Which dect phones work better with VOIP

[#1]

@Spik3y as noted by @markhawkin the answer could well depend on which VOIP provider you go with and how much you will use the system after migration.

I had a mixed load of old DECT handsets that were "past their prime" and went with A&A for VOIP and a Gigaset N300 for an easy transition as it has both VOIP and POTS capability.

I soon found that the old handsets were quite limited with VOIP (though they did connect happily to the N300) and soon after fully migrating to VOIP I replaced them with Gigaset handsets (mainly R650H Pro) and also upgraded the base to an N510ipPro. All kit was bought "used" on eBay. 

This was over 2 years ago and it's now hardly used at all, the mobiles have taken over! I haven't even got round to selling the replaced N300. 🙄

[#2]

Currently using an old Panasonic DECT phone with voip with no issues.

The Voip service is running on a Grandsream HT801 and the Dect phone is plugged into that, voip service is voipfone.

The Grandstream HT801 plugs into the router via Ethernet and is powered by USB - again this can be powered from the routers USB port, so it will work on any router form any isp as long as there is an ethernet connection available

 In theory the Voip unit (Analogue telephone adaptor) can be moved to anywhere with an ethenet/internet access and power  making it as portable as a corded phone and a small black box

[#3]

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@Baldrick1 wrote:

@Spik3y 

Methinks that you are worrying un-necessarily. I find it hard to believe that a modern generation wireless DECT phone, be it eight years old, would need a ring capacitor or have too great a REN requirement to work. Now if it was a retro model with a bell and used pulse dialling then that might be a different matter.

If you are really worried a back up corded phone can perhaps be borrowed for a few days, many people keep one for a spare. Alternatively, they can be bought from the likes of Amazon for under £10.

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You are absolutely right @Baldrick1  I am worrying ridiculously, I'm so glad of this forum, without it I would be in a worse state. . Its not the technology side,  I've just got to the age where changing something unplanned really unsettles me.  I had this all planned out for October time when the contract was nearly out so wasn't expecting to have to deal with this now.  Its a very busy time of year for us, too many other things are in progress and holidays are looming. 

I already have a spare working analogue phone, and an ATA came with the new router.

[#4]

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@pvmb wrote:

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@Baldrick1 wrote:

@Spik3y 

 I find it hard to believe that a modern generation wireless DECT phone, be it eight years old, would need a ring capacitor or have too great a REN requirement to work.

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It feels to me you could be correct. Then it would be interesting to know why older phones wouldn't work, after all, whether DECT or not, isn't any analogue phone just an analogue phone on a telephone landline?

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 Now if it was a retro model with a bell and used pulse dialling then that might be a different matter.

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Doesn't need to be quite that old! I have an old Geemarc Venice M model handset (with Mercury button!) that needed an external ringing capacitor to work.

GEEMARC VENICE & VENICE M (britishtelephones.com)

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I threw one of these out a couple of weeks back when we did a tip run.  It had been my spare for many years, and had gone a bit orange round the edges where it had been on the back room window ledge..  The buttons went wrong in the end I was missing the 0 completely and the 9 wanted to dial several times when pressed once 😲.  It then got put in the spares box for about 4 years. I guess I thought I'd take it apart and see if it was fixable.    I have to stop hoarding !!

[#5]

@markhawkin 

Its all with EE broadband and phone.

I did contemplate staying with Plusnet and finding another provided for the phone, but in the end felt the EE migration was the least stressful.

[#6]

In that case plug your old DECT base station into the BT/EE hub and all will be well.

Just don't do it until the following day to avoid missing any incoming calls for the remainder of migration day.

[#7]

>>all will be well.<<

In theory, and hopefully in reality for the OP. 

A proportion of the EE issues are that they have not been able to get the green socket on the hub to work at all - as in no dial tone with a straight wired handset !

[#8]

@Spik3y 

Some of my posts may be a little tecky - so to simplify it this is what I've got, and how it works ( minus the complications of battery back ups)

1: Full fibre started with plusnet

2: I signed up with a Voip provider - in this case Voipfone ( as they have a bundled minute deal for a reasonable price)

2: Ported number to Voipfone - relatively simple process and they can help you with it

3: purchased a pre-configured Grandstream HT801 from Voipfone 

4: when it arrived, I plugged an Ethernet cable into the HT801 and the other end into my router, then used a USB lead ( it comes with a mains adaptor) to go between the routers usb port and the HT801

on the phone side of things Voiphone sent a little adaptor ( that has as far as i know a ring capacitor in it) one end of the adaptor is an Rj11 plug that goes into the Grand stream HT801 the other end has a BT style phone jack that you plug a phone into,

and that was it, it just works, no tinkering with settings or anything else, its just sat there doing its thing, I did ask for the password which voipfone will provide to get into the HT801, and if i wanted i could change voip provider - ie to andrews and arnold or any other stand alone voip provider.

The advantages are:

The set up of the HT801 analogue telephone adaptor from Voipfone was plug and play - its a tiny thing that can fit in the palm of your hand

 My Phone service is completely separate from my internet service meaning i can change routers, ISPs etc as required or change call packages 

The price is £6/month for the landline including 1571, plus 100 minutes to a UK landline or mobile

The negatives are:

The Grandstream HT801 has a very bright blue light/status indicator lights  that can not be turned off, although some black insulation tape sees that problem go away

[#9]

From all the 'fun' I had with an HT801/802, I'd fully recomment pre-configured.

At present my VOIP is just a deskphone (Yealink T41S, eBay and self configured which was fine) but maybe I'll add an extension with the HT802 or just use it as a 'ringer'.

[#10]

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@Spik3y wrote:

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I already have a spare working analogue phone, and an ATA came with the new router.

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When you say ATA do you mean https://ee.co.uk/help/home-phone/getting-started/setup-use-digital-home-phone-adapter

This is not a true VoIP ATA or a WiFi device, but an DECT device for a analogue phone to be connected to using the associated technology to connect to the Hubs coresident DECT station.

[#11]

Talkng of this adapter. reminded me of a friends set up.. He is with BT and uses Digital Voice with one of these devices to site his phone base station remote to the router. I have installed a 3 unit mesh to give him property wide wireless. This has meant that to keep the phone working and avoid double NATing I have set the mesh master unit in Access Point mode.

It's worth noting this limitation if moving to EE Digital Voice and having a mesh set up.

This meets my friends needs but I don't know if there's any better way to configure it so that additional features incorporated in the mesh master in router mode can be brought into play?

[#12]

@Baldrick1 

If it's true DECT being used then the frequencies used are 1.88 GHz – 1.90GHz which is a different range as those used for WiFi 2.5, 5 and 6 GHz, so any WiFi extender or Mesh system would not extend a DECT signal as it's out of range.

[#13]

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@Dan_the_Van wrote:

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@Spik3y wrote:

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I already have a spare working analogue phone, and an ATA came with the new router.

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When you say ATA do you mean https://ee.co.uk/help/home-phone/getting-started/setup-use-digital-home-phone-adapter

This is not a true VoIP ATA or a WiFi device, but an DECT device for a analogue phone to be connected to using the associated technology to connect to the Hubs coresident DECT station.

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The instructions say to connect using the WPS buttons system to the router - so I would suggest it is a wi-fi device.

The current EE 'walkabout' home phones are the same - wifi devices - the ones they hand out when the green BT socket on their router does not work and why they tell afflicted users that their year-old DECT system is 'incompatible and obsolete'.

[#14]

@Dan_the_Van 

We are at cross purposes here. Ignore tthe mesh as a means of extending the DECT. The point that I'm mking is that the EE router has to be in circuit to use the phone, so that if you have a mesh, you can't also use the mesh master in router mode without doublke NATing

[#15]

@mwwagain 

From what I noticed last time I looked at a EE hub, I did not recall any Digital Phones displayed in the attached WiFi devices list.

I am going to a site with EE digital phione tomorrow so I will go over it all again. 

EDIT:

The instructions say to connect using the WPS buttons system to the router - so I would suggest it is a wi-fi device.

Not necessarily, the WPS button could have a dual purpose.