Moving the salon line from AT&T → VoIP.ms, using a Grandstream HT812. Same phone number, lower bill, keep the cordless phones.
📍 Pikeville, KY☎️ VoIP.ms + HT812🌐 atlanta.voip.ms (primary)⏱ number switches on port day (~1–2 wks)
AT&T port-out code
*76780 dial from the AT&T line
Signed bill
account holder signs a blank area, then re-photo
Primary SIP server
atlanta.voip.ms
Backup SIP server
chicago.voip.ms
HT812 IP read-out
* * * 0 2
VoIP.ms echo test
4443
Cordless plugs into
HT812 PHONE1 / FXS1
🧭 The big picture — two things happen in parallel today, and the number switches later:
Track A — Set up the box (Stages 1–2): get the HT812 online and registered to VoIP.ms. Proven today with an echo test.
Track B — Submit the port (Stages 3–4): gather paperwork and request to move the AT&T number to VoIP.ms.
The actual number switch happens on PORT DAY (Stages 5–6), ~1–2 weeks out. Until then the salon keeps ringing on AT&T as normal.
⚠️ Two rules for the whole job:
Do NOT cancel AT&T — the completed port is the disconnect. Keep it active until the port finishes.
Do NOT plug the HT812 into a wall phone jack. HT812 → phone directly only.
How to read this:Blue = Michael (remote),
Pink = Mom (on-site).
Stages go top to bottom. ↪ handoff = tell the other person something.
⏸ Orange "WAIT FOR MICHAEL" boxes mean STOP — don't continue your steps until Michael tells you, or you can interrupt his setup.
Show:
1 Box online + VoIP.ms account prep both at once
Mom on-site
Plug in the HT812 power adapter (USB-style).
Ethernet: a router LAN port → the HT812 blue WAN / Internet port.
Plug a phone into the port marked PHONE1 / FXS1.
Wait ~60s until the Power + Network lights are steady.
Pick up the PHONE1 phone, dial * * * 0 2. It speaks the IP (e.g. 192.168.1.50) — it repeats, listen twice.
✍️ Write the IP down, read it to Michael when he asks. ↪ handoff
⏸ THEN WAIT FOR MICHAEL
After you give him the IP, he needs ~10–15 min on his screens. Don't dial anything else or unplug anything.
Good time to start Stage 3 (call AT&T + sign the bill) while you wait.
Michael remote
Add funds first — porting is blocked at $0 balance: Main Menu → Finances / Add Funds → ~$25.
DID Numbers → DID Portability → Check availability → enter the AT&T number → confirm it's portable.
Sub Accounts → Create Sub Account → set a strong password, Protocol SIP, NAT Yes, Save.
✍️ Write down the sub-account username + password.
Server Locations → Primary atlanta.voip.ms, Backup chicago.voip.ms; run the ping test to confirm lowest latency.
↪ ASK MOM
When she's done cabling, ask her for the HT812 IP she wrote down. You need it for Stage 2.
2 Configure & prove the HT812
Michael remote
↪ ASK MOM
for the HT812 IP. If the login fails, ask her to flip the unit over and read you the label password.
Browser on the salon laptop → http://<the IP>. Login admin / admin or the label password. Change the admin password.
FXS Port 1 settings:
Setting
Value
Account Active
✅ Checked
Primary SIP Server
atlanta.voip.ms
Prefer Primary SIP Server
Yes
Outbound Proxy
atlanta.voip.ms (same)
Backup Outbound Proxy
chicago.voip.ms
SIP User ID / Authenticate ID
sub-account username
SIP Auth Password
sub-account password
Name / Caller ID
salon name
DNS Mode
A Record
NAT Traversal
Keep-Alive
SIP Registration
Yes
Register Expiration
2 min
SIP OPTIONS Keep Alive
Yes
Preferred Vocoder
G.711U (PCMU) first; G.729a as fallback. Skip G.722 — no benefit through an analog phone.
Check SIP User ID for incoming INVITE
Enabled
Allow incoming SIP msgs from SIP proxy only
Enabled
Save & Apply → Reboot.
Status tab → confirm Registration = Yes / Registered (green).
↪ Only when it's green: tell mom "GO — dial 4443."
Mom on-site
⏸ WAIT FOR MICHAEL TO SAY "GO"
This is all his screen work. Only dial after he confirms his screen shows "Registered" —
if you dial 4443 too early it won't work.
When Michael says go: on PHONE1, dial 4 4 4 3 (VoIP.ms echo test).
Speak — you should hear yourself back, clearly, both ways.
↪ Tell Michael it works
Note: calls to/from real phone numbers don't work yet — that needs the ported number (Stage 5–6). The echo test is all we check today.
3 Get the port paperwork ready do during Stage 2's waits
Mom on-site
✅ You can do all of this while Michael is configuring the box in Stage 2.
A) Call AT&T for the credentials
From the AT&T phone line (the cordless on the wall jack — not the HT812 test phone), dial *76780.
Say: "I'm transferring this number to another provider — NOT cancelling. I need my port-out account number and passcode/PIN, and please confirm the exact Service Address on the CSR."
If told "no PIN for landlines" → ask for the port-out / transfer credentials (they're legally required to give them).
Decline any retention offer that changes or cancels the account.
B) Sign the bill (this is the part we missed before)
On the paper AT&T bill, sign your name in a BLANK area — never over any text, lines, or logos.
The signer must be the account holder (whoever's name is on the AT&T account — probably you, Mom).
Take a fresh, clear photo of the SIGNED bill and send it to Michael. ↪ handoff
⏸ THEN WAIT FOR MICHAEL
That's everything on the phone for now. Keep the line free until Michael says he's ready for the Stage 2 echo test (if you haven't done it yet).
Michael remote
↪ ASK MOM (after her call)
for the account number, PIN, exact Service Address, account name, and the photo of the SIGNED bill.
The account number and service address are usually printed on the bill — the call mainly nails down the PIN and the exact CSR service address.
The unsigned photo mom sent earlier is NOT enough — VoIP.ms requires the bill signed on a blank area. Use the new signed photo.
Save the signed photo — you'll upload it in Stage 4.
(Fallback if the account holder is remote: open the photo in Preview → Markup → Signature → place it in a blank area → save.)
4 Submit the port as soon as Stage 3 is ready
Michael remote
Don't wait for the hardware to be finished — the port is the slow part (~1–2 weeks), so start it the moment the paperwork's in hand.
DID Numbers → DID Portability → Start Procedure (5 steps).
Enter the AT&T number.
Service Address EXACTLY as on the CSR (physical, no PO box, not the billing address).
Account number + port-out PIN from mom's call.
Fill the LOA fields VoIP.ms shows: name/company, service address, provider = AT&T, number, BTN. Sign if prompted (account holder).
Upload the SIGNED bill photo from Stage 3.
Step 5 Notes:"Please activate this DID on FLAT-RATE / unlimited inbound, not per-minute."
Confirm + submit → watch email for the FOC (port date).
Keep AT&T active — do not cancel.
Mom on-site
Nothing to do — and the salon keeps running on AT&T as normal until the port completes.
5 When your number appears at the port date · days later
Michael remote
At the FOC the number shows in your DID list and can finally be configured. These could NOT be done on setup day because the number wasn't in the account yet.
Route the DID → your sub-account so it rings the HT812.