Using the U118 "Gateway" Device with the Rogue

When my wife and I each cancelled our land lines in favor of our new Rogue cell phones, I wanted a way to continue to use our walk-around base phones and their remote extensions. A bluetooth gateway device accomplishes this purpose by connecting a bluetooth-enabled cell phone to most walk-around phones; in short, the gateway takes the place of the service provided by a land-line company.

After researching gateways from several manufacturers, I settled on the U-118 by Ufone because of its features,  price, and generally favorable reviews.

The comments below refer specifically to the performance of the U118 with the Rogue; results may differ with other cell phones:

First, overall, we have been very pleased with the performance of the U118. The audio quality is at least as good as when listening over the cell phone instead of a walkaround phone attached to the cell phone via the U118. We like the convenience of being able to have several extensions situated throughout the house, instead of needing to have the cell phone nearby at all times. Also, the gateway makes it possible to use headphones provided for a walk-around phone, and to record conversations, if that is desired.

Below are some points to keep in mind when considering the U118 or after purchasing it:

1.   If you need to enter numbers, such as pressing “1” for customer service, etc., you need to do that on the Rogue keyboard, not the walk-around phone’s keypad. That can be inconvenient if you are using a remote walk-around phone not near the cell phone.

2.   On the other hand, the autodialer on the walk-around phone does work with the U118.

3.   The feature that audibly says the name of the caller confuses the U-118 device, making it malfunction. Therefore, when you use the Rogue with the U118, the audible caller ID feature needs to be deactivated.

4.   If using two or more U118s, each dedicated to a different cell phone, it is best to unplug a gateway when the cell phone is not being used with it. Otherwise, the other cell phone(s) will repeatedly ask if it/they can pair with the gateway. You can either unplug the cord from the device or from the outlet, or use a third-party on/off switch.

5.   The walk-around base phone and extension(s) will ring when someone calls; on the other hand, alarms, calendar-schedule events, etc. will sound only on the cell phone, not on the walk arounds. This is perhaps the major disappointment with the device; it would be nice to hear the alerts when in another part of the house.

6.   Although the U118’s directions say the device is not intended for digital walk-around phones, it worked fine with several different digital walk arounds that we tried.

To connect a U118 to a Rogue:

·   It takes some fiddling. The directions that come with the U118 are adequate but not stellar.

·   Plug in the U118. The green light will flash quickly.

·   On the Rogue, go to Home Screen --> Blue tooth Menu. That takes you to  a screen with the Rogue depicted in the center of the screen. When/if a Bluetooth device connects with it, that device is shown by an icon and attached to the Rogue icon by a dotted line. If the dotted line is present, you generally are home free.

If the Bluetooth device is detected but not conncected, you will see the device’s icon but there will not be a dotted line between the icons for the phone and U118.

·   There are three sets of menus to be aware of:

        -  The Settings button at the bottom of the window labeled Bluetooth Menu. It shows:
            *  Phone name
            *  Discovery Mode ON or OFF. You can set it ON for one minute.
            *  Auto-Pairing ON or OFF: You want this ON.
 
        -  Press the U118 icon on the screen. Then press Settings.
            *  The Device Name (such as U118_BF) can be changed. This step is recommended if you are using more than one gateway, each dedicated to a different cell phone.
            *  Incoming Security: Set as Always Connect.

        -  The Menu icon in the upper-right-hand corner of the screen:
            *  Turn Bluetooth Off: You usually don’t want to touch this option.
            *  The name of the Bluetooth device, such as "U118_BT" (the default) or "U118_YourName," should be listed. Press on this device-name button to get:
                 >  Connect or (if the device is connected) Disconnect. If you are connecting the two unconnected devices, press Connect.
                 >  Remove Device. Use this option if you no longer want to have the U118 connected to the phone.
                 >  Settings. This button takes you to the same place as the Settings button mentioned earlier.

·   Getting the U118 and cell phone to connect may seem a bit puzzling, but here are a few tips:

        1.  Don't forget to enable the Bluetooth feature on the Rogue.        

        2.  Don’t forget to press the Link button on the U118. Do it whenever it seems like a good idea.
        
        3.  Pressing the Menu icon in the upper-right-hand corner and then pressing Connect seems to help. If you get the message, “Auto Pairing,” that’s a good sign.

        4.  Once you get the message that the devices are connected, it seems to help to unplug and plug back in the power cord to the U118. It gets the devices to look for each other.

        5.  If you are having problems, go to Settings to see if the U118 device is listed and has the correct name. You don’t want to have two listings for the same device.

Once you have the U118 and Rogue talking to each other, the process works very smoothly. Every time you place the Rogue withing Bluetooth range of the plugged-in U118, the two connect: the fast blinking light on the U118 begins to blink more slowly.

As with any new piece of equipment, the U118-cell phone combination takes some getting used to, but we have never been sorry that we made the investment.

Good luck!

Bill