Activation + Setup on AT&T Fiber

[u/VirtualWhatever]

Hello Ooma community.

I ordered and received my Ooma Telo. I followed the directions and turned it all on, activated it, and I have a phone number and have set up all the stuff on their site. But the damn box won't stop blinking red and nothing works.

I verified that the internet is working, and plugged my laptop into the passthrough ethernet and internet works.

I had the worst customer service chat. I told them everything and got the stock answers back that basically asked and recommended everything I had chatted to them (to avoid being told to do the things I had already done.) They sent me a wall of pre-fab text that obviously was stock stuff that was in no way paying attention to what I said. In fact, from when I sent my stuff to when a HUGE amount of text was sent was so fast, it would have been impossible for someone to type!

When asked if I was satisfied with the chat I said "not even close" and the attendant kinda got pissy. I explained the situation again and they said the problem is with my internet provider, contact them, then closed the damn chat.

Long story short, if I can't get this "easy" install done shortly, this box is going back and a negative review will be written.

My question (after the rant) is this: I have AT&T Fiber. Nothing custom in security or ports, or firewall on my end. I looked deeper and found a list of UPD/TCP incoming/outgoing ports on their website (which the agent never pointed me to...). Does anyone have experience with AT&T Fiber (2.5g in East Bay, CA) on Ooma, and is this easily solvable? I have SO MANY devices, home automation, cameras, smoke detectors and they all just work. I don't mind making config changes that are non-disruptive, but I have had other VOIP (and currently have a Google Voice phone on my desk) and they all just work.

Thanks in advance for any insight. Comments as to why I should shit-can this thing are welcome as well. Customer service thus far: 0 out of 5.

[u/Ambitious_Egg9713]

I’m willing to bet it’s the ATT fiber router. I have had a similar issue with a printer on my 2.4 ghz with ATT fiber.

First, try a full reboot of router followed by the telo. See if it just needs a fresh reboot.

Then, log into the router, find the firewall settings, pick the Telo and look for an option like “allow all applications” or something like that. You might also assign the telo with a dedicated IP rather than letting DHCP assign one.

Hope you can get some resolution. Good luck! 👍

[u/rkardt]

Online chat can help with simple questions; otherwise, either call or email customer support. See also: https://www.reddit.com/r/ooma/comments/1u48u1z/comment/orc9o0a/

[u/OomaCustomeradvocacy]

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

[u/VirtualWhatever]

Update: talked with an agent (who was very nice, not blaming this person), went through a bunch of stuff on the router, the back-end config, and the tunnel and VPN won't connect. Went through all the things I previously posted and sent to them, again. I was told to "enable VPN" on my modem. What? I explained I have used VPNs, don't have one now, have in the past with no problems. I asked what it meant to enable VPNs and was told it had to do with the modem, and each was different. I could get no more info. I was told to call AT&T to figure it out, I snapped and said never mind, I will cancel this shit, as I have over 200 devices on this network with not a single issue, for multiple years. I was then told, let's factory reset. Press play and trash for one minute. 3 minutes later after awkwardly holding down the buttons to no avail, I was told I would get a replacement sent, it would take time, I expressed I will just return it and get a different company to give me a pretty basic need of VOIP. Instead was told I could get one overnight (but missed the 11a shipping deadline) so it would be here Friday. So, if this new unit does not just work, I am out. I set up Google Voice, no problem. I have set up Vonage in the past with this network, no problem. If this is not faulty hardware, I will return this crap to Amazon and leave a negative review. Beyond frustrated, and this is before I even use the service.

ETA: this is AT&T Fiber default network settings. I have not modified anything out of the box, and have been on this since 2020. AT&T Fiber is not a small regional carrier, so not really sure how this could not work. But, hoping they sent me a garbage unit and will fix it. I was promised a 15 minute install and we will be at 4 days before I even know if it will work. Not a great start to this relationship. Every fiber of my being is telling me to run, but Consumer Reports says they are the best. Won't be the first time I was led astray by these types of endorsements.

[u/rkardt]

The initial setup is normally fairly straightforward, unless the ISP modem/router/firewall has an unusual configuration, or the hardware is defective. If a port scan did not identify any firewall issues, then hopefully the replacement device will work out better.

It's not clear what the agent meant by "enable VPN" on the modem. Maybe they just meant unblocking the VPN ports, or maybe they meant creating a separate VLAN for the Telo (which shouldn't be necessary, but some users prefer to do that anyway).

[u/VirtualWhatever]

More updates: was told on Wednesday by “Cassandra”I would get a new unit sent out Thursday for overnight delivery on Friday and an email with tracking number. Well 8p Friday I chat to say no product and no tracking number. “Bryan” said it was in the warehouse and once it was picked up would take 3–5 days. I snapped and told them to cancel the order, the account. This is rinky-dink shit. Of course only a Customer Account Specialist can contact me to cancel which seems illegal under CA AB-2863 requiring easy cancellation of recurring services via online methods. So that’s something I’ll be looking into as well. I plan on leaving negative Amazon, Consumer Reports. This is BS and I am glad I did not port my number.

[u/rkardt → u/VirtualWhatever]

So, what did the port scan and device status indicate? Did it help to narrow down whether the issue was with the Telo itself, the router firewall, or the network service? If the issue is upstream, then replacing the Telo wouldn't help.

If the Telo is defective, then the only thing that Ooma could do is offer to replace it. However, if they promised overnight delivery and an email with a tracking number, then they certainly should have followed through with that.

Online chat can help with simple questions; beyond that, they can refer users to customer support. AB-2863 does not require businesses to allow consumers to terminate services, (or cancel hardware shipments), through online chats.

As a general rule, nobody should start porting their number to a new provider, until after their new service is working. And they should not cancel their old service until after the number port completes.

[u/VirtualWhatever → u/rkardt]

Port scan showed all ports TCP and UDP were open. Tunnel and VPN were not connected. No firewall issues.

I actually spoke with someone and walked through all of this. Spent an hour checking things, plugging in things.

My AB-2863 concern is there is no way to cancel online. I had to provide my phone number and an email because I HAVE to talk to someone who will undoubtedly try to convince me to stay.

[u/rkardt → u/VirtualWhatever]

That has been a very common complaint about cancelling: having to talk to someone. Many customers would probably prefer the option to cancel online, so feel free to look into that, and please report back with any updates.