Auto answer feature on SPA5xx/9x2

jowan.mcruz · ‎11-20-2011

Hi,

I'm thinking this has been asked before however I'm unable to find any answer.

Does anyone know how to configure SPA5xx/9xx IP phone to do Auto answer/Paging function ie for inbound call, phone will auto answer and go speaker mode ?
On the User section (Advanced), theres Auto Answer Page, Send Audo To Speaker settings, set both to Yes, and doesn't seem to do anything.

Any thoughts ?

Cheers,

Jowan

klogata · ‎11-21-2011

I don't think there is a way to do this, but maybe someone else can confirm.

For the two fields you asked about, here is the info:

Auto Answer Page - Setting this to yes makes the phone automatically turn on in speaker phone mode when it is paged from another extension. (Has nothing to do with an inbound call - it has to be a page.)

Send Audio to Speaker - Setting this to yes sends audio to the speaker when the handset is lifted. The call still has to be answered, though - it's not automatic.

Hope this helps.

jowan.mcruz · ‎11-23-2011

Thanks for the response.

it is paged from another extension. (Has nothing to do with an inbound call - it has to be a page.)

>> How do you page from another extension ? do you need an external pbx setup for this ?

jowan.mcruz · ‎11-23-2011

Update:
Tested group paging on SPA5xx/SPA3xx series using spa500_admin.pdf guide.

Follow up question:

1. How to do single page ? It is mentioned from the guide a user can directly contact another user, but how to assign a unique paging number for all users ?

2. How to do paging on 9xx series ? I'm not having much luck, based from the 9xx guide, *96 code to initiate a page prompt, then have enter paging number, but its nowhere mentioned how to setup this paging number or which phones are part of a paging group ?

3. Can the 9xx series interwork with SPA5xx/3xx series, paging wise?

klogata · ‎11-28-2011

Hi,

I can't answer all of your questions, but here is some info:

1. How do you page from another extension ? do you need an external pbx setup for this ?

My setup is a group of phones attached to a SPA9000. It should also work with the UC320. I'm not sure which third-party systems, if any, support paging.

2. How to do single page ? It is mentioned from the guide a user can directly contact another user, but how to assign a unique paging number for all users ?

For a page to a single extension, enter *96 and then the extension of the phone you are paging.

You can assign paging groups in the SPA5XX phones. For the SPA9XX phones, you can either page a single extension or one group of extensions at once (no multi-group capabilities for 9XX phones).

To assign paging groups in the SPA5XX phones:

In the web interface, go to Admin Login > Advanced.
In the Phone tab, under Multiple Paging Group Parameters, configure your paging groups. For more info, see the SPA500/300 Series Admin Guide, starting on p. 63.

2. How to do paging on 9xx series ? I'm not having much luck, based from the 9xx guide, *96 code to initiate a page prompt, then have enter paging number, but its nowhere mentioned how to setup this paging number or which phones are part of a paging group ?

For group paging (paging to every single phone in the group) on the 9XX phones, you need to configure the following on each network phone in the web interface:

Go to Admin Login > Advanced.
In the User tab, under one of the speed dial fields, enter "pagegroup". Click Submit All Changes.

Each phone that you have configured as part of the paging group can make a page to all other phones in the paging group by pressing the speed dial number under which you configured "pagegroup", then #. For example, if you entered "pagegroup" in the third speed dial field, enter 3#.

3. Can the 9xx series interwork with SPA5xx/3xx series, paging wise?

I have tested with a SPA962 and 504G and 525G, and they work together.

jowan.mcruz · ‎11-28-2011

Hi,
Appreciate the response.
Sorry for the follow up questions, just want to clear something.

Is it possible to do Single Paging and Group Paging by utilizing IP phones connected to a normal switch/network ? without using a third party device ie SPA9000 ?

Group paging works on 500 series by utilizing multicasting, I wonder if similar can be setup using single paging ie unicasting?

For a page to a single extension, enter *96 and then the extension of the phone you are paging.

How to determine the extension of the phone ? is this via your SPA9000 ? can it be done without using one ?

klogata · ‎11-30-2011

Hi,

I am not sure which other call control systems support paging (if any). I will forward the link to this discussion to some technical resources who should be able to help.

The extension of the phone is assigned by the call control system, so by "extension" I mean the extension that is displayed on the screen next to the line buttons.

jowan.mcruz · ‎11-30-2011

Hi,

Thanks for the response.

Does anyone know if Cisco IP phones supports RFC 5373 -http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc5373

"Requesting Answering Modes for the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP)"

Or of any plans to support in the future ?

Cheers.

Patrick Born · ‎12-01-2011

Hi Jowan,

Yes the SPA9xx, SPA30x, and SPA5xx can page each other through any call control. In fact you can even use products from other vendors for paging. This is because paging is controlled by the call control.

The star code (*), or pound/hash(#) code to initiate paging is defined by the call control.

The phone has a list of these codes that must be emptied out if you are not using a specific Cisco product. The codes are located under the Regional tab and are called Vertical Service Activation Codes. In Broadsoft, these codes are called Feature Activation Codes (FAC). Most people just call them "star codes".

Regards,

Patrick

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Patrick Born · ‎12-01-2011

Hi Jowan,

You asked:

>> How do you page from another extension ? do you need an external pbx setup for this ?

Yes, you need a PBX for call control.

Phones don't have extensions unless they are registered to a call control. Some examples of call control are Astersisk, AsteriskNOW, Broadsoft, Metaswitch, TrixBox, 3CX, SPA9000, UC320, UC500, and so on.

Until a phone registers with a call control, it will only have an IP address.

Aside from the above, the SPA5xx and SPA3xx also support multicast paging. Dial 800 on one of these model phones and all other phones listening on the same multicast group, on the same subnet, will auto-answer in speaker-mode.

You can further configure multicast paging as described in the SPA500 IP Phone Admin Guide.

You will need to modify the Phone tab > Multiple Paging Group Parameters>

pggrp=224.168.168.168:34560;name=All;num=800;listen=yes; [default setting]

The phones can be configured to be part of multiple paging groups.

The SPA phones use sane-defaults so if you've been changing parameters, consider factory-defaulting the phones to get the multicast paging working.

Regards,

Patrick

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jowan.mcruz · ‎12-07-2011

From a hosted solution point of view, using 3rd party call control is not feasible.

Anyways, atleast have better picture of how it works on these phones now.

Thanks for the responses, appreciate it.