Gigaset S685IP - Bad Ethernet Port

I have just purchased a Gigaset S685IP with 6 handsets.

The phones all work fine on the POTS but the base unit will not link to my Ethernet hub (Netgear FE108 - old but reliable). I have tried the cable supplied and a new cable that I made myself. Both cables test out ok.

I get no link light at the hub. This suggests to me that the base unit is faulty.

Have I missed anything?

Thanks
DD

I've sent it back - I'll see what the supplier says.

DD



<AutoEdit by System>Please do not post ALL CAPS. Thanks </AutoEdit>

Well I've got it back. Still no ethernet and now I can only get five of the six handsets to register. Interestingly numbered INT 2 to INT 6. No INT 1!

I can still use the POTS but what's the point of spending real beer tokens on an IP phone that won't talk IP?

DD

Dickdarstardly :

Well I've got it back. Still no ethernet and now I can only get five of the six handsets to register. Interestingly numbered INT 2 to INT 6. No INT 1! I can still use the POTS but what's the point of spending real beer tokens on an IP phone that won't talk IP? DD

The probability that you have now had two phone sets with faulty ethernet ports is very low. I hope Siemens quality control is better than that. Have you tried the cable that connects your computer to your router on the phone? Also, check the ethernet socket on the phone base unit visually to see that the wires are all resting in their spaces and not crossed or damaged.

I have tested the cable that was supplied with the unit and a spare cable I had lying around and then I made up a new cable. I tested all three with a cable testing unit, by plugging one end into the uplink port on the hub and the other end into a normal port on the hub and by using them to connect a desktop 'puter to the hub. All three cables and all the ports on the hub are working fine.

I've had a peer into the RJ45 socket on the base unit and all the contacts look ok.

Is this the second unit that you have tried or the one that you started with? Just to be sure that it is faulty you could try connecting to a friends router. Its just possible (but unlikely) that your routers voltages are not as they should be (although they work with your computer).

dibsmft :

Is this the second unit that you have tried or the one that you started with?

I sent the unit back to DSTele and they tell me that they replaced it. I have not dealt with the company before but I have no reason to disbelieve them.

dibsmft :

Just to be sure that it is faulty you could try connecting to a friends router. Its just possible (but unlikely) that your routers voltages are not as they should be (although they work with your computer).

Hmmm. Good idea. I'll give that a go.

Well!

I didn't go elsewhere - We're a bit out in the sticks here. So I tried another hub on the network - same result.

So I made up a crossover cable, pulled the network link out of the server and plugged the unit straight into the server. It now links.

The link is at 10mbps; presumably that's why it doesn't work with the 100mbps fast ethernet hubs.

Next challenge is to get it to talk to the server. The server is sending packets to the base unit but nothing is coming back.

I'll have to put the network back online now though before I get beaten up by the staff!

I'll try and sort this out tonight - I might have an old dual speed hub in the junk box.

Thanks,

DD

That sounds like progress at least. So, it does look line the problem is with the ethernet connection. Did you use the uplink connection on the hub (they are often switchable so you might not need a cross over). Check that you are connecting to the correct ether outlet.

dibsmft :

That sounds like progress at least. So, it does look line the problem is with the ethernet connection. Did you use the uplink connection on the hub (they are often switchable so you might not need a cross over). Check that you are connecting to the correct ether outlet.

If the S685IP base unit is limited to 10base-T then plugging it into a hub won't work at all. All the hubs in use here are 100base-T. As I said, I think I might have an old dual speed hub somewhere. I'll look it out.

The NIC in the server will run 10base-T up to 1000base-T but with the hub out of use I needed the crossover cable to make the direct connection between the base unit and the server. Once I had the ethernet problem diagnosed, I put everything back as it was.

I'm sure there will be other issues - I presume I'll have to dick around with the firewall for example. But I'm happy that the hardware is working now.

I suppose most people will want to plug the base unit straight into an internet router - and that should work fine. Since my DSL line is in the corner of the building and I wanted to put the base unit in the middle of the building I'd planned to just pass the traffic over the office network.

It would be useful if Siemens included in their documentation that a 10base-T connection is required. It would have saved me (and DSTele) a lot of time and the freight costs.

[quote="Dickdarstardly"]

dibsmft :

It would be useful if Siemens included in their documentation that a 10base-T connection is required. It would have saved me (and DSTele) a lot of time and the freight costs.

I am glad to hear that you have it mostly sorted now. I think most manufacturers are the same. Living where I do (Newfoundland) it is usually cheaper to replace than ship things for warranty repair.