Solved Are Yealinks newest firmwares compatible with v14 of 3CX?

[xirgo]

Hello!

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We have a project where a client running an on-prem v14 is looking to upgrade to the latest v18.

Given how old the system is we'll be installing a new v18 instance and cutting over to the new instance once everything is setup.

The client has about 80 Yealink phones with some of them being EOL and running old firmware versions.

I've experienced issues with 3CX being unable to provision/register phones automatically if the firmware was too old (mostly due to the letsencrypt RC not being in older version of the yealink firmware). In order to make it work we needed to ensure the phones got their firmware manually upgraded first at which point 3CX was able to provision.

Now for my question
Would a Yealink phone running a firmware that is compatible with V18 still function with a 3CX v14 instance or will it be unable to register?

Also does anyone know of a method to do a mass upgrade of all yealink phones without having to log into them individually?

 

[JohnS_3CX]

Hi @xirgo

Would a Yealink phone running a firmware that is compatible with V18 still function with a 3CX v14 instance or will it be unable to register?

The latest firmware is only tested with the latest version of 3CX. This means that answer is unknown/untested.
Are you asking because you want to first upgrade the phones, and then upgrade 3CX to V18?

Also does anyone know of a method to do a mass upgrade of all yealink phones without having to log into them individually?

That's not a good idea - if you try force feeding the phones the latest firmware, I expect many of them will just downright reject it. Yealink does not allow you to upgrade directly from a very old version to a much later one, unless you install the versions that were released in between. I believe this is to prevent your phones from being bricked.

You need to research this with the help of Yealink, source the in-between firmware, and depending on the models and their current FW version, upgrade them step by step until you reach the latest version 3CX supports.

Unfortunately with such an old installation, these steps cannot be avoided - for future reference we recommend keeping up to date to avoid such issues. Given that it's too late for that, I think it's best to not risk it and perform the upgrades as described above to ensure the phones don't get damaged.


If this is a local installation (ie. the phones contact the PBX IP directly) then you probably don't have to worry about Let's Encrypt, as no SSL is used for provisioning. The EOL models are expected to work, but we don't test them with the latest version of 3CX, so there could be some surprises. Generally Yealink is pretty solid though, and on a personal level I have not yet come up against any incompatibilities with EOL models (except SSL of course).

Let me know if you have any further questions before you proceed and I will try to assist as needed.

 

[xirgo]

Hi @JohnS_3CX

Thank you for the informaiton

Are you asking because you want to first upgrade the phones, and then upgrade 3CX to V18?

Yes, this is the approach I wanted to take. Do you see any issues with this?

 

[JohnS_3CX]

Hi @xirgo

Yes - as mentioned already above, this is not something we ever tested so it remains an unknown.

I can provide some suggestions in this case, since you won't know what you will be up against, best to be prepared.

• Take inventory of what models they have, and how many. Make sure you read our guides for these models
• Check the current firmware the devices are running, and make use of Yealink's online resources
• Try to upgrade one of each models, so you can learn how long it takes, and what firmware files you need to have handy. You might need to install 2-3 versions before you can install the latest
• Ensure you book enough downtime ahead of you so you can troubleshoot any issues that might arise on the way. It might be best to carry out the operation during out of office hours, or a weekend/holiday
• Read our support documents and learn beforehand what you need to install 3CX V18. It will not run on the existing system (It's a V14 so I assume they are running an old Windows Server that we no longer support)
• The system requirements have changed over the years, ensure the hardware is enough for your needs on V18
• Check to see if the current trunk provider is supported, and if not plan extra time to be able to setup a generic trunk.
• A V14 backup will not work, so unless you are planning on building the new system from scratch you need to upgrade to V15.5, then V16, then finally to V18
• If you are planning on building from scratch, you can install V18 on a new machine that will be the future PBX, and then have it running side by side to the old machine while you migrate extensions/phones over

I hope the above is useful to you, and prevents a few pitfalls that may cost you additional time and resources.

 

[xirgo]

This is great information.

Thank you!