Your VoIP solution is going to save you a lot of money during the festive season. Using your VoIP service to contact friends and family locally and abroad. Calling internationally is often much cheaper than calling them on a local mobile number. (This does depend on the destination you’re calling). There are also numerous ways to stay connected to your clients without being tied to an office desk. This means you can relax and unwind with the knowledge that you are still reachable if required.
Switch Telecom has decided to give our team some much-needed rest and as such, we’ll be closed on all the upcoming public holidays. We will also be closing early on the 22nd and 29th of December 2023.
So what do you do if you encounter a problem with your VoIP solution during this period? We’ve compiled some frequently asked questions that might help you during this time.
Frequently Asked Support Questions Relating to Your VoIP Service:
I am unable to receive calls or make calls and/or my phone is not registering:
When dialling a Switch Telecom number, your caller might hear the following messages: “The number you have dialled is not available, please try again later”. This relates to the NAT addresses not registering to our network. To resolve this, simply reboot your Wireless, 3G or ADSL/Fibre modem. The same fix applies if your phone display shows any of the following messages; “NotRegistered”, “Registration Failed” or “No Service”. If your connection remains unregistered, check to see that the phone and or modem/router are connected to the power source (they have power). Check to see that your internet connection is up (visit a site such as Google to confirm).
How do I reboot my VoIP device?
Step 1: Switch off the base station or the desktop phone and leave it off.
Step 2: Reboot your internet router (modem) and wait for 5mins. Only once the internet is back online should you proceed to Step 3.
Step 3: Switch on the base station or desktop phone.
Call quality is poor. What should I do?
This is a bandwidth or internet connectivity issue. Contact your Internet Service Provider to determine if they are experiencing any issues with their service.
Switch Telecom is your VoIP provider and is not responsible for your Internet connection. The Switch Telecom VoIP solution is dependent on the reliability and quality of your internet connection. Even if you can browse the web and or your e-mail is working, please remember that doesn’t necessarily rule out internet connection issues as voice is much more sensitive to connection quality than e-mail and web traffic. Remember you can check to see if you are registered by logging onto the Switch Telecom Client Zone.
I am experiencing one-way speech. What could the problem be?
One-way audio usually relates to a firewall or SIP ALG issue on your internet modem or router. Please try disabling the SIP ALG on your modem. If you are unsure as to how to do this, contact your Internet Service Provider.
My call quality used to be good, but now my call quality is bad. Why?
This is normally the result of changes to either your hardware or internet connection. If you have recently replaced your cable/modem/router or recently switched Internet Service Providers, this is probably the cause. Otherwise, your Internet Service Provider might be experiencing issues on their network. We suggest that you contact your ISP to assist in troubleshooting the issue.
When I pick up my phone or try to dial out, I don’t have a dial tone. What should I do?
First, check if your phone is connected to its power source. Second, check that you are connected to your internet service provider (check that all the relevant lights on your modem/router are on). If this does not work, restart both the phone and your modem/router (see How to Reboot my VoIP Device).
How do I put a call divert on my Switch Telecom number to a mobile number or an alternative number?
Call forwarding can be managed from the Switch Telecom Client Zone. For detailed instructions on how to set up Call forwarding read this related blog: Load-shedding and Your VoIP Solution.
How do I register my VoIP Line or Hosted Switchboard Extension to the Switch Telecom Mobile Cloud Softphone?
VoIP Line:
- Download the Cloud Softphone App on your Mobile Phone.
- Login to the Switch Telecom Client Zone and Scan the QR code or type in the login details.
- Start making and receiving calls.
Hosted Switchboard Extension:
- The company IT administrator sends their users an email from the Switch Telecom Client Zone.
- User downloads the Cloud Softphone App on their Mobile.
- The user scans the QR code or types in their login details.
Frequently Asked Questions Relating to Prepaid VoIP Services:
What do I do if I run low on airtime?
Log onto the Switch Telecom Client Zone and purchase airtime using your credit card. If your credit card payment is successful your airtime will reflect immediately.
How do I make a Credit Card payment?
Please ensure that you have the mobile phone with you before attempting to make a credit card payment as you’ll be asked for a One Time Pin (OTP) which is sent from your bank to verify that you are making the purchase.
Log onto the Switch Telecom Client Zone. Thereafter you will click on Billing and Card Payment.
Select “New Card”
Add the details exactly as on your card and input the amount of airtime you would like to purchase.
Press “Select Payment”
You should see a pop-up window saying “This may take up to 60 seconds”
Depending on the message, you need to either confirm your mobile number or enter the OTP that was sent to your mobile device.
The window will again say “This may take up to 60 seconds”
Once the system has confirmed that your payment has been successful proceed to “Billing” and thereafter “Allocate Credit” to allocate the airtime to the appropriate VoIP service.
If I’ve paid by EFT what do I do if the balance isn’t reflecting?
Make a small interim payment by Credit Card and our team will deal with the EFT issue on the next business day.
How can I check my Prepaid balance?
You can check your available airtime balance by dialling 125 from your Switch Telecom VoIP Service or you can log onto the Client Zone using your username and password. Click on the Service summary section and deduct the total call charges from the total prepaid/air time top-up total. Please be aware that your service fees are due on the last day of the month and you need to have available airtime to cover these fees or your service will be automatically suspended.
Cybercrime Prevention during the Festive Season
Cybercrime is on the rise in South Africa and seems to ramp up during the festive season. Criminal syndicates are taking advantage of the country’s advanced telecommunications infrastructure to carry out their criminal activities. Take advantage of some of the reason features we’ve added to fraud-proof your VoIP solution such as per country barring. By implementing per-country barring, you can limit the potential for fraudulent activities by only allowing calls to countries or regions that you frequently call. The feature also allows you to set restrictions based on the time of day preventing unauthorised international calls from being made outside of normal business hours. If you have a Hosted Switchboard implement pin dialling. Pin dialling might add a few seconds to the time it takes to make a call but could save you from becoming a victim of VoIP fraud. Read more about the prevention of Cybercrime here.
Frequently Asked Questions Asked by Clients who Pay by Debit Order:
When will the debit order go off of my account?
The debit order will go off on the 5th of each month. If the debit date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or public holiday, the payment instructions will be delivered on the following business day. Your December 2023 debit order will go off on the 5th of January 2023. If you are going to be away please make sure that you have made provision for the debit order in advance.
I have a Switch Telecom Hosted Switchboard. How Should I Prepare for the Festive Season?
Please send all your festive, out-of-office and end-of-year messages to us in WAV format by the close of business on the 22nd of December so that we can implement these changes in advance. When sending these requests, please, specify the exact dates and times that the messages need to be played. Please specify if you require us to play certain messages on the public holidays otherwise these will be treated as normal days.
If you do not have a customised festive greeting please feel free to take advantage of our Professional VoICE Recording services or contact us for more information.
It’s important to remember that if you have previously requested to have your out-of-office rules to include Public Holidays then these rules will take effect. If you are unsure, please, confirm with us and we’ll confirm the ruleset on your Hosted Switchboard.
And Finally…
From all of us at Switch Telecom, we would like to thank you for your continued support. We wish you a safe and vibrant festive season and all the best for 2024.
