HELLO & WELCOME

[datadiffusion]

The Gigaset N300A IP has been a great way to combine a home business running asterisk with a 'normal' phone line on gigaset handsets to keep my partner happy and not have to enter wierd codes etc... just to use the phone line. She gets phone calls straight to the gigaset handsets, I get to phone the same gigaset handsets as internal calls from VoIP units in the office and workshop etc... as well as picking up any incoming calls without having to run upstairs, plus the once-a-year out of hours emergency call goes to the bedroom at night (actually fingers crossed, 1 call in 2 years thanks to heavy automated screening...). Perfect!

Anyway, all is well until I one day we decide to activate the built in voicemail.

The bloody thing is in DUTCH! Now, admittedly, you can re-record most of it, but certain bits e.g. 'end of messages', 'there are no new messages' are factory recordings, obviously.

This is even though every setting is for UK / English etc... and has been since I bought it.

I assume all those years back I got burnt on ebay? I can't see any way of changing the answering machine language which is burnt into the unit (firmware updates don't seem to affect it, nor does there seem to be region specific firmware). What's even odder is that the base of an old IP300 non-A doesn't say 'Intended for UK' (like the older Gigasets used to) nor does the N300A have any indication that it's intended for the Netherlands or anywhere in particular really.

I also can't see / search for anyone else with this issue on any other forum, but just thought I'd ask. Oh dear

[datadiffusion]

Well, to be fair to Gigaset, they did reply quickly, and only half confusingly; there is a hidden menu (no doubt many others similar) which goes like this..

In order to change Answering machine language on the handset enter Menu - Answering machine - Language and change the language. If that option doesn't appear in the menu of the handset try to do the following:
On the handset enter Menu and enter the key sequence:
* # 0 5 # 2 1
On the screen you should see 9 2 1 and some digit flashing in the brackets. You can try to put 0, 1 or 2 in the barackets and after that press OK.

Except they go on to say...

Please note that that all our phones are country specific and if the phone is made for Dutch market ( according to the serial number ) Answering machine will be in Dutch.

So although the above option does result in the choice 0, 1 or 2 being displayed, you can only select '0', options 1 and 2 just result in an error tone.

And the thing remains in Dutch.

So now you know :)

[WelshPaul]

I own a N300A IP along with some C430HX handsets...

In the two years (or more) that I have been using them, I have never enabled the built in Voicemail as I use a PBX with it's own Voicemail system. I wasn't aware that the Gigaset N300A IP's Voicemail built in announcement would be language specific to whatever region it was sold in, or that it couldn't be set to your preferred language. I guess it makes sense though, the N300 A IP would require a lot of flash storage to hold all the recordings. I just tested mine and it's in English! Phew... :laugh:

As for Gigaset's response, you're right! It doesn't make any sense. Either the language can be changed or it can't? Anyway, I can confirm that I too get the same error tone when attempting to change the zero to a one or two. :-/

[datadiffusion]

Thanks for checking, I was curious, wondering if we would hear Scots, Welsh or Gaelic alternatives etc... on a 'UK' version!

Yep, using the built in answering machine is a 'partner pleasing' kludge by me, as they can carry on using the same familiar Gigaset interface for the analogue 'house' number, that I don't think works quite so transparently with a remote mailbox, all my business stuff is part of the RasPBX setup and the business answerphone is fully part of that, of course. Yet with the advantage I can also use any 'house' phone transparently as an extension of the biz setup for pickup and outgoing calls.

Anyway, any Dutch users please check out eBay for some bargains ;)

p.s This site has saved my *Bleep* on more than one occasion in the past so happy to pay even if this is my only ever topic!

[VoipIT]

I have never used one of these devices but is there no way to manually re-flash the firmware? I mean, download the UK firmware file and flash it via the web interface.

[WelshPaul]

@VoipIT I doubt it. From my understanding there is only the one firmware file and language is defined based on the serial number of the base unit. The firmware file for this device can be obtained from here: http://profile.gigaset.net/device/42/merkur42.247.bin

So unless the serial number can be changed or the firmware file modified, there is no way to get around the issue @datadiffusion has. Why Gigaset never implemented an option within the web GUI (even if it initiates a firmware update) is beyond me! :/