ISDN Cause Codes http://networking.ringofsaturn.com/Routers/isdncausecodes.

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Cause N o. 0
This is usually given by the router when none of the other codes apply. This cause usually occurs in the same type of
situations as cause 1, cause 88, and cause 100.

Cause N o. l - Unall oc ated (unas s igned) num ber.

This cause indicates that the destination requested by the calling user cannot be reached because, although the number is
in a valid format, it is not currently assigned (allocated).

What it usually means:

1. The SPIDS may be incorrectly entered in the router or the Telco switch, giving a SPID failure in the router logs.
2. The ISDN phone number being dialed by the router is invalid and the telco switch cannot locate the number to
complete the call, as it is invalid.
3. On long distance calls, the call cannot be properly routed to its destination.

Cause N o. 2 - N o route to s peci fied trans it network (national us e).

This cause indicates that the equipment sending this cause has received a request to route the call through a particular
transit network which it does not recognize. The equipment sending this cause does not recognize the transit network
either because the transit network does not exist or because that particular transit network not serve the equipment
which is sending this cause.

Cause N o. 3 - N o route to des ti nati on.

This cause indicates that the called party cannot be reached because the network through which the call has been routed
does not serve the destination desired. This cause is supported on a network dependent basis.

Cause N o. 4 - s end s peci al info rmati on tone.

This cause indicates that the called party cannot be reached for reasons that are of a long term nature and that the
special information tone should be returned to the calling party.

Cause N o. 5 - m i sdi aled trunk prefix (nati onal use).

This cause indicates the erroneous inclusion of a trunk prefix in the called party number. This number is to sniped from
the dialed number being sent to the network by the customer premises equipment.

Cause N o. 6 - c hannel unac ceptabl e.

This cause indicates that the channel most recently identified is not acceptable to the sending entity for use in this call.

Cause N o. 7 - c all awarded. bei ng deli vered in an establ is hed c hannel .

This cause indicates that the user has been awarded the incoming call and that the incoming call is being connected to a
channel already established to that user for similar calls (e.g. packet-mode x.25 virtual calls).

Cause N o. 8 - preem ptio n.

This cause indicates the call is being preempted.

Cause N o. 9 - preem ptio n - c irc ui t reserved for reuse.

This cause indicates that the call is being preempted and the circuit is reserved for reuse by the preempting exchange.

Cause N o. 16 - normal cal l cl eari ng.

This cause indicates that the call is being cleared because one of the users involved in the call has requested that the call
be cleared.

What it means:
This could be almost anything; it is the vaguest of the cause codes. The call comes down normally, but the reasons for it
could be:

1. Bad username or password

2. Router's settings do not match what is expected by the remote end.
3. Telephone line problems.
4. Hung session on remote end.

Cause N o. 17 - us er bus y.
This cause is used to indicate that the called party is unable to accept another call because the user busy condition has
been encountered. This cause value may be generated by the called user or by the network. In the case of user
determined user busy it is noted that the user equipment is compatible with the call.

What is means:
Calling end is busy.

Cause N o. 18 - no user responding.

This cause is used when a called party does not respond to a call establishment message with either an alerting or
connect indication within the prescribed period of time allocated.

What it means:
The equipment on the other end does not answer the call. Usually this is a misconfiguration on the equipment being
called.

Cause N o. 19 - no answer from us er (user alerted).

This cause is used when the called party has been alerted but does not respond with a connect indication within a
prescribed period of time. Note - This cause is not necessarily generated by Q.931 procedures but may be generated by
internal network timers.

Cause N o. 20 - s ubs cri ber abs ent.

This cause value is used when a mobile station has logged off. Radio contact is not obtained with a mobile station or if a
personal telecommunication user is temporarily not addressable at any user-network interface.

Cause N o. 21 - c all rej ected.

This cause indicates that the equipment sending this cause does not wish to accept this call. although it could have
accepted the call because the equipment sending this cause is neither busy nor incompatible. This cause may also be
generated by the network, indicating that the call was cleared due to a supplementary service constraint. The diagnostic
field may contain additional information about the supplementary service and reason for rejection.

What it means:

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This is usually a telco issue. The call never reaches the final destination, which can be caused by a bad switch translation,
or a misconfiguration on the equipment being called.

Cause N o. 22 - num ber c hanged.

This cause is returned to a calling party when the called party number indicated by the calling party is no longer assigned.
The new called party number may optionally be included in the diagnostic field. If a network does not support this cause,
cause no. 1, unallocated (unassigned) number shall be used.

Cause N o. 26 - non-s elec ted us er c leari ng.

This cause indicates that the user has not been awarded the incoming call.

Cause N o. 27 - des tinati on out of order.

This cause indicates that the destination indicated by the user cannot be reached because the interface to the destination
is not functioning correctly. The term "not functioning correctly" indicates that a signal message was unable to be
delivered to the remote party; e.g., a physical layer or data link layer failure at the remote party or user equipment
off-line.

Cause N o. 28 - i nval i d num ber form at (addres s i ncom pl ete).

This cause indicates that the called party cannot be reached because the called party number is not in a valid format or is
not complete.

Cause N o. 29 - fac il iti es rejec ted.

This cause is returned when a supplementary service requested by the user cannot be provide by the network.

Cause N o. 30 - res pons e to STATUS IN QUIRY.

This cause is included in the STATUS message when the reason for generating the STATUS message was the prior receipt
of a STATUS INQUIRY.

Cause N o. 31 - normal . unspec ifi ed.

This cause is used to report a normal event only when no other cause in the normal class applies.

Cause N o. 34 - no ci rc uit/c hannel avai labl e.

This cause indicates that there is no appropriate circuit/channel presently available to handle the call.

What it means:
There is no place on the Public Telephone network to place the call; the call never gets to its destiation. This is usually a
temporary problem.

Cause N o. 35 - Cal l Queued.

Cause N o. 38 - network out of o rder.

This cause indicates that the network is not functioning correctly and that the condition is likely to last a relatively long
period of time e.g., immediately re-attempting the call is not likely to be successful.

Cause N o. 39 - perm anent frame m ode c onnec tion out-of-s ervic e.

This cause is included in a STATUS message to indicate that a permanently established frame mode connection is out-of-
service (e.g. due to equipment or section failure)

Cause N o. 40 - perm anent frame m ode c onnec tion operational .

This cause is included in a STATUS message to indicate that a permanently established frame mode connection is
operational and capable of carrying user information.

Cause N o. 41 - tem porary fai l ure.

This cause indicates that the network is not functioning correctly and that the condition is no likely to last a long period of
time; e.g., the user may wish to try another call attempt almost immediately.

What it means:
This means that there is a temporary failure at the physical layer on the ISDN network. If you remove the ISDN cable
from the Netopia, you would see this. It's usually temporary.

Cause N o. 42 - s witc hi ng equipment c ongesti on.

This cause indicates that the switching equipment generating this cause is experiencing a period of high traffic.

What it means:
Just too much going on at this point on the ISDN network to get the call through to its destination.

Cause N o. 43 - ac ces s inform ation di sc arded.

This cause indicates that the network could not deliver access information to the remote user as requested. i.e.,
user-to-user information, low layer compatibility, high layer compatibility or sub-address as indicated in the diagnostic. It
is noted that the particular type of access information discarded is optionally included in the diagnostic.

Cause N o. 44 - reques ted c irc ui t/channel not avail abl e.

This cause is returned when the circuit or channel indicated by the requesting entity cannot be provided by the other side
of the interface.

Cause N o. 46 - prec edence cal l bloc ked.

This cause indicates that there are no predictable circuits or that the called user is busy with a call of equal or higher
preventable level.

Cause N o. 47 - res ourc e unavai l able, uns peci fied.

This cause is used to report a resource unavailable event only when no other cause in the resource unavailable class
applies.

Cause N o. 49 - Qual ity of Servic e not avail abl e.

This cause is used to report that the requested Quality of Service, as defined in Recommendation X.213. cannot be
provided (e.g., throughput of transit delay cannot be supported).

Cause N o. 50 - reques ted faci l ity not s ubs cri bed.

This cause indicates that the user has requested a supplementary service which is implemented by the equipment which
generated this cause but the user is not authorized to use.

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What it means:
The switch looks at the number being dialed and thinks it is for another service rather than ISDN. If the phone number is
put in the correct format, the call should be placed properly. There are no standards for this, all Telcos have their own
system for programming the number formats that the switches will recognize. Some systems want to see 7 digits, some
10, and others 11.

Cause N o. 52 - outgoi ng c all s barred.

Cause N o. 53 - outgoi ng c all s barred wi thin CUG.

This cause indicates that although the calling party is a member of the CUG for the outgoing CUG call. Outgoing calls are
not allowed for this member of the CUG.

Cause N o. 54 - i nc omi ng c all s barred

Cause N o. 55 - i nc omi ng c all s barred wi thin CUG.

This cause indicates that although the calling party is a member of the CUG for the incoming CUG call. Incoming calls are
not allowed for this member of the CUG.

Cause N o. 57 - bearer c apabi li ty not authori zed.

This cause indicates that the user has requested a bearer capability which is implemented by the equipment which
generated this cause but the user is not authorized to use.

Cause N o. 58 - bearer c apabi li ty not pres entl y avai labl e.

This cause indicates that the user has requested a bearer capability which is implemented by the equipment which
generated this cause but which is not available at this time.

Cause N o. 62 - i nc onsi s tenc y i n outgoi ng informati on elem ent.

This cause indicates an inconsistency in the designated outgoing access information and subscriber class.

Cause N o. 63 - s ervi c e or opti on no t avai labl e. unspec i fied.

This cause is used to report a service or option not available event only when no other cause in the service or option not
available class applies.

Cause N o. 65 - bearer c apabi li ty not im pl emented.

This cause indicates that the equipment sending this cause does not support the bearer capability requested.

What it means:

1. In most cases, the number being called is not an ISDN number but an analog destination.
2. The equipment is dialing at a faster rate than the circuitry allows, for example, dialing at 64K when only 56K is
supported.

Cause N o. 66 - c hannel type no t im pl emented.

This cause indicates that the equipment sending this cause does not support the channel type requested.

Cause N o. 69 - reques ted faci l ity not i mplem ented.

This cause indicates that the equipment sending this cause does not support the requested supplementary services.

Cause N o. 70 - onl y restri c ted di gi tal inform atio n bearer c apabil ity i s avai labl e.
This cause indicates that the calling party has requested an unrestricted bearer service but the equipment sending this
cause only supports the restricted version of the requested bearer capability.

Cause N o. 79 - s ervi c e or opti on no t im pl em ented uns pec ified.

This cause is used to report a service or option not implemented event only when no other cause in the service or option
not implemented class applies.

Cause N o. 81 - i nval i d c al l reference val ue.

This cause indicates that the equipment sending this cause has received a message with a call reference which is not
currently in use on the user-network interface.

Cause N o. 82 - i dentifi ed channel does not exi st.

This cause indicates that the equipment sending this cause has received a request to use a channel not activated on the
interface for a call. For example, if a user has subscribed to those channels on a primary rate interface numbered from l
to 12 and the user equipment or the network attempts to use channels 3 through 23, this cause is generated.

Cause N o. 83 - a s us pended c al l exi s ts, but thi s cal l identi fy does no t. This cause indicates that a call resume has been
attempted with a call identity which differs from that in use for any presently suspended call(s).

Cause N o. 84 - c all i dentity i n us e.

This cause indicates that the network has received a call suspended request containing a call identity (including the null
call identity) which is already in use for a suspended call within the domain of interfaces over which the call might be
resumed.

Cause N o. 85 - no cal l sus pended.

This cause indicates that the network has received a call resume request containing a call identity information element
which presently does not indicate any suspended call within the domain of interfaces over which calls may be resumed.

Cause N o. 86 - c all having the requested c all i denti ty has been c leared.
This cause indicates that the network has received a call resume request containing a call identity information element
indicating a suspended call that has in the meantime been cleared while suspended (either by network time-out or by the
remote user).

Cause N o. 87 - us er not a mem ber of CUG.

This cause indicates that the called user for the incoming CUG call is not a member of the specified CUG or that the calling
user is an ordinary subscriber calling a CUG subscriber.

Cause N o. 88 - i nc ompati ble des ti nati on.

This cause indicates that the equipment sending this cause has received a request to establish a call which has low layer
compatibility. high layer compatibility or other compatibility attributes (e.g., data rate) which cannot be accommodated.

What it means:

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1. This usually means that the Number To Dial in the Connection Profile is in the wrong format. You may need to dial
a 10 or 11 digit number, or dial a 9 in front of the number if it is a Centrex line.
2. This problem may also give a Cause 111.
3. Dialing at the wrong line speed can also give this Cause.

Cause N o. 90 - non-exis tent CUG.

This cause indicates that the specified CUG does not exist.

Cause N o. 91 - i nval i d trans it network s elec tion (nati onal use).

This cause indicates that a transit network identification was received which is of an incorrect format as defined in Annex
C/Q.931

Cause N o. 95 - i nval i d m es s age, uns peci fied.

This cause is used to report an invalid message event only when no other cause in the invalid message class applies.

Cause N o. 96 - m andatory inform atio n elem ent i s m i ss ing.

This cause indicates that the equipment sending this cause has received a message which is missing an information
element which must be present in the message before that message can be processed.

What it means:
This is rarely seen in North America but usually means that the number that is being dialed is in the wrong format,
(similar to cause 88). Some part of the format being used is not understood by either the remote side equipment or the
switching equipment between the source and destination of the call.

Cause N o. 97 - m ess age type no n-exi stent or not i mpl emented.

This cause indicates that the equipment sending this cause has received a message with a message type it does not
recognize either because this is a message not defined of defined but not implemented by the equipment sending this
cause.

Cause N o. 98 - m ess age not c ompati ble wi th c all s tate or m es s age type non-exis tent.
This cause indicates that the equipment sending this cause has received a message such that the procedures do not
indicate that this is a permissible message to receive while in the call state, or a STATUS message was received indicating
an incompatible call state.

Cause N o. 99 - Inform ati on el ement / parameter non-exi stent or not i mpl emented.
This cause indicates that the equipment sending this cause has received a message which includes information
element(s)/parameter(s) not recognized because the information element(s)/parameter name(s) are not defined or are
defined but not implemented by the equipment sending the cause. This cause indicates that the information
element(s)/parameter(s) were discarded. However, the information element is not required to be present in the message
in order for the equipment sending the cause to process the message.

Cause N o. 100 - Inval i d info rmati on el em ent c ontents.

This cause indicates that the equipment sending this cause has received and information element which it has
implemented; however, one or more of the fields in the information element are coded in such a way which has not been
implemented by the equipment sending this cause.

What it means:
Like cause 1 and cause 88, this usually indicates that the ISDN number being dialed is in a format that is not understood
by the equipment processing the call. SPIDs will sometimes fail to initialize with a Cause 100, or a call will fail with this
cause.

Cause N o. 101 - mes s age not co mpati ble wi th c all s tate.

This cause indicates that a message has been received which is incompatible with the call state.

Cause N o. 102 - rec overy on tim er expiry.

This cause indicates that a procedure has been initiated by the expiration of a timer in association with error handling
procedures.

What it means:
This is seen in situations where ACO (Alternate Call Offering) is being used. With this type of call pre-emption, the Telco
switch operates a timer. For example, when an analog call is placed to a Netopia router that has two B Data Channels in
place, the router relinquishes the second channel, but if it doesn't happen in the time allotted by the switch programming,
the call will not ring through and will be discarded by the switch.

Cause N o. 103 - param eter non-exi stent o r not i mpl em ented - pass ed on (nati onal use).
This cause indicates that the equipment sending this cause has received a message which includes parameters not
recognized because the parameters are not defined or are defined but not implemented by the equipment sending this
cause. The cause indicates that the parameter(s) were ignored. In addition, if the equipment sending this cause is an
intermediate point, then this cause indicates that the parameter(s) were passed unchanged.

Cause N o. 110 - mes s age wi th unrec ogni zed param eter di sc arded.
This cause indicates that the equipment sending this cause has discarded a received message which includes a parameter
that is not recognized.

Cause N o. 111 - protoc ol error, uns peci fied.

This cause is used to report a protocol error event only when no other cause in the protocol error class applies.

Cause N o. 127 - Intel-working, uns peci fied.

This cause indicates that an interworking call (usually a call to 5W56 service) has ended.

No tes about Caus e Codes over 128

Cause code values of 128 and higher aren't sent over the network. A terminal displaying a value 128 or higher and
claiming it is a cause code arguably has a bug or is implementing some proprietary diagnostic code (not necessarily bad).
Some commendation has cause codes listed with numbers higher than 128, but at this time they are proprietary in
nature.

The PRI equipment vendors are the most likely to use these codes as they have been using proprietary messages in the
facilities data link for some time now (there is an as yet undefined area in the FDL which is big enough to carry small
datagrams or messages). It is typically used to pass proprietary control or maintenance messages between multiplexers.

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