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.