Caller ID Failst to Register Incoming Calls

[skyguywi]

Ever since I switched from DSL to Uverse, I've had intermittent problems with my caller ID.  People will call me, but the caller ID does not always register the incoming call.  I have no idea anyone has called me, becuase both of my caller ID units show "No New Calls". 

I've done numerous online chats with ATT support people.  One reset my gateway last week.  That did not solve anything.  Another support agent tonight asked me if ATT was providing my telephone unit.  I had to explain to him that telephone companies have not been allowed to provide telephone equipment since the break-up of ATT and the Baby Bells many years ago.  He then said the problem must be with my telephone even though I have two different telephones, and two different caller ID boxes.  I said if one worked consistently and one didn't, then I would suspect the phone.  In this case, the problem began only after I switched to Uverse.

I'm very disappointed with the voice quality of the service.  Sometimes I'll hear a sqealing sound on the line, and I'll hear my voice echo back to me when I talk.  I never had that with DSL but had it from day 1 with Uverse.  It's definitely a lower quality service.  Had I known that it was VOIP service, I never would hve accepted it.

ATT is now sending me a new router.  I'll see if that makes things better.  So far, I certainly can't recommend ATT or its outsourced tech support.

[aviewer ACE - Wizard]

skyguywi - It is frustrating when you make a change & it breaks something that was working. I have seen a number of posts from people that have had problems with U-voice & CID.

Here are a few things you can try -

Do all the jacks that have your units have dial tone? The source of dial tone changed from the NID to the RG. Your jacks may not have been back fed.

Try each of your phones/CID connected directly to the RG to determine if they are compatible with u-voice.

You can view CID on your TV. You need to turn it on. You can view your CID & call list on your computer via web site or app. Love the app for listening to messages.

You can try new phones.

You can go back to POTS.

[skeeterintexas]

My brother & SIL changed from DirectTV to Uverse internet & Uvoice and had the same problem.  Intermittent problem...sometimes OSCID worked and sometimes it didn't.  CS told them the same thing about 'it must be your phone'.

The ATT rep said they would do some 'investigation' into the problem and some testing of their lines and call them back.  Of course, no one called back but MIRACULOUSLY, the on-screen CID started working!

They have no idea what the problem was but at least it's fixed.

[cajune]

I, likewise, am having problem with no caller ID.  We had Uverse installed last December that includes TV, internet and VOIP.  However, we were always having problems such as intermittent disconnection and it was affecting our home alarm system.  So last month, we decided to switch back from VOIP to landline.  Since the switch, I can never get caller ID.  We have a couple of technicians come in and check but could not find the problem.  When we hooked up the phone through our home alarm system's phone jack, there was caller ID.  I am suspecting that the caller ID somehow disappeared when routed through the Gateway system.  Can someone help me with this and advise me of what I should do?  thanks

[aviewer ACE - Wizard]

cajune - You are saying that the only tel connection in your house that has caller ID is the one connected to the alarm system??

When I started reading your problem I was thinking you did not get caller ID added to the order when you went back to POTS. But, if it is on the alarm connection you have the service.

Take the phone that worked on the alarm connection & try it on the phone jack on the NID on the side of your house.

I am guessing that you have a reversal of the tip/ring wires. There may even be two reversals - one to all your phones & another to the alarm connection (restoring that one to what it should be).

Not sure how much you can do to check this out.

You can go to lowes & get a tester for your jacks-
http://www.lowes.com/pd_160628-1781-TT6200L_0__?Ntt=teleophone+tester&productId=3127879&rpp=16

I think there is a similar one at Radio Shack. Find out if your jacks are wired correctly.

[parnass]

How many phones, faxes, and answering machines are connected to your phone line?

I switched from A&TT POTS/DSL/DirecTV to U-verse triple play 2 months ago and had intermittent caller ID problems afterwards.   

Most times, caller ID displayed OK on all phones except one.

But, sometimes, none of my home phones would display caller ID and other times, some phones would display caller ID and one other phone would not.   The caller ID always appeared correctly on the U-verse DVR/television screen and in the call log viewable on the web and on the TV.

I suspect the problem has two causes:

(1) I had too many phones on my line.  I added up the REN (ringer equivalence number) of all my phones and the total was 7.   That exceeds the maximum of 5 recommended by AT&T.

(2) One of my phones is just plain incompatible with the caller ID signal sent by the 3801HGV residential gateway

I recently installed a device known as a Viking Electronics RG-10A ring booster:

[url]http://www.vikingelectronics.com/products/view_product.php?pid=219[/url]

It increases the ringing power of an existing telephone line and permits connection of 12 to 15 phones on a single phone line.    Since installing the ring booster, all but one of my phones have faithfully displayed caller ID information.  There is still one phone which does not display caller ID -- the phone which I believe to be incompatible.

By the way, there is a different problem I observed, unrelated to intermittent operation.   The RG places a "1" in front of all phone numbers.   Some of my older phones are limited to displaying 10 digits so the right most digit of the phone number is missing from the caller ID screen.

[BeeBeeSA ACE - Wizard]

You might want to make sure all of your old DSL filters are removed.  They will add resistance to the line that might be enough to cause your issue.  This is just a SWAG since I don't have Uvoice but still have good 'ol POTS.  POTS works everytime. 

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skyguywi wrote:

Ever since I switched from DSL to Uverse, I've had intermittent problems with my caller ID.  People will call me, but the caller ID does not always register the incoming call.  I have no idea anyone has called me, becuase both of my caller ID units show "No New Calls". 

I've done numerous online chats with ATT support people.  One reset my gateway last week.  That did not solve anything.  Another support agent tonight asked me if ATT was providing my telephone unit.  I had to explain to him that telephone companies have not been allowed to provide telephone equipment since the break-up of ATT and the Baby Bells many years ago.  He then said the problem must be with my telephone even though I have two different telephones, and two different caller ID boxes.  I said if one worked consistently and one didn't, then I would suspect the phone.  In this case, the problem began only after I switched to Uverse.

I'm very disappointed with the voice quality of the service.  Sometimes I'll hear a sqealing sound on the line, and I'll hear my voice echo back to me when I talk.  I never had that with DSL but had it from day 1 with Uverse.  It's definitely a lower quality service.  Had I known that it was VOIP service, I never would hve accepted it.

ATT is now sending me a new router.  I'll see if that makes things better.  So far, I certainly can't recommend ATT or its outsourced tech support.

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[cajune]

aviewer: thank you for your response. I tried the phone to the other phone jacks inside the house and Caller ID did not work. They however worked before having Uverse. I do not have Uvoice. How do I test the tip/ring wires with the tools? Also, would the uverse guy reversed the wires when he installed uverse?

[aviewer ACE - Wizard]

cajune - In your original post you said you had VOIP. Now you say you do not have U-verse voice (Maybe I should not say u-voice).

The tools have an LED that glows green when the jack is wired correctly & red when not. Or nothing if not connected. You just plug the tool end into a jack.

The wiring is complicated & can get mixed up when anyone works on a connection - especially one not at a jack.

If you have POTS the dial tone wire is connected at the NID & feeds any jacks connected to it. There should be a jack on the NID to verify you have a good signal coming into the house. Check here with a good phone or tool.

If you have U-verse (or any other VOIP) the dial tone comes from the RG [modem] (or VOIP box or dongle) check that jack as primary.

Any of these sources can be fed into your in-home tel wiring. This is where you are either familiar with it or have to trace out every wire to make sure it is connected correctly.

THe old style tel wires have two pair -Red/green and yellow/black. The first phone usually goes on the red/green. Make sure every red wire is connected to red and every green is connected to green.

[cajune]

Hi aviewer, I did mention that I had Uverse voice when we had uverse installed in Dec. but switch back to POTS last month. This is when the I started having trouble with CID on POTS. I still have uverse internet and TV. I will try what you suggested and report back later. Thank you.

[BeeBeeSA ACE - Wizard]

If you switched back to POTS call CS and make sure they activated CID on your line.  It is not an automatic feature that comes with POTS.  You have to ask for it to be activated.  There are two different services you have to ask for.....one is basic CID and the other is CID call waiting if you have call waiting on the line and want CID to see who's calling in while your on the first call.

[aviewer ACE - Wizard]

cajune _ Looks like I mixed you up with skyguywi on my last post. I apologize for that. Looks like skyguywi may be ok since he did not comeback.

You said the CID works on the alarm jack, so the feature is activated. If the other phones do not work at all, they were not reconnected somewhere in the house. If the phones work, but not the caller ID, the only thing I could think of would be a reversal. The reason to try the NID is to see if the reversal is outside the house or inside.

Also, you could try with the alarm totally disconnected.

Since it is POTS, you could report it to regular tel repair. They would probably charge you if you do not have wiring insurance. Of course, you could push back that it was broken by the U-verse tech.

[cajune]

Hi Aviewer, I was finally able to find the tool you recommended.  When I plugged it in to the jack inside the NID, it showed green, but when I plugged into the jack inside the alarm panel, it showed red.  I then switched the two wires (blue & white) that connects to the filter that uverse installed, see 1st picture, then tested the jack again at the alarm panel, this time it showed green.  After switching the wires, I tested the caller ID, and sadly, it still did not work, and as I mentioned before, the caller ID from the jacks in both panels work.   I am thinking there must be a wiring reversed somewhere inside the NID when the uverse installed their system and split up the wires, but I just don't know how else to test.  The phone tester also came with two clips (red & green wires), where should clip these to test.

From the pics above, can you tell what is wrong?  Thank you so much for your help.

[aviewer ACE - Wizard]

cajune - Sorry it is not yet resolved, The wire reversal was offered as a possibility based on the fact that it worked on one jack & not the other.

But, was it not the alarm jack that used to work & now it does not? If that is true, then put the alarm back to original & reverse the other jack.

I cannot explain why the tester reads red on the one that works.

You ask what the red/green wires on the tester are for. They would be used to test bare wires (instead of a jack). If the tester lights green when the color of the tester wires matches the tested wires, then it is correct. If red, it is reversed. Red/green are the colors that were used the most. In a two pair cable there is also a black/yellow. In newer cables there may be other colors. But, it all comes down to how it is connected at the last jack - right reversed or not at all.

You introduce new possibilities. You say there is a filter on the alarm. I understood, U-verse did not need a filter. Can you try it without the filter? But, make sure you put the alarm back as you found it or test it to make sure it is working when you are done.

Can you test the caller iD at the NID jack? The purpose of the NID jack is to make sure it is entering the house correctly. But, I am not convinced that it opens the wire to the house when the NID jack has a plug in it. I guess I will check that tomorrow.

I cannot tell anything from the pictures. It is really difficult to be effective remotely. I guess remotely effective describes my activities.

I had another wild thought - you said youchange back from u-verse to POTS - Was the patch fromthe RG to the tel wires removed?

[cajune]

aviewer - I appreciate your response.  Not sure what the patch looks like.

The Alarm jack did have caller ID before even with the reverse wiring (based on the tool), it still have caller ID now after I reversed the wire. 

The pic I posted is that of my NID, not the alarm box.  The filter was placed in there by the Uverse installer.  Is it suppose to be taken out when I revert back to POTS?  I have called AT&T technician to come check but he couldn't find anythng wrong and said it could be our alarm.  I then called our Alarm guy and he couldn't find it either saying the alarm has nothing to do with the phone caller ID.  What does the patch look like?Can you tell from my pics?

[aviewer ACE - Wizard]

cajune - The patch is a regular base cord connected from the line 1 tel jack on the RG (Source of dial tone for U-verse voice) to a wall jack so that the rest of the phones & alarm work. It must be removed to not interfere with POTS.

Since the alarm jack works both ways it eliminates the the reversal theory.

I misunderstood where the filter is. One does belong in the NID. With DSL they can be placed in other locations, that they should not be with U-verse.

The pictures are really good & may be helpful in other cases, but they are not giving me any ideas.

The only possibilities I have now are the RG patch cord and the NID jack.

I will look at my NID later this am to see if plugging in to that jack opens the wire in to the house.

I wired a double jack wall plate in my basement - one jack in & one jack out - normally connected by a short wire (that came with a wall phone) - So that I could do the NID jack test from inside the house.

If you can test the caller ID at the NID jack - being sure that the house wiring is not still connected - & it works, then the problem is inside the house & further troubleshooting would be working your way in & isolating legs to find where it stops working,

[aviewer ACE - Wizard]

cajune - I checked my NID.

I find that plugging in to the test jack does open the path into the house because that path is connected by a plug inserted in the jack that must be removed to perform the test.

I see a box (filter?) that separates the POTS tel from the COAX U-verse feed.

When U-verse was installed I had two lines. So, there is another tel jack. When they installed U-verse they put it on the second line. Which I have since disconnected.

So, the U-verse tel jack is dead. The other tel jack has dial tone & is green in color, which I would have associated with a U-verse feed. I mention that because one has to make assumptions when beginning the troubleshooting process, but question everything along the way.

Also, I recommend anyone with two lines in the NID identify them while they are working, so you are confident when troubleshooting one of them.

Bottom line for cajune - Test the caller iD at the NID jack where you find dial tone. If it is good you have to work back into the house to find out where it goes wrong. If it is not good at the NID I can not explain why it works on the alarm jack.

[skyguywi]

AT&T told me I might have a defective gateway, even though I've had Uverse for only 4 months.  They sent me a new gateway (and tried to charge me $100 for it even though I returned the old one).  The problems seems to be resolved.

I would gladly go back to DSL, but AT&T is saying that's not possible.  Apparently U-verse is now the only telephone option in my area.  U-verse has been horrible from system problems to poor call quality.

[aviewer ACE - Wizard]

skyguywi - DSL is being phased out, but ypu can still have POTS for telephone. I have I-verse for internet & TV. And, POTS for telephone.

Or, you can keep pressuring to make the tel work right. IT does for most people.

[cajune]

After reading that we do not need filter for Uverse from this forum and another forum, I was pretty sure it was the that dsl filter on the picture that was causing my caller ID problem.  Please note that the picture above was actually a box inside our house and there is another NID outside the house.  That NID outside also has a similar filter.  So, I decided to call Uverse today and someone came in.  The tech took out both filters bec he said there is already another filter attached to the wall inside the box.  Lo and Behold, caller ID came back.

Thank you aviewer for your help.

[spd2demun ACE - Master]

Thanks for the update.

Good job, aviewer! 

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cajune wrote:

After reading that we do not need filter for Uverse from this forum and another forum, I was pretty sure it was the that dsl filter on the picture that was causing my caller ID problem.  Please note that the picture above was actually a box inside our house and there is another NID outside the house.  That NID outside also has a similar filter.  So, I decided to call Uverse today and someone came in.  The tech took out both filters bec he said there is already another filter attached to the wall inside the box.  Lo and Behold, caller ID came back.

Thank you aviewer for your help.

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[aviewer ACE - Wizard]

cajune - Glad you got to bottom of it. Looks like your instincts were tight. Thanks for reporting your results so others can benefit from your experience. That is so unusual, it is almost unique.

[miarosa422]

I thank you for the post also. We already have Dect phone units so I guess we are OK there.

We switched from dsl to uverse voice/internet bundle installed August 2012. We have a DECT phone with multiple handsets so the tech did something to the wiring in the family room only where he also placed the RG, nothing to any other jacks in the house, moved the base unit to that room from the kitchen and said he hooked up the security system too. Caller ID worked sporadically, then consistently ok but house security system was not hooked in properly by AT&T per the security tech who charged us for the visit. That tech moved the base unit to the kitchen, saying there was a phone line problem in the family room. Caller ID still OK but called AT&T regarding line problem in family room. First AT&T rep said we had to pay for the visit. Called back and different tech said visit covered by line backer insurance and that the AT&T system was registering a line problem at our address. Tech checked things out yesterday, moved phone base unit back to family room.  We now have NO CALLER ID AT ALL, only "incoming call". So I called Tech Support today after reading this forum and was told that THERE IS  NO CALLER ID FEATURE FOR UVERSE VOICE and it only works if you have their TV service too (which isn't available in our area). I am still speechless. This is insane. So I will call back again. BTW, we were also told we were getting a VISA award card to apply to the installation fee as part of the sales pitch but the award they sent was tied into our purchasing another service. Had that talk with two reps to get that one straight and supposedly getting one without the catch. Hopefully this will be fixed.