blueface phones locked?

wexpin

we have a reasonably sized blueface account with a number of phones which we bought over the last 2 years from them. We are now setting up another business and using a VOIP service from another supplier, given that we have spare VOIP phones from blueface we assumed we would just be able to repoint them to the new provider, but it now appears that BF remove all admin access from the phones so you cannot do this. Now, I don't really know about the legal side of doing something like this, - we obviously own the hardware! but before I go down that route, is it possible to do a factory reset or something to overide? The factory reset menu option has alo been removed from the phone, its a Panasonic KX-UT113.
I wouldn't mind but we were happy with the BF experience but their refusal to accomodate us here is pretty much making me decide to close our other account with them, so by being stubborn they are going to lose my account!

marathont

I managed to do a factory reset on my blueface phone. It was a panasonic phone (I cant remember the model). As far as I remember it was a bit convoluted, and took me a while to figure it out but it is possible.

Johnboy1951

Maybe a firmware upgrade would be possible?

This might help also

http://cr.panasonic.com/assets/16000-16999/ucm_stg_cnt_051151.pdf

wexpin

They change the admin login details and won't give you the login so you cannot access any config via the webadmin. .. and they also block any firmware updates!

So the only way I can think is to somehow do a hardware reset, becasue I cannot find a way to do it from the phone menus or the normal user web admin - I can't login into the webadmin with the admin user!

Johnboy1951

Seems like they are determined not to allow you access ..... that would seriously pee me off .....

Those phone can register two SIP accounts I believe .... wonder if there is any way to make use of that .....

..... just musings, sorry .....

Mr. G

I've a panasonic phone from them and this sort of thing has really pissed me off.

One way of doing it is disconnecting the modem from the internet (so it can't pull config file) yet can use the network and then do a factory reset and see what happens. See if that will work, as the config file would be unreachable, that's my guess. Panasonic won't deal with support, its the carriers that do that apparently.

@Marathont: If you remember can you please share how you did it as it would be really appreciated

With regard to the legality of this, if you own a mobile phone for example you are 100% legally /edit/ allowed to get it unlocked. So if you own the phone from Blueface and your not in a contract, well then I don't see anything illegal about it.

I had an argument with them about them locking equipment. They'd give the user account details, but not the admin ones. I find them a good company to deal with, in fairness it hasn't gone down in a while (by their standards), but locking down equipment really annoys me. Especially if you want to configure it with say your own pbx and still use them.

The fact that they don't do proper direct debit facilities really bugs me though. Their marketing themselves mostly at business customers, yet don't have proper direct debits . They've the most complicated DD's in the country, and I've seen some fairly ****ed up DDs in my lifetime!

Over the last few months I've had to chase them back on issues that were their own fault (bugs on their systems etc.), then someone would just "forget" to follow-up with you. VoIP is good technology, justs needs to be taken seriously.

/Sorry for the rant!

(Also did anyone notice that they changed their terms of service without notification. Have a look back of archive.org and see. They have 12 month contracts now!)

marathont

I cant remember fully how I did it, but here is what I do remeber:

The key thing was to disconnect the phone from the internet. Everytime the phone boots it connects to an ftp server and downloads the blueface settings.

I was able to reset to factory defaults or at least reset the administrator password. This may have been done by some combination of key presses on the handset.

I was then able to access the web admin access, In here I disabled the setting to download new settings at boot. I think it was called ftp provisioning or something.

I was then able to put in whatever settings I wanted. I switched to Goldfish and the phone is working grand ever since.

Mr. G

marathont wrote: »

I cant remember fully how I did it, but here is what I do remeber:

The key thing was to disconnect the phone from the internet. Everytime the phone boots it connects to an ftp server and downloads the blueface settings.

I was able to reset to factory defaults or at least reset the administrator password. This may have been done by some combination of key presses on the handset.

I was then able to access the web admin access, In here I disabled the setting to download new settings at boot. I think it was called ftp provisioning or something.

I was then able to put in whatever settings I wanted. I switched to Goldfish and the phone is working grand ever since.

Thanks- I'll try that later on. Just hope they haven't changed the menus or something so there is no factory default setting!

wexpin

Thanks Guys, i'll try this later. I had a major rant with them too about it, i didn't sign any contract about leasing phones etc. so I cannot see that they are in anyway entitled to lock down a phone I purchased in full from them, they phones aren't even subsidised in any way like mobiles are. I though they might relent when I threatened to pull my main account but they haven't even bothered answering that. I am moving to goldfish because as well as appearing to be much cheaper, they also seem to be much more transparent. If you compare the costs of having an IVR (which is now a necessity to our business) the cost difference is huge. I have been a very happy customer of blueface for 3 years (although I too find their billing process kinda bizarre) but i'm going to walk away form them now for this stupid carry on.

Mr. G

How did you get on wexpin?

+1 with you re the billing process

On the Panasonic KX-UT113 I have, they seem to have removed the default menu. I found Network Defaults but not Default as per the manual. I tried doing a user and admin password reset using a code from the manual when I have internet turned off but network on, but still not joy, User: admin, Password: adminpass wouldn't work, neither would User: user and blank password.

Anyone recently manage to get this going? Blueface are really getting to me now. It just shows that they have to lock down equipment to keep the customers :eek:

Thanks guys

wexpin

Hi Mr G,

no I had no look on this either... :-(

Dunno what to do about it, as I have about 5 phones in total from blueface and they are all locked it looks like I've no choice but to stick with them no for the future. What cr&p setup to be honest.

Does anyone know how to call another handset using this phone, i.e. i have 4 lines and on the other phones (which I think offhand are also panansonic) its possible to all the other handsets (without having a call to transfer) but I can't seem to see this option on the KX-UT113

thanks!

Mr. G

wexpin wrote: »

Hi Mr G,

no I had no look on this either... :-(

Dunno what to do about it, as I have about 5 phones in total from blueface and they are all locked it looks like I've no choice but to stick with them no for the future. What cr&p setup to be honest.

Does anyone know how to call another handset using this phone, i.e. i have 4 lines and on the other phones (which I think offhand are also panansonic) its possible to all the other handsets (without having a call to transfer) but I can't seem to see this option on the KX-UT113

thanks!

I remember there being an option to do a factory reset, but when I did that a few months ago it pulled the config file back as the internet was still connected to the router,

There might be a short code, I tried one from the admin menu by Settings > # and three numbers, did nothing though

You might be able to do a IP to IP call but I doubt it. I know blueface can add internal extensions so 1000 could ring one phone etc etc.

I'm glad its just the one phone I have from them.

I will try and pick Panasonics mind sometime about this and also look through the manual. If anyone gets it unlocked (and worked recently) please post it .

TireeTerror

Any more news on this, did anyone manage to get them unlocked?

croo

I never actually did this - but I once came across an article about someone trying to factory reset a gramdstream gxp2000. From some of what people are saying above I suspect the same technique might be possible in this scenario.

Firstly as people say when the phone powers on it tries to connect to download a file.
The technique described in the article i read [sorry I no longer have the link] was to firstly download a factory default version of this file.

Then using a network sniffer, like wireshark, plug in the phone and use the sniffer to determine which ip it is trying to connect.
Setup a pc running ftp on a small standalone network and hardcode this IP.

Now plug the the phone into this network and it will connect to your PC. By putting the factory default version on the file on this machine you could trick the phone into downloading and installing the factory defaults.

Ok, it's not exactly a step by step guide but perhaps there is enough to help google lead you to asolution or perhaps it reminds those who did manage and have forgotten what they did.

Mr. G

The easiest way is to turn off your internet connection and do a factory reset. It wont be able to download a config file so you should go to the administration web portal for the Panasonic and remove the ftp server and configure etc. Though they removed the factory reset option from the menu I think there is a code to get around it. I might get around to figuring it out someday, but definitely if they pull a config file down every so often and on reboots do try the above.

TireeTerror

OK I took the plunge and bought this http://www.adverts.ie/phone-fax/panasonic-kx-tgp500/2576869

I doesnt seem to be originally from Blueface as I have full control over firmware and settings. However Im not sure how to apply the settings.

Im with Net1 and have been using X-lite softphone. The only settings I was provided by Net1 are SIP SERVER, Username and password. There is no authorisation ID.

When I look at the panasonic portal Im not sure what goes where. Can anyone help me?

Here is a screenshot of the menu.

TireeTerror

No worries everyone, I scoured for hours and finally came across a site which helped me guess my way until it worked!

Awesome, now Ive got two handsets that also have an intercom facility which is handy when the OH is in the stables and I want her to come back in and make me a cup of tea!

Mr. G

TireeTerror wrote: »

No worries everyone, I scoured for hours and finally came across a site which helped me guess my way until it worked!

Awesome, now Ive got two handsets that also have an intercom facility which is handy when the OH is in the stables and I want her to come back in and make me a cup of tea!

Glad to hear you got sorted. It may be a good idea to do the following:
- Set the NTP server to ie.pool.ntp.org and configure the time zones so the exact time is on the phone
- Put a password on the device to restrict access to the web gui (or alternatively some Panasonic phones allow you to disable the web interface)

Let us know what your setup is in the sticky if you're interested.

durtybit

Sorry to dig up an old one, I just did the same and have bought a KX-UT113

I have blueface would you mind sharing your settings obviously obscuring any personal info?

Mr. G

durtybit wrote: »

Sorry to dig up an old one, I just did the same and have bought a KX-UT113

I have blueface would you mind sharing your settings obviously obscuring any personal info?

Assuming you got it unlocked/not from Blueface:
Server: cust.ie.blueface.com
Username: (username emailed from toolbox)
Password: (password emailed from toolbox)
SIP Port: 5060

That would be under Line 1. Make sure it's enabled.

If you're stuck, feel free to post a screenshot.

durtybit

Mr. G wrote: »

Assuming you got it unlocked/not from Blueface:
Server: cust.ie.blueface.com
Username: (username emailed from toolbox)
Password: (password emailed from toolbox)
SIP Port: 5060

That would be under Line 1. Make sure it's enabled.

If you're stuck, feel free to post a screenshot.

I have the settings in and it just sits at "registering" the phone is not locked. I am assuming these devices are Mac filtered on blueface network.

The settings page is identical to above and I have tried loads of combinations

JohnCleary

Change your port to 8xxx I was advised to not use 5xxx by goldfish

durtybit

JohnCleary wrote: »

Change your port to 8xxx I was advised to not use 5xxx by goldfish

I think blueface only use 5060 and 5061

JohnCleary

durtybit wrote: »

I think blueface only use 5060 and 5061

I'm glad I went with goldfish!!

Mr. G

JohnCleary wrote: »

I'm glad I went with goldfish!!

Because?

JohnCleary wrote: »

Change your port to 8xxx I was advised to not use 5xxx by goldfish

Goldfish use 5060 and 8060. Some providers and networks block 5060 so it gets them around that. E.g. Microsoft Lync uses port 5060

durtybit wrote: »

I have the settings in and it just sits at "registering" the phone is not locked. I am assuming these devices are Mac filtered on blueface network.

The settings page is identical to above and I have tried loads of combinations

MAC Addresses may be used to pull settings from the Blueface network on phones they have pre-configured to get from the server. That wouldn't affect your phone from registering though.

Can you take a screenshot of your configuration (blocking out the username and password etc)?

durtybit wrote: »

I think blueface only use 5060 and 5061

This is true.

durtybit

Phone Number
Phone Number 35376*****
SIP URI cust.ie.blueface.com
SIP Server
Registrar Server Address cust.ie.blueface.com
Registrar Server Port [1-65535]
Proxy Server Address
Proxy Server Port [1-65535]
Presence Server Address
Presence Server Port [1-65535]
Outbound Proxy Server
Outbound Proxy Server Address
Outbound Proxy Server Port [1-65535]
SIP Service Domain
Service Domain cust.ie.blueface.com
SIP Source Port
Source Port [1024-49151]
SIP Authentication
Authentication ID ***************
Authentication Password ****************




The rest of the settings are default apart from the port to which I have changed to 5061 in all fields

durtybit

SIP URI : cust.ie.blueface.com

I think this field may be an issue too, I see on my blueface web account there is a space for this URL to which there is nothing entered in that field.

Mr. G

durtybit wrote: »

Phone Number
Phone Number 35376*****
SIP URI cust.ie.blueface.com
SIP Server
Registrar Server Address cust.ie.blueface.com
Registrar Server Port [1-65535] 5060
Proxy Server Address cust.ie.blueface.com
Proxy Server Port [1-65535] 5060
Presence Server Address cust.ie.blueface.com
Presence Server Port [1-65535] 5060
Outbound Proxy Server
Outbound Proxy Server Address cust.ie.blueface.com
Outbound Proxy Server Port [1-65535] 5060
SIP Service Domain
Service Domain cust.ie.blueface.com
SIP Source Port
Source Port [1024-49151]
SIP Authentication
Authentication ID ***************
Authentication Password ****************




The rest of the settings are default apart from the port to which I have changed to 5061 in all fields

Try the settings as highlighted above.

Try port 5060, though it shouldn't make a difference. AFAIK, Blueface still use 5061.

durtybit wrote: »

SIP URI : cust.ie.blueface.com

I think this field may be an issue too, I see on my blueface web account there is a space for this URL to which there is nothing entered in that field.

Leave SIP URI blank.

durtybit

Certain I tried the above already, tried again and no luck. From the results I believe proxy server should be blank as when I put anything in that field it stops the "registering" status

VoIP Status
Line No. Phone Number VoIP Status
1 35376****** Registering

Thanks for the help BTW

durtybit

ok I used an open port checker website to see if the outside world can see me on 5060 and 5061 looks like both ports are not communicating

durtybit

Ignore the above I don't think that's relevant. I had to reconfigure my soft phone on the iphone so something has changed. Bria softphone on my PC will not connect now either after re configuring.

Can make calls with the iPhone Zoiper so ports are working. I need to call Blueface again in the morning.

Mr. G

durtybit wrote: »

Ignore the above I don't think that's relevant. I had to reconfigure my soft phone on the iphone so something has changed. Bria softphone on my PC will not connect now either after re configuring.

Can make calls with the iPhone Zoiper so ports are working. I need to call Blueface again in the morning.

Can you post a screenshot of the current configuration blocking out the username & password?

Is this on a business network that something might be blocking the port 5060? Who's your BB provider?

durtybit

Mr. G wrote: »

Can you post a screenshot of the current configuration blocking out the username & password?

Is this on a business network that something might be blocking the port 5060? Who's your BB provider?

Non business line, it working on the iPhone app Zoiper so the ports are working

Vodafone is the ISP

I will PM you the screenshot as I am unable to

Mod edit:

Mr. G

durtybit wrote: »

Non business line, it working on the iPhone app Zoiper so the ports are working

Vodafone is the ISP

I will PM you the screenshot as I am unable to

Mod: No problem - I've edited your post to include the screenshot now - You can edit it and remove it if you prefer it not to be here, but I don't see anything private about what's on the screenshot anyway.

Vodafone block VoIP on mobile 3G/4G broadband, but not on Vodafone ADSL/VDSL connections.

You need to set the Proxy Server Address, Presence Server Address & Outbound Proxy Server Address to cust.ie.blueface.com. Do let us know how you get on.

durtybit

Mr. G wrote: »

Mod: No problem - I've edited your post to include the screenshot now - You can edit it and remove it if you prefer it not to be here, but I don't see anything private about what's on the screenshot anyway.

Vodafone block VoIP on mobile 3G/4G broadband, but not on Vodafone ADSL/VDSL connections.

You need to set the Proxy Server Address, Presence Server Address & Outbound Proxy Server Address to cust.ie.blueface.com. Do let us know how you get on.

Thanks! My iPhone app is working which leads me to believe the ports are not an issue.
Also "the Proxy Server Address, Presence Server Address & Outbound Proxy Server Address " I didn't have to enter these on the same app. When I do fill in those spaces on the Panasonic Phone "registering" status goes away which I believe means that nothing should be in those fields?

Mr. G

durtybit wrote: »

Thanks! My iPhone app is working which leads me to believe the ports are not an issue.
Also "the Proxy Server Address, Presence Server Address & Outbound Proxy Server Address " I didn't have to enter these on the same app. When I do fill in those spaces on the Panasonic Phone "registering" status goes away which I believe means that nothing should be in those fields?

1) Try to reboot the phone and see if it registers.

2) Try making a call. It should work. If it doesn't, try removing the cust.ie.blueface.com from the Presence Server and try from step 1.

The phone should be registered with Blueface then.

3) Try sip.blueface.ie instead of cust.ie.blueface.com if that fails.

4) Could you post a screenshot of your status page and line 1 config page if this doesn't work? The phone should just register and that should be that. There is no need to forward any port from your router at all. It's not recommended.

durtybit

Mr. G wrote: »

1) Try to reboot the phone and see if it registers.

2) Try making a call. It should work. If it doesn't, try removing the cust.ie.blueface.com from the Presence Server and try from step 1.

The phone should be registered with Blueface then.

3) Try sip.blueface.ie instead of cust.ie.blueface.com if that fails.

4) Could you post a screenshot of your status page and line 1 config page if this doesn't work? The phone should just register and that should be that. There is no need to forward any port from your router at all. It's not recommended.

Trying another router later, won't register at all

Mr. G

You might have SPI firewall on which is known to cause issues. It should just work though.

durtybit

Thanks for all your help!

I have jacked blueface as they are unwilling to help, fobbing me off with callbacks and emails with no instructions other than "did you put your password in"

I set up a goldfish account and was configured and connected within 20 minutes without having to call a soul.

I have been a long time customer of blueface and will now be closing my account as they are no longer customer friendly, the site used to have a help page for configuring devices which I see has gone. sad to see a company go that way.

Mr. G

durtybit wrote: »

Thanks for all your help!

I have jacked blueface as they are unwilling to help, fobbing me off with callbacks and emails with no instructions other than "did you put your password in"

I set up a goldfish account and was configured and connected within 20 minutes without having to call a soul.

I have been a long time customer of blueface and will now be closing my account as they are no longer customer friendly, the site used to have a help page for configuring devices which I see has gone. sad to see a company go that way.

Must have been a Blueface issue so. All you would need to do is change the username, password and SIP server to the Blueface ones (from Goldfish ones) and it would work.

I'd be interested to see what was causing that, since Blueface supply those phones so they must be compatible.

Goldfish are quite good from what I hear, although Blueface haven't had any downtime recently (other than a week ago with maintenance early on a bank holiday which was given notice), so they have started to have gotten their act together.

durtybit

Mr. G wrote: »

Must have been a Blueface issue so. All you would need to do is change the username, password and SIP server to the Blueface ones (from Goldfish ones) and it would work.

Not so sure about that as some of the ports are configured differently.

I have been usin the service all day from goldfish and the quality is great.

Blueface need to get their act together. I know for a fact they aren't giving half the details needed to configure the phone. They aren't making profit on the phones they sell then what's the big deal me buying my own.
All they had to do was send me the config screen from one of their phones and I would have had all the direction I needed. Unless they configure those phones differently

Mr. G

durtybit wrote: »

Not so sure about that as some of the ports are configured differently.

I have been usin the service all day from goldfish and the quality is great.

Blueface need to get their act together. I know for a fact they aren't giving half the details needed to configure the phone. They aren't making profit on the phones they sell then what's the big deal me buying my own.
All they had to do was send me the config screen from one of their phones and I would have had all the direction I needed. Unless they configure those phones differently

The phones they sell are locked down using a provisioning server. I suppose people are more likely to stay with them as it is cheaper than buying another phone, hence why they are cheap.

Their T&C's state that they only support hardware they sell. The phones they sell are configured to pull a config file from a provisioning server (from what I can see) and that config file connects the phone to the account. Although still, since they are looking at those phones every day, they should be able to tell you where you went wrong. The fact that they were with Goldfish means that it's not the phone or connection that's the problem (unless port 5060 and 5061 is blocked on your network, which on a Vodafone landline it wouldn't be).

For them, it's easier to have the same equipment in terms of support. There is a vast range of VoIP equipment out there especially when you look at PBX systems, e.g. Asterisk, Nortel, Avaya etc. all work differently.

Let me know how you get on over the next few months.

emagination

Hi there... anyone have a definitive solution to this??

Just subscribed to blueface, account all set up and ready to go. Moving into a new office with 10 x Panasonic KX-UT123 already in place. Blueface refuse point-blank to give any support or assistance to configure this phones. Not happy with this at all (but that's another matter).

I can get into the web admin panel for each and understand the concepts. I have tried every combination of settings etc but still stays as 'registering' without connecting.

Voiper softphone on the laptop on the same network works fine using basic settings.

I want to rule out a local firewall problem, can anyone provide a screen grab with a working configuration to compare to mine please (Panasonic hardware)???

Thanks in advance...

Peter

durtybit

wexpin wrote: »

we have a reasonably sized blueface account with a number of phones which we bought over the last 2 years from them. We are now setting up another business and using a VOIP service from another supplier, given that we have spare VOIP phones from blueface we assumed we would just be able to repoint them to the new provider, but it now appears that BF remove all admin access from the phones so you cannot do this. Now, I don't really know about the legal side of doing something like this, - we obviously own the hardware! but before I go down that route, is it possible to do a factory reset or something to overide? The factory reset menu option has alo been removed from the phone, its a Panasonic KX-UT113.
I wouldn't mind but we were happy with the BF experience but their refusal to accomodate us here is pretty much making me decide to close our other account with them, so by being stubborn they are going to lose my account!

Yep I have had an account for years, basically asked me did I want to close my account then rather than helping me. I went with goldfish and never looked back.

Mr. G

Can you post a screenshot of your current config as mentioned above, blurring out your personal info?

Also, have you tried doing a full factory reset and configuring it with another provider in the same format?

Who is your ISP?

Issues with the Panasonic phones on Blueface aren't new. Honestly, if they're not going to support you toss them in the water. Makes no sense otherwise.

Rgb.ie

I picked one of these phones up recently ( Panasonic KX-UT133X ) and it appeared to be locked down. Pretty easy to get around.

1). Open Settings
2). Hit #136
3). Select Factory Reset
4). Remove network cable from LAN Port ( not PC port )
5). Hit Yes
6). Hit Yes again
7). Wait
8). Connection should fail .. go into Setup
9). Change network config, from dhcp to static
10). Assign a static address ( ex 192.168.1.200 ) and use a dummy default gateway ( ie 192.168.1.25 )
11). Enable web port
12). Login to the phone ( default user: admin default pass: adminpass )
13). Click on Maintenance tab
14). Click on Provisioning Maintenance and select NO and hit SAVE
15). Download the recent and CORRECT firmware from Panasonic ( panasonic.net/pcc/support/sipphone/download/UT1/others.html ) - check the sticker under phone for correct model
16). Go back into Maintenance and upload the firmware via Local Firmware
17). Reboot, re-enable web port and configure the phone as need be

Hope this helps

yuloni

This post has been deleted.

nava

Rgb.ie wrote: »

I picked one of these phones up recently ( Panasonic KX-UT133X ) and it appeared to be locked down. Pretty easy to get around.

If you do a factory reset does it get lock again or does it get lock?

durtybit

nava wrote: »

If you do a factory reset does it get lock again or does it get lock?

I don't believe so as you have deleted the details for the provisioning server to download the config

nava

durtybit wrote: »

I don't believe so as you have deleted the details for the provisioning server to download the config

The reason I was asking is I have a Grandstream h701 that did similar as you above, but if I do a reset it gets lock to the provider and cannot enter the Admin screen.


The steps I need to follow after each reset are similar to yours.

Download latest firmware from official website.
Disconnect from Internet (but leave on network)
Reset
Enter phone Ip address on broswer
Enter Admin
Upload latest firmware
Restart phone
Configure sip settings
Change Admin Sip password
Connect to internet

But if I do a reset again it will lock again, I would need to do the above steps again.

Mr. G

nava wrote: »

The reason I was asking is I have a Grandstream h701 that did similar as you above, but if I do a reset it gets lock to the provider and cannot enter the Admin screen.


The steps I need to follow after each reset are similar to yours.

Download latest firmware from official website.
Disconnect from Internet (but leave on network)
Reset
Enter phone Ip address on broswer
Enter Admin
Upload latest firmware
Restart phone
Configure sip settings
Change Admin Sip password
Connect to internet

But if I do a reset again it will lock again, I would need to do the above steps again.

I must try RGB's instructions and will let you know how I get on.

With regard to the Grandstream, there must be a provisioning server set up to pull the config from the provider somewhere on the web gui.