Goodbye dropped calls; hello, crystal-clear discussions

Before you start troubleshooting:

• It’s important to make sure your telephone is not off the hook. If you have multiple phones, verify that they’re all connected properly (the cords firmly plugged in) and they are hung up.
• If you’re using a cordless phone, make sure the battery is charged and both the power and phone cords are plugged into the base.

If there’s no dial tone on any phone, follow these instructions:

1. Unplug all equipment from every phone jack (including fax machines, modems, splitters, etc.).
2. Plug in your most basic phone. If a corded phone is available, this is preferred.
3. If the dial tone doesn’t return, test with this phone at several other jacks.
4. If after testing at several jacks with the same phone there is still no dial tone, repeat this test with a different test phone. This is just in case there’s an issue with the phone you originally tested with.
5. If at any point the dial tone returns, begin plugging your equipment back in, one piece at a time. Continue to check for dial tone after each addition.
6. If after any addition you lose your dial tone again, remove the equipment from the jack. There may be an issue with the jack, the phone, or the phone cord.
7. If the dial tone does not return, please contact Wightman Technical Support at 1-888-477-2177 for additional assistance.

If your phone line is making noises that are making it difficult to use your phone, try these troubleshooting steps to solve the issue or at least diagnose it.

First answer these questions:

1. When did you first notice the noise?
2. Are any other services like Internet or television having trouble?
3. Is it only happening on one phone, some phones, or all phones on your line?
4. Is there a difference in the noise between corded and cordless phones?

Once these questions have been answered, you can try the following:

• If the trouble is on cordless phones:
  • Try changing the wireless channel if your phones have that option.
  • See if the noise changes depending on where you use it, and ensure the handset is fully charged.
  • If you only have cordless phones, try to find a corded phone. Plug it in and check if the noise is reduced or eliminated.
• Try unplugging all the phones and equipment using the phone line (like fax machines, modems, and voice mail machines) from the phone line.
  • Plug in each phone or device one at a time, and try to determine if a specific phone or device is introducing the noise.
  • If one device is causing the problem, try plugging it into a different phone jack, and see if there’s still noise when using that.
  • Do you use any DSL filters or splitters on your phone line? Try plugging the phone directly into the phone jack and checking for noise.
• Verify the condition of your phone cords. Frayed or exposed wiring can cause problems, as can excessively long cords. Try to make the path between the phone and the jack as short as possible.

If you have followed these steps and not been able to fix the issue, or require assistance, please call 1.888.477.2177.

Please be patient – We will ask similar questions as above to verify what has been done, and may ask you to repeat steps so that we can run tests on the line with and without equipment attached.

Temporary Line Burial also known as a BSW.
When is line burial season?

• Line burial season starts May 1st and ends Nov 30th depending on ground conditions.

How is the line buried?

• The burial is completed outside of the house.
• A preview is completed prior to the installation.
• The BSW is installed from the closest pedestal to the protector at the house.
• The line will be buried at depth ranges from 12” to 16”.
• Our BSW Installation Crew will ensure your landscaping is kept to its original condition.

How long will it take for my line to be buried?

• All work orders are prioritized based on submission date starting May 1st.
• Depending on the requirements of the work, completion time may exceed 12 weeks.
• If 12 weeks have passed and the line has not been buried yet, rest assure that your order is still in line to be completed.

What is required for the burial?

• We will not need access to your home as the burial is completed outside of the house.
• The BSW Installation Crew may require access to your neighbor’s property, if so, they will request access once on site.
• Municipal permits are not required for BSW installs on private property, but occasionally Municipal Permits are required if work is being done on or crossing Public Property.
• Wightman Contracting does not locate and mark other utilities other than our own.
• Wightman Contracting will obtain all necessary locates to complete the work safely.
• The burial contractors must therefore submit a request to Ontario1Call, which assigns a locating team, to mark the indicators for other utilities. This procedure can take 2 to 4 weeks and is valid for 30 days
• Spray paint & Flag Colours: gas (yellow), communication lines (orange), hydro (red) and water (blue).

What should I do if there is a problem with my temporary line?

• If the temporary cable line is posing a safety issue, has not been removed, or if the cable line has snapped or become broken, please contact our Technical Support team at 1-888-477-2177.

Your phone may not be ringing when people call your phone number, even if the calling party can hear ringing on their side.  When this is happening, try the following steps:

1. Make sure the ringer is on and turned up.  Check your phone set for volume buttons, and make sure it’s turned up.
2. Pick up a phone and see if you have dial tone. If there is dial tone, proceed to the next step; otherwise, make sure the phone is plugged in to the jack on the back of the modem.  If there is no dial tone, please call Wightman Support 1-888-477-2177.
3. Unplug the phone from the modem.
4. After 60 seconds, plug a phone back in, preferably a basic corded phone.  Make sure the phone cord is plugged in tightly; it should click when properly plugged in.
5. With the phone plugged in, try calling your land line using a cell phone or having a friend call your land line; see if the phone rings.
6. If the phone doesn’t ring, try another phone in the jack, if available.
7. Try rebooting the modem; to do this, press the On/Off button on the left hand side of the modem.
8. If no phones ring despite the previous steps, please contact Wightman Troubleshooting as 1-888-477-2177.

What Does it Do?

Call Transfer allows you to call another party during an existing call, and transfer the call to the second party when the call is initiated by another party.

How Do I Use It?

To Setup Call Transfer:
While on an existing call, press the FLASH or LINK button on your phone.
Dial the second telephone number.
You can hang up either before or after the second number answers.
The call will be transferred to their number.

What Does it Do?

Three-Way Calling allows you to call another party when you have initiated the call and add the party, thus creating a three-way conversation.

How Do I Use It?

To Make a Three-Way Call:

• While on an existing call, press FLASH or LINK on your telephone.
• Dial the third party’s number.
• If the third party answers, you can talk privately with this person before you make the call three-way.
• Press FLASH or LINK on your telephone.
• The Three-Way Call is now connected.
• If the third party does not answer or their line is busy, press FLASH or LINK twice to rejoin the original call. If you hang up you will receive a ring back reminding you that the original call is still on hold, and can rejoin the call by picking up the phone.

What Does it Do?

Speed Calling allows one- or two-digit codes to be used as shortcuts for selected telephone numbers. You can quickly enter the code which is associated to the telephone number in your speed dial list.

How Do I Use It?

To Set Up Speed Calling:

• Pick up your phone, dial *74 if setting up a one-digit code.
• Dial *75 if setting up a two-digit code.
• A broken dial tone is played.
• Enter any number between 2-9 for one-digit codes and 20-49 for two-digit codes.
• Dial the full phone number you wish to associate that code with (for long distance entries, remember to include the 1 and area code).
• A confirmation tone is played, three beeps, followed by a fast busy tone.
• To use Speed Calling, press the one- or two-digit number, then the # key.

What Does it Do?

Intercom feature allows a subscriber with multiple telephone extensions on their phone line to either call other extensions or transfer an incoming call between extensions. For example, this service might be used when a subscriber wishes to contact an extension in another building some distance away from the base phone.

How Do I Use It?

To call another extension:

• Pick up an extension and dial your own phone number.
• When you hear the busy tone, hang up.
• All the extensions will start ringing. Do not answer; wait for the other extension to pick up.
• When one extension picks up, the others will stop ringing. Pick up your extension and you will be connected to the other party.
• If no one answers on another extension, the extensions will stop ringing after a timeout period. Pick up your extension and you will hear the normal dial tone.

To transfer an incoming call to another extension:

• While connected to the caller, press FLASH or LINK and hang up.
• All the extensions will start ringing. Do not answer; wait for the other extension to pick up.
• When the other extension picks up, the extensions stop ringing. The other party is connected to the transferred call.
• If no one answers on another extension, the extensions will stop ringing after a timeout period. The caller will be cut off. If you then pick up your extension, you will hear the normal dial tone.

What Does it Do?

Ident-a-Call allows you to have up to three additional phone numbers while retaining only one physical line. Calls to the additional numbers use the existing phone line, but have a distinctive ring tone for each number. Outgoing calls are made only from the primary number. The Ident-a-Call feature can be used:

• In a household where parents may give additional numbers with distinctive ring tones to their teenage children so that incoming calls for the children can be ignored by the adults.
• A hotline service, where high-priority callers are given the additional number, enabling you to filter important calls.
• For home-workers, where a single phone line may be used for both business and personal calls. Business calls outside working hours could be forwarded to voice mail.
• For fax machines.

How Do I Use It?

To activate this feature and receive additional phone numbers, please call Customer Care at 1-888-477-2177.

What Does it Do?

Visual Call Waiting displays the calling name and telephone number of another incoming call as part of the notification that a second call is on the line.

How Do I Use It?

There are no access codes for enabling, disabling or checking the Visual Call Waiting service.

What Does it Do?

Call Waiting notifies you that a second call is on the line and allows you to switch between the calls. The service is always enabled but you can disable it on a per-call basis.

Dial-Up internet users: Call Waiting may cause your internet connection to be dropped if you use Dial-Up internet. To avoid this, insert *70 before your Dial-Up number on the log-in prompt (the screen where you enter your password) to deactivate call waiting for an individual connection. The service cannot be deactivated while there is a call waiting. If you choose to disable this feature permanently, call us at 1-888-477-2177.

How Do I Use It?

To Accept a Call Waiting call:

• When you hear a Call Waiting tone during a call, press FLASH or LINK on your telephone.
• You are now connected to the second caller.
• By choosing FLASH or LINK again, you can go between both callers.
• If you hang up while a call is still on hold, your telephone will instantly ring, allowing you to reconnect the on-hold call.

To Cancel Call Waiting:

• To deactivate call waiting for an individual call, dial *70 before making the call.

What Does it Do?

Call Forwarding allows you to forward all of your incoming calls to an alternate number, without ringing the subscriber phone first.

How Do I Use It?

To Activate:
Pick up your phone and dial *72
Dial the number you are forwarding to. If you are forwarding to your cell phone, answer the call, then hang up so Call Forwarding will be activated. A call answered by voice mail will also activate this feature.

If the forwarded call is unanswered, you must hang up and follow the next steps to activate Call Forwarding.
Dial *72 again and dial the number you are forwarding to.
Call Forwarding is now activated

To Deactivate:
Pick up your phone and dial *73

What Does it Do?

Call Display Blocking allows you to block the delivery of your own telephone number on outgoing calls.

How Do I Use It?

To block a number you must dial *67 before you make a call. This code will block the calling number for a single call only.

What Does it Do?

To use this feature, you require a Call Display compatible telephone with a display screen that can show the incoming calls.

How Do I Use It?

When a call comes in, the screen on your Call Display compatible phone will display the name and number information of the caller.  Because this service is always on, you never need to activate it.

What Does It Do?

Toll Restriction allows you to block outgoing calls to certain types of numbers from your line. These types of calls include:

• International calls
• Long distance calls
• Local calls
• Operator calls
• Calls to any call service access codes
• Certain types of calls are never blocked. These types of calls include:
• Toll-free calls
• Emergency calls
• To order this feature, please contact us at 1-888-477-2177. You will be provided with a PIN number.

How Do I Use It?

To make a restricted call:

• Dial the number you want to call and wait for three beeps.
• Enter your PIN.
• The call will be completed as normal.
• To change your PIN, call one of our Customer Care Representatives.

What Does It Do?

Reminder Call allows you to schedule calls at a set time of day. An announcement is played when you answer. If the call is not answered, Reminder Call will try again.

How Do I Use It?

To Activate an Individual Reminder Call:

• Pick up your phone and dial *310.
• An announcement will prompt you to dial the desired time, in 24 hour clock format, followed by #.
• An announcement will confirm that the reminder has been set, with the option to cancel at this point if desired.
• To Disable all Individual Reminder Calls:
• Pick up your phone and dial *311.
• To Disable one Individual Reminder Call:
• Pick up your phone and dial *312.
• To Check Individual Reminder Calls:
• Pick up your phone and dial *313.

To Activate a Regular Reminder Call:

• Pick up your phone and dial *314.
• An announcement will prompt you to dial the desired time, in 24 hour clock format, followed by *.
• An announcement will prompt you to dial the repeat option code *314, followed by #.
• The options are every Monday (1), Tuesday (2), Wednesday (3), Thursday (4), Friday (5), Saturday (6), Sunday (7), every weekday (8), every day (9).
• An announcement will confirm that the reminder has been set, with the option to cancel at this point, if desired.

To Disable all Regular Reminder Calls:

• Pick up your phone and dial *315.

To Disable one Regular Reminder Call:

• Pick up your phone and dial *316.

To Check Regular Reminder Calls:

• Pick up your phone and dial *317.

Regular reminders conflict if they are set for the same time and their repeat options have a day in common. It is not possible to configure conflicting regular reminders.

What Does It Do?

Priority Call allows you to select a list of numbers from which incoming telephone calls will ring with a distinctive tone. This service also gives distinctive tones on Call Waiting for numbers selected for Priority Call.

How Do I Use It?

To setup your list of Priority Callers:

• Pick up your phone and dial *61.
• Follow prompts.

What Does It Do?

PIN change remotely allows you to change your personal identification number (PIN) used to access Call Forwarding or Toll Restriction. A PIN is provided to new subscribers by Wightman. It can be changed to any four-digit number.

How Do I Use It?

To Activate:

• Pick up your phone and dial *319.
• When prompted, enter your current PIN.
• If the current PIN is correct, you are prompted to enter a new four-digit PIN.
• An announcement confirms the new four-digit PIN.

What Does It Do?

Do Not Disturb allows you to block your line temporarily to prevent all incoming calls.

How Do I Use It?

To Activate:

• Pick up your phone and dial *78.

To De-Activate:

• Pick up your phone and dial *79.

What Does It Do?

Call Trace allows you to request a trace of the last incoming call you receive. The purpose of this feature is to report harassing or threatening calls and should be used in serious situations only. After using Call Trace, contact your local police service to report the trace and the police may then solicit the information from us. Due to current privacy laws, we cannot release the caller’s number or information to the customer.

How Do I Use It?

To perform a trace:

• Hang up from the current call.
• Dial *57.
• Press 1 to activate the trace.
• Contact your local police service to report the trace. The information is released to Wightman and may then be passed on to the appropriate authorities if they request it.

Note: Call Trace may not work on all numbers and you will not be charged for unsuccessful attempts. If the trace was successful, there will be a $5 charge per trace whether or not the police investigate further.

What Does It Do?

Selective Call Rejection allows you to select a list of numbers from which incoming calls are automatically rejected. A rejection announcement is played to the calling party.

How Do I Use It?

To setup your list of incoming callers to reject:

• Pick up your phone and dial *60.
• Follow the prompts.

To remove numbers:

• Pick up your phone and dial *60.
• Follow the prompts.

What Does It Do?

Anonymous Call Rejection automatically rejects all calls from numbers with withheld display information (i.e. telemarketers using unknown name and/or number display).

How Do I Use It?

To Activate:

• Pick up your phone and dial *77.

To De-Activate:

• Pick up your phone and dial *87.

What Does It Do?

Call Hold allows you to put a call on hold and then dial another number. You can then switch back to the first call and subsequently switch between the two callers.

How Do I Use It?

To Use Call Hold:

• While on a call, press FLASH or LINK.
• Pick up your phone and dial *52.
• Dial the second number.
• You can then press FLASH or LINK again to switch back to the first call (putting the second call on hold) press FLASH or LINK again to switch between the two numbers

If you attempt to dial a second number but the number you dial is not valid, you hear an error announcement, and you are then connected back to the original call.

If the caller you are talking to hangs up and you have another caller on hold, there is a period of silence (for disconnect timing) and you are then connected back to the on-hold call. You can press FLASH or LINK during the silence to be connected to the on-hold call immediately without waiting for disconnect timing.

If you hang up while you have a call on hold, your phone rings again, and you are connected to the held call when you pick up.

What Does It Do?

Selective Call Forwarding allows you to select a list of incoming telephone numbers whose calls will automatically be forwarded to an alternative telephone number.

How Do I Use It?

To Activate:

• Pick up your phone and dial *63.
• Follow prompts.

What Does It Do?

Delayed Call Forwarding allows you to forward incoming calls to an alternative number when your line is not answered. This feature can be set-up as either fixed or variable. If fixed, all calls will be forwarded to a pre-determined number pre-arranged with Wightman. If variable, you can specify the forwarding number each time the service is enabled.

How Do I Use It?

To Activate Fixed Delayed Call Forwarding:

• Pick up your phone and dial *92.

To Activate Variable Delayed Call Forwarding:

• Pick up your phone and dial *92.
• Dial the 10 digit number you would like your calls forwarded to.
• Wait for the courtesy call to be answered.

To De-Activate:

• Pick up your phone and dial *93.

What Does It Do?

Busy Call Forwarding allows you to forward incoming calls to an alternative number when your line is busy. This feature can be set-up as either fixed or variable. If fixed, all calls will be forwarded to a pre-determined telephone number, pre-arranged with Wightman. If variable, you can specify the forwarding number each time the service is enabled.

How Do I Use It?

To Activate – Fixed Busy Call Forwarding:

• Pick up your phone and dial *90.

To Activate – Variable Busy Call Forwarding:

• Pick up your phone and dial *90.
• Dial the 10 digit number you would like your calls forwarded to.
• Wait for the courtesy call to be answered.

To De-Activate:

• Pick up your phone and dial *91.

What Does It Do?

Automatic Recall will tell you the number of the most recent incoming call and can optionally dial that number for you.

How Do I Use It?

To Activate:

• To hear the last callers number, pick up your phone and dial *69
• To return the call, press 1
• To cancel all outstanding Automatic Recall attempts, dial *89

What Does It Do?

Account Codes allow you to assign outgoing calls with a numerical account code. Your phone bill will list long distance calls by account code. This is a very helpful feature for families wanting to track calls by family member or businesses wanting to differentiate calls between customers.

To establish your validated Account Codes, call us at 1-888-477-2177.

How Do I Use It?

To make an outgoing call using Account Codes:
After dialling a number that requires an account code, you will hear either a continuous or a stutter dial tone, and must enter the account code before the call can be setup. If a code is not entered, or if the code is incorrect, an error announcement is played and the call is not connected. If more than a specified number of incorrect attempts are made when entering an account code, an error message is played and the account is locked. Subscribers cannot make any calls requiring an account code until the account is unlocked. The account can be unlocked by Wightman technicians.

IMPORTANT 9-1-1 INFORMATION

Wightman would like to ensure that you are aware of important differences in the way 911 service operates with a VoIP phone when compared with traditional telephone service.

Differences between traditional 911 services and VoIP phone 911

With traditional phone services, your 911 call is sent directly to the nearest emergency response centre. With VoIP phone service, your 911 call is forwarded to a third-party service provider that will automatically or manually route your call to the emergency response centre.

Remember to verify your location

Because you can move your VoIP phone between locations and because, for technical reasons, the emergency operator may not have your name, location or contact information available, you must immediately inform the emergency operator of your location and contact particulars any time you call 911. Do not risk sending police or ambulance services to the wrong location.

Be prepared during any service interruption

VoIP phone service depends not only on your continued subscription (and payment) for the service, but also on Internet connectivity and power to function. In the event of power, network, or Internet outages (including congestion), or if your service is disconnected or suspended due to non-payment, you may experience a failure, disruption or delay in your 911 service.

Do not disconnect

Until you are told to do so by an emergency dispatcher, do not disconnect your 911 call. If you are inadvertently disconnected, call back immediately.

Keep your service address up-to-date

Wightman will attempt to provide the emergency operator with your service address, so please ensure that your information on file with us is always accurate and updated. If you do not do this (for example, if you are unable to speak during a 911 call), the emergency operator may assume that you are calling from the last registered address.

Inform other users

You must notify members of your household and other potential users of your VoIP phone service of the nature and limitations of 911 emergency calls. To make this easier, attach the included stickers in a visible location on your telephone sets.

Limitations of Liability

Wightman’s terms of service limit and disclaim liability related to VoIP 9-1-1 service, so please read these carefully.  For a complete description of our VoIP 9-1-1 service, please see Wightman’s Terms of Service (for services forborne from regulation).

Phone Fraud also known as “Telecommunications Fraud” or “Toll Fraud” occurs whenever an unauthorized user gains access to and/or places fraudulent charges to your telephone system. It can take many forms from unwanted collect calls to voicemail hacking. Whatever method a fraudster may use, your business’s best defence is knowledge.

Monitor Remote Access and Administration

Remote Access allows an inbound caller to access your business’s phone system and make outbound calls through it by using an access code. This is one of the most common modes of illegal entry into a phone system. To limit the risk to your business, use passwords and authorization codes to access these features. If your business does not use these features, contact your system administrator or provider to ensure that these features are turned off.

Use Strong Passwords and Authorization Codes

Your phone system’s security is only as strong as the passwords used to access it. Follow these tips to make sure your passwords and authorization codes are not easily guessed:

• NEVER USE DEFAULT PASSWORDS
• Use the pound sign (#) and asterisk (*) in your password if your system allows it.
• Use passwords that are at least 7 characters long. For maximum protection, you should use the maximum number of characters that your system allows.
• Do not use predictable patterns such as repeating characters (55555) or ascending or descending characters (54321).
• Do not use your extension number (or it’s reverse), your office number, or any other information that identifies a system owner or user (such as an employee number or social insurance number).
• Do not write down your password or store it on your hard drive or network. If a record is kept, it should stored in a secure location.

Frequently Change Passwords and Authorization Codes

It is a good idea to change your passwords and authorization codes at least four times a year. It’s also recommended that you change access/authorization codes whenever an employee (such as a network technician) leaves the company.

Control Long Distance Calling

• Prohibit or restrict calls to countries you do not do business with
• Prohibit or restrict calls to the Caribbean, a favourite call destination for fraudsters
• Restrict the ability to make international calls to only those employees who need to
• Restrict the time of day that calls can be made, such as at night or on weekends
• Restrict toll-free access from areas known a phone fraud centres.

Restrict Automated Attendant Access

Automated attendants are another common entry point for unauthorized third parties. When the automated attendant “picks up,” fraudsters can dial 91XX or 9011. On many phone systems (if the
dial-out feature is active), this extension connects the caller to an outside long distance line. The best defence is to block 9XXX or 8XXX access codes and/or require an additional authorization code.

Monitor Your System

Closely monitoring your phone system will help you to catch suspicious activity early. Watch for unusual patterns or usage spikes in your PBX, voicemail, automated attendant, and toll-free systems. These may be indicators that someone is attempting to gain access to your phone system.

Please take the precautions listed above. Ultimately, any unauthorized calls made to or from your phone system equipment — whether by someone in your company or by a third party — are your responsibility. It is essential that you take steps to protect your business from phone fraud.