Now been put to digital voice & answering machine not working

[Sue522]

Our BT broadband & phone package needed to be renewed. We were happy with what we had and rather than go to a new provider & the bother of changing all our wifi details, wanted to stay with BT. Well they said they could do the same package but it would now be EE with digital voice. All fitted & just got a message saying it's all up and running. Engineer came in, did something to the router and a new extension box they sent us and said it will all work fine. Except now, the landline answering machine does not work, when the phone rings, the caller gets a message saying going to voicemail, the answering machine message plays in the home (but not to the caller). I cannot find where this mysterious voicemail is and the answering machine doesn't work. We have a lot of calls from overseas relatives and so want the answering machine to work. Can anyone help please,

[JustKim]

Just got this new package through EE and you can have the voicemail deactivated as I've just done so, you need to request it thought them but...the calls now just disconnect after so many rings and just cuts off, it doesn't connect to my home answer phone.  So now another complaint has been sent to EE asking what can be done about this.  All round I'm happy with the broadband package but had nothing but problems with the landline.  Modern technology at it's best!

[JimM11]

@JustKim You need to adjust the ring value in your own phone system to pick up and activate the voice system. How many rings do you get before the hang up of the call on the EE DV service? You may also have an issue with your own system not going to record the message so you need to kook at that. Are you connected to the Router or via a remote wireless BT/EE phone adapter?

[JustKim]

@JimM11  Thanks for the info.  I did reset my answer phone again, even though it was showing "on".  I will check out the ring length before it cuts off against the length I have set on my phone.  I do know I had my phone set to the longest length, so that could be the problem.  The phone is now plugged into my router, not the BT socket.

[JimM11]

@JustKim Was not the BT socket but one of these items on the link allows the phone to be placed anywhere.

https://store.ee.co.uk/products/bt-and-ee-digital-voice-adapter-100121-GN1T.html?q=Digital+voice

BT and EE Digital Voice Adapter (100121) | EE Store

[G109B]

I find that snailmail to the customer services dept produces a much better response.

[carolinetm]

Good idea. I have discovered that the phone works if plugged directly into the hub but that means I can't have a landline phone upstairs, which I was told I could. 

[JimM11]

@carolinetm Did you and do you still have extension sockets for landline phones in your home, and also where is your router located with reference to the BT Master socket?

[G109B]

I was persuaded to move my mobile phones to EE, but their service is so much worse than BT I will certainly fight to avoid my FullFibre500  broadband suffering the same fate. In answer to carolinetm, remembering I am with BT and have a BT SmartHub2, you can have upto five 'telephones' (here I mean single telephones and/or DECT base stations) on the one landline number, connected to the router either directly to the socket on the router or by using a DigitalVoiceAdapter (DVA) which has a telephone socket and connects to the router via WiFi.

I have a single telephone plugged into my SmartHub2, and a DECT base station plugged into a DVA. The DECT system has a functioning answerphone facility (obviously set to come in before the BT 1571 service takes over), and five handsets. An incoming call causes all of them to ring (quite a cacophony) and when you have answered it on one system the second is available for incoming or outgoing calls. A big advantage is seen when you are passed from pillar to post and subjected to lengthy 'music-on-hold' sessions on an outgoing call, because the other phone is available for use. I don't have enough simple phones to try the remaining three 'lines'.

I was telling my friend in Australia about this. He didn't believe me and so called my number again from his mobile (in Melbourne) and proved that it worked.

[G109B]

@JimM11has mis-understood digital voice. With FFTP there is no Master Socket and old wiring systems to sockets round the house do not carry enough wires for the new system.

[JimM11]

@G109B DV has nothing to do with conventional wiring, or the ATA socket on the back of the router, wither BT or EE.