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,

[JimM11]

@G109B My that has gone terribly wrong, but as not knowing the whole circumstance from start to finish, yo may find that there is even double billing going on, one for the telephone line, one for the EE broadband with DV, would advise to get this dealt with ASAP, if it is a mistake then refunds will/can be made, but unknown is the big picture....

[XRaySpeX]

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@G109B wrote:

BUT they didn't remove the copper and left her with a much-valued landline still connected to the old house wiring. 

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Who is the voice provider of her existing copper landline? If it is not EE, it may still be live independent of her EE line. I have much the same, FF 150 from EE & a landline from BT but I never ordered DV from EE.

[G109B]

BT provided the landline for at least the last 40 years.
I will alert her to the possibility of a billing anomaly.

[G109B]

@XRaySpeXProgress: the cherished landline number is now on digital voice !!
The original copper still has a dial tone but you cannot make calls to other phones because it says "number not recognised". I am guessing it can be used for 3 digit emergency numbers ?

[carolinetm]

I had exactly the same problem. I reduced the number of rings before the ansaphone kicks in to about two or three. This solved the problem. Otherwise the messages go to the 1571 service. If you dial 1571 you should be able to pick up the old messages. I am very dissatisfied with the service I have received but neither EE or BT care in the slightest. I can no longer use a phone upstairs because it will only work if plugged direct into the main router. I specifically asked about this before the switch  and was assured there would be no problem. They think if you want this kind of service you're a dinosaur who will soon be extinct so they can't be bothered. They want everyone to have mobiles.

[G109B]

@carolinetmI think you summed it up beautifully, but I fear the actual problem is that the support staff are untrained and really know very little about anything. I doubt they are provided with technical manuals, or if they are they lack the skills to use them. Most likely EE has not managed to document anything, and rely on their support staff being able to find someone who can help. And then there is the "knowledge is power" problem ....

[JimM11]

@carolinetm If you get time read the end of this post and see if it can help.

Issues with Digital Voice Adapter connecting to Wifi Extender - Page 3 - The EE Community

[GrahamMee]

Found out how to cure this. First of all change the number of rings before voicemail kicks in on one of your phones (mine is set to 6). Then call 1571 and select option 2 - settings. Go through the list until you get to number of rings and set to 'long'. My answer machine now works. Funny thing was, I rang EE and asked why my answer machine wasn't working and was told "This is a known problem we are working on" !

[JimM11]

@GrahamMee Just so you are AWARE with the DV system that you now have, it has dual call facility and multiple other features also, and one off the down sides is IF you are on a call and another call comes in and you decide to not check this or answer, then that call is directed to the VM system, easiest is to leave a personal message on the EE VM, I will not be checking this Voice Mail so PLEASE do not leave a message just call me back if you need to speak to me.... That will take care of it hopefully.

[G109B]

@GrahamMee Absolutely typical of EE, they don't have a clue and hide behind "we are working on it" which clearly they are not.