RJ11 analog phone with OpenWRT

Installing and Using OpenWrt Network and Wireless Configuration
1

Hi there. I have a ZTE MF289F with OpenWRT installed. It was originally a Vodafone Italy branded router, used with a 4G sim (not usable as mobile, it was intended for a home Internet and phone connection), and I was able to browse the internet and make phone calls using an analog phone connected to the RJ11 port of the router through (I think) VoIP. Now, I've changed my ISP, migrating my phone number, and they give me the VoIP details (username, password and registration server), but on my phone I always get a busy tone (If i try to call from my smartphone, I get a busy tone as well). Is there a way to configure an analog phone with OpenWRT?

EDIT #1:
Here some screenshoots from the stock firmware:

voip-settings-with-openwrt-on-a-4g-router-analog-phone-v0-q6hwkniprvrf1
voip-settings-with-openwrt-on-a-4g-router-analog-phone-v0-q6hwkniprvrf11680×1050 27.1 KB

[Password invalid because it contains a "!"]

(Sorry, as a new user I can't add other pictures)

2

To be clear, you're asking if the RJ11 port on your cellular router is an FXS port and if it works under OpenWrt, correct?

3

FXS ports worked with Asterisk on Lantiq SoC. Other SoCs probably never had such support.

4

Yes, exactly. With my previous ISP it was working without hassles, but with the new one I can't make or receive calls.

5

To be clear, your previous ISP was a cellular carrier, correct?

6

I've already installed Asterisk, and with the previous ISP I could make and receive calls, but not with my current one.

7

Technically yes, because Vodafone Italy is both a mobile and fiber ISP. My offer was called "Vodafone 4G FWA", but it was simply a 4G sim with a phone number (it couldn't be used in a mobile device, as a smartphone).

8

You are still beating around the bush…

Asterisk is only part of the story, driver support for the FXS ports another. So far, there only exists chan_lantiq for the old lantiq vr9 SOCs (and even there several routers used different hardware implementations, which were not supported).

So, no, you will not get the FXS ports on your new 4g router (which very most likely is not lantiq vr9 based) to work with OpenWrt. If it's possible at all, depends on your driver writing abilities.

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9

Did you previously use FXS on stock firmware or on OpenWRT?

1 Like
10

OK...

And you stated:

(Inbound calling, or configuring your SIP account in an app?)

So

  1. Are you sure the SIP account works?
  1. There's likely no driver for the FXS port.
11

I've used my analog phone both on stock firmware and OpenWRT (if this is what using FXS mean). On the stock firmare, I have a page with 'VoIP settings', where I can add my 'SIP account' details and 'SIP server'. In this way, I was able to make and receive calls. After, I've bought another router of the same model to do some testing with OpenWRT (never done it before, so I wanted to be sure to not damage my default router), and also with this one I was able to make and receive phone calls. But on OpenWRT I didn't configure anything except for the "QMI cellular" interface.
I'll post some screenshoots to my initial post.

12
  1. I don't know how to check that.
  2. If there's no driver for the FXS port, I don't know how I was able to make calls before. Is it possible that my previous ISP was using VoLTE instead of VoIP, but it was using a "VoIP settings" menu?
13

The answer lies in if:

(Feel free to answer.)

And it worked?

  • Provide the working OpenWrt information.
  • To be clear, 'FXS' is a telephone port you plug an analog telephone into.
14

Yes, as I said, I was able to make and receive calls both on stock firmware and OpenWRT.

My /etc/config/network file was something like this:


config interface 'loopback'
        option device 'lo'
        option proto 'static'
        option ipaddr '127.0.0.1'
        option netmask '255.0.0.0'

config globals 'globals'
        option ula_prefix 'fdb4:d7f7:e94b::/48'
        option packet_steering '1'

config device
        option name 'br-lan'
        option type 'bridge'
        list ports 'lan'
        option ipv6 '0'

config interface 'lan'
        option device 'br-lan'
        option proto 'static'
        option ip6assign '60'
        list ipaddr '192.168.1.1/24'

config device
        option name 'eth0'
        option ipv6 '0'

config device
        option name 'wan'
        option ipv6 '0'

config interface '4G_Vodafone'
        option proto 'qmi'
        option device '/dev/cdc-wdm0'
        option apn 'fwa.vodafone.it'
        option auth 'chap'
        option username '<phone_number>@ims.vodafone.it'
        option password '<password>
        option pdptype 'ipv4'

If I missed to post some information, please tell me.

15

Yes - the working OpenWrt VoIP configs?

Or are you saying it [suddenly] stopped working using only the configurations above?

16

I didn't configure anything else. I don't have any VoIP config file (I would have post it if I had).

It worked until my sim with my previous ISP was active. I've requested to the new ISP to transfer my old phone number, so since after the transaction I'm unable to use my phone (both sims were used for interned and voice).
Edit: Of course, I've changed the '/etc/network/config' with the APN of the new ISP ('myinternet.wind') and Authentication as 'None', and I thought that it would work the same as before, but it isn't working.

17
  • So, the new SIM never worked?
  • Did the old SIM require SIP credentials?

Both - you previously said 'old' and 'new'?

Well, your statements aren't clear.

I assume the device has a some kind of cellular/FXS, and your new carrier uses data/SIP. The vague responses make your current situation unclear.

18

I apologize if I didn't explain myself well. I'll try to make it clearer:

  • Initially, I was using a 4G sim in a router (ZTE MF289F) provided by Vodafone Italy; I was able to connect to the Internet and use my old analog phone connected to the RJ11 port.
  • In July, I bought a second ZTE MF289F to experiment with OpenWRT, since I have never flashed or used a OpenWRT router. With this one, I've inserted the sim, installed 'luci-proto-qml' and 'asterisk' packages, created a 'QMI Cellular' interface and I was able to connect to the internet and use my analog phone: no SIP config made;
  • But I wasn't satisfied with my Internet performance (degraded speed, instability, disconnections etc...), so I decided to change my ISP, but since I wanted to keep my current setup (and home phone number) I opted for one that offered Internet and voice connection with just a sim. When I received the new sim with the SIP account detail from my new ISP, I've inserted it in my OpenWRT router, but while I was able to connect to the Internet configuring it the same way as before, I wasn't able to make my analog phone to work. I couldn't find a package nor a menu for settings the SIP account, so after 2 days of trying with no success, I came here and ask for help.
19

@Leopoldo An earlier reply from @slh already addressed the issue of RJ11 (FXS) port support in OpenWrt, in short – it’s not supported on your device in OpenWrt.

Sadly, neither https://openwrt.org/toh/hwdata/zte/zte_mf289f nor the the commit: https://git.openwrt.org/?p=openwrt/openwrt.git;a=commit;h=0de6a3339f1aadc1de2c9371435e3de239a00645 explicitly acknowledge lack of support for RJ11, if anyone has time to update the ToH wiki, AFAIK the Unsupported Functions should be amended.

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20

It might only work over rj45 ports, but this rj11 port will not work with OpenWrt.

In the past I stumbled on also such issue although I wasn't really in the need for asterisk or other packages.

but the most simplest solution was using a voip station, where you put your voip credentials in on that device, some have utp to rj11 build in, and dect.

I was using a N300a from gigaset, maybe there are newer ones the annoying thing lately is that they force combos with handsets.

And the traffic worked for me as src to wan, for me it was just plug and play, although your situation may differ since I also read your internet is also comming in via sim?, isp doesn't hand splitted voip login?

1 Like