Solved Yealink W56H Base W52PW56P Data initializing or Synchronizing errors after move to 3CX

[Sunburnt]

Hi All,
I am scratching my head why this would be a problem, so thought I would reach out to others for input.

I have two W56H handsets & a W52PW56P base that were working fine on a SIP account cloud based PABX that I have unable to get working after I move them to a hosted 3CX installation.

I have followed the steps here https://www.3cx.com/sip-phones/yealink-dect-w52p/ at least 5 times, (picking up some mistakes the first couple of times), and resetting the base and clearing the phone settings each time (though De-Reg has never worked, because of the same issue I believe?). First thing I did was to upgrade the firmware. At first the Base was on v25.80.0,15 and I may have applied v61.83.0.50 to the handsets the first couple of times, but they are now on base v25.81.0.30 and handsets on v61.85.0.35

The end result has always been the same, most of the time it just shows Data initializing... (see photo). Sometimes the message is gone, but most actions on the phone result in 'Synchronizing, please try later !' message. No calls are possible.

I have checked that they are both in the same region (Europe) as the base station.

After registering, you can see details change slowly on the phone, such as the date & time, then extension number etc, and you can see the local and 3CX address book when you press down, so data is getting through to the handset, but it never completes the syncing properly.

The only thing I can think of is corrupted firmware, as the first thing I did was to upgrade the base station & handsets. But I have tried loading it again with no success. Are there older copies of the firmware available to try? The https://www.yealink.com/products_48.html site doesn't list the date or older versions.
I have a call lodged with Yealink as well, but that is going slowly.
Regards,
Malcolm

 

[JohnS_3CX]

Hi Malcolm,

Yealink currently advertises the handsets on their web page for use with the W60B base and above, so I'm not sure what their current level of compatibility is when using the W52P base. I don't think you have corrupted firmware (otherwise you would be facing bigger issues).

Let me know what Yealink replies back to you, this sounds like an interesting case.

 

[Sunburnt]

Yes, I will. I note that these used to be bundled together...
"The W56P is a complete system that can be expanded with a further four W56H Handsets."

Maybe they broke compatibility in the latest firmware? If I knew buying the W60 base would fix it, it would be an easy decision.

 

[JohnS_3CX]

I can confirm that the handset models W53H and W56H work fine on these base models W60/W70/W80/W90 if this is of any help.

 

[peterjs]

I can confirm that. Changing the base from W52PW56P to W60B fixes the issues with "Data initializing..." on the W56H handset running the v61.85.0.35 firmware.

The first step is to deregister the handset from the W52PW56P, it can be done, although sometimes it fails while the base is in a reboot loop. After the deregistration, it can be paired again with the W60B. With W60B, the firmware could be downgraded to e.g. v61.85.0.23, or other version compatible with the older base station, although upgrading the base station to newer supported hardware seems more reasonable.

 

[Sunburnt]

Thanks PeterJS. Apparently the W52PW56P Base Station is now EOL from Yealink, so even though there is firmware compatible for it on the 3CX website, I can't get support for my issue now.
So you have seen the endless Data initializing message as well? Good to know it wasn't just me!

You can also deregister the handsets by a factory reset of the base station and System Settings-Handset Reset on the cordless as well. I did it several times in troubleshooting this issue.
We have a new base station on back order now, so that will be our solution.

 

[JohnS_3CX]

SInce EOL, I doubt there will ever be newer firmware to maintain compatibility between new generation handsets, on an old generation base.

I think the best solution is to at least get the minimum W60B base if you wish to use newer handsets. It's already compatible and available, and should continue to receive updates for a while so it makes more sense.

We will mark this one as solved then.