4.1.1 Adding a new device

General

In this section, you will learn how to install and configure a new device as well as get an overview of each configurable feature within devices.

Please note that the process described below relates to certified devices. Adding unprovisioned devices is slightly different and will be described at the end of this section.

1. Click Add device.

2. Select a brand and model (e.g. Yealink T53W).
    ⇒ A configuration section will open.

3. Enter a MAC address.

Important

If you get an "Already in use" error message when adding a device, this means that a device with the same MAC address has already been added to the Admin Portal. Make sure to check whether you have transferred the device from another customer or the device has been added to your own account for testing.

Important

When transferring devices from another communication provider:

If the device has already been registered with the alternative provider, you will get an error message when the device will try to download the configuration details from the redirection server. The alternative provider needs to make sure they have deleted (and unblocked) the device from the manufacturer's server as well as their portal.

4. Choose a firmware version.
    The most recent version is selected automatically.

5. Set if the trunk ID is visible/not visible on incoming calls.
    Please note that it is possible to inherit options which have been configured under Sites. It is also possible to overrite the site settings on this device.

6. Activate HTTPS for phone web user interface to use HTTPS.
    Please note that this feature is only available for Snom, Yealink, Polycom, Cisco/Linksys and Spectralink devices.

7. Define which site the device is assigned to.
    It is paramount to select a site, as it allows to inherit site settings, which is crucial for emergency calls.

8. Activate to inherit site configuration.
   If you untick this option, you will be able to configure your own settings for this device, e.g. geographical or network settings.

For more information on Geographical settings, SIP, Network, Syslog monitoring and uaCSTa, see Sites.

Important

Assigning a device to a site is crucial.

Other than getting the site default configuration settings, the site information is also used by the DFN cloud telephone system when a user makes a call to an emergency service number. That means that the telephone system will use the site address to provide location information to the emergency services

Make sure that all devices are configured to the right address and that if a device is moved to another site, its configuration will need to be amended to reflect this change.

Roaming devices (devices that are rarely at the same location) should be configured against the mobile site.

Network settings for devices

If you want to enable VLAN tagging, make sure that Provision site VLAN settings is activated under the Tenant configuration. If this setting is not activated under Tenant, the feature will not function as intended.

Ringtone

Under Ringtones, on devices that support the feature, you can configure ringtones for:

  • External numbers (a ringtone for when the device receives an external call)

  • Internal numbers (a ringtone for when the device receives an internal call)

  • Group, queue or skill services (a ringtone for when the device receives a call via a group or queue /skill service)

You can either set them to mute or select one of the ringtones from the drop-down menu.

Note

Please note that is not possible to configure ringtones on all devices for at least one of the following reasons:

  • The device doesn't support distinctive ringtones

  • The device manufacturer has not provided a way to configure distinctive ringtones via provisioning

  • The manufacturer has recently added support for distinctive ringtones and DFN is still working on making the feature available to customers

Adding an unprovisioned SIP device

The process of adding an unprovisioned SIP device is very similar to that of a certified device, with the following differences:

  • The selected device type is always Unprovisioned SIP device.

  • The MAC address must be unique, yet it can be customised for identification, e.g. the brand and/or model.

  • You cannot set the firmware version.

  • Once the device is created, it is not possible to edit it, however, you can activate / deactivate and delete the device from the portal.

Assigning a device to an extension

Adding a device to the portal doesn't automatically assign it to an existing extension. Newly added devices are unassigned. Manually assigning a device to an extension must be done from the extension configuration screen.

A majority of DFN-certified devices support hot-desking (i.e. users can log in and out of the device using the DFN XML menu), which means that it is often faster to train users on how to log on and off using the XML menu, rather than having to go around looking for which phone needs to be assigned to which extension.

Note that not all DFN-certified devices support hot-desking. This is often due to the device not supporting external XML menus. In this case, the device will need to be manually assigned to an extension by an administrator.

Unprovisioned SIP devices will also need to be manually assigned to an extension. Users will never be able to log in or out of these devices. This is one more reason to avoid using unprovisioned devices.