[SOLVED] Extend VOIP range

AnotherBigAl

AnotherBigAl

AnotherBigAl

Associate
Joined
4 Oct 2022
Posts
10
Location
Pembrokeshire
Hi all. This is my first post here.

I use Zen as my ISP and they have supplied me with a Fritzbox 7530 router to run with my full fibre 900 connection. It is situated right next to the BTONT in my office. My house, some 20 or so yards away is old and has stone walls around 3 feet thick so internet to the house is piped via an underground Cat5e cable which terminates at another Fritxbox 7530 set up as a repeater and serves several wired devices as well as WiFi in the house. However it does not repeat my VOIP ‘phone service so my ‘phone connection is, to say the least, patchy as it relies on the Zen supplied box. I am using stand alone Gigaset C430HX handsets.

Despite searching around I am at a loss to see any way I can use the second Fritzbox to ‘Repeat’ the VOIP signal from the first box. Can anyone help please?
 
The second router is already connected to the first by cable. I have ‘phone handsets in both my office and house all using just one landline telephone number.

The second router is set up in accordance to the instructions in the manual (and from Zen) as a mesh repeater but is failing to repeat the VOIP connection. This is what I am trying to get working.
 
AnotherBigAl said:
The second router is set up in accordance to the instructions in the manual (and from Zen) as a mesh repeater but is failing to repeat the VOIP connection. This is what I am trying to get working.
Click to expand...

Have you configured the second router as a mesh repeater?
Are both routers up to date?

Setting up telephony on the Mesh Repeater | FRITZ!Box 7560

You can automatically transmit all of the telephone numbers configured in the Mesh Master to a FRITZ!Box that is configured as a Mesh Repeater. The telephone numbers can then be used for all of the telephones connected to the Mesh Repeater. During setup, the Mesh Repeater receives up to 20...
en.avm.de en.avm.de
 
Last edited:
Hi Bouton Aide, and thank you for looking at my question.

As I said, yes I have set up the second router as a Mesh repeater and both router are up to date

I only have, and only want one landline number but I am aiming at having that number available both in my little office as well as in my house. The router in the office is the base station for all my VOIP telephones. I do not have any others. That means that all my calls are routed through that router. It also means that all my contacts, well over 100, are stored on that router as it is my base station. It also means that all the other advantages of VOIP, Zen call it Digital Voice, are available on all my handsets from that base station. I have no desire to change any of that.

As far as I understand the Mesh repeater is acting rather like a managed switch but with WiFi thrown in. Perhaps this is a too simplistic view. Where my understanding falls down is that while all my internet connections use protocols from the TCP/IP suit and can be repeated in a Mesh network the packets of data in voice transmissions cannot be repeated although they too are being passed using the their appropriate TCP/IP protocols. After all, VOIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol doesn’t it?

I am at a loss trying to understand that if the former can be done why the latter cannot.
 
The handsets in the house, where they work, do indeed have all the numbers available from my (Office) base station. That is not the problem. It is the signal strength that is the problem. A repeater, as opposed to an extender, will solve that. It seems that the second router will 'repeat' the internet signals but not the VOIP signals.
 
Hi Caged. Yes, that is correct. The Zen Fritzbox in my office is my phone base station and all my telephone handsets, both in my office and house are Gigaset C430HX.

I have ordered a AVM FRITZ! Fon C6 to see if that will help the situation but am net expecting delevery untill the middle of nex week.
 
There's a Fritz-branded DECT repeater that you can add, or the system will work with a standard repeater

Extending the DECT range of the FRITZ!Box with a repeater | FRITZ!Box 7390

You can register FRITZ!DECT Repeaters or commercially available DECT repeaters from other manufacturers with the FRITZ!Box and thus extend the range of the DECT radio network. In addition, you can configure your FRITZ!Box as a DECT repeater and register it with another FRITZ!Box. Your telephones...
en.avm.de en.avm.de

It sounds like setting the second Fritzbox up as a mesh repeater is the more elegant solution though - are you aware you have to explicitly register the house handsets to that node? When you log into the primary router does it show the second box connected as a mesh, with the telephone settings enabled?
 
The house Gigaset handsets are registered to the base, Fritzbox, in the office. In one or two places in the house do connect and work correctly and can access the base telephone directory etc. However the connection is poor, unreliable and also very dependant both in which room you are standing in as well as where in that room you actually are. The VOIP signal is obviously very weak and the handsets are not usable in some of the rooms. This is why I thought setting up the second Fritzbox as a repeater would be the solution. It appears that this, at present, is not the case.
 
Right, what I am saying is to deregister the house handsets from the office base and register them to the house mesh node. There are two distinct DECT networks created, it's not a multicell DECT with roaming because those are very expensive.

Log into the office Fritzbox which is the primary one, follow the instructions in

Bouton Aide said:

Setting up telephony on the Mesh Repeater | FRITZ!Box 7560

You can automatically transmit all of the telephone numbers configured in the Mesh Master to a FRITZ!Box that is configured as a Mesh Repeater. The telephone numbers can then be used for all of the telephones connected to the Mesh Repeater. During setup, the Mesh Repeater receives up to 20...
en.avm.de en.avm.de
Click to expand...

To extend the telephone network to the house node, delete the house handsets from the DECT registration and then re-register them to the house node.
 
All done as you and the (KB post) suggested. I now have good ‘phone reception in the house as well as in my office and can use the telephone directory in the main, office, Mesh base from all handsets.

A big ‘Thank you’ for your help - as well as for expanding my personal knowledge base. In other words, I have learnt something from all of this and am grateful for that.

As a by–the–way, in the throws of going through the documentation I looked up the Fritz!DECT extender 100. They do not seem to be available in the UK and even from countries where they are available they are well over £100.00 each plus delivery. I don’t think I will be buying one at those prices. Yes I also saw the other makes are available but always think it is better to keep to one manufacturer.
All the best

AnotherBigAl
 
:) awesome. I wasn't 100% sure if VOIP could be used with a mesh. Until I read that link it could (even though I said it couldn't).

I personally would use pure voip over ethernet which is what I have and not had a single issue at all since installing it years ago.
 
Bouton Aide said:
:) awesome. I wasn't 100% sure if VOIP could be used with a mesh. Until I read that link it could (even though I said it couldn't).

I personally would use pure voip over ethernet which is what I have and not had a single issue at all since installing it years ago.
Click to expand...
Out of interest then, can you explain exactly what you mean by pure VOIP please? (Add to my learning curve). :D
 
Bouton Aide said:
Just the connection - VOIP ethernet (RJ45) rather than VOIP analog (RJ11).

Wasn't sure which version you were using but the fritz box has RJ11 on it.

Are you on Zen Internet by any chance?
Click to expand...

Thank you for the clarification. I have been with Zen for several years now and found them to be exceptionally helpful. I would recommend them to anyone. As far as VOIP is concerned I only signed up for their Digital Voice (VOIP) package a month or so back so this business with the second router is fairly new. Prior to that I was using a Cisco WAP4410N WAP but it was getting old and tired and beginning to give intermittent problems so the change to the second router solved that as well.

None of my Gigaset handsets are connected through the Fon port on either router; all use VOIP. Both routers are physically connected via Cat 5e cabling as are most of my fixed assets and are therefore using RJ45 plugs. The layout here is quite difficult – the cable running in underground piping. I suppose my next big change will be a move to Cat 6e but I am holding off as I can’t pluck up the energy to digging up and changing the piping which is, at present, too small to pull a second cable through and in any case has several bends, curves, in it that will make life difficult. ‘If it ain’t broke don’t mend it’ seems a good option at the moment.
 
AnotherBigAl said:
Thank you for the clarification. I have been with Zen for several years now and found them to be exceptionally helpful. I would recommend them to anyone.
Click to expand...

You don't need to recommend them to me, that's who I'm on as well. Never had any downtime in 5 years.

AnotherBigAl said:
None of my Gigaset handsets are connected through the Fon port on either router; all use VOIP. Both routers are physically connected via Cat 5e cabling as are most of my fixed assets and are therefore using RJ45 plugs. The layout here is quite difficult – the cable running in underground piping. I suppose my next big change will be a move to Cat 6e but I am holding off as I can’t pluck up the energy to digging up and changing the piping which is, at present, too small to pull a second cable through and in any case has several bends, curves, in it that will make life difficult. ‘If it ain’t broke don’t mend it’ seems a good option at the moment.
Click to expand...

That's where you should have put a bigger pipe in plus some string so you can pull extra cables through if required. Always thinking ahead you see. But never mind when you next pull cable stick some string in for future pulls. :)
 
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