How To Install And Setup Your Tek Data Home Phone
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What are the differences between an IP phone and a conventional phone?
A: IP phone uses Internet as the transmission medium, while a conventional phone works on the public switched network. IP phone rates are much lower than those of a conventional phone.
Q: Can I keep my current phone number?
A: Yes, of course. Tekdata can transfer your current phone number for a 20$ fee. To do so,you must ask your current phone provider to keep the number active until the transfer date.
Q: When the service finishes, should I pay for porting out the number?
A: If you paid for porting in your number to Tekdata while signing up, it will be free to port out your number. If the number was assigned by Tekdata, you’ll have to pay $20 for porting out your number.
Q: How many days it will take to transfer my current phone number to Tekdata Telecom?
A: It takes a minimum of 5 business days
Q: Can I make overseas calls?
A: Yes, Tekdata Telecom offers a Global Plan with 1500 minutes to 35 destinations. We also have plans such as unlimited Canada calling plus+ 200 minutes to Korea or the United States as well as unlimited Canada calling+300 minutes to the United States,China or India.
If you only have a Canada-wide plan, you can also make overseas calls, but long-distance charges will apply. Please go to the following link to check the tariff. calling-plan Please note that, for some high-rate regions, the overseas calls will not be available due for security reasons. Please contact customer service for more information.
Q: How can I set up my voicemail?
A: Please dial 7777, press the call button, enter password 1234, and follow the voice instructions.
Q: Can I use my own jacks to connect my phone?
A: You will have to use the single jack we provide you with in order to connect your phone and your Internet, since our phone service is based on the Internet. If you wish to have more than one phone device available, we recommend the acquisition of Multi handset Cordless phones, which can accommodate up to 5 telephone devices per single phone jack, depending on the model you choose.
Q: Will the technician come to my place to set up the phone?
A: No, the provided equipment is already preconfigured. With the instructions that come with it, you will be able to plug your equipment by yourself. If you find it difficult to do so, please contact the customer service.
Q: What features I will have with the Tekdata IP Phone?
A: You will have Voice Mail, Caller ID and Call waiting. We also offer you the E911 and Voice Messages by Email services. If you have subscribed to our Voice Message by Email services, your messages will be forwarded to your email as audio attachments. Simply open the attachment in a multimedia reader to hear the message. However, the Tekdata IP phone doesn’t work with the home alarm system, and doesn’t support Fax.
Q: Can I use Tekdata phone ATA while abroad?
A: Due to security reasons, you can only use the ATA with Tekdata internet within Canada.
Q: My home phone isn't working. How can I fix it?
A: If your phone has an issues, please follow these steps:
- Test your Internet connection to make sure it is working.
Without Internet access, the IP phone will not work. If you cannot establish an Internet connection, please proceed to the Internet support section for help in restoring Internet connectivity. - Check your phone and phone adapter connections. Make sure all cables are properly connected.
The cable between the router and phone adapter should be connected to one of 4 LAN ports on the back of the router, with the other end plugged into the Ethernet port on the phone adaptor. Make sure the corresponding port lights are on.
On the phone adapter, 3 lights should be on: Power, Ethernet and Phone 1. Only Phone 1 should be used to connect with your phone set. If the power light is off or flashing, please check your power supply adapter. The correct power supply adapter should have an output of 5V 2A. If these specs do not correspond with those on your power adapter, you're using the wrong adapter. If the Ethernet light is off, check your ethernet cable connections or replace the cable. If the phone 1 light is off, your phone isn't registered on our network. Please contact us for further assistance. - Check for a dial tone.
If the Power, Ethernet and Phone 1 lights on your phone adapter are on, pick up the phone and listen for a dial tone. If you don't hear one, make sure the phone is connected to the correct phone port. Otherwise, there might be an issue with your phone. If possible, test with another phone. - Try to place a phone call.
If you hear a dial tone, try to place and receive calls. If the recipients of your calls see a different number on their call display, this indicates a configuration issue. If you have a pending number transfer request, it means the request has not yet been completed.
Q: How can I fix poor audio quality during calls?
A: If your phone has audio quality issues (i.e. sound is not clear, line noise, static, etc.), try the following:
- Check if the poor sound quality occurs on your end, or on the end of the person you're speaking to during your calls. Most of the quality issues happens on the other side, as it uses Internet upstream. In this case, please test Internet speed first, especially upstream speed. Slow Internet speeds can cause sound quality issues. An upgrade of Internet speed is recommended.
- If you are using a cordless phone, audio quality may be compromised due to a low battery, by wireless interference, etc. Ensure your cordless phone is fully charged, try placing calls while next to your base station set or try to use a hardwired phone.
- Check if you are downloading P2P software or if your IPTV is playing video programs which may occupy a lot of bandwidth. Stop all downloads and streaming, then test your phone to see if this resolves your issue.
- If the problem persists, try to call some local numbers and some international numbers to compare the quality. If the issue persists during all calls, there may be an issue with the phone adapter itself. Contact us to replace your phone adapter. If the quality of local calls is good, but is poor for long-distance calls , or vice versa, please note the phone number, the time you dialed the number and provide us with these details so we can further investigate.
- If the line keeps cutting off and this happens frequently, please contact us for assistance. If calls drop only when communicating with specific phone numbers, please provide us with this information, along with the time you dialed those numbers so we can further investigate on your behalf.
Q: My phone rings but I cannot hear anything when I answer. Why?
A: If you can hear the phone ringing, but don’t hear anything once you've answered the phone, this may indicate an issue with your router's configuration.
If you're using an Tekdata Telecom issued-router, all settings have already been properly preconfigured. However, if you're using an Tekdata Telecom issued router and issues persist, contact us for further assistance.
If you are using a third-party router, you may need to adjust some settings to make it compatible with the phone adapter. While we do not support third-party routers, here are some tips for your reference.
- Change the SPI firewall status to “disable”. It doesn’t always cause the above mentioned issue, but if you encountered this kind of problem, start with this step.
- Some routers have an SIP or SIP ALG option. Choose to enable SIP, or SIP ALG (application layer gateway) , it allows VoIP traffic to pass through the firewall.
- If you are familiar with your router configuration, open the 5060 port for phone adapter, or put this phone adapter in DMZ.
- If problems persist, try a different router. Some routers such as D-link don't support VoIP phone well.
- If you are using cable Internet, you can bypass the router to do a test by connecting the phone adapter to the cable modem directly, and then rebooting the modem. Check again. If the problem can be resolved with the hard connection, it indicates an issue with your router. Otherwise, the issue is related to your phone adapter.
- If you checked both the connection and the settings, but the problem still persists, contact us for further assistance.