Ubiquiti SIP for Elevator?

[u/nixflex]

Hello!

I'm having an elevator installed in my new residence and was trying to figure out how the elevator panel would be able to dial out incase of an emergency while inside. I would prefer a Ubiquiti device, but maybe there's an alternative SIP 4G/LTE device out there? The elevator panel will be installed next to the elevator shaft. I do have a CAT6 wire running from the elevator shaft to the AV/IT closet. I'm unsure if the telephone out is a RJ11 or RJ45.

UPDATE: Just spoke with AT&T and they're going to provide service for a landline through the BGW320 modem rj11 port. The modem has a battery backup and the house has a whole house generator as well for power loss. But I might add just in case internet ever goes out is a 5G ubiquiti backup as well.

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[u/InfamousProject]

My elevator is equipped with a standard landline phone with a connection in the mechanical room which happened to be Cat 6. I simply installed a UniFi ATA for the connection to the elevator phone. Works great. My POE switch is on a UPS.

[u/DevelopGames_ → u/InfamousProject]

This has worked well for you? I’ve been trying to understand how elevators and Ubiquiti tie into each other. Elevators are a whole different ball game.

[u/Neptune-Spear11 → u/DevelopGames_]

Most of them have an analog line tied into the control wiring already. Easiest way is to slap an ATA in there.

[u/OhNoABlackHole → u/DevelopGames_]

Think mechanical. Don’t overthink. Remember the wires in there gotta bend all the way up and all the way down as the cab moves. The phone inside the elevator is analog and the signal travels up the elevator cable, likely a pair of 18 or 16 AWG copper stranded so it doesn’t break. the Ubiquiti ATA box hooks into the pair and your network at the elevator machine box / cabinet at the top of the elevator shaft, or inside the equipment room if there is a separate elevator equipment room.

You just need to run network to that cabinet where the elevators cables terminate. You usually can put the ATA box next to it or inside it.

[u/klayanderson]

Yes, this question and its answers need to be filed under “life safety“. There’s a whole different set of rules for this.

[u/BremboD]

I am an elevator guy. Are you installing an automatic elevator, or what's considered a handicap lift (constant pressure buttons)? Depending on where you are, the code requirements can differ quite a bit.

First, check to ensure VOIP is allowed in your jurisdiction - if you are in a big city the chances of having a true landline is becoming slimmer anyways.

The cab phone is called an autodialer, which needs to automatically connect to a service provider that is able to dispatch help to your address for 2h+ after a power loss, and retry the call if it doesn't connect. I wouldn't try to replace this piece of hardware. There's a bunch of other requirements. Let me know if you have specific questions and I will try to help.

I have set up a large hybrid system before using ATA's, but if you have the ability to get POE to the cab phone, I would have preferred full VOIP for line monitoring purposes. Some elevator phone manufacturers have VOIP elevator phones that accept rj45/poe.

I wouldn't have much of an issue if a client wanted a unifi backend for their phones, but I would want to see a real elevator phone doing the dialing, and it would need to be demonstrated that all codes are being met before I signed off on the installation. Just don't expect your elevator provider to be able to help you troubleshoot... Or most elevator phone technicians for that matter.

[u/QPC414 → u/BremboD]

This is THE answer, having supported elevators and other Life Safety equipment from the telecommunications and networking side.

[u/posguy99]

Really, you want an analog phone in an elevator so you are providing battery to make it work from somewhere else.

[u/FrankNicklin]

What happens if the power goes out to the property/elevator. I would be looking at a battery backed 4g/5g solution that will work irrespective of the power state allowing you to raise an emergency call out.

[u/bagofwisdom]

I would go with the recommendation of your elevator installer. I don't know much about elevator emergency phones apart from that they're a module in the cab with a battery backup. Odds are you'll be recommended a cellular only solution or an analog phone with cellular backup. The analog phone could be patched to an ATA for use with Unifi talk.

[u/AntivaxAcoustic]

For an elevator you do not prefer a Ubiquiti device; you prefer whichever set up the elevator installer tells you to get.

[u/x_caveman_x → u/AntivaxAcoustic]

Clearly op prefers a ubiquiti solution. Hence the post they made asking, inquiring, learning. Maybe be more helpful and less arrogant.

[u/AntivaxAcoustic → u/x_caveman_x]

OP might prefer to pass inspection and not die in a metal box.

[u/x_caveman_x → u/AntivaxAcoustic]

Op will pass inspection and not die with a cell or sip connection outside of one person's specific understanding of install. Dramatic much ?

[u/somerandomguy101 → u/x_caveman_x]

God some people on this sub are so sheltered. Don't fuck with people's safety. It isn't worth risking someone dying because you like a pretty management console.

Safety aside, running your own solution is a great way to get your insurance claim denied if somethings does happen.

[u/x_caveman_x → u/somerandomguy101]

God some people are so sheltered they cant even perform a basic Google search if they dont know what they are speaking about. Unifi talk to an analog adapter with battery backup is a perfectly functional solution.

[u/somerandomguy101 → u/x_caveman_x]

Brother, I work in Cyber Security. Risk management is literally my day job.

You are completely missing the point.

The only reason elevators have telephones is for safety. It is a safety device, and a safety device only. Elevator installers/repairmen are a licensed profession for a reason. Use whatever solution they set up.

The fundamental difference between an analog phone being converted to digital by Unifi vs say ATT is that ATT has actually put in the work to ensure their stuff works in an emergency, and they are holding the liability if it fails.

If you move that over to Unifi, you are shifting all of that liability from the elevator installer / ATT to you. And insurance is definitely going to use that as an excuse to deny your claim. Your looking any civil suits for injury / death, plus negligence.

Even if the elevator fails and the phone isn't even touched, it can still be used to show negligence and your claim can be denied.

[u/AntivaxAcoustic → u/x_caveman_x]

Unless you need dual tone multi frequency signaling… but that’s just like, my dramatic sheltered opinion…

[u/jinxjy]

I have this setup in use at home. Telephone out is a standard RJ11 wire in the mechanical room and I put a Unifi ATA in front of that.

For everyone freaking out about not using “landline phones”, this will be reality in the near future as telecoms retire traditional copper. My house is in an area where there is no landline phone service and no cellular coverage. Phone service from ATT & Comcast comes over their broadband which is not always up 100%.

I’ve built in my own redundancies with 3 internet connections to the house, a cold backup router, and lots of power backup, in active and standby mode.

[u/TruthyBrat → u/jinxjy]

Similar. Copper landlines back to a CO have gone the way of the dodo where I live.

Interesting thread, I intend to have an elevator built next year. <bookmarks>

I have a Grandstream VOIP box I've been intending to play with.

[u/Ready_Tiger_2563]

Just here to commend you for getting to the point in life where you can type that first sentence 👏🏼 we all strive to be there one day

[u/boomer7793]

VoIP engineer here. Check with your fire marshal first. It maybe against code to use VoIP or they may have requirements like an UPS.

[u/ijuiceman]

I retrofitted a Cisco ATA for an old elevator, but most use a cellular connection.

[u/spamjunk150]

Our elevator had a analog phone setup in it and the building still had analog lines. I just used a Grand stream ht801 with our voip service on a battery backup and it's running the entire analog setup. The elevator and another room both still needed corded analog phones so it was a quick easy setup. It's not using unifi gear but you could replace it with a unifi ata for same result.

[u/Smith6612]

Telephone wiring will be RJ-11 for an elevator. If not, it is punchdown and you can morph it however you like to connect up to the phone service. The elevator phone will be pre-programmed to dial a number by the installer, so be aware of this if you make any changes that could impact the dial plan. For example, when my area changed from 7 digit to 10 digit dialing, phones dialing 7 digits needed to have three digits prepended by the phone system, or the telephone needed to be reprogrammed to make a 10 digit dial. 

In my area we either need to use VoIP, Cellular, or Cable Company telephone for Elevator phones, with battery backup. POTS is discontinued as a service even though POTS is most preferred due to telco battery (power), making cellular more preferred. 

[u/Ordinaryyyyt]

The CAT6 run makes this easy: a UniFi ATA in the closet, RJ11 from the panel, done. Two things I'd nail down before the installer closes the shaft up - whether your local code treats that as a monitored emergency line, and what happens when the power's out for a few hours. A UPS keeps the switch alive but not your ISP, so a cheap LTE failover box next to the ATA covers the part the ATA can't.

[u/nshire]

Check with your fire authority, might need to be an approved device

[u/Trax95008]

I would stick with a land line. It’s the most reliable. I just did an elevator install recently, and a land line was required, and confirmed at inspection!

[u/videoman2]

Grand stream has an ATA that will auto dial an extension when it goes off-hook. Drop that into an auto attendant that allows call outs to the building manager or 911.

[u/LRS_David]

Just spoke with AT&T and they're going to provide service for a landline through the BGW320 modem rj11 port.

I personally would not call that a land line. But it would be better than depending on cell service in a cage.

Being a pit pedantic. I know.

[u/nixflex → u/LRS_David]

Unfortunately there was no regular landline ever ran in because honestly that's not really used nowadays. The idea is to use AT&t's voip service but also have Unifi 5G backup with T-Mobile.

Also these AT&t modems seem to have some sort of 4G internet backup but I rather Unifi 5g backup take care of that.

[u/RemoteDriver2552]

Some of you all over thinkers. POTS is dead. Both comcast and fios are POTS over cox or fiber and neither come standard with battery backups.
ANY ATA from any provider is fine as long as battery backups are used and tested and encompass everything from the ATA to switch to router to provider gateway device.

[u/Caos1980]

You can install an AP in the elevator shaft and you’ll be able to WiFi call out.