Phone Setup and Reset

This page details the manner in which you need to configure the following types of phones:

  • Polycom Soundpoint IP phones.
  • Generic SIP phones.
  • Generic IAX phones.

(For the purposes of this setup guide a "Generic SIP phone" is any SIP phone that is not a Polycom Soundpoint IP).

Polycom Soundpoint IP

The bulk of the configuration for these phones is done automatically, but you do need to enter information into the phone to tell it where the Bluestone configuration servers are.

Setting Up the Configuration Server.

The process is as follows:

  1. Power cycle the phone (remove power and then reconnect).
  2. Press the "Setup" button that appears immediately the phone boots.
  3. Enter the password - the default is "456".
  4. Scroll down to "Server Menu" and press "Select".
  5. With the cursor on "Server Type" press "Edit".
  6. Use the "left/right" navigation keys to select "HTTP", then press "OK".
  7. Use the "up/down" navigation keys and move down to "Server Address" and press "Edit".
  8. Enter the address you were sent. Press "OK".
  9. Press "Exit".
  10. Press "Save".

The phone will now reboot and get its configuration information automatically.

Polycom Reset

Polycom phones have local flash that will override the configuration files from our configuration servers and potentially cause problems. To reset this flash do the following:

  1. Press Menu => Settings => Advanced
  2. Enter the password (default is "456").
  3. Press Admin => Reset to Default => Reset Local Configuration
  4. The phone will prompt you with "Are you sure?" => Press "yes"

When the phone reboots you will need to go through the setup as described in "Setting Up the Configuration Server" above.

Soft Phones

Soft phones (short for "software phones") are applications that you can run on your laptop, desktop, even Droid or iPhone. They implement the function of an IP phone using the resources of your computer. They represent great solutions for the mobile user.

Speex Codec

Before overviewing the setup of "generic" SIP and IAX phones it is worth noting the value of the Speex codec. The codec (short for "coder/decoder") is the functionality that converts your analog voice into a digital representation suitable for transmission over the Internet. It has a huge impact on the voice quality and the bandwidth used. As many soft-phones will be used from laptops or other portable devices it is recommended that you use the Speex codec. The notes below will describe how this is done on the XLite and Zoiper soft-phones

Generic SIP Phones

For a generic SIP phone we will need to enter:

  • The Registration/Proxy server address.
  • The extension number.
  • The password.

How these are entered depends on the phone, but we will illustrate the process here by using the CounterPath X-Lite phone, which you can download for free from here.

To use the Speex codec go to the "Preferences" section and then goto "Audio Codecs". Using the arrows make sure the only codecs in the right hand pane are Speex codecs.

Generic IAX Phones

Its the same process with IAX phone as with the SIP phone you will need to enter:

  • The Registration/Proxy server address.
  • The extension number.
  • The password.

Almost all IAX phones are soft-phones - there are some desk phones but they are not common. The most common of the IAX soft phones is the product from Zoiper which you can download from here.

To use the Speex codec go to the "Preferences" section and then under "Audio Options" go to "Audio Codecs". Using the arrows make sure the only codec in the right hand pane (Selected Codecs) is the Speex codec.