Voice over Wifi handsets

[Mark Phillips]

Following on from this thread https://www.3cx.com/community/threads/best-wifi-dect-cordless-phone.61379/

I'm curious if there have been any developments with 3CX/Voice over Wifi handsets. Is the GrandStream WP820 a viable (if officially unsupported) option?

I am looking for a solution for a small country house hotel which already has a centrally managed network of 14 wifi access points (there are lots of thick stone walls in the building). It would seem silly to go and install a series of DECT base stations if we could use Wifi SIP handsets.

Roaming between APs wouldn't be so much of an issue - it's more about getting good static coverage over the entire site.

 

[cobaltit]

Any of the Yealink T4xs phones and the T27G or T29G with a wi-fi dongle work right now.

The Snom D3xx and D7xx phones also support a WiFi dongle but they require a newer firmware than what 3CX supports at the moment as well as require v16 (at least for the D717)

 

[eddv123]

All wireless WiFi handsets (such as the Grandstream you mentioned) are currently unsupported by 3CX.

This would mean manually registering these devices to 3CX. Since it is as you say a small deployment you may not have an issue doing this but it is sensible to stay supported.

As a side note I have deployed the Spectralink 8440 WiFi handsets before without issue however they are quite costly.

The good thing about these is they were able to provide a provisioning template which could be adapted for 3CX.

 

[leejor]

When you are dealing with Wifi handsets, as opposed to wifi desk phones, then roaming between various wifi base station may very well come into play, as people tend to wander.

 

[eddv123]

Agreed, but if it helps I've not had any complaints on the couple of deployments I've done, although DECT multicell would be the obvious choice in most scenarios.

 

[Mark Phillips]

Thanks for the replies so far. As i mentioned, i'm not so concerned about users roaming. Its more about providing a simple DECT-like handset without the hassle and cost of installing a number of DECT base stations/repeaters and associated cabling.

 

[eddv123]

WiFi handsets shouldn't be an issue just as long as they can support SIP and register to the extensions of 3CX.

I have not seen anyone on here using the new Grandstream models you mentioned but what I do know is (at least inthe case of the Spectralinks i deployed)that the WiFi access points are a factor in the setup they even have a recommended list.

 

[DSXVOICE]

Our experience has been that if a WiFI access point reaches a certain number of clients, VOIP calls begin to get dropped. Because of unpredictable connections from smartphones, its best to dedicate the AP/SSID to just the phones and not have to deal with random behavior.

 

[Mark Phillips]

Surely that's down to the capabilities of the AP. I know that with the APs we have, I am able to specify maximum numbers of clients per SSID and also reserve bandwidth either for an entire SSID or for categories of traffic. Good point though, as more basic APs may not have such facilities.

 

[Tao Huang]

Anyone know update about GrandStream WP820, whether or not supported by 3CX now?

 

[cobaltit]

Supported phones should show up here. WP820 is not on the list.

https://www.3cx.com/sip-phones/

 

[Shawn]

not sure if i saw this option on this post but you could also get a bunch of cheap android mobile phones and use them without sim cards. just add them to the wifi, install the android client and deploy. just need to make sure wifi is not saturated or come up with a qos scheme to allow dedicated bandwidth for the android clients.

 

[Mark Phillips]

I am specifically looking for a simple DECT-like experience. But yes, cheap android phones running the 3CX client on wifi could be an option for some.

 

[Mark Phillips]

Anyone know update about GrandStream WP820, whether or not supported by 3CX now?

Not supported by 3CX yet. I have just got a WP820 today. I have managed to provision it via 3CX using the Grandstream template available in 3CX. Not tested fully, but basically it registers, can make and receive calls. One anomaly is that the Green "Call" button doesn't seem to work (but the soft key "Send" does work). Presumably the Green "Call" button needs to be configured in the template. I've grabbed the WP820 config template from the Grandstream forums, so hope to make some progress on this.

 

[Evolute IT]

Not supported by 3CX yet. I have just got a WP820 today. I have managed to provision it via 3CX using the Grandstream template available in 3CX. Not tested fully, but basically it registers, can make and receive calls. One anomaly is that the Green "Call" button doesn't seem to work (but the soft key "Send" does work). Presumably the Green "Call" button needs to be configured in the template. I've grabbed the WP820 config template from the Grandstream forums, so hope to make some progress on this.

You can try opening a ticket on Grandstream PartnerConnect and ask for 3CX templates. Last versions I have don't have the WP820 yet but I know they are working on it.

They are also working on templates for DP752 and GXV3370.

 

[Tao Huang]

not sure if i saw this option on this post but you could also get a bunch of cheap android mobile phones and use them without sim cards. just add them to the wifi, install the android client and deploy. just need to make sure wifi is not saturated or come up with a qos scheme to allow dedicated bandwidth for the android clients.

Android mobile phones shall not likely work.
1. Battery Charging is one thing. Android phone runs a lot background apps and need frequent charging.

2. Even with WiFi connected, when 3CX is not explicitly launched, and with screen turned off, it is not able to receive incoming calls .

 

[Mark Phillips]

You can try opening a ticket on Grandstream PartnerConnect and ask for 3CX templates. Last versions I have don't have the WP820 yet but I know they are working on it.

They are also working on templates for DP752 and GXV3370.

As of today, Grandstream have told me a 3CX/WP820 template is not available from them yet.

 

[Evolute IT]

As of today, Grandstream have told me a 3CX/WP820 template is not available from them yet.

That's what I said. They are working on it.

They are currently changing all their provisioning methods in all phones to make a uniform way of configuring. They are probably waiting on that to be done.

 

[Mark Phillips]

That's what I said. They are working on it.

You also said "You can try opening a ticket on Grandstream PartnerConnect and ask for 3CX templates" - so that's exactly what I did.

 

[JohnS_3CX]

Android mobile phones shall not likely work.
1. Battery Charging is one thing. Android phone runs a lot background apps and need frequent charging.

2. Even with WiFi connected, when 3CX is not explicitly launched, and with screen turned off, it is not able to receive incoming calls .

1. All phones need charging whether android or DECT. It would ideally be a lower end android phone with no additional apps installed and a higher battery capacity which could work fine with a single charge per day as done with most DECT style phones on a cradle. If it's not a busy environment, they can last 2-3 days on WiFi alone and you can also find rugged models that can take rough handling or being dropped.

2. You are describing an issue where push stopped working in this scenario, or you used "Exit (Ignores Push)" from the app menu. Screen pinning in Android allows for a single app to be on screen at all times so only the 3CX client would be in the foreground for a dedicated device.

I imagine the OP was not talking about a large deployment anyway, more like a few phones for the staff to use. They could also use their existing devices if dedicated phones aren't necessary and not have to carry around an additional phone when moving across the hotel (as most people carry a phone one them anyway these days).

Although not they are not the only solution, when set up correctly, an android Wi-Fi phone will serve you well so I think it's not fair to say that android shall likely not work.