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Wednesday, August 10, 2016

End of Life Announcement: OBi100 and OBi110

Today, Obihai Technology Inc., is announcing the product End of Life (EOL) for the OBi100 and OBi110 Universal Voice Adapters. This announcement means to communicate important support milestones and recommend replacement products, should you wish to maintain the use of configured services on a fully-supported OBi device. The OBi100 and OBi110 are the first generation of OBi phone adapters. For many years, they have served customers well – saving them thousands of dollars and keeping them in easy, convenient contact with friends and family.

Going forward, for any new OBi100 or OBi110 purchased new from an authorized seller, along with 1-year of complimentary Premium Technical Support, the standard 1-year hardware warranty term will be honored. Using the OBiTALK.com portal, OBi100 and OBi110 owners will continue to be able to add and manage their device as well as access OBiTALK Approved and Compatible Service Provider configuration helpers. However, any services that cannot be supported with the current software (firmware) will not work on the OBi100 and OBi110.

With this EOL announcement, affecting only the OBi100 and OBi110, it is important to understand that Obihai will no longer develop and release software updates. What does this mean? For example, if Google Voice, Anveo or any other service makes changes in the way they deliver their service where new software is required for the continued use the service with the OBi device, it will not be made available for the OBi100 and OBi110.

Note: If your OBi100 or OBi110 device has a valid OBiTALK Premium Technical Support plan, you will be entitled to support for the duration of the plan. At some point, before the End of Support date of 31 December 2017, Obihai will stop selling Premium Technical Support for the OBi100 and OBi110.

You will find a list of the most Frequently Asked Questions below. If you have a question that is not answered, please contact us at: support@obihai.com.



Below are the key milestone dates to note:



FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions

What are you announcing today?
Obihai is announcing the End of Life (EOL) for the OBi100 and OBi110 devices. This announcement means to communicate important support milestones and recommend replacement products, should you wish to maintain the use of configured services on a fully-supported OBi device.


Why are you making this announcement?
Since early 2015, Obihai has been recommending the OBi200 and OBi202 for residential and small business use. Based on their increased performance, ability to be used with OBi USB accessories and their value and rich feature support, the demand for OBi200 and OBi202 now far-exceed that of the OBi100 and OBi110. Obihai has also invested heavily developing innovative features and functionality, only possible with the OBi200/OBi202 hardware, to improve the OBi user’s calling experience. As technology evolves, there comes a time where older hardware can no longer support newer features and the latest technologies. The OBi100 and OBi110 devices have been good soldiers, but have reached the end of their useful life which necessitates the decision to discontinue the product and software development.

How does This EOL Announcement Affect Me?
If you are currently using an OBi110 or OBi100, this EOL announcement should not affect you. As you have been doing since you first started using your OBi, with Google Voice you will still be able to enjoy free calls to US and Canada, and super-low international calling rates. As long as Google makes no changes in how the service works with the OBi, your OBi100/OBi110 device will continue to work.

If I am using my OBi100/OBi110 with Google Voice today, do I need to do anything?
No. You do not need to do anything. As long as you see your Google Voice status on the OBiTALK.com Dashboard as ‘Connected,’ you should be able to make and receive calls. However, there are several occasions when Google Voice made changes in the way the service works with OBi devices. For example, recently, there was a problem because older software on OBi devices no longer complied with Google’s account security requirements.

Note: After the End of Support date for the OBi100 and the OBi110 devices, on Dec 31, 2017, Obihai will stop supporting for the OBi100 and OBi110 devices without a Support plan.


How do I get the latest software for my OBi100 or OBi110 device?
There are two ways (Methods) to get software for your OBi:

Method 1: If your device is more than a year old, and you want the software to be automatically installed on your device, you can purchase Premium Technical Support from the OBiTALK.com Dashboard.
- Log in to your OBiTALK account (www.obitalk.com)
- Click on your 9 digit OBi number to go to the Device Configuration page
- Click ‘Support and Warranty’ tab
- Click the icon ‘Buy on Amazon’
Note: This option will be discontinued on or before December 31st, 2017.

Method 2: If you do not want to pay for Premium Technical Support (with the automatic software update), you can visit the OBiTALK forum to get the firmware file, then follow the instructions to manually connect to your OBi device's internal web interface to upload and install the software. http://www.obitalk.com/forum/index.php?topic=9.msg13#msg13



What if I have a valid OBiTALK Premium Technical Support plan?
If your device is currently covered with an active/valid Premium Technical Support plan, you will continue to have access to automatic software updates and technical support. However, with the EOL announcement, there is no further software development for the OBi100 and the OBi110 devices.



What product will be replacing the OBi100/OBi110?
The replacement products for the OBi100/OBi110 are the OBi200 and OBi202. The OBi200 and the OBi202 devices are the latest generation of OBi Universal VoIP Adapters that offer great value and rich features such as:
- Works with Google Voice
- Support for 4 VoIP Accounts (Google and SIP) plus OBiTALK
- One or Two Phone Ports (Two phones ports on OBi202 only)
- Reliable Fax Technology with T.38
- WiFi connectivity option (with OBiWiFi)
- Bluetooth connectivity option (with OBiBT)
- Make and receive calls from a land-line service from phones connected to the OBi (with OBiLINE) option



If/when I switch to an OBi200 (or OBi202), what do I need to do to keep my Google and Anveo services working (no interruption of service)?
Here’s what we recommend:

(Step 1): Log in to your OBiTALK account and delete your current Google Voice and Anveo accounts from your OBi100/OBi110 device. You can do this by selecting the OBi100/OBi110 OBi number, then select the ‘Trash Can’ icon. This will remove the Google Voice and Anveo service from the old device’s configuration.

(Step 2): Add the replacement OBi200/OBi202 device to your OBiTALK account by selecting the ‘Add Device’ link in the left-hand column in your OBiTALK account.

(Step 3): Follow the on-screen instructions to configure your Google Voice and Anveo service on the OBi200/OBi202 device.



Is my product warranty for the OBi100/OBi110 still effective after the End of Life (EOL) announcement?
Yes. You will still receive the full 1-year warranty and Premium Technical support from the date of purchase. However, it is important to note there is no further software development for OBi100 and OBi110.