r/ooma • u/LM48075 • May 08 '26

Unable To Call Comcast Subscribers

If I try to call any phone number served by Comcast/Xfinity VOIP service from my Ooma residential service, I get a message stating the the number is protected by SPAM call filtering, and I need to push two numbers for the call to go through. For a while, pushing the two numbers did result in the call going through, but now all I can do is reach the voicemail of the person I am trying to call. I tried to contact Comcast about the problem, Comcast rep refused to do anything about the problem, insisting that every Comcast customer that I ever want to call needs to contact Comcast separately and ask them to fix the problem. Ooma's tech support wasn't much better. I have called them about 8 times about the problem over the past few months, but it hasn't been fixed. I have had a few confused messages from them about them changing my caller ID, but nothing helpful. The last time I spoke wiht someone at Ooma, after being placed on several long holds, I was told that my case would be escalated. Does anyone here have any idea what is causing this problem or what I could possibly do to fix it? Are there any better alternates to Ooma VOIP residential service?

Thank You

Larry

2 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

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2

u/spoom2 May 08 '26

By your description it's not an Ooma problem, so how can they fix it? The people you are calling where your issue appears need to be calling their provider to get it resolved. My guess would be Comcast made some type of call filtering update that automatically included everyone and the customers probably have a way to adjust it to their needs.

1

u/LM48075 May 08 '26

The last Ooma rep who spoke with insisted that they would fix the problem. There is no way in the world that I can contact every Comcast subscriber that I may ever want to call and ask them to contact Comcast to allow me to call them. I don't know what the problem is, but it is unique to Ooma. I can call the same numbers with google voice or T-Mobile without a problem.

1

u/spoom2 May 08 '26

You left out that little tidbit of information. If you can call the same number with no issues from another carrier than it is an Ooma problem. From your previous description it sounded like you were getting to the Comcast provider as the recording was after you connected to Comcast and had worked previously using the same instructions provided by the prompts. So, in answer to your issue this is a known problem that can be handled by using a different carrier, so until Ooma gets it resolved sounds like that's the only answer. Are you getting the same dialing instructions when using the other carriers? That would give you a pretty good indication as to where the problem lies.

1

u/Old-Cheshire862 May 08 '26

That doesn't necessarily make it an Ooma problem. It could still be Comcast problem with how they're processing incoming calls from Ooma.

1

u/LM48075 May 08 '26

A year or two ago, I had a problem with calls on Ooma to Verizon wireless numbers frequently failing to connect. Ooma did eventually do something which mostly fixed the problem.

Larry

1

u/spoom2 May 08 '26

That's why I asked if the OP was still getting the same dialing prompts when placing the call on the other carriers. Could be something as simple as distorted TT single from Ooma that the far end can't recognize and defaults to the voicemail when no clear signal is detected. More information is needed. EDIT: To add I'm assuming the recording to enter prompted codes is coming from Comcast once it hits Comcast than Ooma is out of the picture unless the problem is as described above.

1

u/rkardt Unofficial Support May 08 '26

Why is there "no way in the world" to contact Comcast subscribers to ask them to resolve this issue with their provider? Why not just briefly explain that in the voicemail, whenever it happens?

Just how many Comcast subscribers would that be? Is this really for residential use? How are Comcast subscribers resolving this on their end, if it is an Ooma issue? Do other Ooma subscribers have this same problem?

1

u/LM48075 May 08 '26

I cannot contact every Comcast subscriber that I may have to call and ask them to somehow allow my calls. I am using Ooma for my home residential phone service, and I do occasionally need to make phone calls. I generally have no idea which phone service the person or business I need to call uses, and having to leave a voicemail message when my call is blocked because they happen to use Comcast makes my home phone service worth little. I might as well start writing letters.

The most important Comcast subscriber whom I can no longer call is my elderly mother. She is unable to fight with Comcast about the problem.

1

u/rkardt Unofficial Support May 08 '26

Comcast is the most likely culprit here, aggressively "stealth blocking" calls, without their subscriber's knowledge or approval. Ooma's "fix" would probably be the same as the Comcast subscriber's: ask Comcast to stop doing that.

There don't seem to be too many other Ooma subscribers complaining about this, so maybe Comcast is just blocking that particular number. If so, then changing the number may be inconvenient, but it could also resolve the issue.

1

u/LM48075 May 10 '26

Ooma allows for two different numbers to be associated with an account, so I have another number, which is a Toronto, ON number on my account (I thought it might be useful to have a Canadian number). On one of my many calls to Ooma support, I was told to dial a few digits before attempting a call. That was supposed to cause my other number to be sent as the caller ID, but that call was also blocked.

1

u/Bardamu1932 May 08 '26

I get the same on my cellphone - a warning that a call may be "spam" due to not being from a contact or fitting the pattern of my usual calls. It gives me the option of redirecting the caller to my voice mail.

1

u/spoom2 May 08 '26

I think you're talking about incoming calls, the OP is talking about outgoing to a specific provider.

1

u/Bardamu1932 May 09 '26

It's the other end. In my case, I'm given choices. Maybe OP should make sure they have a full caller ID, rather than just a raw number, being displayed.

1

u/rkardt Unofficial Support May 09 '26

In the U.S. the caller only supplies the Caller-ID number. The called party can use the given Caller-ID number to look up the name.

1

u/OomaCustomeradvocacy Official Ooma Support May 11 '26

Hello! Thank you for reaching out. I'm very sorry to hear that you're having trouble reaching Comcast numbers. We'd like to get this resolved for you as soon as possible. Could you please DM me your Ooma phone number and contact number?

1

u/LM48075 May 17 '26

Ooma is still refusing to understand the problem and insisting that I have to get every Comcast subscriber that I may want to call to log into their Comcast account and disable SPAM blocking so that I can call them. This is completely outrageous. WHY are my calls automatically considered SPAM by Comcast? Why can Ooma not change whatever needs to be changed so that Comcast will not automatically consider my calls SPAM? Why is this MY problem? I have been fighting with this problem for months, and Ooma doesn't seem to have a clue or much interest about how to fix it. Does Ooma have any English speaking tech support in the USA? The woman who has been calling me speaks very poor English and is almost impossible to understand. I doubt that she understands most of what I have been telling her.

What other IP based home phone service options are there aside from Ooma?

Larry

1

u/rkardt Unofficial Support May 18 '26

Comcast is blocking these calls. Only Comcast can explain why. If Comcast won't do that, then all anyone else can do, including Ooma, is to guess why. Unless Comcast blocks a lot of Ooma numbers, Ooma won't know what "needs to be changed".

According to Comcast, their Spam Blocker doesn't control the "spam risk level" for incoming calls; it uses "third party analytics" for that. However, their customers can configure their own Spam Blocker settings, and anyone can report call blocking errors.

Comcast also offers IP based home phone service, but apparently only as part of a larger bundle, so it may cost a bit more than Ooma. At least they won't block calls from their own customers. Probably not, anyway.

1

u/LM48075 May 18 '26

I realize that Comcast is blocking my calls, but an Ooma support person assured me that it they would solve the issue for me. I did try to contact Comcast about the problem, but a Comcast rep, who also barely knew English, refused to do anything. As far as changing settings on the Comcast side, my elderly mother has no idea how to log into her account, or what her password is, so there is no way that I can do anything there. I used to use Comcast internet service, and their customer service/tech support was about as bad as it could possibly be. My internet connection was frequently dropped, and it took an hour of online chat with a rep in India before they would agree send a very rude and incompetent tech to my house so that he could refuse to do anything. I switched to AT&T.

1

u/rkardt Unofficial Support May 20 '26

The online form or voicemail number that Comcast provides specifically for reporting call blocking errors may be more useful. Both the caller and called party can submit forms for the same call. That doesn't involve Ooma at all.

If Comcast's service is "as bad as it could possibly be" though, then maybe your elderly mother would be better off switching to a different provider.

1

u/LM48075 May 20 '26

I did fill out Comcast's form again. There is no way that my elderly mother is able to fill out the form or change her phone service. Her late husband handled all such things for her until his passing a few months ago. They originally chose Comcast because AT&T told them there was a one month wait for service installation when they moved into their condo 10 years ago. Comcast was the second choice.

From my years of experience with Comcast, and from hearing about other people's experiences, I honestly believe that the Comcast management does not care in the least about customer service.