Calling features now available on Digital Voice

[Nick89]

How come Vodafone has been quiet about launching calling features on Digital Voice? People still seem to think they are not available.

Does Vodafone not realise that the lack of Calling features was a huge barrier for some people who want a landline service?

21*phonenumber# Divert all calls

#21# to cancel diverts

*#21# to check

61 and 67 are to divert calls when busy or no answer #61# and #67# cancels diverts.

For anonymous Call baring dial *227# to cancel dial #227#

Call Waiting is *43# to switch on and #43# to switch off.

Calling features have been available since beginning of this year. They work on my digital voice line. I left Vodafone because they didn't offer calling features and I came back when someone confirmed they work.

When it comes to 1471, you cannot return the call anymore it just tells you the phone number and time & date.

[WelshPaul]

If you're using a Grandstream HT801/802 with your Vodafone Digital Voice Landline then give the following a try:

*02 Forcing a Codec (per call) *027110 (PCMU), *027111 (PCMA), *02723 (G723), *02729 (G729), *027201 (iLBC). *02722 (G722).
*03 Disable LEC (per call) Dial “*03” +” number”. No dial tone is played in the middle.
*16 Enable SRTP.
*17 Disable SRTP.
*30 Block Caller ID (for all subsequent calls).
*31 Send Caller ID (for all subsequent calls).
*47 Direct IP Calling. Dial “*47” + “IP address”. No dial tone is played in the middle.
*50 Disable Call Waiting (for all subsequent calls).
*51 Enable Call Waiting (for all subsequent calls).
*67 Block Caller ID (per call). Dial “*67” +” number”. No dial tone is played in the middle.
*82 Send Caller ID (per call). Dial “*82” +” number”. No dial tone is played in the middle.
*69 Call Return Service: Dial *69 and the phone will dial the last incoming phone number received.
*70 Disable Call Waiting (per call). Dial “*70” +” number”. No dial tone is played in the middle.
*71 Enable Call Waiting (per call). Dial “*71” +” number”. No dial tone is played in the middle.
*72 Unconditional Call Forward: Dial “*72” and then the forwarding number followed by “#”. Wait for dial tone and hang up. (Dial tone indicates successful forward)
*73 Cancel Unconditional Call Forward. To cancel “Unconditional Call Forward”, dial “*73”, wait for dial tone, then hang up.
*74 Enable Paging Call: Dial “*74” and then the destination phone number you want to page.
*78 Enable Do Not Disturb (DND): When enabled all incoming calls are rejected.
*79 Disable Do Not Disturb (DND): When disabled, incoming calls are accepted.
*87 Blind Transfer.
*90 Busy Call Forward: Dial “*90” and then the forwarding number followed by “#”. Wait for dial tone then hang up.
*91 Cancel Busy Call Forward. To cancel “Busy Call Forward”, dial “*91”, wait for dial tone, then hang up.
*92 Delayed Call Forward. Dial “*92” and then the forwarding number followed by “#”. Wait for dial tone then hang up.
*93 Cancel Delayed Call Forward. To cancel Delayed Call Forward, dial “*93”, wait for dial tone, then hang up.
Flash/ Hook Toggles between active call and incoming call (call waiting tone). If not in conversation, flash/hook will switch to a new channel for a new call.
# Pressing pound sign will serve as Re-Dial key.

The above should work unless you have altered certain settings within the devices web based GUI, or altered the dial plan syntax to remove the use of short codes.

If you're using the Vodafone supplied THG3000 hub, the above probably will not work for you. But, that device might have it's own set of default codes? You'd need to look at the spec sheet or administration guide.

[Archie07]

This issue of Calling Features is all very confusing. I enquired yesterday with Vodafone Business about taking out their Broadband and Digital Voice Landline. When questioned about the availability of Call Divert I was assured it was available, but due to all their literature stating that it is not available on Full Fibre I contacted via email the CEO. Someone from complaints replied to as follows:

"I can confirm that all of our Broadband and Landline Service (via Home and Business) Packages, we are unable to support with Call Management Features including call divert and voicemail. All Packages are provided with Landline Numbers, however if you wish to use the Landline Number we advise once the service has been installed, to add a call package."

If this is the case it makes their landlines for business useless as it is a backward step and is a feature I'd assume small business would use a lot.

Still confused as to why some here have the feature working and others not and Vodafine themselves says its not available.

[Nick89]

That's really weird because it definitely worked when I used them. It did not work though when I had the service several years ago during my first contract with Vodafone and no the phone was not plugged into the PSTN line socket, it was connected directly into the router. I switched to Sky Broadband & Talk with Sky Stream because I'm paying £33 for it and comes with the entertainment channels and Netflix. I was paying about the same for just Vodafone Broadband and anytime calls.

The only downside is you have to pay for the calling features and I now pay £2.50 per month for Call Divert when all of the features were free on Vodafone Digital voice. 

I recommend you said a complaint to Vodafones UK CEO email address and someone in that team will deal with it.

Surely I'm not the only person who had access to it and hope more people come forward. The features are there, they just won't let people use them which is bizarre.

The phone service was also quite glitchy because if I made several calls one after the other, it suddenly stopped working and could not make or receive calls for several minutes, the dial tone would change to a stuttered dial tone which you normally hear when the broadband connection drops.

They don't know what they're doing that's for sure. You'd think they would at least offer this service to businesses and you would also think they would provide more features on a modernised phone system compared to the old analogue service it is replacing, no wonder some people are unhappy about the closure of PSTN.

[Archie07]

Thanks @Nick89 for your reply.

Yes you would think these services would be available on a modern system. Since my last post I had a further reply stating that these features are not currently compatible via our network. As far a I know they are using the opeanreach network and the features are available on it as I had them with BT Digital Voice and even a second line as could be on two calls at same time.

I did send my complaint the CEO email address and the reply I got came from a Laura, Business Complaints Manager but then an hour later I got another email from a Kajal, on behalf of CEO informing me my complaint was being dealt with and I would hear within 3 days. Don't know if two people are looking at complaint or if emails just came in wrong order.

There's not much hope for the general advisors having the right info as even this Business Compaints Manager can't answer a simple question regarding call charges when ringing from UK to Ireland landlines or mobiles. This was one reason I'd contacted the CEO as advisors couldn't answer.

Are you no longer with Vodafone then?

[Nick89]

Your Vodafone broadband uses the local loop/fibre cable owned by Openreach. The digital voice product is provided by Vodafone (Former Thus Cable & Wireless part of the business) it has nothing to do with BT.

You can use any voip provider of your choice. Vonage is good because you plug the box into the Broadband router and can literally be connected into any Broadband connection in the world and still keep the same phone number. You can also choose which area code you want. All the calling features are free and they have many packages to suit your needs, some even offer unlimited calls to international numbers. It also comes with the Vonage app which works over WiFi and can stamp out roaming costs.

I think Vonage is the way to go in future because you can change to any Broadband provider and your Vonage service remains the same. I'm stupid I should have taken this option!

If you was to get Vonage  and If you remove your calling plan from Vodafone, you won't be charged anything for the phone service as long as you don't make calls using it. 

Yes I'm no longer with Vodafone having left for Sky since they were throwing in Sky TV plus Broadband and phone for the same price I was paying Vodafone.

I just received lots of emails from Vodafone community forums saying someone had been replying to this old thread and thought I would update people.

As for Vonage, Google Vonage home voip phone UK

[Archie07]

Thanks @Nick89 for your info. I will see how it goes.

[Nick89]

Also I couldn't port my Vodafone home phone number across to Sky and one of my friends who wants to move from Virgin Media to EE/BT has been told they can't port the number either. Like what is going on? This screams anticompetitive and is going to prevent people switching.

In future I will take up Vonage which allows you to port in phone numbers and not take up digital voice from whoever supplies the Broadband. 

[Archie07]

I had no issues porting my number from BT to Vodafone but the process all seems over complicated.

There needs to be some way of highlighting these issues as there is no choice but no matter what provider we choose we will be forced to take a digital line if we want a landline. I don't know if Ofcom could help.

In the case of BT there home version is digital voice is very good with all calling features available but when it comes to there business side they won't allow a small business to have the same sort of digital line and are forcing us to have something cloud based which sounds complicated and far beyond what we need. Then looking at Vodafone as an alternative their Digital line doesn't offer the basic calling features that a small business would need. It's not satisfactory in that even someone with vodafone and upgrading would be forced to a digital line and lose any calling features they had.

It's may be modern but certainly not progress, maybe we will be back to tin cans and string.....

[Capvermell]

I moved from Now Broadband (who had increased the cost of 20Mbps ADSL2+ with Unlimited Up to 60 minutes long Anytime Calls to landlines and mobiles from £18 per month to £36.50 a month while also not following Ofcom price rise notification rules) in late February 2024 and on my digital voice line call waiting was already enabled by default without paying for the special services bundle at £2.50 per month extra but when I use *21*divertednumber# to try to divert calls I receive the busy tone from the Vodafone digital voice network.  I tried 100 and to my surprise was still connected to a BT Operator but she told me I would have to go to Vodafone customer services with this issue.

I'm unclear if this non availability of Call Diversion is because I am not paying £2.50 per month for the special services bundle (that also includes the completely useless anonymous call rejection facility given that all scammers now use a faked UK CLI) or its because Call Diversion is simply not available with Digital Voice with Vodafone on my Surrey phone exchange (01306 71XXXX)

Either way even if Vodafone Digital Voice Call Diversion is available if I pay for the £2.50 Special Services Bundle I doubt that calls diverted to a Vodafone mobile will be free of any per minute charge as they are on BT Digital Voice when diverting calls to a BT and/or EE mobile (?) according to the discussion thread on the BT customer forums at https://community.bt.com/t5/Home-phone-including-Digital/Call-Divert-available-on-FTTP/td-p/2328009 although of course I hope I may be wrong about that and that Call Diversion is available if I pay £2.50 per month and that the diverted calls are free if they are to a Vodafone mobile..

[Nick89]

Hi, let me help you here.

1. If you get the busy sounding tone on your Vodafone Digital voice line, that means it is not available to you. 

2. If you add the Call management features for £2.50 online, it will be billed to your account but the services still won't work and you will end up having to call Vodafone to refund you.

3. With all providers and mobile networks, if you have a call plan or mobile tariff with minutes or unlimited minutes and you set up to use call divert. The diverted part of the call comes out of your allowances, so if you have unlimited calls or minutes to call mobile numbers, you won't be charged extra. If you do not have any minutes or any call plan or of you divert to a number that is not included in your plan or tariff, then of course you will be charged.

3. The days of charging extra or higher rates to other phones on other networks are over unless you're on a tariff from before 2010. If you have no call plan on Vodafone digital voice, its the rate to call ALL mobiles and landlines that beging 01,02,03 and 07, its one flat rate. So it makes no difference if your calling someone on EE or diverting to an EE number.

I have now found out the reason I had access to the features because I was on another platform of the Digital Voice system and was on the system business (Ex Thus C&W) customers use.

An alternative to Call divert is use a landline phone that comes with a built-in answer machine and leave a greeting that says if they need to contact you to call your mobile number.

Hope this helps

Another option is Vonage and remove your call plan with Vodafone, the Vonage box provides you with a landline service with a vast range of call plans, all calling features are free and you get to choose the area code of your choice!

Be aware that you do not pay for Vodafone Digital voice unless you have a call plan or make chargeable calls so if you choose vonage, you won't be paying for two services.

Oh Vonage comes with an app that let's you make and receive calls wherever you are in the world, so bye bye roaming costs. So literally you can receive calls through the app on your phone.

You can also take the vonage box anywhere and connect it via Ethernet to a Broadband connection.

You do not have to use the Digiral Voice service from your ISP you can use other Voip providers.