The trials of setting up an IP phone

To use an IP phone you will need to plug it into a network with an internet gateway that, ideally, provides DHCP (Dynamic Host Control Protocol) and DNS (Domain Name Server) services.

For the home or small-business user this usually means having a DSL broadband line connected to a router.

If you buy a phone from a Sip provider, it will often come preconfigured for use with that service.

If you want to use a different provider or change your details you’ll need to configure the phone. This isn’t always straightforward.

All IP phones have an internal web server that you can access locally by entering the phone’s IP address into a web browser.

On a network with a DHCP server, the phone’s IP address will be automatically assigned as soon as it is connected and powered up, and will usually be of the format 192.168.00X.XXX.

The phone’s IP address can be checked via your router’s DHCP client list (usually listed in the router’s own configuration pages) or via the phone’s menus and/or LCD status panel – how you access these is model-specific, so you’ll need to read the manual.

As IP phones are designed to be used with any Sip service, they tend to have general-purpose configuration menus that can be rather confusing.

Sip service providers generally issue you with an ID, password, Domain and an Outbound Proxy, and there may be other information, such as inbound and outbound port numbers.

The trickiest part of setting up an IP phone is correctly entering this information into the phone’s configuration. The lack of interface standards means that field names, in which you enter your details, could vary.

For example the Sip domain ‘sipit.org’ might only need to be entered once, or it might need to be entered under ‘Sip URL’ as ‘sip:sipit.org’ and combined with your ID as ‘sip:87654321@sipit.org’. It’s a bit of a mess, but unless you’re a network technophobe, it’s worth persevering.

It’s impossible to give specific advice, and the best source of detailed setup information is your VoIP service provider.

Telappliant, which provided all the phones in this feature, offers online model-specific configuration advice for use with its own Voiptalk service.

Also, have a look at the manufacturer’s own site, or online user forums.

Most IP phones also provide access to the configuration settings through the phone’s own keypad, but we’d only recommend trying this if all else fails as it’s a tedious process.

This article is part of a group test of IP phones .
See also
Grandstream Budgetone 101
Grandstream GXP-2000
Alternatives to IP phones
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