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Thread: Pennytel gone?

  1. #1
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    Default Pennytel gone?

    Cannot make or receive calls.
    No website.
    I have been using them reliably probably for 8 years, now this.
    Can't even find a reference on Whirlpool.

    Anybody know anything about this?
    Update: A deletion of features that work well and ain't broke but are deemed outdated in order to add things that are up to date and broken.
    Compatibility: A word soon to be deleted from our dictionaries as it is outdated.
    Humans: Entities that are not only outdated but broken... AI-self-learning-update-error...terminate...terminate...



Look Here ->
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    I assume this is the website you are referring to

    Alive and well at 2222 hours AET.

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    Tristen, thanks for the confirm. Must be on my side.

    Website works strangely on my smartphone (and I still have enough Pennytel credit) but not on any of my computers. Page load just times-out after a couple of minutes.
    All (including smartphone) use the same WiFi connection !

    Modem has been reset, no firewall active and shows Voice status down.

    I have no issues with any other web pages.

    SIP settings all look correct, voice modem is TP-Link TD-VG3631 (their customer service is totally useless and
    all they do is constantly spam me with emails).


    Any ideas?
    Last edited by Uncle Fester; 03-10-15 at 11:36 AM.
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    I use VOIP but not with Pennytel.

    I occasionally have a VOIP problem which is usually rectified by powering down, and then powering up again my router and ATA in that order. Obviously, allowing time for the router to re-connect successfully (ADSL light steady) before power cycling the ATA.

    A few months ago, I found it necessary to alter one of my ATA settings. I assume that my VOIP providor did an upgrade to their equipment necessitating the change my end.

    Inability to access Pennytel's website perhaps indicates a DNS problem. Are you using the same link I posted? It is still working O.K. for me as I type this reply.

    Antivirus and firewalls can also cause such problems. Try turning ALL off for a few minutes to see if you can connect then.

    I am using Firefox v.41.0.1 on a Windows 10 machine.

    Edit:

    Ah! I see that you say no firewall active. What about a recent Windows upgrade? (I assume that you are using Windows). They take place with regular monotony and perhaps a firewall has been turned back on.
    Last edited by tristen; 03-10-15 at 12:54 PM. Reason: More detail.

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    Try, in a Admin DOS shell, IPCONFIG /flushdns. That should ensure you dns servers are all working as they should. (It clears the DNS Cache on the computer and rebuilds it, so you'll need to do it on each machine.
    I'm out of my mind, but feel free to leave a message...

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    I use Linux and OSX. I only use Windows offline, but I tried a naked WIN7 WM with the same result.


    I looked up pennytel.com.au and got 203.222.113.120 and 203.222.111.10


    I can ping both but not pennytel.com.au
    Loading the IPs in the browsers results in the same 2 minute not found timeout.
    I have flushed the cache, rebooted/power-cycled computers and modem several times


    As said works fine on the smartphone using the same WiFi from the same router as the computers.


    The big problem is resolving sip.pennytel.com (in the router) because I have no phone now.
    Last edited by Uncle Fester; 03-10-15 at 01:59 PM.
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    [QUOTE=nomeat;670946...I looked up pennytel.com.au and got 203.222.113.120 and 203.222.111.10
    I can ping both but not pennytel.com.au[/quote]

    There's something wrong here, as my result for both ping and DNS resolution for pennytel.com.au is different to yours.

    Ping to pennytel.com.au from command prompt, see below.



    And DNS resolution from dnsqueries.com for pennytel.com.au



    The big problem is resolving sip.pennytel.com (in the router) because I have no phone now.
    Presumable you mean sip.pennytel.com.au?


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    Tristen, thanks for looking I appreciate that.

    I originally got for the pennytel.com.au website that ip 125.213.165.31 when I used the network utility on my MAC but in reality it resolves to
    to a website about "Commerge Video Conferencing".
    When I used this site: I got the above mentioned IPs. Also confirmed with .
    So confusing!

    According to it really is sip.pennytel.com (and has worked all the years) which will not ping
    but it's associated IP 202.85.243.115 pings fine.
    I used that IP instead of sip.pennytel.com in the VOIP configuration of my router but still no avail.

    Then I tried your suggestion to use sip.pennytel.com.au and it's IP 202.85.243.105. Exactly the same story.

    The router's VOIP log says: register fail, response code(502)
    Which means: bad gateway. The server is acting as a gateway or proxy, and received an invalid response
    from a downstream server while attempting to fulfill the request.
    Last edited by Uncle Fester; 03-10-15 at 04:34 PM.
    Update: A deletion of features that work well and ain't broke but are deemed outdated in order to add things that are up to date and broken.
    Compatibility: A word soon to be deleted from our dictionaries as it is outdated.
    Humans: Entities that are not only outdated but broken... AI-self-learning-update-error...terminate...terminate...

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    Hmmmm.....it looks like a DNS problem to me.

    sip.pennytel.com resolves to 202.85.243.105 and pings successfully here - 38ms.

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    I am now thinking my ISP must be blocking the pennytel domain. I can load the website with a VPN .
    and perhaps the Android phones have some way of bypassing the restriction.
    I am with Activ8me.
    I wrote them but tech support will be gone for the long weekend.
    If they are doing this on purpose to force me to use their telephone service then my next contact will be the telecommunications ombudsman.
    I am on NBN can't dial 000, nothing.
    I wasted most of the day with this messing around with the voice modem and everything and I am stinking mad.
    Last edited by Uncle Fester; 03-10-15 at 09:32 PM.
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    BTW just nutted out why the pennytel site works on the Androids.
    I use Opera Mini as browser and it uses a service that highly compresses the web data. This is obviously done on Opera's servers so they act as a proxy and Activ8me can not see the pennytel domain. When I use the Android stock browser pennytel.com.au is not found.
    I am now certain my ISP is blocking it, the proof is in the pudding.
    Update: A deletion of features that work well and ain't broke but are deemed outdated in order to add things that are up to date and broken.
    Compatibility: A word soon to be deleted from our dictionaries as it is outdated.
    Humans: Entities that are not only outdated but broken... AI-self-learning-update-error...terminate...terminate...

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    Quote Originally Posted by nomeat View Post
    BTW just nutted out why the pennytel site works on the Androids.
    I use Opera Mini as browser and it uses a service that highly compresses the web data. This is obviously done on Opera's servers so they act as a proxy and Activ8me can not see the pennytel domain. When I use the Android stock browser pennytel.com.au is not found.
    I am now certain my ISP is blocking it, the proof is in the pudding.

    After my second mail and threat to go to TIO they apologised for the delay and since this morning (the deadline I gave them) the sip is up and website is directly accessible for me again.
    Update: A deletion of features that work well and ain't broke but are deemed outdated in order to add things that are up to date and broken.
    Compatibility: A word soon to be deleted from our dictionaries as it is outdated.
    Humans: Entities that are not only outdated but broken... AI-self-learning-update-error...terminate...terminate...

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    Quote Originally Posted by nomeat View Post
    After my second mail and threat to go to TIO they apologised for the delay and since this morning (the deadline I gave them) the sip is up and website is directly accessible for me again.
    Thanks for the follow up. Strange situation....did they give any explanation of why ? Good that its fixed of course, but you wonder how or why that specific site was blocked ?

    Edit : Good on you Tristen for the look ups.

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    It sounds to me that your ISP did a software or similar upgrade or accidentally changed something, which they rectified after you advised them (stirred the pot a little).

    I can't see them deliberately blocking your VOIP providor.

    I agree with admin that it would be very interesting to know exactly what caused the problem.
    Last edited by tristen; 07-10-15 at 02:58 PM.

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    I'd suspect that their IP was similar to something on their "block list" (e.g. PirateSite) and the wrong number got entered. Just guessing.
    I'm out of my mind, but feel free to leave a message...

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    I finally got the level 2 support from Activ8me to call me back and he claimed they did not block anything and the problem was with
    Pennytel. He also claimed he had another customer with the same issue and Pennytel resolved it !
    His theory was that Pennytel may have blocked a certain range of IP addresses from accessing their services including the website.
    I asked if they have any block lists and he said they are not instructed to block any websites by the Government or anybody else and that it would not be efficient to do so on the provider side.


    So I contacted Pennytel (now that the phone works again) and the lady said that they have never blocked IP addresses but did remember a customer with exactly the same issue (including blocked website) a few days ago and told me that the problem was resolved by that customer's ISP. She could not tell if if it was Activ8me though.


    So it is all clear as mud what was really going on.
    Last edited by Uncle Fester; 08-10-15 at 12:28 PM.
    Update: A deletion of features that work well and ain't broke but are deemed outdated in order to add things that are up to date and broken.
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    Well, it sounds as if you will never ascertain the real reason, so just be happy that it is now resolved.

    (It is irritating not to know though).

    Thanks for the update.

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    Quote Originally Posted by tristen View Post
    Hmmmm.....it looks like a DNS problem to me.

    sip.pennytel.com resolves to 202.85.243.105 and pings successfully here - 38ms.
    Yes, I agree if switching to IP address instantly solves the problem for many users who are connected with all sort of ISPs

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    Quote Originally Posted by nomeat View Post
    Cannot make or receive calls.
    No website.
    I have been using them reliably probably for 8 years, now this.
    Can't even find a reference on Whirlpool.

    Anybody know anything about this?
    Yes something is going on... I called them 1300 112 888 they say they don't accept new customers.

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    Pennytel is owned by MyNetFone now, don't think they take new connections to the Pennytel network as a result

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