I just thought that I’d write this quick article to try and help some other people with their Digital Voice product from BT and registering it to get their handsets working with their phone numbers. Here’s some hints below. I’m not an expert at this, just trying to post some content to see if I can help others.
If none of these methods work, you can try ringing the BT Helpdesk, calling a BT Engineer, or perhaps getting a DECT Adapter for BT.
Realistically any digital (cordless) house phone, should work with this service
Gigaset phones can be used with Digital Voice
My new BT Digital Voice service is now activated, so I can use my home phone again (not that I actually use it), but it’s there if needed.
One problem which people seem to get, is that they can’t get the Gigaset phone to work with their service. Mine wasn’t simply working by plugging the phone cable into the back of the Smart Hub 2, so required a slight bit of digging and troubleshooting which I’ve noted below to help others if they’re struggling getting their BT Digital Voice to work with a cordless or Digital phone like a Gigaset C430A
What does a Smart Hub 2 look like?
The below picture is a BT Smart Hub 2, and the one that I’m using for my service. I’m not sure if it’s used for other packages, but I’m on the BT Fibre package, there’s another version which is round in shape, and comes with the “Halo” package, but for reference of this article. This is the broadband router that I’m using.
If you’re having problems with Digital voice, I’d probably make sure that you’re using a supported router first. I believe it only works with the Smart Hub 2 or newer
Just thought I’d do this quick post to help others along if needed
How can I check if BT Digital Voice is activated?
You can first check to make sure if it’s active on your broadband setup, until it’s activated, it will never work. I can’t remember what my setup was (off-hand I think it said “Not Configured“), but if you logon to your BT Router using the default address of http://192.168.1.254 and enter the routers admin username and password. These should be on a little pull out tab on the back of your router if you haven’t changed them
Look for the first that says “Phone” in the screenshot below, below the broadband status section. If it says “Not configured” then it needs to be activated first. This is what my hub manager looks like, I’ve redacted my WiFi / Telephone number, but as you can see the service is activated on my phone.
My service says “Not configured” for Digital voice, no phone number is shown
OK, this is what I was first getting, realistically I got a couple of emails from BT. One to say they were setting it up, and another to say when it had been activated. Once it was activated, the phone number was showing when I logged into the router.
I also found out that BT create a job order for activation of your Digital voice on their website.
You can check this by logging into My BT on the BT Website, and under My BT and go to “Track your Order”
This should show you the progress stages to follow when it should be fully activated. This should coincide with the emails. when it’s activated, the status should change in the home hub manager.
What happens if it doesn’t show up?
Try doing a full reset of your router by holding the reset switch (or resetting it via the hub manager). If that don’t work, and the service has been activated and you’ve received confirmation, then ring the help desk for further advice. Make sure your phone is plugged into the Green Socket on the smart hub however before doing all this
What PIN number do I use registering the handset?
If you’re asked for a PIN number, try 0000
My handset isn’t registering with the base station
One recommended method to help with activation, is to use the Smart Hub itself as a phone base station, rather than the base station for the phone (basically pairing it with the Hub, and just using your base station as a phone charger). Here’s how I paired with Gigaset with my BT Smart Hub 2
Power up the phone base station, plug the phone connector into the Green port of the Smart Hub 2
Press the WPS button on the router, and release, the front will flash purple
- On the phone, press the middle button for the menu
- Nagivate to the gear cog and select on the phone with the middle button
- Go to “Registration” –> “Register Handset”
- After a few seconds, the phone should pair with your hub
- The other option “select base” will basically create a new base station (which is your Home hub and should be selected when paired)
- You can switch it back to your normal base using “select base”, then choosing appropriate base
As you can see below, my phone wasn’t working when I chose “Registration”, but did when I manually registered it.
I hope this helps you
