Cloud Voice Express using own phones and adapters

[Dante]

Hi

I have a BT Cloud Voice Express system which seems to work quite well.

However adding another phone seems to prove prohibitive unless specifically using a Product purchased through BT and that is even if you have the identical phone from a third party.

Looking at this forum many other members have the same query.  BT appears to insist you have to buy their phone at their price to implement additional phones which does not appear to follow what I hoped was BT’s non restrictive and open competition strategy. In addition it seems a problem to use existing analogue systems including Faxes and PDQ machines by not being able to attach a Cisco Adapter.

Throughout my many years with BT they have never restricted what phones or phone systems I can use, in the same way that other suppliers also do not.  I find it difficult to comprehend why they appear to be taking this monopolist stance in regard to the latest VOIP product.

Surely if you can use the control panel provided you should be able to allocate or at least request any additional phone’s MAC address to be added in the system, particularly if it is the same model as BT provides.

I would be very interested to have an explanation from someone at BT who made this decision as to why this restrictive stance was made, (or was it intended to be made).

Regards

Dante

[rachelgomez123]

Steps to manage Cloud Voice Express devices in My Account
Log in to My Account.
Select Manage my services.
Select Manage Cloud Voice Express.
Choose the phone number you want to manage.
Select Settings.
Select Change device to choose the device for that number.

Greeting,

Rachel Gomez

[Mistermofo]

ive just discovered this and find it quite annoying ive purchased an identical phone thats a BT phone and cant get it to work  it . just called BT and been told i can only use phone directly purchased from themselves

so looks like they are locking the mac address ,

[Dante]

I have also asked for an explanation and no one from BT seems willing to answer as yet, perhaps because monopoly and competition comes to mind!!

[oramossjeffmoss]

Same issue.

Bought the BT Broadband package. Comes with Cisco Desk VOIP phone. Figured I'd have two more phones around the house so bought W60B YeaLink base unit and handsets - just like BT sell, only I bought from Amazon...turns out they won't work with Cloud Voice Express because they aren't pre-configured to do so.

How can you configure them to do so? You can't because you can't access the BT back end that facilitates this...and BT refuse to configure them because you didn't buy from them.

I asked the BT tech if it was perfectly possible for them to configure the phones and they said "yes"...but they won't because you didn't buy from them.

Nowhere in their literature (that I can see) does it say that you can't use any devices other than the ones they supply and pre-configure.

I thought all this monopoly nonsense was done with but clearly not.

Totally unreasonable and an OFCOM complaint is winging it's way to them as we speak.

[AdnanRodbend]

Similar issue for me, I have the bulky Cisco desk phone in my office as part of my CVE package,  but wanted the ability if able, to use a cordless phone around the house rather than relying on the CVE app on my mobile. It hasn’t helped that BT online, the EE Sales Agent and the engineer have confused the issue for me. I have the Cisco Desk phone for my CVE contract (i wasn't offered anything else at POS) in fact all i was told was it included a phone. The Engineer at installation suggested I could plug my existing cordless into the socket on the hub (even though the socket has a sticker saying do not use!) The blurb from BT online and included with the hub 2 and desk phone suggests two things, either you can plug in your old cordless phone base station into the second socket (via an adapter which BT can send out) or purchase and pair up a cordless CVE phone (which judging by posts above you have to buy from BT and people have had issues adding.) I rang BT business today and apart from trying to sell me security software in the first instance which i don't need, the second agent I was put through to suggested to me that the adapter is more expensive than a new phone! Yet, when you type in digital voice adapter (as per the BT blurb with the Cisco desk phone / BT hub 2) it says its under £20 on both the EE and BT shops not the 70-80 quoted by the BT agent.  So for now, and without a definitive answer from BT themselves, I’ve binned the idea and will use my mobile as my cordless phone to answer calls when not in my office. But doesn’t appear very joined up from BT. 

[wittsend]

Just been on the phone for longer than I care to admit with BT business technical support about this very issue. They would not even admit that they refused to set up phones that belong to other providers. They must've changed their game due to all the complaints. They said that it was for security and technical support reasons that they only allow certain phones on CVE.

The agent started telling me a story about how mango seeds won't grow into apple trees (seriously) and it's the same with trying to connect non-BT approved phones to CVE. "The technology is different" she kept trying to tell me without giving any specifics as to how it's different (despite me asking several times). I explained that it's all well and true that mango seeds won't grow apple trees, but BT doesn't design and make mango or apple seeds, just phone and internet networks! They have been deliberately designed by BT to peddle their own devices.

I gave examples of how when the network was analogue you could use any phone on any network. The excuse was that digital networks are not the same and don't work like that.

So I said what about mobile networks? They're digital. Do I have to buy a BT mobile phone to use the BT mobile network? Not the same by her estimation. I explained how when I first signed up to BT I used my own router for my fibre connection instead of the Smart Hub they provided. "That's Broadband. This is phones..." It was obvious that she was missing the point I was trying to make with her about freedom to choose your device. Finally I pulled the environment card and said it's not very environmentally friendly to be throwing away old phones that work perfectly fine for new ones just because.. reasons. She was a hardy one!

Ultimately they were not able to help. I even managed to get them to run the MAC address of my SNOM base station to see if it was possible to set up and they said it wasn't. It is limited my device MAC address. They put the address into some kind of portal system that allows them to remotely control the devices.

Finally I spoke to the supervisor who is apparently going to file a complaint on my behalf on this matter. I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who is concerned about this.

[SimonGrey]

Same issue here.

I have an identical Yealink base station and handsets which we used with a previous provider.  After a long and trying conversation with BT they were unable to link the base station, even after I had factory-reset it.  I have given in and ordered a new network-locked base-station for £75.  The call cost me more than that in lost time!

Not a great result and not a great advert for the apparent 'advance' of IP telephony.