Fritzbox 7390 Users re: CLI

Can any one using the Fritzbox 7390 give me some info.

Using the Fritzbox with a cordless phone (PSTN) connected to either FON 1 or FOn 2 connection and cannot get Caller ID showing up.
Phones screen shows as WITHHELD, Fritzbox call list shows as UNKNOWN.

This is with caller ID available from BT and showing on the phone when connected direct to the BT phone socket a.

Also in Fritzbox telephony devices this is set:
Calling line identification presentation (CLIP) (set on)


Simple mode ( set)

This is the same if I register a dect phone to the Fritz base station , NO caller ID

Working fine on Fibre, but trouble getting the PSTN phone and Dects connected to the Fritzbox to give out caller ID

I'm with you on this one tonym. It took me ages to find the CLIP option, which only exists on the FON lines it seems, not the DECT handsets.

Either way, no caller display on anything, despite the fact that a phone hooked directly into the PSTN line does display a number.

All online discussions on this seem to be based in Australia and there seems to be a claim by AVM to have fixed this problem - but it still doesn't work despite having updated to latest firmware. It's a real nuisance and not a problem I expected to have in such an expensive unit.

Do you also notice a lot of line noise (from the data) on your phones connected to the 7390?

Apprfeciate you posting .
I will talk about the noise first. I only notice echo, sometimes bad on the Phones connected to FON 1 or 2 and dect phones as well.


Yes clip is a major problem. Have you put in a support request to AVM. If not I would appreciate it if you did. It helps all of us.
There are others in Australia with the same problem ,but they use a different system over there..

if you put in a support request , AVM will reply saying that its NOT there Fritz ,its your line etc . I emailed back saying BT have insisted that there is nothing wrong with the line or box.
They then emailed back a set of instructions to try and also a request to send some data from the fritz .

Look , just had a reply come in this instance from AVM. I will get back to you.

But could you do us a favour report the Failure of Caller Identification to AVM support.

I will study the reply from AVM and if you don't mind , can I PM you.

I have submitted a support request to AVM mentioning the noise issue as well as the CLIP issue. I also seem to have issues with email notification of phone messages - was working but no longer does. Haven't changed anything.

By all means PM me with the info you have. I will let you know what (if any ) response I get. However from what I read elsewhere I pretty much expect a "head in the sand" approach.

Sorry to hear you guys having problems, btu a pre-sales email exchange made me vow never to buy a Fritz unit.

I emailed to ask the chipset used in a particular unit and they emailed back some comment about chips (the potato kind) and being British, the shmucks.

DrT

Hi Tonym/TrooperHill,

Looks like you are having the same problems as me.

Regarding noise, I put an extra filter in and that seems to be resolved.

I received a response to my case with a number of things to try, none of which have worked. The bottom line seems to be that if it still doesn't work it is not a problem with the fritzbox, but the signal is too weak. It works fine if connected directly to the phone line.

Rich

After doing a firmware update and repeating the tests for AVM, I recieved this from support on the 11th october.



"Thank you very much for sending the requested support data.

This will allow us to analyse the behaviour. If we should find the cause on
side of the FRITZ!Box, we will provide a solution with a forthcoming
firmware update.

We will get in touch with you if we should have any further questions or if
we can offer any other solutions for this issue.

Best regards,


****-**** (AVM Support)"


I still don't hold out much hope, and if I haven't heard from them within a month I might move on. There is no point in paying a premium price for something which only partly works.

Caller ID is a must have for me, and as it does not work, it also means call blocking and transfers is useless if you do not know the number.

Caller ID is sent using low speed modem technology so is potentially subject to disruption by noise on the line and such like... coincidence?

Caller ID works with the phone connected directly to the VDSL plate/phone socket.

It just fails to work when connected to the FON 1, FON 2 connection on the Fritz!box, or with any Dect phone registered to the Fritz!box.

Caller ID works on VOIP

To me that looks like a problem for AVM

Edited by tonym (Sun 16-Oct-11 20:02:04)

Also having the same problem. Does anyone have an update from AVM re the CLI issue.

I've also reported it as a support ticket. Will provide an update if anything meaningful received from AVM.

Thanks.

Herbie

I have the absence of CLI (to which I'm subscribed via my telecoms operator) on the GUI and phones connected through the Fritz!Box (but not on the one phone directly connected to an extension socket). Others with good lines on ADSL (not VDSL) do not appear to have this problem so it can't be any incompatibility with the UK analogue phone system. I don't get noise on connected phones or phantom rings though. CLI is properly set up to operate on the Fritz!Box. It works of course on the VOIP line.

I suspect it's due to a weak signal down the telephone line. I know my line is poor, as on the 17a profile the Fritzbox can't get any tones above 8MHz, although the download sync is at a maxed 39992. I suspect therefore the analogue CLI signal is effectively being "swamped" within the very sensitive router. Chaffed with the router though, which gives me a full 10Mbps higher download sync than the OR modem. You can't have everything, I suppose, especially when you take a risk by using equipment which has been adapted for but which was not originally designed for (and fully tested in) the UK market.

Edited by deleted (Mon 21-Nov-11 13:48:19)

In reply to a post by Anonymous:

Also having the same problem. Does anyone have an update from AVM re the CLI issue.

I've also reported it as a support ticket. Will provide an update if anything meaningful received from AVM.

Thanks.

Herbie

Update , I think we might be waiting a very long time for that.
After 3 emails to AVM support, where they kept insisting that it was my , (a). phones, (b) I must have a noisy line and should direct my complaint to BT, anything apart from it could be the Fritz!box.
Then I got a request to do a CLIP trace and another trace, which was sent, then I got a request to upgrade the firmware to one that had come out a couple of weeks before and do the CLIP trace and another trace again.

This was followed by a " thankyou we will get back to you if we find anything" that was the 11th october.

Thanks for reporting it as well, but I am not holding my breath for a fix .

With no caller ID it makes the Answer machine and call diversion and other telephone rules useless.
If you dont know who is calling, you cannot divert or bar etc.

If I hear anything I will report it back here.

Hi smurf46. I can not see a lot of difference between the sync of the OR modem and the Fritzbox.

You say "especially when you take a risk by using equipment which has been adapted for but which was not originally designed for (and fully tested in) the UK market."

As far as I am concerned , nowhere on the AVM site does it suggest I am taking a risk by purchasing it
They sell it as an International version and they advertise what it is supposed to be capable off.

The UK is not the only market where CLIP does not work. The Australian market also has many users with the same problem .

Possibly works in the German market with no problems because the German market tends to use ISDN .

Good piece of kit, If it was all working.

TonyM: my point is that people have CLI working when the Fritz is connected to an ADSL line in the UK. So to me that means it's compatible as VDSL doesn't change the analogue phone set up. I just wonder, as a remote possibility, whether if you slide the DSL slider towards quality rather than speed, which I think increases the SNR on the broadband at a lower throughput, it might reduce any interference within the unit and allow the CLI signal through? EDIT: another thought: I bought my box from the French supplier with their "replacement" UK cable, but comparing this with the German one supplied the latter looks to have a thicker telephone cable, better insulated perhaps? Have you tried that with the black adapter on the telephone line to see if it makes any difference? We know that analogue and DSL signals don't mix, hence why the quality of filters on ADSL can make a difference, and BT have a whole section of guidance on ADSL filter requirements accordingly.

The fact that I got a significant difference in downloads between the OR modem and Fritz! and you didn't just again shows: not all lines behave in exactly the same way even in the same country. Neither of us is "right" or "wrong". Even if some Australian users have the same problem then why does it have to be the same cause? Again, in both cases, yes it might be a fault in the Fritz firmware but "it ain't necessarily so". The basic problem is we're trying to put increasing digital throughput over a local loop designed for analogue voice and, I suspect (especially with VDSL) running the copper (and ali, in some cases) on the margins of performance. Experience says when that happens some connected equipment will work, others not, almost randomly. Yes I too have blamed the equipment manufacturer, conveniently, but not always fairly.

Edited by deleted (Mon 21-Nov-11 15:05:39)

For me, Caller IDis a must have, and to have a expensive FritzBox sitting there as a modem/router is without using its phone capabilities is pointless.
The Fritzbox is sold . Only good point is that you can actually sell for a greater price than you pay for it (at the mo).

I have heard from about 6 other users on Fibre (Infinity) and not one has said that they have Caller ID working on the Fritz.

That does not mean it doesn't work, because it is really people with problems who frequent forums, those that don't have problems keep away.

If and when I know that the Fritz 7390 does work with any new firmware, then I am more than happy to start using a Fritz again.
Like I said , its a nice piece of kit

I was having the same CLI problem on the 7390. I have followed the AVM instructions and only when I removed all items connected to the router does the CLI signal seem to be strong enough.

DECT phones registered directly with the 7390 (not the base station connected to the router) and the FritzFon app on an iPhone receive the CLI. As soon as I plug a device into the router (such as a NAS box) the CLI is no longer received on the phones. Not sure if it is a power noise issue or some other interference.

Tried that, but without success. However I note from the Aussie site that some people appear to have success with shorter cabling. Both the UK plug version and supplied German cables appear to be an extraordinary 4.5 m length, and I always thought that modems should be as close to the socket as possible.

So has anyone tried or had success with the shorter cable (1.5m) available with a UK adapter before I splash out my £20?

Afterthought: might this also be connected to the band and 17a profile changes in terms of the modems apparent inability to take advantage of upload tones above 8.5MHz? Might it even benefit the attainable download?? I had put it all down to a poor line.

Edited by deleted (Wed 07-Dec-11 12:39:17)

In reply to a post by smurf46:

Tried that, but without success. However I note from the Aussie site that some people appear to have success with shorter cabling. Both the UK plug version and supplied German cables appear to be an extraordinary 4.5 m length, and I always thought that modems should be as close to the socket as possible.

So has anyone tried or had success with the shorter cable (1.5m) available with a UK adapter before I splash out my £20?

Afterthought: might this also be connected to the band and 17a profile changes in terms of the modems apparent inability to take advantage of upload tones above 8.5MHz? Might it even benefit the attainable download?? I had put it all down to a poor line.

I have found someone who has just started using the Fritz7390 and has caller Id working. He is on the 17a profile.
As a new purchaser of the Fritz, I imagine he is using the supplied Y cable.
Might be able to get some images from the web gui if you are interested.

I have just gone over to 17a but i am not using the 7390 now.

[edit]. I note your point about a poor line, but it looks like in the UK thye majority must have a poor line then, because it looks like it's hard to find a Fritz user on Fibre who has CLI on the PSTN line connected to the Fritz working.
Also your other point "might it be connected to the band and 17a" when I was using it it was still 8c, so confuses even more.

Edited by tonym (Wed 07-Dec-11 22:14:30)

tonym: Thanks. I'm not sure what we'd look at on the gui though the GHz frequency graph would be interesting to me. There's no info I can find on the analogue line quality.Cf. for instance the call quality data it provides for a VOIP call. It might be useful to know whether a shorter cable is now being supplied though.

The postscript on my message was a bit garbled, sorry. My understanding from another thread is that the 17a profile as implemented by BT also includes a bandwidth change, the impact of which is that the VDSL bandwidth is no longer limited to 7.05GHZ, and that frequencies above 8.5GHZ are now used as a "third" band for upload. Although I've benefited from the increase in download speed, my modem can't achieve anything above 8.5.GHz on the "third" upload spectrum.

On reflection I don't think that or the absence of CLI has anything to do with the cable length from the master socket to the modem or, as you say, everyone would have the same issues and they clearly don't, so I'm back to a poor quality line. AVM clearly aren't doing anything relevant with the firmware. I suspect it's a hardware issue anyway which would require a redesign; as an analogue phone connected directly to the socket can get CLI (it doesn't have to deal with the broadband signal) but the Fritz!Box can't.

Perhaps interestingly, on AVM's website they now show a separate UK version (part number 20002527) to the International version. What's the difference? It might I suppose just be the VLAN setting and the UK plug analogue cable.

Edited by deleted (Thu 08-Dec-11 07:01:02)

In reply to a post by smurf46:

tonym: Thanks. I'm not sure what we'd look at on the gui though the GHz frequency graph would be interesting to me. There's no info I can find on the analogue line quality.Cf. for instance the call quality data it provides for a VOIP call. It might be useful to know whether a shorter cable is now being supplied though.

The postscript on my message was a bit garbled, sorry. My understanding from another thread is that the 17a profile as implemented by BT also includes a bandwidth change, the impact of which is that the VDSL bandwidth is no longer limited to 7.05GHZ, and that frequencies above 8.5GHZ are now used as a "third" band for upload. Although I've benefited from the increase in download speed, my modem can't achieve anything above 8.5.GHz on the "third" upload spectrum.

On reflection I don't think that or the absence of CLI has anything to do with the cable length from the master socket to the modem or, as you say, everyone would have the same issues and they clearly don't, so I'm back to a poor quality line. AVM clearly aren't doing anything relevant with the firmware. I suspect it's a hardware issue anyway which would require a redesign; as an analogue phone connected directly to the socket can get CLI (it doesn't have to deal with the broadband signal) but the Fritz!Box can't.

Perhaps interestingly, on AVM's website they now show a separate UK version (part number 20002527) to the International version. What's the difference? It might I suppose just be the VLAN setting and the UK plug analogue cable.

I will pm him and try and get some images of the GHz Frequency graph. It might take some time for him to reply, also I have sent a message to AVm sales asking what the difference is with the part numbers when bot are Annex A & B.

Let you know if I hear anything.

I've had FTTC since September on 17a profile and had my Siemens DECT phones connecting straight to the Fritxbox (as the DECT base station) and CLI has been working fine, even with the latest firmware updates. I have had issues with phantom calls however but these seem to have stopped now. Using the UK lead supplied from the French supplier Fritzland.

There is a new beta international version firmware out yesterday (22nd December) v8.06.07 available on the English language Fritz!Labs site (to be followed up by a full release in January, I think). It does enable the use of alternative DNS servers to those of your ISP and gives me a marginal increase in both attainable rates on VDSL.

I suspect the CLI issue is just a function of distance from the exchange (I'm about 3.4km) and line quality, and that the Fritz!Box just has a higher detection threshold than other DECT base stations. That's how various users get it all the time, not at all, intermittently or partially, and it doesn't depend on whether your DSL is ADSL or VDSL.

Env:
Fritz 7270( 74.05.06)
Country:Spain
Analog Line Operator:Movistar(Telefonica)
Home:Big house total 5 floors (This is to reflect the house cabling is long)

I would like to share my experiments with you, hoping It helps somebody.
Commented in chronological order for proper context and better understanding.

1.Received Fritz a month ago. First Installation attempted without splitter,
just a simple microfilter connected to the phone Y cable, and then everything
to a plain connector to one house sockets. Analog Telephones still connected
to the analog line directly. Everything working fine(ADSL,WLAN,DECT,IP phones...)

2.CLI Service subscribed 3 days ago. Here problems started. Only telephones connected
directly to the analog line show CLI. Fritz is totally blind regarding CLI (call logs show unknown).

3.After reading some forums about CLI problem, I decided to simplify the installation.
So I installed the Fritz directlly to the PTR/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demarcation_point
(through the testing socket, in this
mode the rest of the house is disconnected), only the phone connector without any
filter. CLI is working on Fritz (both call log,and terminals showing proper CLI)!!!

4.Reverted to the initial installation. This time I disconnected all the phones
attached to the analog line. Fritz connected to a house socket, just the phone
side, as in 3. CLI is not working.

Now, some thoughts:
-I've started to think that cable lenght is a very important factor for CLI to work.
-Remind everybody that the Fritz manual always recommend to install through a traditional splitter unit.
-I'm going to get one ADSL splitter and try everything again. My plan is to inhibit the local analog
network in my house, and start using the intenal fritz network (DECT/ip phones, an one analog connected to FON1).
-In the meanwhile, I would like to know how people have installed their FritzBox (splitter/microfilter),
Anyone with splitter suffering CLI problems?.


-Link to a public album in facebook showing some pictures for clarification.
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.32715647064...

Jaime Casero

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.32715647064...

Ok, ADSL splitter finally installed. I know it sounds weird, but after several setup configurations, I realized the CLI feature was being impacted by the PLC ethernet adaptor I attached to the FritzBox switch. If i'm right, this means there is some noise coming from the ethernet switch affecting the analog line, and the CLI detection process. Probably a harware issue, so no firmware will solve this. I still have to try with shielded cables for extra protection to electrical noise.

Hi

I've the same problem... I spent a week on tests, and finally succeeded.
The problem is easy to solve...
I just need to connect ground to the router. The easiest way would be to take the some cable ... Connect one end gently into the metal casing sockets eg LAN, the other end ,for example, to a water pipe, radiator, or other well-grounded object.

Now CLIP works without a problem...

Greetings

In reply to a post by Anonymous:

I just need to connect ground to the router. The easiest way would be to take the some cable ... Connect one end gently into the metal casing sockets eg LAN, the other end ,for example, to a water pipe, radiator, or other well-grounded object.

Tried this but . . . no joy. I think the absence of CLI masks various PSTN issues which can differ from line to line, so what works for some doesn't for others, unfortunately. And also the reason why it's so difficult for AVM to come up with a fix.

Can you provide me with more information on how you 'grounded' your router? What kind of cable did you use and how exactly did you connect it to the Fritz!Box? Some photos would be appreciated. Also, has it fixed the noise on the line? I too am suffering from a lack of caller ID on POTS but for the first time ever (I've had the router for about two and a half weeks) caller ID worked last night (my Siemens Gigaset SL565 DECT base works flawlessly with caller ID by the way). The only changes I made were to plug the Fritz!Box into a proper mains socket (i.e. not an extension), and disconnect the nearby HomePlug. Both the phone and the DSL cables were plugged into the Microfilter which went into the BT Mastersocket (phone line extensions disconnected).

However, this was unfortunately short lived as it seemed to work inconsistently. I was also unable to get it to work at all if I used the 'two microfilter' trick to get rid of the noise on the line. I eventually gave up and connected everything back as it was.

It does seem to be a grounding issue. This webpage, http://www.nat32.com/nat32e/htm/fritz.htm mentions the interference when making a call and suggests using a shielded CAT5 cable (what 'red shielded cable' are they talking about by the way?). Also, I notice if I don�t have the DSL cable plugged into the microfilter the telephone line is nice and clear.

There is a spare (UK) mains socket nearby which I can use the ground the Fritz!Box. I was thinking of getting one of these, http://www.amazon.co.uk/Anti-Static-Grounding-Plug-1... and then running a wire from the router to it but I�m wondering about the cable to use? Does an RJ45 to ground lug cable exist??

I�m hoping a properly grounded Fritz!Box will finally eliminate both the caller ID and the noise on the line issue.

Thanks.

Edited by deleted (Wed 15-Feb-12 15:02:33)

Below is a link to some photos of my Fritz!Box

http://fritzbox.servehttp.com

This thin wire reduced noise, so that CLIP is working properly.

Necessity is the mother of invention

Thanks for the photos. I got hold of a grounding plug (http://www.maplin.co.uk/antistatic-bonding-plug-12712) and then took some CAT5 cable and stripped out a single wire. I then took off some plastic coating at each end and put one end in a small gap between the switch and router case and the other to the antistatic plug. Unfortunately it didn't seem to make any difference (line noise or caller ID).

However, I don't know how to confirm the antistatic plug is actually doing anything...

No background noise on PSTN, but no caller ID either and once-a-week phantom ring here, despite trying both the grounding and the shorter 1.8m cable, though in both cases the number of CRC errors seemed to have halved and the VDSL2 throughput speeds to have slightly increased! Others apparently find the latest Beta 84-05-07 21362 (I think - something like that dated 22 Dec) firmware available from the AVM Labs English site cures the problem for them, though not for me.

So in advance of a future hoped for firmware upgrade to nail it, I'm using a workaround of a free-for incoming calls Sipgate VOIP service with a local exchange number, and call forwarding from the PSTN line to the VOIP number through my voice provider at about £1.50pm (as the call forwarding costs should fall within my monthly unused free call allowance). That should allow me to control calls on the Fritz! interface as so many cold callers these days seem to ignore the Telephone Preference Service registration.

Edited by deleted (Tue 21-Feb-12 13:57:14)

Interesting that you don't get any background noise on PSTN as the noise is definitely being generated by the Fritz!Box. Perhaps the older cable doesn't cause the noise? My Fritz!Box came with the newer cable where the voice cable terminates in a proper BT plug. Am I right in saying that the older cable spilts into two RJ45s or an RJ11 and an RJ45 and the package came with an adapter which converted RJ45 to BT? I got hold of one of the shorter cables from Amazon http://www.amazon.co.uk/Y-CABLE-FRITZBOX-VOIP-1-5-M/... However, this cable spilts into two RJ45 plugs so require adapters. I got hold of one of these http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rj45-Socket-Bt-431a-Plug/dp/... to get the telephone side of things going. Unfortunately, when the cable and adapter is plugged into the phone line, the line is constantly engaged. I guess the adapter that comes with the older cable does a bit more than the one I purchased?

Best to use the BT socket Y-cable, I think which didn't show any noise on my connection. I'm using a standard UK/American BT/RJ11 adapter (from Maplin) combined with the black RJ11/RJ45 adapter (as supplied in the original packaging with the spare German Y-cable) with the shorter 1.8m Y-cable. The black adapter is an AVM special and has a pin arrangement 1 & 8 only on the connection to the Y-cable for analogue which is important for a good matching connection. (Pins 3 4 5 6 are for an IDSN connection only which is not used in the UK). Are you also using the black cable on the Y-cable? The original grey AVM adapter doesn't work for analogue phone and isn't required in the UK.

Yer' pins have to match correctly for each connection, obvious really (but it took me a bit of experimentation to work it out).

If the BT Quiet Line test is OK on a wired phone connected direct to the socket, and you still get noise with the corded phone connected to the Fritz is it worth considering a return/exchange under warranty as defective?

Edited by deleted (Tue 28-Feb-12 16:25:12)

Just to confirm I'm using the Fritz supplied cable which requires no adapters on the Y part. It terminates with an RJ11 and a BT plug. I'd say the cable is about 3-4 metres in length. With regards to the shorter cable I bought from Amazon, the Y part has a one grey and one black RJ45 plug. The grey is labelled 'DSL' and the black is labelled 'ISDN/Analog'. I'm using the RJ45 to BT adapter on the black RJ45 plug. The RJ45 to BT adapter I bought uses only the two middle pins so I guess that's why it doesn't work. Where did you get your shorter 1.8m cable? Does it split to two RJ45s? But confused where you say you're using a BT to RJ11 adapter from Maplin - is this for voice or DSL? Does the black RJ45/RJ11 Fritz supplied adapter terminate with BT or do you then have to use an RJ11 to BT adapter to plug it into the PSTN part of the microfilter? Is it possible to get hold of this special adapter for the voice part without buying an 'older' 7390?

I've tried the BT Quiet Line Test and it doesn't indicate any problems. I guess the unit could be faulty (I don't get any noise with my Siemens Gigaset SL565 base station). However, I've seen lots of reports of people having noise on PSTN; the fix tends to involves plugging/chaining the BT plug into two microfilters which gets rid of the noise for me (but more likely at the expense of not having caller ID). Have a read of the reviews on Amazon in particular the one by 'Pete' and the comments http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fritz-7390-Wireless-Router-A... Also check out the comments on the PC Pro review http://www.pcpro.co.uk/reviews/wifi-routers/365482/a... . Perhaps there's a big batch of faulty 7390s?

I tried the beta firmware you mentioned. However, I'm under the impression this is for Annex B. I say this because once the firmware had been updated, the Fritz!Box would crash and reboot whenever it tried to connect to the ADSL. Thankfully I was able to get into the router by leaving the ADSL cable unplugged so I could downgrade the firmware to the latest 'stable' version. Anyone else had this problem?

Just in case you haven't noticed AVM have released a new beta firmware, 84.05.09-21821. I gave it a whirl last night and, without making any changes to my setup (i.e. plugging and unplugging devices), saw the reliability of caller id improve significantly. Interestingly the 'Current power consumption' figure has increased from around 33% to 44%. I would say that 95% of the test calls I made had CLIP presented properly. I haven't fully tested it yet but I imagine that I would get a 100% success rate if I plugged the voice cable into the phone line without the DSL cable which seems to be generating noise and interfering with CLIP.

I am now at the point of considering switching from my Siemens DECT base station to the Fritz. However, the background white noise problem still remains on PSTN calls unless I do the chaining filter trick but this seems to prevent caller id from working, beta firmware or not.

I wondered what would happen if I put a standard dual BT splitter (i.e. not a microfilter) into the master socket and from there plug two chained microfilters into one and a single microfilter into the other. I put the DSL cable into the end of the chained two and put the voice cable into the single microfilter. I was hoping, rather than 'double filtering' the voice part I could try doubling filtering the DSL signal. Unfortunately, I still got the same amount of background white noise on PSTN calls.

I then plugged the voice cable straight into the BT splitter and in the other side of the splitter plugged a single microfilter into which the DSL cable went. I made a PSTN call and could hear really loud AM radio/modem white noise screeches as the ADSL modem in the Fritz!Box dialled up and maintained a connection. This is the first time I've heard the Fritz!Box 'unfiltered' and it is loud. I've setup many ADSL connections and routers over the years and I've never really heard noise like this on the phone line when an ADSL modem was connected, even when a microfilter wasn't being used. I can see now why people have varying success with caller ID displaying. Those very close to the exchange will have a stronger signal which can cut through this noise. I guess I'm a moderate distance from the exchange so I have intermittent success. Those far away probably don't have a strong enough signal to cut through this noise.

Interestingly though, smurf46, you report you don't get any noise on PSTN calls on your Fritz!Box. I would really appreciate it if you could try the test mentioned in the previous paragraph? I'm wondering whether you can hear this noise with your Fritz!Box; it would be a good test in terms of whether my unit is faulty. I never asked the question but I suppose you've tried just plugging your voice cable straight into the phone line without any microfilters and tested caller ID?

In light of this, then, until AVM can come up with some kind of fix to the noise generated by the DSL part of the router, I'm passing off this role off to another device and setting up the Fritz!Box in 'cable modem mode'. I'll probably go for one of these http://www.draytek.co.uk/products/vigor120.html.

Edited by deleted (Fri 09-Mar-12 14:08:08)

Nick, not quite with you on this one as I'm on FTTC (VDSL2) and I believe you are using the Fritz! on ADSL? I've tried the use of additional filters without success.

I'm 3.4km from the exchange - 600m or so from the cabinet. I don't think distance is an issue. The analogue phone is clear (except on some mobile calls, but I believe the difficulty is at the mobile end, especially as I have a facility to run my mobile callls through the router which completely avoids the local echos, quietness and drops in the mobile signal).

I'm convinced there is no problem with the CLI signal. especially as my workaround is to use the Fritz!'s ability to forward all analogue calls to my VOIP service (as I have a "free calls" allowance from my phone provider), which then displays CLI perfectly on all calls and allows full use of the call management functions to screen calls. It therefore seems to me that it's a problem with the Fritz! decoding, as when the analogue call is sent out to the VOIP server, it (or a separate DECT phone connected to the analogue port) can decode the signal well, the Fritz! cannot due I suspect to cross-talk interference within the Fritz! from the concentration of DSL tones in the adjacent frequencies on ADSL (or in my case VDSL where I have a high concentration of tones in the lower frequency range). I'm also running the latest beta, but I'm disinclined to disable my workaround to check whether it's sorted the original issue!!

Hi all - been following this thread for a few days, thought I'd create an account and share my experiences. I also had problems with static and caller ID not working. The solution for me involved the following:

Move the Fritzbox to the master BT phone socket.
Earth the unit (from the metal casing of the LAN ports to an earthed pipe).
Make a custom cable to replace the Y-Cable that came in the box. My unit was quite old so it shipped with the long Y-cable that terminates in two rj45s.

I got the following pin out from Fritz support and made a short cable by cutting the end of a standard cat5e cable and reterminating some of the pins in a BT plug and some in an RJ11 (you obviously need the right crimp tool to do this!). I tried to keep the cables as twisted as possible and used electrical tape as a makeshift cover for the pair going to the RJ11.

I've uploaded the pin out if anyone else wants to try this:
Fritz ADSL pinout

This has got rid of the hum and I now have reliable caller id. Haven't noticed any phantom calls since doing this, but I've only had this in place for a few days...

<rant>
Have to say, the Fritz box on the whole sucks. If you turn on telnet and have a snoop about the device, they have implemented things in a weird way. The DHCP server is utterly broken to the extent that if you want to do RFC compliant DHCP you have to use something else! I've found firmware updates tend to cause router reboot loops. I used to have a script that changed my dial plan in the evenings to make use of BT free evening and weekend calls - they [censored] this when they introduced a javascript based md5 hash challenge string on the log in, so now the script is massively more complicated to comply with this. If you want a domain name other than fritz.box you have to jump through hoops. If you want true gigabit performance you have to go and disable the power saving features. Basically, if you are a network engineer this unit will frustrate the hell out of you - if you don't know what you are doing, its probably quite good.
</rant>
Anyhow - hope this is of help to someone.

Cheers
Spanner

Latest Beta firmware: 05.22-22182 BETA actually appears to resolve this issue for me. I always got the occasional number showing on incoming calls so possibly mine was marginal but was less then 10% of calls showing a number correctly, 90%+ shown as 'unknown', since loading the beta it has identified every call (only a couple of days so far but looks VERY hopeful).
Check here: ftp://service.avm.de/Beta/FRITZ!Box%207390%20int/ for latst beta.

Apologies for not responding sooner. You're right - I forgot that some people on this thread are on FTTC. I did try using another device for the ADSL modem but experienced the same problem so it seems it doesn't matter what is being used for this, the Fritz!Box voice side of things will still pick up the ADSL signal as static. I went back to using the Fritz for DSL duties and managed to reduce the amount of noise on the line while maintaining Caller ID by chaining two different filters together, the second one has less 'filtering power' which I guess allows greater signal through for CLIP to work. I then tried this setup for a few days but discovered a far worse problem than a lack of Caller ID. Almost every call made or received over PSTN had a horrible echo which began at the start and gradually faded but made the initial part of the conversation very difficult. After some research it didn't seem there was much of a fix for this.

At that point I decided to give up with using the PSTN line on the Fritz!Box and have gone to using VOIP for all calls. Like you, I have my PSTN line forwarding to my VOIP number. Caller ID is not an issue anymore and the call quality is much better.

Also confirming that the latest beta firmware worked for me: ftp://service.avm.de/Beta/FRITZ!Box%207390%20int/

I have the double ADSL filter in place, multiple hard-LAN ports in use on the router, use the default (short) supplied Y-cable, and no additional earthing solution. ...so just the firmware finally gave me CLID.

Let's hope it fixes the phantom call problem too....

05.22 official release here ftp://ftp.avm.de/fritz.box/fritzbox.fon_wlan_7390/fi...