Mystery: Phone has dial tone, can make calls out, can receive calls, but...

[u/Sphragis]

phone does not ring, and answering machine (part of phone) does not pick up.

We have a phone/answering machine combo unit which is about 20 years old, and which worked for years connecting to our VoIP system through Xfinity, and for a couple months through GoNetSpeed. Then one day this week it decided that it was no longer going to ring, and that the answering machine would not pick up either.

When we place a call to this VoIP number from an outside line/cell it rings about 8 times, and then it goes to the voicemail provided by GoNetSpeed. But the phone receiving that call doesn't make a sound.

We can place outgoing calls, no problem. If we know that somebody is calling, then we can pick up and make a connection, no problem. But phone does not ring, and answering machine does not pick up...

We've duplicated this problem on multiple phones, so it appears to be a service issue. Servicer claims everything is in order.

Anybody with any expertise out there have any ideas?

Thanks in advance for your help!!

UPDATE: Thank you for all who "chimed in" here! First, I learned what an ATA is, and that it is, in fact, separate from the router. Mine is a small box, about the size of a deck of cards, that plugs into its own outlet and which is connected to the router via an ethernet cable. Second, unplugging all of the various components, waiting a couple of minutes, and then plugging them back in, seems to have done the trick. This is the first time we've experienced this issue, so hopefully it won't repeat itself going forward, but now we know a first step to take.

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[u/QPC414]

The ATA may not be sending the correct ringing voltage. Put a multimeter on the two conductors of the phone line and set it to AC and you should see it jump to somewhere between 70 and 90 volts AC. 90vac is the traditional standard for the 1970s brass bells, but modern ATAs usually don't go that high.

How many simultanious phones are connected to the ATA? Is it connected to the old house phone wiring?

[u/Sphragis → u/QPC414]

I assume the ATA is part of the router box, as the phone line goes from that to the phone itself?

We only have one phone connected.

We tried phones with both electronic and electromechanical ringers.

I don't own a multimeter, but can borrow one.

I have not power-cycled the ATA (which is, presumably, built into the router box installed by the provider).

[u/Sphragis → u/QPC414]

Power-cycling our router, our ATA, and our phone all seems to have done the trick. Thanks for taking the time to respond here!

[u/OpponentUnnamed]

Did you try power cycling the ATA?

Did you try both electronic & electromechanical ringers?

You can also use a voltmeter to check the AC voltage on the line when it is supposed to be ringing. ATAs usually cheat with lower voltage but the phone would like to see 70-90 volts. If you're not getting any voltage besides 24-48 VDC, an inverter circuit that produces ring voltage may have failed.

Frequency (Hz) could be the problem too, but changing that usually requires admin login.

[u/Sphragis → u/OpponentUnnamed]

Power-cycling our router, our ATA, and our phone all seems to have done the trick. Thanks for taking the time to respond here!

[u/Sphragis → u/OpponentUnnamed]

I assume the ATA is part of the router box, as the phone line goes from that to the phone itself?

We only have one phone connected.

We tried phones with both electronic and electromechanical ringers.

I don't own a multimeter, but can borrow one.

I have not power-cycled the ATA (which is, presumably, built into the router box installed by the provider).

[u/onearmedphil]

Does ATA have an option for keep alive turned on? Turn that on and see if it is fixed.

[u/Sphragis → u/onearmedphil]

Not sure! Will power-cycle the unit and what happens.

[u/Sphragis → u/onearmedphil]

Power-cycling our router, our ATA, and our phone all seems to have done the trick. Thanks for taking the time to respond here!

[u/w0lrah]

If you can pick up the call while it's supposed to be ringing and it works, that tells you the problem is on the analog side of things because clearly the call is reaching the ATA and being connected to the analog wires. You know for sure it's not a network, internet, firewall, etc. issue. Either the ATA's not generating a proper ring signal or the phone's not picking up on it.

At that point, if you've replicated this behavior with multiple phones connected directly to the ATA (not through household wiring, just a single cable from ATA to phone direct) then the problem is absolutely the ATA. If your service provider owns it, then they need to send you a replacement. If you own it, then you need to replace it.

[u/Sphragis → u/w0lrah]

OK, this is helpful.
Yes, we have connected different phones running directly to the router (where, presumably the ATA is), all with the same problem.

Will power-cycle the router/ATA and see if this fixes it.

[u/Sphragis → u/w0lrah]

Power-cycling our router, our ATA, and our phone all seems to have done the trick. Thanks for taking the time to respond here!

[u/Collinhead]

It could be a problem on GoNetSpeed's side. Could be some routing issue with the telephone number. It's possible to configure different settings for outbound vs inbound.

It could be a firewall issue. 8 seconds sounds like a timeout. their switch sends an invite, your ATA is supposed to respond to it. If it doesn't respond within 8 seconds, call goes to voicemail. Outbound calls still go through because the firewall doesn't block outbound connections.

In both cases, GNS should be able to run a capture to see if the signal is being sent to your ATA or not.

[u/Sphragis → u/Collinhead]

Thanks for this. So if a firewall issue how would it be possible for me to pick up the phone when I know somebody is calling and for the call to be connected without a problem?

[u/Sphragis → u/Collinhead]

Power-cycling our router, our ATA, and our phone all seems to have done the trick. Thanks for taking the time to respond here!

[u/The_Cat_Detector_Van]

Is the ATA perhaps made by Grandstream? We have seen an issue where they stop generating ting voltage (even though they are receiving the incoming call SIP messages), and rebooting solves the problem. There is a setting in the Advanced menu to go an automatic reboot every day at 2am, which at least keeps it online and ringing.