In this article, I will explain how I configured the Cisco SPA504G IP-Phone as a DIY BYOD VoIP user agent (UA) with the new Dell Voice Fongo SIP based VoIP service.
This article assumes you already own a Cisco SPA504G (unlocked). If not, there are Canadian mail order sites where you can purchase one. Some examples are: NewEgg.ca, Dytronix.com, TigerDirect.ca, DirectCanada.com, NCIX.com.
Once configured and working, you will essentially have your very own free VoIP phone service that provides free long distance phone calling across Canada. And, Dell Voice provides you with a free Canadian phone number to receive free incoming phone calls, without having to have a PC running 24-7.
As explained in my previous blog article, you will first need to purchase the Dell Voice "VoIP Unlock Key" through your Dell Voice or Fongo account. Once your have your unlock key "password", you are set to proceed with configuring your DIY BYOD VoIP device. In this tutorial article, I'm illustrating configuration examples using the Cisco SPA504G 4-Line IP-Phone.
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UPDATE:
Dell Voice and Fongo no longer sell the VoIP Unlock Key. However, you can get all the same calling features and the Unlock Key from their sister company: FreePhoneLine.ca
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I previously explained how to configure the Cisco SPA504G in my earlier article titled:
- Configuring Cisco SPA504G IP-Phone From Scratch -
Everything you needed to know about configuring the SPA504G with a BYOD VoIP provider like CallCentric was outlined in that article. Please read the article carefully before proceeding with your configuration with the Dell Voice Fongo service.
To save time and space here, I will describe only the specific changes you need to make that will allow the SPA504G to register and connect directly with the Dell Voice - Fongo VoIP proxy servers.
While the Dell Voice - Fongo support only provides very basic configuration information, the settings I'm using here are working well for me, so far. I'll update this post in the future if I find any difficulties over time. Bearing in mind, different users may have different experiences due to their specific local network topology and network hardware configurations.
Of course, the following screen captures illustrate how I have configured the SPA504G for myself. Certain settings will need to be adjusted to your account with Fongo and need to be set accordingly. As you can see, I have configured my IP-Phone on Ext 3 (Line-3). What line you use, is your choice of course.
- NAT Mapping Enable = No (UPDATE: set to YES, if any problems with incoming calls)
- NAT Keep Alive Enable = No (UPDATE: set to YES, if any problems with incoming calls)
- SIP Port = 5064 (Should not conflict with any other SIP ports on your SPA504G, or other VoIP devices your local network. Each VoIP line requires a different SIP port number.
- Proxy: sip.fongo.com
- Outbound Proxy: sip.fongo.com
- Use Outbound Proxy: Yes
- Register: Yes
- Register Expires: 1800
- Use DNS SRV: No
- Proxy Fallback Intvl: 1800
- Dual Registration: No
Update: See important note at bottom of this article.
- Use OB Proxy in Dialog: Yes
- Make Call Without Reg: No
- Ans Call Without Reg: No
- DNS SRV Auto Prefix: No
- Display Name: (The name you want to show along with your Caller-ID)
- User ID: 1XXXXXXXXXX (11-digit Dell Voice User Name)
- Use Auth ID: No
- Password: **********
Password - this is your "Unlock VoIP Key" password provided via email after you purchase the key. It is crucial you enter your password explicitly correct. It will be a combination of Upper and lower case characters that must be entered in the explicit correct case.
Note - This is not the same password you use to login to your Dell Voice online account. It is a specific password for logging into the VoIP Proxy Servers, only.
I actually had trouble interpreting the password characters I received in the email. Sometimes, lower case letters can be incorrectly interpreted. For example, a lower case L (l) looks very much like a capital i (I), or the numeral one (1). So, be careful here.
Note - You will purchase your unlock key from the Dell Voice Online Store:
(you are required to LOGIN to access this option)
Currently, this is a one-time $50 unlock fee that will give you unlimited access to the Dell Voice Fongo servers with your own BYOD VoIP devices.
- Preferred Codec = G.711u
- Second Preferred Codec = G.729a
- Use Preferred Codec Only = No
- DTMF Tx Method: AVT (AVT is the equivalent of RFC2833 - most reliable DTMF method)
Dial Plan:
You can probably get away with using the SPA504G default dial plan. However, I have found the following dial plan works fine with Dell Voice, for me:
(911 | [2-9]xxxxxxxxx | 1[2-9]xxxxxxxxx |011xxxxxxxxxxxx.)
Save all settings by clicking the "Submit All Changes" button at bottom of the configuration window.
By default, the SPA504G uses the RTP port range 16384 - 16538.
Dell Voice only mentions configuring RTP ports 13000-13001. But based on my assumptions that Dell Voice Fongo service is a standard Asterisk based SIP VoIP service, then RTP ports are typically standardized using the RTP port range between 10001-20000. Thus, the default SPA504G RTP port range seems to work just fine with Dell Voice Fongo servers, from my testing so far.
Local SIP Ports
By default, the SPA504G is set to use SIP ports 5060-5063 (for Ext's 1-4). The standard SIP ports range generally fall between 5060 - 5070. The Dell Voice Fongo service recommends using port 5060 for their servers (standard recommendation). However, in my case, I have numerous VoIP devices behind my NAT-Router. One lesson I learned the hard way, years ago, was that each VoIP device needs to have its own assigned SIP port assigned to it..... or things will be unpredictable and unreliable. This is why, in my example screen capture above, I'm using port 5064 on Ext Line 3... to avoid conflicts with my other local network VoIP adapters. In reality, you can use any SIP ports in the 5060 - 5070 range.... just make sure multiple VoIP devices aren't trying to use the same SIP ports at the same time.
I set my NAT-Router to Port Forward or Port Trigger on the SIP port range 5060-5070.
I also set my NAT-Router to Port Forward or Port Trigger on the range from 16384 - 16538.
Whatever, SIP and RTP range you set in your VoIP devices, must also be port forwarded or trigger those ranges through your NAT-Router.
When finished making setting changes, be sure to click the Submit All Changes button to save your settings.
TIP:
Note that in my last screen capture above, in the RTP Paramaters section of the SIP settings page, that I have changed the RTP Packet Size setting from 0.030 to 0.020. I have recently learned through research that reducing the RTP packet size to 0.020 will of often "improve" your VoIP performance. If you are happy with your current VoIP performance, don't bother changing this value. But, if you notice you are experiencing excessive latency and broken voice, then this may be just the change you need to improve the situation.
Testing The SPA504G With Dell Voice
Besides calling your friends and family in the Dell Voice free calling zones across Canada, I have tested with a few other numbers that I regularly use for testing my VoIP devices. Especially, the Environment Canada Weather Phones. These numbers are a good way to test the responsiveness of DTMF tone commands.
Note: When entering phone numbers into the SPA504G, do not use any spaces or dashes between numbers.
Weather Lines:
- Calgary Weather: 403-299-7878
- Regina Weather: 306-780-5744
- Winnipeg Weather: 204-983-2050
- Montreal Weather: 514-283-4006
- TellMe: 800-555-8355
- Microsoft Bing 411: 800-246-4411
- Google411 (not-in-service message): 800GOOG411 (800-466-4411)
Also:
- Dell Voice - Voice Mail: *98
- Dell Voice - Customer Service: 611
Good luck using the SPA504G IP-Phone with Dell Voice and Fongo!
In future articles, I hope to discuss configuring the SPA2102-NA and PAP2T VoIP ATA's with Dell Voice.
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UPDATE: (March 20, 2013)
Fongo has sent out notices to all their previous VoIP Unlock Key customers that as of March 30th, 2013, it is recommended that we should now use the FreePhoneLine.ca Proxy Servers instead of Fongo Proxy Servers.
The new recommended servers are:
- voip.freephoneline.ca
or, - voip2.freephoneline.ca
Actually, these are not really recommended settings, they are now mandated. Fongo has included the following warning on their configuration page:
"Use of Fongo SIP Servers that are not listed in this document will result in your account being suspended."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------"Use of Fongo SIP Servers that are not listed in this document will result in your account being suspended."
UPDATE-2: (March 21, 2013)
Now that Fongo has forced us to change proxy servers, what was initially supposed to be my quick and easy setup procedure has become riddled with problems.
While Fongo/FreePhoneLine.ca was working just fine when I was previously registered using the sip.fongo.com server, I'm finding I am having significant problems with their new recommended server at voip.freephoneline.ca.
Here are my solutions to making what used to work in my above procedures using Fongo proxy, now work with the FreePhoneLine.ca proxies:
- Enable NAT Mapping and NAT Keep Alive.
- Remove and disable the "Outbound Proxy" settings. Set "Use Outbound Proxy" to NO.
Now, the primary proxy is voip.freephoneline.ca (or, voip2.freephoneline.ca), and No Outbound Proxy (empty entry). - Now, I needed to specify a STUN server to use. I'm using: stun.counterpath.net as mine.
To set a STUN server, navigate to the SIP tab on your SPA112, SPA122, SPA2102, PAP2T, or SPA504G phone. At the bottom of the SIP configuration page, you will see a spot to define the STUN server. Enter stun.counterpath.net or stun.3cx.com, or some other STUN server you may prefer. Then set the STUN Enable to YES.
Performing steps 1, 2, and 3 above has solved my "No Inbound Audio" problems with the new freephoneline.ca servers. (This was not an issue prior to switching to their new "suggested" servers).
So far, enabling the use of STUN servers seems to resolve these new issues that didn't exist with the old Fongo server configurations...
