Do you give up anything with a 1-line phone

[marcuso]

I am wondering if 3CX systems make use of more than one line appearance in a phone. I am considering the Aastra 51i phones, and I am wondering if I give up anything over the other phones in the series such as the 53i and 55i.

Is BLF rock-solid stable with these phones? Any reason that I should instead consider the Snom 320 or 360?

 

[Discovery Technology]

You don't necessarily give anything up other than the ability to handle multiple calls on multiple lines, although there may be a couple of other features such as the XML browser on the screen the more money you spend.

If you are comparing the two, the SNOM 360s are much nicer phones than the other options you are considering and have better all-round features, including better hands-free and add-ons. The 320s don't have any XML browser capabilities, however they're quite good for inexpensive handsets if you're considering a large rollout.

The SNOM phones have a lot more programmable BLF lights on their handsets as well which comes in very handy.

...and you would have to admit that the 5x1 series of phones are not as anywhere near as pretty as the SNOM handsets.

You should also take a look at the new SNOM 820 handset as well if you are looking for an executive handset as part of your setup.

 

[Powermage]

When you use Aastra phones with version 7 on 3cx the aastra phones will reboot randomly.....

 

[marcuso]

I have long seen problems with BLF on this forum. Is there any reason why this isn't being resolved? Does BLF work consistently with any make of phone?

Why is the Aastra reboot issue taking so long to resolve? Isn't it a known and critical issue?

I am looking for a phone system that "just works" once it is set up correctly. I don't want to have to tinker with a bunch of things on a continuous basis. I am starting to rethink my intention to purchase 3cx. Is there any IP phone system that can be installed and forgotten about?

 

[worksighted]

I'll chime in by saying that I think the aastra's are a great phone, for whatever that is worth. I use them all the time. I am personally working the aastra reboot issue with 3cx and I would say this is close to resolution. As well, only a VERY small percentage of aastra 5xis are showing this behavior and it's not easy to replicate (3cx hasnt been able to show this behavior in their own labs).

I'd say you wont go wrong either way. I feel the aastra has a simpler display and favors softkeys to hard keys which I prefer. Sounds quality is great and price point is a little lower.

Snoms are great phones and I use them, just wanted to give a little perspecitve on the aastra side as well. I think these to manufacturers are the top 3cx phones.

Best,

Mike

 

[Discovery Technology]

Matt,

Just out of curiosity do you have a converged network (data and voice, either using the pass-through ports on the phones or simply sharing the same switches) or do you have your phones running on totally separate hardware (their own dedicated switches)?

Just wondering if there is a possible relationship there with your BLF experiences.

 

[worksighted]

Sorry for my delay here. I have been really swamped.

I find BLF lights are not perfect yet...but are getting there. Keep in mind, this is a SUBSCRIPTION/NOTIFY relationship. I typically recommend settign the phoen to resubscribe to BLFs at a lower interval. This way, if things go off kilter then the phone will resync within a few minutes and this typically casuses things to get better. Additionally, when I do see BLF inconsistencies, phones of a particular model tend to agree with each other but not with the pbx. In other words, they all show a particalular phone "in call" even if the pbx says it is "on hook". This leads me to believe inconisistencies may come more from the NOTIFY event being ignored and handled oddly on the phone or perhaps sent oddly from the PBX.

At some point I'll put some actual work into figuring it out and see if I can make some sense of it.

Mike