BT 4600 On Some Incoming Calls Randomly Cuts the Caller Off

[viffergb]

We have Call Guardian enabled on our BT 4600 handsets and have programmed callers we wish to come straight through in the phone's directory, and thus avoid the Call Guardian screening.

Whilst most calls are answered successfully either by one press of the green answer button or a double press to answer and enable the loudspeaker, some incoming calls are cut off the instant we press the green answer button!!

We were switched to a digital landline when we changed over recently to EE broadband and therefore connected the phones base station directly into the router.

There is one caller, our son, whose incoming calls are currently being consistently cut off.  He is calling from his mobile.

Has anyone reading experienced this issue, and if so, found a solution to the problem?

The phone's base station is situated fairly close to the EE Router and I haven't yet tried using the supplied 'Home Phone Adapter' in order to try situating the phone's base station in a different room, as I've read somewhere that if the base station is close to random interference in the 2.4GHz spectrum, this can cause issues.

Just want to see if the problem is just with the phone itself, or just the router or a combination of the two.  I personally don't think it's a phone problem, but unfortunately we weren't using the 4600 phones when we had an analogue line before the switch to digital.

TIA

[Katie_B]

Hi @viffergb. 

Thanks for coming here. 

Does this only happen with your sons mobile?

If yes, has your son checked service within his area to see if this could be a network issue?

Speak soon, 

Katie

[viffergb]

Hi @Katie_B

Not just my son's mobile, it does happen more randomly with other calls.  It consistently drops the call from our son.  We just call him straight back and it's all fine, no dropping of the call when we dial out, only when he calls us (we answer).

He hasn't said he's experiencing problems when making calls to others, so I guess he has no real reason to have his network checked.  I need to check with him, but I think he is on EE also.

Thanks,

Graham

[Chris__S]

Thanks for letting us know @viffergb 

Have you noticed any issues with your calls when you call other people, or do you notice the issue with inbound calls only?

Chris S

[viffergb]

Hi  @Chris__S 

Umm....must admit it's difficult to give a black or white answer to your question.

As far as inbound calls are concerned some calls are disconnected the moment we hit the green answer button on the handset, whilst others connect without a problem.

As far as calls in general, we have experienced breakup in conversations, again on a random basis.  For instance in our last call from our daughter we were able to answer successfully and converse for quite a few minutes, then she started breaking up, although she later said she could hear us clearly without any issues.  Then we experienced a number of issues, which led to us calling her instead, but call quality at our end was not good and gradually became unusable.  We then tried calling mobile to mobile, we on EE and I believe our daughter uses Tesco Mobile (O2?) and that wasn't that good.

In the end we resorted to a WhatsApp video call, and that was fine!

Have to say ever since we've been moved over to Digital Voice, we've experienced a less than perfect service.  The analogue service was far more reliable, but I appreciate the fact it's ending and we have to accept the move to digital.

Must admit I am considering ditching the landline service if we are unable to achieve the quality of service we once had with an analogue line!  I guess only time will tell  😉

Graham

[Chris__S]

Thanks for your feedback @viffergb, It's understandable that you'd want to ditch your landline.

Have you tried using our troubleshooter yet? 

You can also use the text service, which will run a check of your line to identify any issues.

Chris S

[viffergb]

I have just done a Google Search "Is Digital Voice having problems with phones that have Call Guardian enabled" and it came back with the following....

AI Overview

Yes, many users have reported problems using landline phones with 

Call Guardian (or similar Call Blocking/Screening features) after switching to BT Digital Voice. These issues often stem from how the new VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) system handles incoming calls compared to the traditional analogue network. 

Here is a breakdown of the problems and potential solutions based on user experiences:

Common Problems

• Call Screening Failure: The Call Guardian feature may not intercept calls, allowing unwanted calls to ring through, or it may not recognize callers in your directory.
• Instant Cut-offs: Incoming calls might be cut off immediately upon answering when using the Call Guardian feature.
• Double Ringing/Confusion: The phone may ring once (or more) before Call Guardian takes over, causing confusion.
• Broken Call Blocking: Previously blocked numbers might start getting through again. 

Causes

• Caller ID Issues: Digital Voice requires consistent Caller ID (also known as Caller Display) to work with Call Guardian. If Caller ID is not properly enabled on your account during the switchover, Call Guardian cannot identify or filter numbers.
• VoIP Interpretation: The Digital Voice adapter (plugged into the router) may not perfectly emulate the old analog signal (PSTN) that Call Guardian relies on.
• Dual Ringing Conflict: If you are using a new Digital Voice handset alongside an old Call Guardian phone, they may conflict. 

Solutions and Tips

1. Enable Caller Display: Contact your service provider (e.g., BT) to ensure Caller Display is active on your account, as it is often disabled during the transfer to Digital Voice.
2. Toggle Call Guardian: Turn the Call Guardian feature off and then back on again to reset it.
3. Adjust Ring Settings: Set your Call Guardian phone to wait a few more rings before intercepting, allowing the system to properly handle the call.
4. Use ADSL Filter: Some users have reported success by plugging an ADSL filter into the Digital Voice adapter and then plugging the phone into the filter.
5. Use New Handsets: If you are using an old, plugged-in phone, consider switching to the new BT Advanced Digital Home Phones, which are designed to work with the system. 

If you are experiencing these issues, it is recommended to check your My BT account to ensure all calling features are active and contact support if necessary.

So I guess it seems a combination of using a phone with Call Guardian on a Digital Voice connection may not be a good one!

I'll have a go at the suggestions above sometime soon and monitor results.

Graham

[Chris__S]

Thanks for sharing your findings @viffergb 

I really appreciate you reporting back with what you've found.

If you're still having issues after you've tried that advice, I'd recommend giving us a call so a guide can get access to your account and get this investigated for you further.

Chris S

[viffergb]

Hi @Chris__S 

Not conclusive but a promising start with a couple of things I tried this morning.

I turned off 'Call Guardian' on our BT 4600 handset(s), then turned it back on again as described in things to try.

I also inserted an 'ADSL' filter between the phone's Base Station and the EE Router.

I then had our son try calling us some three times in succession, and on each incoming call I was able to answer it successfully without it immediately dropping the call when pressing the green answer button.

It's very early days and we need to see how things go for a while, but am keeping fingers crossed that we might have cracked it!

If it hasn't worked, then the only thing left for me to try is to install the Home Phone Adapter and sight the base station elsewhere in the property to remove any issues of radio interference between the phones and the Router.

I'm unable to adjust the Ring Settings for Call Guardian to delay answering for longer as I couldn't find that feature on the 4600 handset, unless it's something that has to be done online?!

Graham

[Chris__S]

Thanks so much for the update @viffergb 

It's brilliant news that it's provisionally working for you, although as you mentioned, it's early days.

Fingers firmly crossed that it carries on working for you, but if you do find that the calls drop again, I'd like our technical team to get this looked into for you.

Chris S