Avaya 9.1 with VMPro half duplexing on Auto Attendant

[mcgriff1985]

Ok so if you saw before I was working on this system and I have had several issues. Here is the back story.

We installed this system with an embedded VM about 6 months ago. We initially set it up to ring directly to a receptionist and then let her transfer the calls to the designated people they requested. They had 3 other subs who work in their office that are on their system and decided they didn't want the receptionist answering their calls and wanted an AA setup. So I reprogramed it to make a day and night AA and customers could then get routed to who they chose and all calls for the primary customer were still set up to go to the receptionist after the AA. About a week in I got a call that the AA wasn't working correctly and I returned to make some test calls and discovered that the calls were half-duplexing when answered by the AA. I tested the phone lines with my buttset at the Dmarc disconnecting the phone system completely and I recreated it once or twice in 5-6 tries but whenever I called into the AA it was every time, however, connected with a live person it never happened through the phone system. I had the phone company run some tests and they even came out and looked at everything to discover no issues on their end they claimed. So I called my vendor and received a new phone system and new SD card, as they had said it could happen that the SD card could be failing and causing this issue. We reinstalled a brand new system and continued to have issues. I then ordered, on my own dime, a voicemail pro and installed a pc with windows 7 pro, and set up a whole new system today. I had some other issues (as evidence of my other post from earlier today) that I eventually got fixed on pure luck, so hopefully that will help someone else. After getting the new system up with the new VM Pro and the AA's set up I made some test calls and discovered the same exact issue with the half-duplexing going on. I am wondering if anyone else has dealt with this issue. They are using digital station phones and analog pots lines. I am also wondering if maybe the 9.1 software is defective in some way and it is causing this issue. I am wondering if it is possible to downgrade to 9.0 and see if that will fix it. It is a licensed system on 9.1 however and I wasn't sure that would work so I am just looking for a little help.

 

[Westi]

half-duplexing?
means you cannot push buttons when you call in to reach an extension or an option in the auto attendant?

Joe W.

FHandw, just expired ACSS (SME)


"This is the end of the world, make sure to buy your T-shirt before it is too late"
Original expression of my daughter

 

[mcgriff1985]

Phones typically work on a Full-Duplex, meaning that when you are talking on one end I can talk on the other at the same time and we can hear each other. Half-Duplexing is when I am talking it turns off my speaker meaning I cannot hear the other in. It creates a cutting off of the audio from the other end of the line, basically muting the speaker on your phone when the AA is playing and you are trying to hear the options that are being given. If you are in a decently loud area or have background noise it is causing the speaker on the phone of the person calling to not play the audio from the AA. I would blame a cell phone or someone's office phone but it is happening whenever anyone calls and doesn't matter if it is a cellphone or landline.

 

[Westi]

That is a feature that both sides need to have.
If your phone only works half duplex then even if you call a full duplex phone it will not work.
Btw I know what full and half duplex means but could not associate it with the auto attendant.

Back to point, you ran the impedance matching tool?
Listen into the line with the butt set and hear if the auto attendant breaks up when you call in or if you hear then both sides.
If not then it is the conversion from analog to digital. Avaya had issues with analog lines and conversion to IP in the past.
Check if you are close to the CO and the lines are just way too hot. Then add 2 600 ohm resistor into the line ( one in to the other one in ring to keep it homogenous) and see if that helps.
Line should not have more than 35mA while of hook.
Are there any issues when you are on regular calls?



Joe W.

FHandw, just expired ACSS (SME)


"This is the end of the world, make sure to buy your T-shirt before it is too late"
Original expression of my daughter

 

[amriddle01]

If it happened directly on the lines with your butt set then you have your answer, it may happen more with the systam connected, but it's still the lines, you already proved that

 

[mcgriff1985]

No there is no IP functionality what so ever, it is a pretty straightforward setup. I recommended that the issue would be on the POTS lines but AT&T is insistent that it isn't after they looked at them, although in my history no phone company will admit to issues on their end they just fix them later. I do not believe the AVAYA system is responsible but I need to do my due diligence because this customer is a GIANT pain in the rear and blames everything on equipment even though he has no technical background (I have watched his employees walk him through how to open a word document and needs written step by step instructions on getting to his voicemail, which is hit the voicemail button on his phone that is programmed and that is it, it is setup so he doesn't even need to enter his password).

That was my arguement for the last 2 months riddle. I am getting pushback from the sales team to "verify everything" which I have done and documented about 10 times so far. I am taking out my business manager to show him later today so that he can help me troubleshoot the inside wiring of the company.

Part of the issue as well is that they use an alternative service not just AT&T. They hired another phone vendor to provide service but AT&T is the primary provider, so that company contracted AT&T to provide their company's service and then they provided service so it is still AT&T just through a middle man, so you can get two hands in the pot looking at things and neither hand knows what the other is doing. It is quite frustrating. I am going to disconnect the whole system this evening and then short phone lines and do some additional testing with my business manager there so he can witness (as stated before) and hopefully be done with this. I was just making sure there wasn't any special settings I am missing under the POTS lines programming in the phone system itself that can cause the half-duplexing issue.

 

[mcgriff1985]

I tested on another system with 9.0 and did not get the half duplexing and I again on another 9.1 system and did get the half duplexing. The 9.0 is our office system that we have had for a while and the 9.1s are customers that I have access to. The other customer hasn't had any complaints, but other first one continues to call me daily asking if I have a solution. Both systems I used as a control test were embedded voicemail. I am confused, are there any settings within the lines or within the system tab that I can alter to change this? Is there a way to let the voicemail mute any audio from being recorded from the opposite side until after the auto attendant has played? I did notice this morning that when I used my shortcode to go to the auto attendant the half duplexing does not exist. This would tell me that it is tied to the outside lines. When I hook up my buttset and make a phone call on that line to test with someone at my office I do not get the half duplexing and when a phone call is connected the half duplexing doesn't show up either.

 

[budbyrd]

Which 9.1 is this? If it isn't 9.1.12, that could be a problem. I did see that sort of problem in the 9.1.x with VM Pro that a service cycle would fix.

Dermis and feline can be divorced by manifold methods.*
*(Disclaimer for all advise given)--'Version Dependent'

 

[mcgriff1985]

I am on 9.1.12 and it is still having this issue. I made sure I was on the latest version of both manager and vmpro today. I thought I had upgraded to the latest versions offered but verified when asked.