I am writing this article for those who are looking to connect an Anveo phone number to ZoiPer softphone.
This article was written using Zoiper5 5.5.3 for Windows 64bit.
Pre-Requisites
You must already have an Anveo account and have purchased a telephone number with service.
You must already have a Zoiper 5 license.
Process
Download and install ZoiPer 5 (default settings are fine, adjust as desired).
Launch Zoiper 5 from the Windows Start menu.
When prompted, select “Activate your PRO license.”
Enter your credentials and select “Activate online”.
In my experience, these were emailed to me.
You will be prompted to enter a username and password. This is NOT your main Anveo account. Follow the guidance below to acquire your SIP username and password.
Login to your Anveo account. If you have sub-accounts, make sure you are logging into the sub-account you want to associate to the Anveo number.
Hover over “My Account” in the top menu then select “Account Preferences.”
Click on the “Edit” button next to the number you want to associate to Zoiper.
Select “SIP Device Registration” from the Account Options.
You will be taken to a page which contains your SIP username and password.
Enter the SIP username and password into ZoiPer and click “Login.”
Next you will be prompted for the Hostname. Enter sip.anveo.com then click on “Next.”
If necessary, enter proxy authentication information. If not needed, click on “Skip.”
The next screen will initiate a test to the Anveo servers to determine which configuration settings are needed. Below are the result I received. Click on “Next” to proceed.
You will be prompted to configure Zoiper5. Click on “Configure” to proceed.
Once you go through the steps of ensuring your audio and video devices are working, Zoiper5 should launch, and you should now be able to make a test call to and from an outbound number.
If you are using both Zoiper5 softphone and a desk phone, the desk phone will take precedence and ring when calls are made to your Anveo number. You will need to disconnect the desk phone and relaunch Zoiper to receive calls.
I am writing this article for those who are looking to connect their OBIHAI device (in this instance an OBIHAI OBi 1022) to their Anveo phone number and service. I specifically referenced the OBIHAI OBi 1022 because that is the model I have. These steps could very well work for other models, but the 1022 is the only model I have.
You must already have purchased a telephone number and service from Anveo.
You must have already assembled your OBIHAI desk phone.
Process
Login to your OBIHAI OBiTALK account.
Select “Add Device” from the sidebar.
Follow the instructions provided to connect the device to Ethernet and power.
Allow the device to startup.
Perform the Echo Phone test as advised.
Once the echo test has completed successfully, select the checkbox next to “Echo Phone test passed.”
Do not select the checkbox next to “I want to configure Google Voice on this device.”
Click on “Next.”
On the next page you will receive instructions to dial a number.
If successful, the page should refresh to indicate that your phone was detected. You will also see a red box appear on your phone’s display indicating “Code sent to OBiTALK”.
Click “Confirm” if the information displayed is correct.
After confirming, you will return to your OBi Dashboard.
Allow your OBIHAI device to restart.
At this point you may want to rename your OBIHAI device. Especially if you have more than one. This is easy to do by selecting the name of the device from your OBi Dashboard.
From the Options, update the “Device Display Name” based on your needs.
Update the “Webpage Admin Password” and “Obi Attendant PIN (4 digits)” fields. Do not leave these set to their default values.
Click on “Save”. Your device screen may go blank for a moment. The device is simply updating based on the changes you just made.
At this point, you can use the device to dial other OBiTALK connected devices. Simply dial **9 followed by the 6-digit OBi number. Your OBi number can be found in the OBi Dashboard. These calls are free. This could be a great way for family and friends to stay in touch. Simply buy the device and call each other using the OBi number.
Next, we want to connect our OBIHAI device to Anveo.
Login to your Anveo account. If you have sub-accounts, make sure you are logging into the sub-account you want to associate to the OBIHAI device.
I underlined “make sure you are logging into the sub-account you want to associate to the OBIHAI device” based on personal experience! I have two sub-accounts in my primary Anveo account. When I was setting up my secondary phone I forgot to switch to the secondary account. After I had completed setting up the secondary device, I was able to make calls, but they appeared to be coming from my primary phone. Thankfully, it was an easy fix.
Hover over “My Account” in the top menu then select “Account Preferences.”
Click on the “Edit” button next to the number you want to associate to your OBIHAI device.
Select “SIP Device Registration” from the Account Options.
You will be taken to a page which contains your SIP username and password. Stay here for the moment. Ensure the webpage does not timeout.
In a separate browser window or tab (I highly recommend putting two browser windows side-by-side if you have the screen real estate), return to your OBi Dashboard and expand all options for your OBIHAI device. Select “SP1” from the list of options.
Use one of the other options if you already have a line configured. Also, if you decide in the future that you would like another line added to the phone, you can use SP2, SP3, etc. for those numbers.
On the next screen, below the “ObiTALK Compatible Service Providers” header, click on “Next”.
Accept the acknowledgement that the service you are enabling may not be able to make 911 calls.
Select “Anveo” which is conveniently at the top of the list.
Populate the form using the following guidance.
You can update the “Configuration Name” if you wish. I personally leave this set to “Anveo account.”
I also leave “Primary Line for Outgoing Calls”, “Incoming Calls Will Ring On”, and “Voicemail Notification” checked and set as default.
If you do not want to have to dial the area code for numbers in your same area code, you can enter the area code for your telephone number into the “7-Digit Dialing for USA & CAN” field.
If you have subscribed to Anveo’s Emergency 911 service, you check the box next to “Use This Service for Emergency 911 Calls”.
There are only three locations for “Proxy Location”. Select the location closest to you.
Finally, copy and paste both the Username and Password from the Anveo window to the OBi window. Once completed, click on “Submit” in the OBi window.
You will be taken back to your OBi Dashboard and your OBIHAI device will refresh its configuration. You may need to refresh the OBi Dashboard a couple of times until the device shows as fully registered. For me, it initially showed as “Registered” then switched to “Retrying Registration.” I gave the OBIHAI device a couple of minutes to reload its configuration then I refreshed the OBi Dashboard. It then showed as “Registered.”
Next, we need to direct calls coming into our telephone number to our OBIHAI device (our SIP device). From your Anveo account. Hover over “Phone Numbers” and select “Manage Phone Numbers.”
Select “edit” next to the applicable number.
Select the “Call Options” tab.
OPTION 1: You can “Select “SIP/ATA device connected.” This will deliver the call to the device without any special handling. If there is no answer, the call will simply disconnect. OPTION 2: My recommendation is to use the “Use Call Flow” option. Anveo’s default call flow will detect whether the call is a FAX or a normal call and direct it appropriately.
Once you have saved the settings, you should now be able to receive, and place calls on the device you just configured.
If you have multiple accounts, and selected “Use Call Flow” from Step 33, you will want to ensure that voicemails are going to the appropriate mailbox. From the top navigation menu, hover over “IVR / Call Flow” then select “IVR / Call Flow Builder.”
This will show all flows for your account. Click on the “edit” button next to the applicable call flow. You will be taken to Anveo’s call flow builder.
Click on the pencil icon next to the voicemail icon in the call flow editor.
Ensure that the “Voicemail Box/Profile” option is set to the appropriate box/profile.
Click on “Update Configuration.”
Make a test call to the device and leave a voicemail. If you do not get prompted to leave a voicemail, ensure that you selected the correct box/profile.
A couple of years ago I had a no-contract cell phone and before then I had a pre-paid cell phone. I got rid of those in 2005. They were simply too expensive. Ever since then I’ve been using Skype, Gizmo or just using the house land-line to make telephone calls. I’ve recently started getting more calls on my SkypeIn number because that’s what I give to friends, clients, recruiters and potential employers. Lately though, I have not been able to get to the computer quick enough to answer Skype. The problem is I have to go to the computer, sometimes login (usually locked when I am away), un-mute the microphone in Windows volume control, un-mute the microphone on the headset cable, put the headset on and answer the call. Heaven forbid if I’ve been using a piece of software that change’s my Skype input/output devices because if that’s the case I have to change those, too!
So you see the problem! I needed to get something that I could answer very quickly. For a while I had been wanting to get a WiFi phone for Skype. The problem is that they were still really expensive. Most of them were between $150-200. I didn’t want to spend that much. I thought about getting one of the cordless dual-mode phones but the ones that were actually affordable required you to connect them to your computer. There are models that do not require you to connect them to your computer but they cost more than the WiFi phones. The problem for me is, if I’m still in bed and a potential employer calls I wouldn’t know it because I have been turning the computer off during the night because it’s really loud and of course, I’m in sleep land. Also, the idea solution was to get something that I could take with me if I were to go on a trip, interview, vacation (ha, ha, whatever) or somewhere that was out of the area and possibly had a WiFi Internet connection.
I got onto Skype’s website a couple of weeks ago and saw the SMC WiFi Phone for Skype for $99 which I thought was a great deal. Everywhere else has the exact same model for between $130-170. The Belkin model (which is exactly the same as the SMC model other than the color and branding, in my opinion) was more expensive. I pondered on purchasing the SMC model for about an hour and I went ahead and purchased it. I have been using the phone for a week now and although I have already wrote in length about why I purchased the phone, I have a lot more to say about the phone (features, likes, dislikes, etc).
Arrival, setup, included features
The phone was shipped quickly and arrived in packaging that reminds me of typical cell phone packaging. The box contained the SMC Skype WiFi Phone, earphone, power adapter, USB cable, battery and a CD containing the user manual (nothing else is on the CD), printed user manuals (in 3 languages). In the box there is also a gift of 120 SkypeOut minutes and 3 month’s free voicemail. I was pleased with this because with my SkypeIn number I get free voicemail. With the card I was able to extend my voicemail for 3 additional months and I had just extended it a few days prior to receiving the phone. So I won’t have to do that for 6 months which is very nice. Of course I also got the 120 SkypeOut minutes but for me I do not worry much with those as I paid for the entire year of Skype Unlimited. Regardless, it’s still very nice.
Before turning the phone on and setting it up it says to charge it for 8 full hours which is fairly a standard suggestion on almost all electronics. After the phone had been on charge for 3 hours it said that it was charged. I decided to keep my anxious fingers away from the phone for a few more hours and let it continue to charge for the full 8 hours even though it said it was charged. I’m not sure if the battery was charged partially from the factory or if there is a bug with the phone. More than likely it was charged partially from the factory.
Once the phone was charged setting it up was very easy although it did take me a couple of tries getting my password in. It took me a couple of minutes to figure out how to input upper case letters. The phone joined my wireless network without any issues and once I got the username and password into the phone it logged onto Skype without any issues. The phone said that it was downloading contacts for quite a long time. I turned the phone off after 30 minutes, turned it back on and my contacts were there. Other than getting my contacts to appear, set up was very simple.
What I dislike about the phone
The biggest complaint about the phone that I have is how it handles voicemails. The Skype website states: “Voicemail Support: With the purchase of Skype Voicemail, the SMC WiFi Phone will record a short voice message from the caller when your are away.” I assumed that the phone would work much like the Skype software. I assumed that if I did not answer the phone after a few rings the phone would send the caller to voicemail. Unfortunately, this is not the case. In my tests and when others have called me at no time does the call ever go to voicemail. If you let it ring long enough you will get a busy signal but no voicemail.
Although the phone interface is very easy to use, the actual buttons on the phone are very annoying. I find myself having to press the buttons harder than I should at times to make them work. Sometimes it seems as though there is a delay from the time you press the button until the action you desired happens.
The phone supposedly has the ability to update itself over WiFi. I have not been able to test this because the update that I installed when I got the phone enabled the feature and there have been no updates since I installed the latest firmware. When you first get this phone you will definitely want to update it. The phone I received had year old firmware installed. Unfortunately, if you do need to update the software you can only update it on Microsoft Windows with the included USB cable. I find this amusing considering the fact that the phone is running on an embedded Linux distribution.
The time on this phone is always incorrect. Every single time I go into the time settings and change them it will always go back one hour. No matter how many times I have updated the time on this phone it always goes back one hour. Speaking of time, whenever you hold the phone up to your ear you can hear a ticking sound. It sounds exactly like a ticking watch (and no, I do not wear a wristwatch!).
When you are holding the phone up to your ear, ticking is not the only noise you hear. If you are not in a call you can hear the phone making a continuous electronic noise. If you are listening to your voice messages and you have the phone to your ear you can hear the phone downloading each message one piece at a time onto the phone’s internal memory card.
I have made many calls to the Skype Lady (echo123) and whenever she starts speaking it’s really loud, then really quiet. Then when the bells dings for you to start or stop speaking they are really loud and can really hurt your ears. When I have made SkypeOut and calls to other Skype users it is really difficult to hear sometimes what the person is saying unless you hold the phone really close to your ear. Forget using the included earphone, it’s even worse.
The phone is awkward to hold. I really hate the back of the phone because when your run your fingers across it’s surface it sounds like sandpaper. Fortunately, it doesn’t feel like sandpaper! I wish the entire phone was as smooth as the front.
What I like about the phone
I know this is not the most important aspect of the phone but I am really pleased that it is running on a Linux distribution. I love Linux devices and love to see more and more products putting it to use.
I like the fact that this phone is upgradeable. I think that is extremely important in almost any device you purchase these days. I only hope that SMC will kick out some updates to make this phone even better.
I also love the fact that no PC is required in any aspect of setting up or using this phone (other than the initial update that I made). If I am to go on a vacation (unlikely) it will nice to be able to stay in touch using Skype.
Final thoughts and conclusion
Although the phone has it’s flaws I think the phone is a really great idea, especially for someone like me. My computer is really terrible at running Skype while it is running other applications. I normally have to close Skype if I am using Lightroom or Photoshop. For that alone it is worth it. It’s nice to be able to have a standalone device to be able to use as my phone.
It’s also a great concept for people who travel and need to stay in touch with their family, friends, etc. Skype is free for users calling each other and extremely affordable for calling out of the Skype network. When I am able to move into my own place I do plan on using Skype as my land-line alternative. I do plan on having something for emergency calls, though. Don’t forget that you cannot make emergency calls with this phone.
With all the above said I have hard time trying to decide whether I should keep the phone or smash it to pieces. The phone is useful to me in the fact that it does the primary task that I needed it for, that is to be able to answer it quickly when someone calls. However, the fact that it is very hard to hear, the people on the other end have a hard time hearing me and the problem with voice mail really makes me consider sending the phone back. I don’t want to send the phone back because I really love the concept. Regardless, I feel as though I paid for a device that in my opinion does not live up to my expectations.
Article update: Thursday, September 11, 2008: I meant to update this article a long time ago but forgot to. I did send the phone back and received a refund. To my knowledge SMC has not updated the phone’s hardware. Skype has also jacked up the price of this phone from $99 when I bought it to $149. I would definitely stay away from this phone. It’s been almost a year now and I’m still bitter about this phone. I had such high hopes for it. Oh well, at least I got my money back.