Comments on: Finally a 100% Portable PBX: Introducing GoIP, a SIP-GSM Gateway for Asterisk

By: moses

moses — Sun, 27 Apr 2014 22:55:20 +0000

How does one spoof the IMEI? My provider is very picky, snd their sim will not work in a phone which they do not sell themselves.
Thanks a lot for all your info.

[WM: Configuration.Preferences.IMEI. Then Save Changes and reboot.]

By: pierreht

pierreht — Fri, 03 Jan 2014 01:35:18 +0000

The Goip have an option to schedule a restart each day.
yes you can use it as provider.

By: SR

SR — Fri, 27 Dec 2013 16:34:31 +0000

2 questions: 1) can i use goip as SIP provider?(so i can use to connect it to my obi) 2) is there a scheduled restart available (i hear that in my home country the SIM phone needs a power recycle once every 1 or 2 days if it is static at a certain location). [WM: 1. No 2. Just put a standard timer from a hardware store or Amazon on the GoIP A/C adapter and set an OFF/ON event for once a day while everyone is sleeping.]

By: tatt

tatt — Thu, 26 Dec 2013 07:26:28 +0000

Uncle Ward,

how do i setup the GoIP to send SMS to emails? forwarding to another number is okay, but to email it to a general account would be more tidy. i am using GoIP4 together with Grandstream UCM6014.

appreciate some guidance. many thanks!

[WM: Run the Nerd Vittles setup script again and plug in your email address.]

By: Bob

Bob — Mon, 23 Dec 2013 17:10:17 +0000

If you have WiMax in your area, you can do something similar with a FreedomPop Burst. The free service gets you 1gb of data each month. If you don’t use it at all, FreedomPop charges you $0.99/month. I pay the $0.99/month for no use, just to have it as a backup internet connection for my PBX. With the FreedomPop, you continue to use your existing VOIP providers. All it needs is power, and you could create an extremely mobile device to provide both voice and data.

By: David Okwii

David Okwii — Sun, 10 Nov 2013 17:04:58 +0000

If i’ve a gms-voip gateway like this one connected to asterisk, when a call comes in from cellular user A, and asterisk routes it using the gsm gateway to mobile user B, do i running asterisk/gsm gateway incur any airtime costs? thanks

[WM: That would obviously depend upon your plan. If you don’t have unlimited calling, you’d pay for the minutes just as if someone had called the same SIM in a cellphone.]

By: Martin

Martin — Sat, 09 Nov 2013 18:04:59 +0000

Actually, I have tried to use 3G USB stick (Huawei) with Raspberry Pi and it works just fine, provided your power source is solid (I have 5V/2A). Since there sticks are ridiculously cheap on Ebay ($10-15) it is a great low-cost alternative to a dedicated GSM gateway such as this one (GOIP).

By: Riz

Riz — Sat, 26 Oct 2013 20:06:05 +0000

Excellent device and an even more excellent article to make it gel with Asterisk.

Got a question:

I’ve set it up such that whenever anyone calls the GSM number of the box, it points to a ring group in FreePBX, and 3 of my extensions start ringing.

However, I use DISA with CallerID such that a couple of my family cellphones in InBound Routes – Any DID/714DadPhone, which point to a DISA as a custom destination.

Not sure how I would make that work with GoIP – given there is only one PSTN to VoIP defined under GoIP. Any tips?.

[WM: Great question. Please post it on the PIAF Forum. It’s a little too complex to document in a comment. Once we get it nailed down, we’ll edit your comment and add a link to the thread. Thanks.]

By: Uncle Ward

Uncle Ward — Wed, 02 Oct 2013 12:14:30 +0000

iMessage/SMS bug now confirmed by Wall Street Journal and, last but not least, Apple. Not sure Apple appreciates the scope of the problem yet. This is a backend database glitch (failing to clear a number out of their cache of iPhone numbers when the iPhone no longer is using the number). It's really not a frontend iOS 7 bug unless their proprietary handshake doesn't report that it's coming from an iOS7 device. Now that would be strange.

By: M

Tue, 01 Oct 2013 20:11:43 +0000

Reading just the headline I thought this was a microcell to let a gsm phone make calls via asterisk. Still a very cool and useful sounding device.

By: Uncle Ward

Uncle Ward — Tue, 01 Oct 2013 13:21:47 +0000

You’re right. Another way to clear the number from Apple’s cache would be to do this. Insert your SIM that’s previously been used in an iPhone into a friend’s Android device. Then send an SMS message to any iPhone and ask the person to reply to the message. Apple’s servers seem to immediately detect that the iMessage didn’t work with Android, and that toggles the iMessage flag off in their servers. Thereafter, normal SMS messaging is used for your number from the iDevices assuming SMS messaging has been enabled in the Messaging options of the iPhone. You can verify this by noting that the send button on iDevices will now be Green (aka SMS) rather than Blue (aka iMessage) before a text message is sent to your SMS number. Thanks.

By: iOS Sux

iOS Sux — Tue, 01 Oct 2013 13:01:55 +0000

This gets murky if you have first used the SIM with an iOS device such as an iPhone. Once Apple thinks the SIM is associated with one of its devices, all messages are sent to this phone number with iMessage instead of SMS. This means incoming messages from iOS devices will never make it to the GoIP. You’d either have to tell your friends to disable iMessage on their phones before sending messages or replies, or hope that some day Apple clears its cache of phone numbers associated with iOS devices. Typical Apple myopia.

By: Maaz

Maaz — Tue, 01 Oct 2013 06:45:21 +0000

Spoofing IMEI means there can be legal issues associated with this device, right?

[WM: Absolutely. And the device itself is reportedly illegal in some countries. Consult your attorney for details.]

By: Ben Green

Ben Green — Mon, 30 Sep 2013 21:15:33 +0000

Have you played around with the 3G USB Netsticks…especially the Huawei? I’ve heard they got them working on the rasberry pi build of asterisk, and they are much cheaper at $25-30. It would be nice if someone could get them working with PIAF as well.

http://www.raspberry-asterisk.org/documentation/gsm-voip-gateway-with-chan_dongle/

[WM: It’s on our list but no guarantees. There are power issues with these devices on the Raspberry Pi platform.]

By: Michael Graves

Michael Graves — Mon, 30 Sep 2013 15:41:59 +0000

I had just such a gateway setup back in 2008.

http://www.mgraves.org/2008/11/how-to-add-a-cellular-trunk-to-your-voip-system-part-1/

At the time Portech was the best deal on functional, documented 1-4 port devices. One must be wary of the devices that are GSM FXS gatways. There were a lot of those around, and they were cheaper, so superficially more attractive.