Getting started with ATA - WHich hardware

[mjc8870]

I am looking to use MJ with ATA. I just ordered PAP2T-NA and deciding on router. I found wrt54GL on Newegg $ 50 shipped - new. I also see wrt54g-tm 1.1 on ebay for about $ 30 used. It says this is a T mobile already flashed with ddwrt. Is this one ok?

Which one would you suggest ?


Thanks

[bfksc]

I am looking to use MJ with ATA. I just ordered PAP2T-NA and deciding on router.

First off you have to realize that even if you get it all configured correctly, there is no guarantee that it'll register and work properly. I've read reports of others having problems even though they seem to have the right settings.

I found wrt54GL on Newegg $ 50 shipped - new. I also see wrt54g-tm 1.1 on ebay for about $ 30 used. It says this is a T mobile already flashed with ddwrt. Is this one ok?
Which one would you suggest ?
Thanks

I'm not using a MJ proxy, just my Linksys 3102 ATA with all four of the necessary credentials and settings for it to work.

User ID
Password
Proxy server name (with port number 5070)
SIP User-Agent name

As for which router I'll let others chime in with ideas.

[mjc8870]

I understand it may not work. I am willing to mess around with it. If I can't get it to work, I will subscribe to cheap VOIP service.

[bfksc]

I understand it may not work. I am willing to mess around with it. If I can't get it to work, I will subscribe to cheap VOIP service.

Odd, that's EXACTLY what I was thinking when I setup my ATA.

I couldn't get the MJ device to work well when plugged into the computer - the audio was always choppy no matter what I tried, including a powered hub, 3 different operating systems on 3 different computers. It was also choppy when used with a family member's ISP who has a MJ as well and his works fine. So I can only presume my MJ device is defective. However, emails, requests for RMA, and even a phone call have all gone unanswered and I wasn't about to pay shipping for another MJ that may or may not work properly again.

So I bought an ATA and gave that a shot, and it works quite well with the MJ SIP credentials. It's not as good as a cheap VOIP provider, but it's good enough for $20 a year.

[mjc8870]

Mine works great attached to the computer. There is not much difference then landline. Could you PM me or post on here a non technical outline of how you got it running. Which router and ATA do you have?


Thanks,


Mike

[NiteShdw]

I thought that it wasn't possible to get SIP credentials from MJ. Didn't they start encrypting or using a HASH on passwords so it's not possible to capture it? I'd love to know if it's possible to pull SIP credentials.

[crackerjack]

I thought that it wasn't possible to get SIP credentials from MJ. Didn't they start encrypting or using a HASH on passwords so it's not possible to capture it? I'd love to know if it's possible to pull SIP credentials.

Congrats, you've hit the jackpot. Over the past 6 months dozens of folks have contributed many workable ideas that will guide you on your quest for SIP credentials and the means to utilize them untethered from the MJ hardware.

Your task, should you accept the challenge, is to seperate the viable, meaningful info and methods from the junk.

HINT:Search works and you can limit the time range (using Google)

Good luck

[bfksc]

Mine works great attached to the computer. There is not much difference then landline. Could you PM me or post on here a non technical outline of how you got it running. Which router and ATA do you have?

It's been posted many times along with a sticky thread. But basically you need to get your SIP settings from the MJ device:

User ID
Password
Proxy server name
User-Agent name

Once you have those, you input them into the ATA configuration and go from there. Check the sticky threads in this forum for details on how to get your settings.

[bfksc]

I thought that it wasn't possible to get SIP credentials from MJ. Didn't they start encrypting or using a HASH on passwords so it's not possible to capture it? I'd love to know if it's possible to pull SIP credentials.

Read the sticky threads and you'll learn how to get them from your MJ device.

[mjc8870]

I have been reading the threads and sticky for quite sometime. I have my credentials from password finder and have them working in x-lite. Where I am confused is some say, you do not need to use MJMD5 and others say, you must install this program in the router (DDRT).

I uess the best way to go about it, is to just wait to I get the hardware and tinker with it. I would love to hear others trying to accomplish this task and maybe we can help each other.

[bfksc]

I uess the best way to go about it, is to just wait to I get the hardware and tinker with it. I would love to hear others trying to accomplish this task and maybe we can help each other.

Exactly...until you have the ATA you can't do much, but everything you need to set it up has already been posted numerous times - that's where I learned to setup my ATA 2 months ago.

When you get yours you can try entering the SIP info and see if the ATA registers. If so, you're good to go and no need to setup the proxy. If it doesn't work, then you can worry about getting a proxy. Until then, read, learn, and relax.

[crackerjack]

I have my credentials from password finder and have them working in x-lite.

This is a definitive answer that, based on the above, you will not need to implement proxy.
Until MJ changes their scheme again.........

[mjc8870]

Thanks to all.

[bfksc]

I have my credentials from password finder and have them working in x-lite.

This is a definitive answer that, based on the above, you will not need to implement proxy.

Yup, no proxy on my setup - just the SIP settings in my ATA. It's been working for 2 months without a hiccup.

Until MJ changes their scheme again.........

Well if MJ makes changes that prevent me from using my ATA, into the garbage it goes and I'll sign up with a cheap VOIP provider. I don't expect a lot for $20 a year, but there is no logical reason for YMAX/MJ to block usage of an ATA instead of using the dongle. I had MJ setup on a spare computer so there would be no ads to see, no annoying popup window when making/receiving calls, etc. And with the ATA it saves me hydro as well.

I think MJ should consider selling the service with a BYOD for the same $20/year. It would mean no loss on the dongle, no shipping hassles, no support issues since they don't have to support the ATA, and they still make the same money for the service.

[crackerjack]

I have my credentials from password finder and have them working in x-lite.

This is a definitive answer that, based on the above, you will not need to implement proxy.

Yup, no proxy on my setup - just the SIP settings in my ATA. It's been working for 2 months without a hiccup.

Until MJ changes their scheme again.........

Well if MJ makes changes that prevent me from using my ATA, into the garbage it goes and I'll sign up with a cheap VOIP provider. I don't expect a lot for $20 a year, but there is no logical reason for YMAX/MJ to block usage of an ATA instead of using the dongle. I had MJ setup on a spare computer so there would be no ads to see, no annoying popup window when making/receiving calls, etc. And with the ATA it saves me hydro as well.

I think MJ should consider selling the service with a BYOD for the same $20/year. It would mean no loss on the dongle, no shipping hassles, no support issues since they don't have to support the ATA, and they still make the same money for the service.

One of the first arguments against your position is that MJ suspects that folks using their MJ acct untethered from the dongle are more likely to do other adventurous things and have higher useage stats than the 'normal' customer who doesn't display such initiative.

How's that for a cogent, run-on sentence?? I'm going to sleep!!!!!!

Crackerjack

[Nobody beats the Whiz!]

One of the first arguments against your position is that MJ suspects that folks using their MJ acct untethered from the dongle are more likely to do other adventurous things and have higher useage stats than the 'normal' customer who doesn't display such initiative.

How's that for a cogent, run-on sentence?? I'm going to sleep!!!!!!

Crackerjack

Not to mention the danger of sneaky people setting up their ATA, purposely damaging the electronics of the dongle, and then returning the MJ to the retailer for a full refund.

Free phone service, but at what cost?

[bfksc]

One of the first arguments against your position is that MJ suspects that folks using their MJ acct untethered from the dongle are more likely to do other adventurous things and have higher useage stats than the 'normal' customer who doesn't display such initiative.

Out of all the MJ units sold, I would hazard a guess that far less than 1% have an ATA in use with their SIP credentials - they use the MJ device as intended.

Even in these forums there are only 28,096 users, most of which are probably looking for help with their device or setup rather than hacking to get the credentials. Out of those, I would guess less than 10% would abuse the system in any way. In other words, I think we're talking less than a hundred users - it's insignificant and not a reason to block legit ATA usage. Even if it were 10x more, a thousand users, that's still insignificant to the million-plus users out there.

Something to consider...

[bfksc]

Not to mention the danger of sneaky people setting up their ATA, purposely damaging the electronics of the dongle, and then returning the MJ to the retailer for a full refund.
Free phone service, but at what cost?

Where did you get the idea that MJ would just ignore the active account?

They can just cancel the account with the click of a mouse and remove the User ID from the authentication servers - no more access. I seriously doubt they would leave the account active and allow an unpaid user to access the network.

[mjc8870]

I should add that my x-lite setup only works when running MJDM5.

[crackerjack]

I should add that my x-lite setup only works when running MJDM5.

Ergo, your MJ hardware requires the proxy treatment. BTW, you will need to run a second instance of MJMD5 using a different port (5071) which will allow your ATA AND softphone to register. This will surely bring down the wrath of Dan upon you!!!

Good Luxk

Crackerjack

[Nobody beats the Whiz!]

Not to mention the danger of sneaky people setting up their ATA, purposely damaging the electronics of the dongle, and then returning the MJ to the retailer for a full refund.
Free phone service, but at what cost?

Where did you get the idea that MJ would just ignore the active account?

They can just cancel the account with the click of a mouse and remove the User ID from the authentication servers - no more access. I seriously doubt they would leave the account active and allow an unpaid user to access the network.

My point was, if you damage the electronics, the retailer probably won't bother sending the defective unit back to MJ, they'll either eat the loss, or get direct compensation for "destroying the unit." (not uncommon in retail). Even if they bother to waste the resources to ship the device back to MJ, MJ can't access the dongle, because the electronics have been fried. They're not capable, or willing to expend significant resources to do deep analysis of the dongle to ensure that someone hasn't done what I am illustrating. Either way, MJ has NO idea what SIP credentials were on the dongle.

It's pretty simple.

[VaHam]

Not to mention the danger of sneaky people setting up their ATA, purposely damaging the electronics of the dongle, and then returning the MJ to the retailer for a full refund.
Free phone service, but at what cost?

Where did you get the idea that MJ would just ignore the active account?

They can just cancel the account with the click of a mouse and remove the User ID from the authentication servers - no more access. I seriously doubt they would leave the account active and allow an unpaid user to access the network.

My point was, if you damage the electronics, the retailer probably won't bother sending the defective unit back to MJ, they'll either eat the loss, or get direct compensation for "destroying the unit." (not uncommon in retail). Even if they bother to waste the resources to ship the device back to MJ, MJ can't access the dongle, because the electronics have been fried. They're not capable, or willing to expend significant resources to do deep analysis of the dongle to ensure that someone hasn't done what I am illustrating. Either way, MJ has NO idea what SIP credentials were on the dongle.

It's pretty simple.

A better way of MJ dealing with this kind of fraud would be to use a UPC code rather than a DID sort of account name. Then only credit back to the retailer when provided UPC codes of failed units and close those accounts.

[Nobody beats the Whiz!]

Where did you get the idea that MJ would just ignore the active account?

They can just cancel the account with the click of a mouse and remove the User ID from the authentication servers - no more access. I seriously doubt they would leave the account active and allow an unpaid user to access the network.

My point was, if you damage the electronics, the retailer probably won't bother sending the defective unit back to MJ, they'll either eat the loss, or get direct compensation for "destroying the unit." (not uncommon in retail). Even if they bother to waste the resources to ship the device back to MJ, MJ can't access the dongle, because the electronics have been fried. They're not capable, or willing to expend significant resources to do deep analysis of the dongle to ensure that someone hasn't done what I am illustrating. Either way, MJ has NO idea what SIP credentials were on the dongle.

It's pretty simple.

A better way of MJ dealing with this kind of fraud would be to use a UPC code rather than a DID sort of account name. Then only credit back to the retailer when provided UPC codes of failed units and close those accounts.

I agree. MJ needs to come up with a better solution for protecting themselves from retail fraud. I also agree with another poster, that this isn't rampant, but I have no doubt at all that it does happen.

They need some kind of serial # that can be scanned. However, at the price point that MJ sells at, I don't know if retailers want to play that game. I've only seen ser# scanning done for bigger ticket electronics.

For the time being, there is no way to stop such fraud. Most people, even with the ATA knowledge, wouldn't bother compromising their integrity to steal a $40.00 item.

However, there may be unscrupulous call centers/businesses who see this as a cheap way to subsidize their operations. It's a shame, really.

Free, but at what cost ? (to their integrity and character)

Back to the point made about MJ not allowing ATA use as a matter of course:

I think that if they sold straight SIP credentials on an unreturnable "gift" card, ala Xbox live, or direct from the website, that could be a win. There is nothing physical to return to the retailer, so that could cut off the fraud.

[ruggb]

MJ dongles have a serial number. That number is "activated" and can be "deactivated" by MJ. They don't need the unit back. It would caost them more to fix than make a new one. I have one that I never returned and when I plugged it in 2 yrs later it just said it was deactivated.

[Nobody beats the Whiz!]

MJ dongles have a serial number. That number is "activated" and can be "deactivated" by MJ. They don't need the unit back. It would caost them more to fix than make a new one. I have one that I never returned and when I plugged it in 2 yrs later it just said it was deactivated.

And how does that change the fact that they don't know WHICH unit was returned to the RETAILER??!?"!?!