My apologies for 'spamming' the forums (it was late at night and I didn't read the moderation warning properly). Moderators, please delete this thread.

Sean

Sean, maybe this instruction helps.
http://www.tp-link.com/en/article/?faqid=508

Thanks Vivian, but I did that already.

Initially I tried to set it up manually, but eventually resorted to the documented "EWAN method". Got that to work, so reset the router and set it up using the CD.

Still wouldn't take VMs from the PSTN though. It will take VMs from the SIP lines, however.

So 50% useful on that front.

Any thoughts?

Sean

inabiaf wrote

Thanks Vivian, but I did that already.

Initially I tried to set it up manually, but eventually resorted to the documented "EWAN method". Got that to work, so reset the router and set it up using the CD.

Still wouldn't take VMs from the PSTN though. It will take VMs from the SIP lines, however.

So 50% useful on that front.

Any thoughts?

Sean

In fact, IAD products could not support PSTN voice mail.
Voice mail via PSTN is decided by PSTN provider. Even the router supports a PSTN voice mail, your provider may not recognize it.

If the router is getting the call via the PSTN line, then it should be able to answer it. The PSTN call is terminating in the router - it has the control of the call in the same way as the answering machine on your handset has.

My FritzBox 7390 could take PSTN calls as voicemails and it is a consumer-grade all-in-one, my MyPBX SOHO with a FXS/FXO card could. Both of those would also email the VM to me as a wav file. My 3CX system will, too, with the aid of a Patton ATA. My test-bed Asterisk box will with the aid of a Linksys ATA. Unfortunately the Fritz and the MyPBX both got blown up by lightning...

What I ask is not impossible, it's just not working on this device.

The box says USB Voice Mail. It doesn't mention that it only answers to voice mail on SIP / VOIP.

Sean

I too have been trying to get the USB voicemail to answer incoming PSTN calls without success. VoIP calls are redirected to USB voicemail. Running the newest firmware.

lee99, perhaps you misunderstood. We are not trying to access a PSTN carrier voicemail service. We are trying to get the router to pick up an incoming PSTN call and redirect it to voicemail.

I agree with inabiaf. The "no answer" time setting is on the Phone setup, not VoIP setup. For both PSTN and VoIP calls, it is the router that rings the phone. The router records the incoming PSTN call time and connection status in its call logs. From the call logs, we can tell that the router knows that the incoming call is unanswered. So I cannot understand why it is not able to answer the PSTN line.

Additionally, according to http://www.tp-link.com.au/faq-508.html which says
"Also you can remote dial your PSTN number, when you hear the voice mail warning tone, enter PIN code to listen to voice mail."

This implies that the USB voice mail can answer incoming PSTN calls. Otherwise you would not get the voice mail warning tone by calling your own PSTN number.

So do inabiaf and I both have dud units, or is there something strange with Australia's phone system that breaks that functionality? Has anyone else been able to configure theri TD-VG3631 to direct incoming PSTN calls to USB voice mail?

Jach, it looks like TP-Link have essentially deprecated this router from everywhere but Australia. The last available firmware was September 2014, so it looks like development has ceased.

My advice is that if you absolutely need PSTN VM on your router, go get a Fritz!Box. They work, do what they advertise and do it well. They just don't like lightning (I have killed two with Thor's help).

The VG3631 would be a reasonable choice for a NBN connection-based phone (ie a VoIP/SIP solution, not the NBN UNI-V port) if it had VM-to-email. Unfortunately it falls short in this department as well (Fritz!box does this very well, though).

If you need VM-to-email you would have to either poll the FTP for the VMs and get your polling script to email you, or do as the workaround suggests and get a second SIP account and fwd the unanswered calls to the VM associated with that and have it email the VM to you.

If you don't need VM-to-email then use an old fashioned phone with an answering machine in it and attach it to the second phone port in the VG3631. That also gives you a "lifeline" , as the second port gets the PSTN line when the power goes out (I have a Touchphone 400 for this).

Not sure if the units are duds, but they certainly don't live up their hype. The codebase needs work to make them meet their advertisements. (Think of them as the LNP's NBN router equivalent...)

It is interesting to observe that a new firmware TD-VG3631_V1_150505 has been issued for half a year on the US/international site http://www.tp-link.com/en/download/TD-VG3631.html#Firmware but does not appear on the Australian site http://www.tp-link.com.au/download/TD-VG3631.html#Firmware.

This is quite a worry since that new firmware is a fix to a vulnerability described in http://blog.sec-consult.com/2015/05/kcodes-netusb-how-small-taiwanese.html.

This is especially strange since that model has been discontinued in US/international site, but is still being promoted in the Australian site.

No, this firmware update does not fix the issues dealt with in this thread.

Full marks to TP Link head office for acknowledging the vulnerability and fixing it, even for a discontinued model. :D
Zero marks for the Australian office for not propagating a fix for a supported product. :confused: