I recently discovered the great services over at freephoneline.ca. As their name implies, it’s a free phone line. The trick? It’s a voice-over-IP provider that pays for its service via extras to the service, like multiple phone numbers, international long distance plans, etc. The base phone service, however, is free. Free after you pay for initial setup, of course, but free after that.
Once the account activated, I found an inexpensive ATA (Analog Telephone Adapter) to bring this internet telephone service to my actual telephones in my house, in order to fully replace Bell (bye bye Bell!) This set me off another 45$, or barely more than a month of Bell service anyway. The one I got is Grandstream HT502, for 45$. I’ve been told this is one of the most stable and reliable units. Furthermore, this unit can actually manage 2 lines simultaneously, so if I ever want a second SIP account, this device would support it directly.
Here’s a mini-install guide, or rather, the steps I just took to install a brand new Grandstream HT502 ATA with my FreePhoneLine account.
The HT502, when left unchecked, wants to become your network router. It could replace our typical Linksys routers and whatnot, but honestly, I want my devices to do the thing they’re built for only, and have each do its own job. Therefore, I will not use mt 502 as a router or NAT, which changes a few things from how they explain it in the manual.
- I connected the WAN port to my network, like any other device in my home. I will not use the LAN port.
- I plugged in a phone in port #1, dialed * * *, and then followed the guide to put the unit in DHCP so that my router controls the IP allocation, and to get the MAC address. Nota: Since it’s not really a switch with 2 ports, the 502 has actually two network cards in it, and therefore, two MAC addresses. The LAN port has the MAC address that is printed on the label, and is the same as you get form the voice menus. The WAN port has the MAC address of the LAN one, +1. If it’s a letter, then it goes up one (A -> B, etc). Since they’re given in pairs, LAN will have an odd ending one (or A, C, E) and WAN will have even number (or B, D, F).
- After turning DHCP on, I logged into my Linksys (with Tomato firmware) and setup a DHCP static IP for this device. Go in Basic, then Static DHCP. Use the MAC address from the +1 strategy explained in the nota above because we want the MAC of the WAN port.
- While I’m in the Tomato firmware, let’s also forward ALL ports that may be used by the VoIP adapter. Go in Port Forwarding, then Basic.
- There’s Quality of Service we could setup here to guarantee that the VoIP application has upmost priority for traffic on my internet line, but we’ll do that in another post.
- Reboot the HT502 adapter, and open a browser to the configuration page: http://192.168.0.150 (the IP I gave it). Default password is “admin”
- Go in Basic Seetings. Only thing to change here is to set Device Mode to Bridge. Why? This will disable all NAT functions of this router, and will prevent it from trying to reroute traffic left and right.
- Go in Advanced Settings and write a new admin password. This device controls your phone and, as such an important part of your house/life, shouldn’t be left with default “please hack me” passwords.
- Go in FXS port 1, and set it up just like this (don’t forget your own account number and password, of course):
Well, that’s it! I made calls, used DTMF to check my voicemail and confirm the tones work. I received a call as well (from my cellphone). Everything works out fine.
Note that, above, I picked codec G729 which is the indicated choice of FPL. Also the Dial Plan (call string) cannot be read completely in the screenshot, but it’s what’s been said several times in this thread, which is:
{911|[2-9]xxxxxxxxx|1xxxxxxxxxx|011xxxxxxxxxxxx.|*98|[6-7]x*xxxxxxxxxxx.}
Hope this helps someone!
Note that I’ve shared this guide with the customer forums at FreePhoneLine.ca
Edit: I’ve tweaked the Dial Plan in this post.
Tags: analog telephone adapter, ata, freephonline, grandstream, guide, voice-over-ip, voip
Hello there,
U mean u did not buy the config file from FPL to set up GT502. But you must have registered with them-right? Anyway could you help me set up Linksys SPA2102 ATA the same way or send me the details. Also the password to use in configuration is the same as in config file of FPL created in softfon.
Thnx in adv
Hi Raj! Unfortunately, you need to buy the config file from FPL. I bought mine in order to use my HT502 ATA. What they mean about config file is actually an SIP account. Their softphone works without SIP accounts, so it uses the free system. In order to use any SIP device, you need to purchase the account (config file) for SIP devices.
I don’t know how to setup the Linksys unit you have, but go to the forums on freephoneline’s website and there’s a section dedicated to posting configurations of adapters, there’s a lot of information on the Linksys ATA you have.
Hi,
Today I applied for configuration settings and i got it instantly,I have on fxsport1 vbuzzer phone and I tried to setup fxsport2
for freephoneline, but I got no luck, I have dial tone but when I make calls I got busy tone right away.Here are the settings gave by them except user and password
Inbound/Outbound Proxy: voip.freephoneline.ca – my note I placed this under “outbound proxy” is it ok?
Registration Expires: 180 to 3600 – my note I placed it under “Registration expiration” is it ok?
Use Preferred Codec: G729a -my note I have a colum with Prefferred Vocoder and I don’t have G729a only G729
Use Preferred Codec Only: No – my note I cannot find it
RTP Packet Size: 0.020 – my note I cannot find it but I read that for device is default
Ring Tone Frequency: 52 my note I cannot find it
Ring Tone Voltage: 90 my note also I cannot find it
Recommended Dial String: (911|[2-9]xxxxxxxxx|1xxxxxxxxxx|011xxxxxxxxxxxx.|98*|[6-7]x*xxxxxxxxxxx.)
(please note that this is a Linksys dial string we use for our devices and may not work with third party, non-Linksys/Sipura devices)
For dial string I used that you recomended but no luck.Also I don,t have code to write select all
Please can you send the full setings for it, I tried more than 4 hours and I am loosing my patience.
I can not read the picture that you displayed here.
My email is flomar2009@gmail.com
Thank you,
Florin
Hi Flomar.
You seem to be doing everything right, except one thing: Dial string. It is not parenthesis that are around the string (), it’s semi-colons {}
Make sure that’s what you have.
This is slightly confusing…
A semi-colon looks like this – ;
A parenthesis looks like this – { or this – }
A bracket looks like this – ( or this – )
These are parenthesis {}
I’m sorry, you’re right about semi-colons. The word I wanted to use was “curly braces { }”
Really good write-up, but it wouldn’t appear to work with my router ip, any advice?
I tried my settings in HT502T since 4 day but not working .I cannot received any call but I can made outside caller.
Please can you send the full setings for it, I try 4 days for nothing .I change RTP in 5004 but not working
regards
I am running the same problem as other posters are facing. I can call but cannot receive incoming calls. Followed each and every step but of no use
Even tried by using {} with the dial string provided
Any help
Thanks
There are other reasons than port forwarding that would prevent an incoming call. One of the most frequent reasons is voice codec (vocoder). For outgoing calls, FreePhoneLine allows 2 codecs: G711 (also named uLaw or PCM) and G729a.
However, for incoming calls, the ATA device *must* accept G711 (uLaw, PCM). Check the settings of the ATA to make sure that there’s also G711 in the codec list available.
Hello guys,
Just reading U all scared me to switch to FPL! I contacted them and they said it is very easy unstall. I just need the ATA adapter from them and the configuration file.
Is it correct what they said?
Thank you in advance to reply me before I registration.
Glad I found this site. You’ve published a lot of fantastic information. Cheers!
Hello there !
Can you tell me where you bought your Grandstream HT502 ATA from. Do you know a place to buy it in Toronto, Caanad?
Also, can you use a third-party long-distance call provider with your Freephoneline ?
I appreciate your response.
Regards,
Richard
CPC Network…
[...]Installing Grandstream HT502 ATA with FreePhoneLine.ca SIP account | Laurent's blog[...]…
Hi, there:
I follow the post to setup my ht502 ATA, but on the STATUS page, I always get “NAT: UPD blocked”. What does this mean and how to fix it?
Thanks!
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[...]Installing Grandstream HT502 ATA with FreePhoneLine.ca SIP account | Laurent's blog[...]…
We remotely unlock sip settings [without any software installations] of FreePhoneLine.ca after receiving $10 via paypal . If you are new to VOIP, we can help in setting up your SIP provider with your IP-PBX (PAP2, freeSWITCH, Asterisk Server, TRIXBOX, and freePBX etc). Contact us via Post-Email. Thank you.
Any news why your configuration file does not work with freephoneline.ca. For the past 3 weeks these freephoneline geniuses have blamed the customer for their lost service. What is your comment of these outrageous statements. Your method worked fine until 2 weeks before Xmas. Then it all went to pots.
Enjoy!
I just set up an HT502, and followed instructins. Got registered ok.
But still not working.
When dialing out – it dials, waits for a short time and gets busy signal. No call is recorded on the online website.
When calling in to the phone – it rings. Answer it and no communication either way, in fact the calling phone still rings. This call however is registered on the website.
I have the same set up as you guys…Grandstream HT502 and Linksis router.
My problem is that I had this configured at the stor that i purchased the Grandstream at.
When I got home and hooked up…all working well but…each morning I try to use the phone , I am forced to re set mu Grandstream as I am getting a mesage that states “Not Registered” and untill I re set I am unable to use the phone. This seems to happen some time in the evening…can some one help me with this.
hank you
Hi,
Thanks for the dial string. I have a problem, maybe you have a suggestion. I have no ring back. Everything is working, I can call, I can be called but there is no sound to let me know that it rings on the other side. Also in status is Not registered. I use another provider and it works.
Am I missing anything?
No more help needed, it was the ‘Not Registered’ issue. Once it got registered everything works. Thanks anyway
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