I finally gave into the ceaseless mailings from AT&T and switched from POTS+DSL to Uverse last month. I had a perfectly working home network behind my old DSL modem, and reliable, perfectly working phone service too...but then the bundle cost dropped and it seemed as if Uverse would be a great deal. But since that switch, it's been a nightmare.
The tech who did the install told me that all I really had to do was connect a Cat5e from a LAN port on the 5031NV to the WAN port on my TP-Link router and everything would work great. It seemed to work well before he left, but didn't seem very fast at times later that day...lots of "resolving host" delays and video stuttering. So I read up on various forums and found that I should put the TP-Link into the DMZplus mode to maximize performance and did so. That seemed to help video playback and page load times quite a bit.
I didn't realize that was what started the outgoing call issues as I didn't try to make an outgoing call the next day. I heard the dial tone and maybe a ring or two, then the call always went silent even if the other party answered. I then heard a stuttering beep and tried to retrieve voicemail, but it wouldn't connect (or so it seemed.) I reported the issue via chat and had to leave on a short business trip. Another tech came while I was away, swapped the 5031NV for another, voice service then worked...but then the same thing happened when I came back from the trip and repeated the same procedure to put the TP-Link in DMZplus. Once again, I didn't try to make an outgoing call until the next day and didn't make the connection between the two in my head--and why should I assume that putting a router in DMZplus makes the voice service fail? That's ridiculous!
Three chat sessions with AT&T support today yielded no answer (and it was only three because the first two were cut off with no apparent reason.) None of the reps on chat asked me anything about setting the DMZplus mode, or mentioned that could be an issue.
I finally Googled the issue and found a slew of threads on the AT&T community forum that describe the same thing and finger DMZplus as the cause. Anytime that anyone puts any device (computer or router of any sort or maker) behind the 5031NV and sets DMZplus mode for it, their outgoing voice service is affected in the same way. Incoming calls are totally normal/absolutely fine, but all outgoing calls have "no audio" issues within a few seconds of dialing a number. Some hear a ring or two, but usually just low levels of static if anything.
I've gone back and forth twice today on setting/resetting DMZplus for the TP-Link, and verified that outgoing voice service never works with DMZplus set for the attached router.
Why, pray tell, should AT&T charge me $99 for a new RG (plus another $99 for installation) that in essence doesn't work as well as the simple DSL modem it replaced? It's not as if no one was running properly configured home networks behind those Westell modems! The threads on the AT&T community forum prove that users identified this issue at least 14 months ago, right after the 5031NV was introduced. But Uverse techs still install the 5031NV and don't warn customers of issues if they have a home network already set up behind it and want to continue to use their existing wireless setup(s). I have devices split between 2.4 and 5 GHz bands plus a perfectly good firewall on the TP-Link and there's no reason for me to change all of that over to a new wireless network.
Anybody have a clue as to why it seems AT&T techs and support are not up to speed on this problem, or why AT&T persists in using the 5031NV with a known issue? Thanks!
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