Can the Snom 320 do these?

[eug]

Hi,

After buying a bunch of Cisco SPA509G phones, I realized that there are a few things our users don't like about them, namely:

- Audio is muffled. It's full-bodied and I quite like it most of the time, but sometimes you get people whose voices simply sound muffled.

- No line keys, and transferring calls is a hassle. They have to manually dial the extension number (the blf keys when set up as direct-dial keys don't work during a transfer), and because there are no "line keys", calls can get "lost in the system". They're coming from an analog PBX where each incoming line has its own line key, so it's easy to retrieve a call from any phone ("bill's on line 3").

- Manual company-wide phonebook generation. I have to manually edit the XML file to make changes to the companywide phonebook.

After reading and posting about the above problems, the general consensus that I get is that I should have gone with Snom in the first place. We now need a few more phones, so decided to check out the Snoms this time. I'm looking at the Snom 320 and 370... will they take care of the problems above? Will there be any issues in running the phone system with both Cisco SPAs and Snoms?

We're running 3CX v8.0.10824.716 at the moment and will upgrade to v9 when it's out.

Thanks!

 

[StefanW]

Hello,

that the sound is not as good is an issue to the phone, yes, but normally still better then a normal ISDN phone internal.
You can add the home book to the phone is you like or even attach it to the AD of your domain if you have a DC.

AD:http://www.3cx.com/blog/voip-howto/active-directory-cisco-phone/
3CX: go into the phone, admin advance, then phone and go down to XML Service
Enter the Name, like 3CX, for XML Directory Service URL: and the server path to your PBX unter XML Directory Service URL:
http://192.168.1.3:80/management/provisioning/cisco_phonebook.xml (IIS) http://192.168.1.3:5481/provisioning/cisco_phonebook.xml (Cassini Abyss)

To make transfers I found Cisco is one of the easiest to do. Snom one of the hardest (by default but tweak-able).
Look here: http://www.3cx.com/blog/voip-howto/blind-attended-transfer-cisco/

If you have not the smallest cisco spa then you can use blf as well in the phone. cal. for that the line keys you have -2 (reserved for line key) and there is a way to make blf for the rest. the 509 u mentioned has even more keys then a snom (12-2 for line 10 BLF)

 

[eug]

Hi Stefan,

Hello,

that the sound is not as good is an issue to the phone, yes, but normally still better then a normal ISDN phone internal.
You can add the home book to the phone is you like or even attach it to the AD of your domain if you have a DC.

That alone is enough for me to get a different phone. I'm getting tired of people complaining that they can't hear the other side clearly....

I read on another forum that the SPA9xx handsets sound better... but it's a bit of a gamble to buy one just to try though. Buying an EOL product now seems silly too.

Is there an 'ultimate phone' that's easy for non-techy people to use, sounds great, and is reasonably easy to set up?

AD:http://www.3cx.com/blog/voip-howto/active-directory-cisco-phone/

The bottom of the document mentions that it's not for the SPA525G... does that mean it won't work with it? The receptionist phone is a 525G.

To make transfers I found Cisco is one of the easiest to do. Snom one of the hardest (by default but tweak-able).
Look here: http://www.3cx.com/blog/voip-howto/blind-attended-transfer-cisco/

I tried out the blind transfer before, but there was no ringback feature that I could find. i.e. someone rings me, I do a blind transfer to another extension, but the person isn't there. With our old phone system, after a preset timeout, i would get a ringback - the person i blind-transferred would be reconnected to me, which is more personal/polite than just getting their voicemail or getting disconnected.

One more confusing thing for the users here is, the old phone system they're used to, blind transfer and attended transfer are done the same way. Have I set this up correctly? i.e.

Attended transfer on the SPA/3CX:
- Call comes in.
- I press Transfer, select the extension number, and press dial.
- When the extension answers, I tell them who the caller is, then press transfer and hang up.

Blind transfer on the SPA/3CX:
- Call comes in.
- I press BlindXfer, select the extension number, and press dial then hang up.
- I can't get a ringback if the other extension isn't answered (useful for e.g. "i'll try Rob for you .. [rings out]... Sorry, rob isn't available at the moment, would you like to hold, speak to someone else, or leave a message?")

The old phone system:
- Call comes in.
- I press Transfer and select the extension number, and hang up immediately to do a blind transfer,
or
- I speak to the extension first, after which me hanging up will automatically transfer the call.

It took a while for the users to realize they had to hit transfer twice, which resulted in calls getting "lost" when the second extension never got the transfer, and the first extension just hangs up.

Is that phone-dependent, or just the way 3CX works?

If you have not the smallest cisco spa then you can use blf as well in the phone. cal. for that the line keys you have -2 (reserved for line key) and there is a way to make blf for the rest. the 509 u mentioned has even more keys then a snom (12-2 for line 10 BLF)

I have tried making a BLF button ring an extension, but it only works for initiating calls. When I hit transfer, I cannot hit the BLF buttons to transfer the call to that extension. Is there a way to get it to do that?

Also, is SLA on-track to be released in 3CX v9? Just to be certain, will it allow me to place a call on hold, tell the person a desk or two away "call for you on line 2", and they just have to pick up their phone and press the line 2 BLF key?

Thanks!

 

[StefanW]

Just to pick up sone key points.
1.
No, there is not ultimate phone but phones they serve ur needs better then others
Example, to hang up to transfer a call you can do this with snom but not with Cisco.
It is in the ADV settings:
Keys:
Transfer on Onhook: Yes/NO
2.
Right, Cisco send the call at BT blindly away, like fire and forget.
Snom holds the call in the phone until other party pick it up.
But i am not aware how to get the call back.
may read carefully here: http://wiki.snom.com/Call_Transfer
3.
The message does not apply for SPA525 is easy. Cos the menu points are on a different position.
Thats why. I have given this out of my SPA 525 and it working for me.
4.
use my made template for cisco w/o sidecar and it works with the trans via BLF.
plz reset the phone before using it. There is no offical support from 3CX for this template,
but it works for me in testing like a charm. (just tested it with BT and AT working)

 

[StefanW]

file

 

[KerryG]

We get almost zero complaints about the Cisco SPA5xx phones. If you are getting intermittent audio issues I would not look at the phone, I would look at the telephony connection and how you are interfacing to it. I have been using the SPA9xx phones since they came out and I most certainly do NOT prefer their audio over the SPA5xx. The SPA5xx is far superior (in my opinion) in both handset and speakerphone.

For managing calls, have you looked at using the 3CX Assistant? Once people start using it, they quickly see how much easier and reliable it is than trying to remember multiple steps to transfer a call.

For the line key functionality, this will be available in v9 which is currently in beta.

 

[eug]

We get almost zero complaints about the Cisco SPA5xx phones. If you are getting intermittent audio issues I would not look at the phone, I would look at the telephony connection and how you are interfacing to it.

I actually quite like the full-bodied audio, but I've experienced callers who really are just too bassy, resulting in a muffled sound. I'm not alone either:

http://www.3cx.com/forums/spa504g-tone-quality-14327.html (one of the posters at the bottom of the thread took the handset from an SPA941 which fixed the problem)

http://supportforums.cisco.com/thread/2021866 - in this post, a cisco rep seems to address the bassy/muffled problem saying they have a beta firmware that fixes some audio quality issues.

After that, I discovered cisco released a new firmware just after i deployed all the phones. In the changelog under "Fixed Problems" is "Audio received on handset has too much bass" ... perfect! I'll try it out tomorrow, hopefully it really fixes it. I came across this post from someone running the new firmware who still complains of too much bass though:

http://supportforums.cisco.com/thread/2023910

For managing calls, have you looked at using the 3CX Assistant? Once people start using it, they quickly see how much easier and reliable it is than trying to remember multiple steps to transfer a call.

I only briefly tried it, it seemed too feature-rich for my non-tech-minded users. They're the kind of people who only use their mobile phones, slowly, for calling and SMS.
It'd be great if there was a 3CX Assistant 'Lite' (or a Lite mode) for small offices that just takes care of the most common small-office things like call hold/transfer.

For the line key functionality, this will be available in v9 which is currently in beta.

I've been waiting for it for a few months now... but seeing that we use a 4-line SIP trunk, will the SLA line keys still work the classic way?

 

[eug]

Hi Stefan,

Just to pick up sone key points.
1.
No, there is not ultimate phone but phones they serve ur needs better then others
Example, to hang up to transfer a call you can do this with snom but not with Cisco.
It is in the ADV settings:
Keys:
Transfer on Onhook: Yes/NO

That sounds just like what I'm after, at least for the transfer bit. Takes one extra keypress away. OK, that's one point for Snom.

2.
Right, Cisco send the call at BT blindly away, like fire and forget.
Snom holds the call in the phone until other party pick it up.
But i am not aware how to get the call back.
may read carefully here: http://wiki.snom.com/Call_Transfer

I had a read, it doesn't look like it can be done. A call can be retrieved in an attended transfer by pressing the line keys though. It's a bit confusing on the SPA5xx at the moment as there are no dedicated SLA/line keys yet.

4.
use my made template for cisco w/o sidecar and it works with the trans via BLF.
plz reset the phone before using it. There is no offical support from 3CX for this template,
but it works for me in testing like a charm. (just tested it with BT and AT working)

[/quote]
Interesting, I'll have a look at it tomorrow. So this means I can hit Transfer, and hit one of the BLF keys (that have been assigned to the appropriate extensions) to transfer the call?

Thanks!

 

[StefanW]

yes when u r in call and hit the blf the phone pref. a BT
for AT hit trans first then the line key (ist now overcovered by the CalelrIDs but there is not so much u must rememeber where what is. phone open second call to dest and press bxfer lines to connect them

 

[StefanW]

ah by the way, if you like to bye snom plz dont feel that we like to stop you from that.
I take care of the German marked and there is snom No. 1 by far. But the provisioning of Cisco phones is by far the easiest.
Change it in the phone read then the xml and place it into the provisioning template. snom go to the wiki by the "?" next to each item. Sometimes luck there is the xml command or you have to go a long way to make it work.
V9 and snom work great. DND sync from phone and call assistant (cisco, i have given up to figure that out with service sync, when some one has the solution i will be pleased to see how it works).
Dialog Info caller ID presentation. There are good point for both. Most it is always to tweak a phone to the personal liking.
For some purposes some phones are then the better choice. (except GrandStream, there are just rubbish, my opinion...)

 

[eug]

Hi Stefan,

yes when u r in call and hit the blf the phone pref. a BT
for AT hit trans first then the line key (ist now overcovered by the CalelrIDs but there is not so much u must rememeber where what is. phone open second call to dest and press bxfer lines to connect them

I just tried the xml config and it works great for blind transfers... just takes a single-press. If only there was a way to retrieve a call if the other side isn't there.

I can't get it working for attended transfers though. When I answer call A on extension B, I then press xfer followed by the BLF for extension C. I then speak to C, but when I press xfer again, the phone asks me to dial an extension again.

Also, is there a way to get the Short Name to match the extension name in 3CX, without having to login to each phone to configure the names manually? At the moment the phones just display BLF-xxx next to the BLF keys.

thanks!

 

[eug]

ah by the way, if you like to bye snom plz dont feel that we like to stop you from that.

I'd actually much prefer to stick with the SPAs to avoid confusing the users. I was only looking at other brands because of the muffled/bassy audio problem, and lack of SLA... hopefully v9 will take care of that!

I upgraded all the phones to 7.4.4 with the bassy fix and am waiting for some feedback now. I don't actually hear a difference in the bass. hmm...

For some purposes some phones are then the better choice. (except GrandStream, there are just rubbish, my opinion...)

I've got a GXP2000 which keeps on losing its connection to the voip provider, even though it's still connected to the network. A reboot fixes it. Really annoying.

 

[StefanW]

i described how to make a AT in my post before, it works for me. Check it again

Thx GXP has one purpose in MY opinion.
Wast money to dump it in the bin.

 

[eug]

Cisco released firmware 7.4.6 which comes with EQ presets to address the muffled/bassy problem. I just tried it out and there's a very noticeable difference between them ... I'll be setting them up for everyone and hopefully they'll be happier.

I decided to stick with the SPAs as having a mixture of SPAs and Snoms would be confusing. The availability of this EQ fix takes care of the biggest complaint the users have, and now that 3CX 9 is out, hopefully SLA will be taken care of too!

 

[RichardCrabb1]

We mostly use SNOM 320's and in general we can do what we need to do with them. Transfers for example are easy to use and are reliable. Users like them as the quality is solid.

Richard Crabb
http://www.dorsetphonesystems.com