Getting an old B&O landline phone to work with Virgin hub.

[Orchid1]

I've got an old Beocom 2 phone from Bang & Olufsen that I was looking to use as a landline in my home office. Problem is we have Virgin internet and so any landlines need to be plugged into the Virgin hub.

I plugged it in and connected it via the Beoline and all seemed well, I was able to make phone calls however soon noticed I can't receive any. If you call my home phone number it just cuts out and the phone won't ring.

Is there anyway around this? Digging about on the net suggests that the type of technology is so old now it simply won't work with the type of setup Virgin use but wanted to try.

[Dave_V6]

What port have you plugged it into? Pic? If you call it and pick up is the phone is it working? ie, just not ringing?

[Orchid1]

Dave_V6 said:

What port have you plugged it into? Pic? If you call it and pick up is the phone is it working? ie, just not ringing?

So the phone sits alone in it's charging base with only a power cord. It connects to a phoneline wirelessly via the seperate "Beoline" PTSN which has an RJ11 plug.

It's a Virgin Hub 3 so on the back is an RJ11 port for a phone to plug into. I've tried all combinations ie plugging the RJ11 straight into the hub or via an adapter and I mostly get the same result. The phone comes to life and I can make calls on it but if I try to call it using my mobile it just cuts off and won't ring.

I've got an old fashioned rotary dial phone that is connected to the hub and works fine via one of those splitters that allows two phones to connect to the same RJ11 port on the back of the router. Interestingly enough if I unplug the B&O phone cable and leave the old phone plugged in then ring it and connect the B&O cable again (whilst the rotary phone is still ringing) the phone will then ring but refuses to do it by itself.

[OldGermanHeaps]

You might need an rj11 to master socket adaptor, which has a capacitor in it to generate the ringing voltage.
Some older phones need it, some dont.
You could try a voip to analog adaptor too and port your number to voip?

[Orchid1]

OldGermanHeaps said:

You might need an rj11 to master socket adaptor, which has a capacitor in it to generate the ringing voltage.
Some older phones need it, some dont.
You could try a voip to analog adaptor too and port your number to voip?

I did wonder this. I ordered an adaptor with ring capacitor earlier so will try that out once it arrives.

[Dave_V6]

How did you previousy connect it? You must have had either a cable with a BT431A plug on it or an RJ11 to BT431A adapter? In which case I can only guess the phone needs a ring capacitor. Most phones with a base station do not though, in which case probably a polarity issue.

[megaphone]

I had the same issue with a BT wired phone, this was a few years back. I gave up in the end as Virgin couldn't fix it, they sent me a new router and sent a man round, tried different phones, still wouldn't ring.

I ditched the phone service and went BB only.

[Orchid1]

Dave_V6 said:

How did you previousy connect it? You must have had either a cable with a BT431A plug on it or an RJ11 to BT431A adapter? In which case I can only guess the phone needs a ring capacitor. Most phones with a base station do not though, in which case probably a polarity issue.

It was previously just connected (via an adaptor) to an old fashioned BT socket at a previous house but we are with Virgin now so the phone sockets here are inoperative.

[Dave_V6]

I'd get this and use the original cable with adapter.

https://www.run-it-direct.co.uk/bt-plugs-adaptors/...

There's no provision for the ring voltage on the RJ11 plug.

[Orchid1]

Dave_V6 said:

I'd get this and use the original cable with adapter.

https://www.run-it-direct.co.uk/bt-plugs-adaptors/...

There's no provision for the ring voltage on the RJ11 plug.

Cheers I'll give it a bash.

[megaphone]

megaphone said:

I had the same issue with a BT wired phone, this was a few years back. I gave up in the end as Virgin couldn't fix it, they sent me a new router and sent a man round, tried different phones, still wouldn't ring.

I ditched the phone service and went BB only.

ETA. This is the adaptor Virgin provided with my router. No capacitor inside, so may be that is the issue.

[Dave_V6]

Looks like it. I've had no problems with the linked adapter.

[Mr Pointy]

If you want to look at VOIP this site has a couple of different adaptors:

https://www.vintagetelephony.co.uk/voip-landlines
https://www.vintagetelephony.co.uk/products

[Dave_V6]

Those are for ancient pulse dial that was dropped years ago anyway!

[jinkster]

Maybe email Steve @ Sounds Heavenly. If he doesn't know then you'll be struggling.....

[Dave_V6]

Looking at the manual it seems it is fit for the US market (RJ11) so it should generate it's own ring voltage, in which case sadly no adapter is going to make it work.

[Orchid1]

Dave_V6 said:

Looking at the manual it seems it is fit for the US market (RJ11) so it should generate it's own ring voltage, in which case sadly no adapter is going to make it work.

I think you might be right. Just tried an adaptor with ring capacitor and still unable to receive calls.

[rodericb]

Beocom 2

Those were the days. I've got a Beocom 4 and got about two years use out of it before it all became mobile-centric when I moved house in 2006. The B&O went into its box for the move and there it has stayed....

[Dave_V6]

Do you have another phone with a BT plug you could try with the adapter I linked to?