This topic

BT Digital Voice receiving calls

Albion442 — Wed, 11 Dec 2024 12:32:48 GMT

Our Digital Voice system was set up by a BT engineer and we have one extension - approved by the engineer.

We can pick calls up on either the ‘main’ phone and the extension. However, our system does not allow us to ‘transfer’ an incoming call from the main phone to the extension - or vice-versa.

To illustrate; a call comes in and both the main and the extension phones ring. Then, once the call has been answered on either of them, it can’t be heard on the other one, which just emits a long tone.

Our set-up was approved by the engineer at the time of his installing the Digital Voice System, so can we sort out the issue ourselves or do we need to call an engineer?

Re: BT Digital Voice receiving calls

jac_95 — Wed, 11 Dec 2024 12:37:39 GMT

Hi Albion442,

Thanks for the post and welcome to the Community.

This is an automated response as I can see you have a question about BT’s Digital Voice service. Rather than waiting for a response from the Community, you may find an answer to your question by using the search bar on the Community homepage. We also have a thread that contains a wealth of info related to BT’s Digital Voice, click this link to take a look, Digital Voice FAQs.

Got some questions or want to learn more about BT’s Digital Voice rollout? BT are running localised events as part of the regional rollout of Digital Voice - Click here to view the Digital Voice events

To learn more about the nationwide change to this Internet based voice service visit landlinesgo.digital

If you have already looked for the answer to your question and have not found anything that can help, then please ignore this message. One of our Community members will be along shortly to help you further.

Re: BT Digital Voice receiving calls

licquorice — Wed, 11 Dec 2024 13:21:24 GMT

I suspect one phone is a Digital Voice handset and the other an analogue phone connected to the hub via the green socket. If this is the case, there is no connectivity between the 2. Calls can be answered on either system but can't be picked up by the other.

Re: BT Digital Voice receiving calls

Albion442 — Wed, 11 Dec 2024 15:44:38 GMT

Thanks!

We rather suspected that the surly, disinterested BR engineer who installed our Digital Voice didn’t know too much about the subject. He assured us that both our main and extension phones would work together without any additional tweaks or ‘bits of kit’ involved.

To add insult to injury, he knocked an ornament to the ground and broke it during his visit - without offering a single word of apology!

Re: BT Digital Voice receiving calls

Albion442 — Wed, 11 Dec 2024 15:46:02 GMT

Typo - should have typed ‘BT’ engineer not BR !

Re: BT Digital Voice receiving calls

Albion442 — Wed, 11 Dec 2024 16:47:54 GMT

Hi again Licquorice

Would you be kind enough to advise me on how to overcome this problem ?

When the engineer visited (see my earlier reply!), he left a second hub - the same type as the one he attached to our phone.

Could this second hub be used to solve the issue - and, if so, how?

Thanks!

Re: BT Digital Voice receiving calls

licquorice — Wed, 11 Dec 2024 17:16:15 GMT

Unfortunately, you can't overcome this problem. If you could I would have explained how.

It is a function of the design bizarrely.

The only workaround is to only use either DV handsets or analogue handsets only and not a mixture of the 2.

You can't have 2 hubs on one line, it wouldn't solve the problem even if you could.

Re: BT Digital Voice receiving calls

RIC9380 — Wed, 11 Dec 2024 19:06:40 GMT

So, the easy solution is to buy a BT Essential Digital Home for just under £30 to use as your extension phone which will enable you to answer calls on either handset and which will then allow you to transfer them from one to the other.

RIC9380

Re: BT Digital Voice receiving calls

Albion442 — Wed, 11 Dec 2024 20:59:08 GMT

Thanks for your reply.

I didn’t really believe that using a second hub could be the answer, though I thought it was worth asking the question.

We only have Digital Voice because we wanted to update our system to Halo 3, in order to save costs and having DV was part of the deal - unfortunately.

Re: BT Digital Voice receiving calls

Albion442 — Wed, 11 Dec 2024 21:18:02 GMT

Thanks for your helpful reply.

Our phone line comes in upstairs, where our hub is situated and a phone, which we had prior to Digital Voice is nearby.

However, it was practical to have an extension downstairs and this one is an answerphone - and in the best place to pick up any messages.

Changing that answerphone for the £30 one you suggest robs us of the ability to receive messages in the most convenient location.

We’d obviously prefer to have an answerphone on the extension downstairs, but it appears that’s not an option with this system - unless you know better.

Is there a solution that doesn’t involve moving the answerphone upstairs?

Regards

Re: BT Digital Voice receiving calls

licquorice — Wed, 11 Dec 2024 22:06:17 GMT

I'm now confused, it sounds as though you don't have Digital Voice handsets at all, just 2 analogue systems. There is no reason why you can't have a cordless base answering machine at the extension, that is what I have.

You should also be able to pick up the call answered by one on the other as they are both the same type.

Digital Voice doesn't normally involve an engineer visit, did you pay extra for one?

Re: BT Digital Voice receiving calls

Albion442 — Wed, 11 Dec 2024 23:04:58 GMT

Thanks again for your reply. You’re just as confused as I am, it would seem!

When we applied for Halo 3, we were told that an engineer would arrive with the necessary equipment to set it up, as though it was standard practice. We weren’t asked to pay extra for this service.

The engineer said we could keep our existing phones, including the extension downstairs which incorporates an answerphone (BT Xenon 1500). We were advised that our phones now worked via the internet, hence the ‘main’ phone upstairs is now plugged into the hub nearby.

Incoming calls will ring now on the ‘main’ phone upstairs a few seconds before the extension chimes in.

We haven’t changed anything since the engineer’s visit and only became aware of the issue (the inability to pass an incoming call from one phone to another) some time later.

P.S. He left a second hub with us in case the internet signal to the PC in the attic room needed boosting - which it didn’t.

Re: BT Digital Voice receiving calls

chrisjp — Wed, 11 Dec 2024 23:12:24 GMT

When you say he left a "second hub" with you, is that another Smarthub 2 or is it an extender disk to boost your WiFi?
I suspect it's the latter, since, as Liquorice has said, you can't have 2 SH2s on one line.
The extender WiFi disk links wirelessly to the SH2 and can be placed anywhere in the house to provide a better WiFi signal with the same SSID as the SH2 provides

Re: BT Digital Voice receiving calls

Albion442 — Wed, 11 Dec 2024 23:37:35 GMT

Thanks.

I was about to post a message to ask you to ignore my P.S. regarding the second hub, as I was given incorrect information.

That ‘second hub’ turns out to be our previous one that had been popped into the box which had housed the new hub. Apologies!

It was a round Wi-Fi extender disk that the engineer offered (not another hub!) in case it was needed to boost the signal to the computer in the attic room - but it wasn’t required.

Re: BT Digital Voice receiving calls

licquorice — Thu, 12 Dec 2024 08:02:30 GMT

Ok,now that we have ascertained that you have 2 analogue phones rather than 1 analogue and 1 DV my original answer is not the cause.

It is likely to be because Multi Call is selected rather than Single Call.

With Digital Voice, you can make 2 calls at once.

Unfortunately, to change from multi to single requires the use of a DV handset to accomplish.

Re: BT Digital Voice receiving calls

Albion442 — Thu, 12 Dec 2024 09:42:02 GMT

Thank you, once again, for your help!

Do I understand that swapping the phone upstairs for a DV one while keeping the BT Xenon 1500 answerphone in place downstairs will resolve the issue?

Re: BT Digital Voice receiving calls

licquorice — Thu, 12 Dec 2024 09:47:46 GMT

No. There are 2 possible causes for your problem.

A mixture of DV and analogue phones and/or Multi calling enabled.

If you can borrow a DV handset temporarily in order to just turn off multi calling it should resolve your problem.

Re: BT Digital Voice receiving calls

Albion442 — Thu, 12 Dec 2024 13:48:20 GMT

Thanks once again.

Since neither of our phones are DV, that would appear to rule out the possibility of a mixture of DV and analogue phones being the problem.

If so, it would then seem likely that the issue would be the possible enablement of Multi calling having been enabled.

Unfortunately, we don’t know anyone locally who possess a DV phone and I doubt whether EE/BT would loan one to us either!

I can now well understand why many people have ditched their landlines in favour of mobiles.