RJ45 SPLITTER work if I plugged it into the modem and connected the ATA to one output and the Router to the other thus bypassing the Router for the VOIP phone? The reason I ask is that whilst it seems pretty logical, one website seemed to suggest that their splitter" was not suitable for phones or Voice" but I cant think of a technical reason why it wouldn't be. IF the Router then throws a wobbly after a powerglitch the phone should come back as soon as the modem was powered back up. Thanks in advance for any help as I am tearing my hair out with this one.
I dont know the answer for sure as I dont really know how your internet connection is setup but I think the answer to your question is no I think you are relying on your router to login to the network so if you just plug your VOIP into the modem directly it wont work it has to be after the router. Yopu can try it though - disconnect the router and only connect your voip and see if it works - it may be the modem has the login credentials if it does I wouldnt use a splitter though I would use a switch something like a netgear 4 port switch would do the job but I dont think the principle is valid
Oops - reread your post and see that it looks like connecting directly to the modem does work - in which case a switch ( rather than passive splitter ) ought to work - just wondering what your router does that a switch couldnt
Apart from bugger it up you mean Anyway thanks for the response. I wondered if it may be something to do with the duplexing as sometimes I can make an outgoing call to say my mobile and it works but incoming calls are mute! Cant be the Internet packets I don't think as the phone does ring and the signalling 'off hook'( or whatever it is in IP terms) works and connects the call but I just cant hear anything. It is all a bit weird. The fact it is an intermittent fault suggests it isn't a blocked port or firewall issue so it really has me stumped hence the idea to bypass the router altogether. I'll try a simple switch although not 100% sure what the difference is between a switch and a router. Worried that a 'switch implies one or the other output works at a time which would of course bugger up the internet connection !
Re: Living in the sticks in Italy just out of interest, how much does that set up cost you a month, and what sort of speeds do you get?
Re: Living in the sticks in Italy It wasn't cheap but only option as Telecom Italia said (and I quote) " you can have a phone line but must pay for the poles and line to be installed and you cannot have internet as we don't provide it in your area" I pay about 380 euros per year inc IVA (VAT) but get an extra month free for paying a year up front. The receiver, modem and installation + 1st years subscription meant the 1st year was around 800 euros but included an ATA as I didn't have a Voip phone. The plus side is that calls worldwide are really cheap and with unlimited internet. The downside is only 4Mb download speeds and 250kb upload (although they are supposed to be upping it to 8Mb but being Italy that is already late being delivered). The other downside is we get a lot of power cuts so often have no phone except for the mobiles.