Hello everybody, this is probably a dumb question.
Can Cisco Phones be used with non Cisco PBX boxes? I’m looking at getting some cheap Cisco 7945 phones to upgrade some old Panasonic phones to help my parents out, but I have limited experience with phone systems.
Any Recommendations on learning material would be helpful!
A SIP phone is a sip phone for the most part.
Some PBX’s restrict you to only using some specific SIP clients (phones) however.
My provider’s PBX is configured to block all SIP devices unless the device lists the correct firmware version number in the user agent SIP account when the phone connects to the PBX .
Yes, they can with the following caveats:
- you’ll need to have an IP based PBX that supports them, they get their config/firmware/etc. from TFTP. We used to run Asterisk with them in years gone by
- if they were set up originally with SCCP (“skinny”) proprietary protocol, getting the SIP firmware onto them can be a pain in the ass - you’ll need to find/obtain a legitimate copy of it and then get it onto the phone via magic reset process/tftp. to do that “legitimately” needs a license/account with Cisco…
- given the above, I’d suggest running something easier to administer.
If you have a SIP VOIP system, I’d suggest looking up what that system officially supports/recommends.
Depending on age, a lot of the Cisco IP phones on the used market will be SCCP/skinny firmware on them out of the box and NOT sip - especially if they were previously in use with Call Manager or a call manager express.
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How would you find out if it has been configured to block other devices, I’ve been reading through the manual for the Panasonic kx tda30 Hybrid IP-PBX that they have, and it doesn’t say anything so far in the manual about it?
Ahh ok, I don’t have the phone details just the model number and a photo of them
i just saw the phones on the Ross auctioneer site and thought they may be a way to go, or at the least maybe get some experience with ip phone setups.
To be honest I’m not really a fan of touching anything cisco, but cheap is cheap
What would be an easier to administer phone?
Also, howdy fellow Aussie
The easiest method would be to port the number to a cloud PBX provider then grab a Yearlink SIP phone, they’re set and forget via a web interface or with the on-screen menu.
My scenario is probably more of an edge case than an actual rule, it’s a Huawai phone connecting to a callmanager PBX. Your mileage may vary.
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