This topic

BT8600 won't call out

kevingrafton — Mon, 20 Nov 2023 21:26:34 GMT

I have a BT 8600 Call Guardian phone, which has worked satisfactorily for years. Suddenly outgoing calls don't work. I get either a 'number unobtainable' tone, or a 'number not recognised' message, or silence. Incoming calls seem fine. I've tried the usual switching off and on again. Any better ideas, please/

Re: BT8600 won't call out

Anonymous — Mon, 20 Nov 2023 21:35:28 GMT

Manually dialled, dialled from contacts or both?

If you have more than one handset, are they all affected?

Re: BT8600 won't call out

verkosh — Mon, 20 Nov 2023 21:36:00 GMT

Have you been moved to digital voice?

If so you need to plug the phone into the green socket on the back of the Smart Hub 2 or a Digital Voice Adapter

Re: BT8600 won't call out

kevingrafton — Mon, 20 Nov 2023 22:00:34 GMT

Yes, two handsets, both affected.

Re: BT8600 won't call out

kevingrafton — Mon, 20 Nov 2023 22:01:07 GMT

No - don't even know what that is!

Re: BT8600 won't call out

licquorice — Mon, 20 Nov 2023 22:05:21 GMT

How do you know you haven't been transferred to Digital Voice if you don't know what it is?

Re: BT8600 won't call out

licquorice — Mon, 20 Nov 2023 22:08:05 GMT

Does the home page of the hub manager show your number in the box labelled 'Phone' or 'Not Configured'?

Re: BT8600 won't call out

kevingrafton — Tue, 21 Nov 2023 11:54:53 GMT

OK, I've looked it up, and now I know that I have not been transferred to it.

Re: BT8600 won't call out

kevingrafton — Tue, 21 Nov 2023 11:58:26 GMT

It looks like the tech you're talking about is years ahead of what I have. There's no 'hub manager', no home page, just a small (3 cm square) screen on each handset, on which the number is not shown.

Re: BT8600 won't call out

Keith_Beddoe — Tue, 21 Nov 2023 12:08:21 GMT

@kevingrafton

Its quite possible that its an exchange fault, where its not decoding the tones properly. The exchange line cards are very old, and its not unusual for them to develop a fault, which is one of the reasons the old PSTN network is closing down.

If you ever re-contract or change your BT package, you will be moved onto BT Digital Voice, which does not use the equipment in the exchange.

You need to prove its not the phone first, before reporting it to BT, to save a possible charge.

If its an exchange fault, then its fairly easy for an Openreach Frames Technician to mode your line to a different equipment number.

Re: BT8600 won't call out

Anonymous — Tue, 21 Nov 2023 12:36:30 GMT

The fact both handsets are affected rules out keypad errors. Do you have an old analogue phone gathering dust anywhere you can try? Or can you borrow one if not?

If that works then check the line cord from the base station for damage or a loose connection. You can also try a factory reset of the base station as per P.67 of the manual, but you may lose your contacts.

If it's still the same with another phone then likely a line fault as @Keith_Beddoe suggests.