Tutorial: Orcon NF18ACV VOIP/ATA only with Unifi USG kit

Forums › 2degrees (including Slingshot, Orcon, Flip, Stuff Fibre, MyRepublic, 2talk and Vocus) › Tutorial: Orcon NF18ACV VOIP/ATA only with Unifi USG kit

dvkwong

31 posts

Geek

#274421 21-Aug-2020 10:30

Hi All,

I purchased new Unifi kit router/switch/wifi etc and wanted to configure my Orcon NF18ACV to only enable VOIP/ATA only for landline phones.

Thought I would share my steps

1. Go to Advanced / WAN services and remove all the interfaces

2. Add a new WAN with IPv4

Set static ip matching your new network eg 192.168.1.2
Set default gateway ip to new router eg 192.168.1.1
Set DNS to Orcon DNS settings
Preferred DNS Server: 121.98.0.1
Alternate DNS Server: 121.98.0.2
https://help.orcon.net.nz/hc/en-us/articles/115004228653-What-are-your-DNS-server-addresses

3. Go to LAN settings and Disable DHCP and set static ip to eg 192.168.1.2

4. Disable Wireless

5. Now plug cable from NF18ACV WAN to LAN port on your new router/switch.

6. Done

These steps should work for other routers where you just want Voip only

1 | 2

20 posts

Geek

#2547499 22-Aug-2020 10:43

This is great, thank you! Exactly what has held me back from using anything else.

I am running a Pihole; would I point these DNS settings to my Pihole instead? Or is it better in this device to use ISP?

Sharesies

Trade NZ and US shares and funds with Sharesies (affiliate link).

dvkwong

31 posts

Geek

#2548729 24-Aug-2020 14:07

DNS should work pointed to isp or router/gateway.

I am going to configure NF18 to use DHCP instead of static IP which should also work.

PaulFNZ

20 posts

Geek

#2548768 24-Aug-2020 14:55

Thanks; yeah I am using the Pihole to do DHCP as well, seemed to be the only way I could get useful per-device stats in the dashboard.

openmedia

3049 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#2548864 24-Aug-2020 16:12

Shame the device can't be configured for VOIP over LAN port rather than WAN port.

Generally known online as OpenMedia, now working for Red Hat APAC as a Technology Evangelist and Portfolio Architect. Still playing with MythTV and digital media on the side.

PaulFNZ

20 posts

Geek

#2548985 24-Aug-2020 18:22

Ya.

Hey what gear did you go with? Specifically the router?

I'm not unhappy with the NF18ACV in general performance-wise, (I don't use it's radio which I found to be garbage) but really want to get something that can give me bandwidth/QOS for gaming over Netflix etc.
But need to retain VOIP as stated... So I'm glad this works! I'm with Slingshot and assume it will be the same.
Was nervous about splashing out on kit then finding out SS wouldn't allow a different device, but I assume this method circumnavigates that issue anyway.

dvkwong

31 posts

Geek

#2549013 24-Aug-2020 19:12

I went with the Unifi USG, Switch, Cloud key, Wifi points etc, a little overkill for most people.

Your slingshot or whatever should be able to do WAN over IP which makes it compatible with any router.

You can get really good Asus or Tenda 1 router solutions with lots of antennas.

Muxa

12 posts

Geek

#2550971 27-Aug-2020 21:16

Thanks for sharing this guide. I'm in a similar situation and I want to use NF18ACV (supplied by Slingshot) as ATA.

I have followed the steps and can now make calls from the phone. However I have several issues:

1. When making an outbound call, people can hear me, but I can't hear them.

2. Incoming calls don't work - calling the number from my mobile just waits in silence for about a minute and the call ends.

3. I can't access NF18ACV through the Web UI (while on the same network) - I can ping its address, but the page is not loaded ("site can't be reached")

Any tips how any of these can be fixed?

dvkwong

31 posts

Geek

#2550978 27-Aug-2020 21:34

1 and 2 I am not sure as works for me.

For 3 the reason you can't access is because router webpage is not accessible from WAN port. You could temporarily connect another cable from lan on NF18 to a spare lan port on your new router. Then access NF18 page to diagnose issue?

Muxa

12 posts

Geek

#2550989 27-Aug-2020 22:01

dvkwong:

For 3 the reason you can't access is because router webpage is not accessible from WAN port. You could temporarily connect another cable from lan on NF18 to a spare lan port on your new router. Then access NF18 page to diagnose issue?

I'll try that. Would both connections share the same IP address?

PaulFNZ

20 posts

Geek

#2551994 29-Aug-2020 16:27

I contacted Slingshot asking if I could use a 3rd party router and VOIP/SIP phone (as ideally I'd like to upgrade both) and got this response:

Hey Paul‍,
Thank you for getting in touch.
Our VoIP system is currently locked to to our NF18 modem.
A way around this would be to bridge the NF18 with your third party one. Once this is done, you can disable the Wi-FI on the NF18 so you can gain the benefits of a more powerful modem.
If you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to reply to this email or live chat with our team online. Otherwise, check out the help section on our website.
Thanks,
‍The team @ Slingshot

But this is nonsensical isn't it? Bridging the NF will surely lose the VOIP (?) Or is this effectively what you have done in your instructions here?

Anyways; the solution above from OP sounds like me.
It would be nice to get an actual SIP DECT phone, but this means I'll always be stuck using a POTS phone right?

openmedia:
Shame the device can't be configured for VOIP over LAN port rather than WAN port.

There is this setting in the NF - (not my screen grab; found elsewhere - mine is the same though except obviously it is voice.slingshot.co.nz)
https://imgur.com/UrEreUD
Is this what you mean?

PaulFNZ

20 posts

Geek

#2552000 29-Aug-2020 16:47

FYI this was the other similar thread I found, although was VDSL rather than Fibre.

https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=81&topicid=258593

dvkwong

31 posts

Geek

#2552521 30-Aug-2020 16:52

Today the voip started going awry with similar issues with not hearing other party. Reset modem to factory settings and re-apply WAN changes but voip would not work at all.

Reset to factory and use NF18 as primary router so I could get voip working again until I can figure out what is going on?!

Looking at the existing WAN and it looks like it is already using IP over ethernet (IPoE). So technically plugging direct into new router lan should work

Will post any updates if I ever get a configuration that works.

Muxa

12 posts

Geek

#2554356 31-Aug-2020 18:50

Muxa:

I have followed the steps and can now make calls from the phone. However I have several issues:

1. When making an outbound call, people can hear me, but I can't hear them.

2. Incoming calls don't work - calling the number from my mobile just waits in silence for about a minute and the call ends.

3. I can't access NF18ACV through the Web UI (while on the same network) - I can ping its address, but the page is not loaded ("site can't be reached")

I got it working. Not sure what exactly fixed it but here's what I did:

1. Restored settings to a backup that I took before attempting any of these changes

2. Removed all WAN interfaces

3. Added new IPoE interface, with address obtained automatically, VLAN 3 (my USG already had a VLAN 3), DNS1: USG's private IP (10.1.3.1), DNS2: 1.1.1.1

4. Left DHCP server and WiFi on (so I could connect to NF18 and configure it if required)

5. Plugged WAN into USG's LAN port

This made it work.

In addition, under LAN I've added a secondary IP address 10.1.1.2. I wanted to connect LAN1 port to another port of USG so that I can access NF18 from the network. But for some reason the network wend down (there might have been some kind of network loop). So I unplugged it.

I have also tried enabling port 80 on WAN port to be able to access NF18 from the network (under Management > Access Control > Services Controls) , but it still did not work for some reason.

Any ideas how I can connect to NF18 web UI from USG network?

Muxa

12 posts

Geek

#2554894 1-Sep-2020 15:41

Muxa:

Any ideas how I can connect to NF18 web UI from USG network?

Web access from the WAN port has started working. I think the problem was with IP (I assigned a static address, but it did not quite work as it was reverting to a different address, so I set the static address to the default value)

dvkwong

31 posts

Geek

#2568328 19-Sep-2020 20:34

Ok finally have a working setup with VOIP using the NF18ACV router as the primary and plugging the USG WAN into the NF18ACV LAN port.

1. The Orcon router is plugged in as per normal. Disable WIFI, keep DHCP on.

2. The USG I changed the ip to 10.0.0.1. You may want to configure this independently of the NF18ACV router to alleviate configuration issues. Can also follow this post https://community.ui.com/questions/How-to-add-a-usg-behind-an-isps-modem-without-bridging/3e28876f-1ef6-44be-b9f0-e26f6a32854d

3. USG WAN set to DHCP and clear the VLAN, plug into NF18ACV LAN port

4. Done

Note:

You can even access the NF18ACV configuration page from the other subnet.

1 | 2