In this article, I will explain how I configured the free 3CXPhone softphone as a DIY BYOD VoIP user agent (UA) with the new Dell Voice Fongo SIP based VoIP service. From my experience thus far, the 3CXPhone performs superior to the desktop app provided by the Dell Voice service.
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 BYOD DIY VoIP device. In this tutorial article, I'm illustrating configuration with the 3CXPhone softphone, provided free by 3CX Corp.
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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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Download and Install the 3CXPhone Softphone
I have already explianed how to download and install the 3CXPhone in my previous article titled:
- 3CXPhone 6.0 SoftPhone - Installation - Configuration -
Everything you need to know about downloading and installing the 3CXPhone is outlined in that article. Please read the article before proceeding here with your configuration.
To save time and space here, I will describe only the specific changes you need to make that will allow the 3CXPhone to register and connect directly with the Dell Voice - Fongo VoIP proxy servers.
Of course, the following screen captures illustrate how I have configured the 3CXPhone for myself. Certain settings will be specific to your account with Fongo. For example:
Account Name:
This can be whatever you want to call your Dell Voice account on the 3CXPhone.
Caller ID:
You can put whatever you want your calls to display to the receiving party in this box. Typically, this will be your name or Dell Voice phone number. If you leave this blank, just your Dell Voice phone number will show at the receiving end of the call.
SIP Credentials:
Enter your 11-digit Dell Voice Fongo phone number issued to you at the time you opened your account with Dell Voice. i.e 1xxxxxxxxxx.
Extension: 1xxxxxxxxxx
ID: 1xxxxxxxxxx
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.
My Location:
Select "I am out of th office - external IP"; and enter: sip.fongo.com
sip.fongo.com is the VoIP proxy you will be registering the 3CXPhone with.Use Outbound Proxy Server:
Enable this option and specify sip.fongo.com as the outbound proxy server.
* * * Update: See important note at bottom of this article. * * *
Now, select the Advanced Settings button at the bottom of the Account Settings window.
Under Account Advanced Settings window, ensure the following values are set:
PBX Voicemail: *98
Stun Server: stun.3CX.com (default)
Stun Server: stun.3CX.com (default)
Registration Time: (Can be between 3 - 60 minutes) 10 minutes should be fine.
Support RFC2833 DTMF: check to ENABLE (only enable the RFC2833 DTMF option)
Audio Codecs: by default, PCMU is at top of list - this is preferred (equivalent to G.711u)
Save all settings by clicking the OK buttons at bottom of configuration windows.
Now, navigate to the PREFERENCES window. Set your Sound Devices preferences.
I myself use a Plantronics USB headset.
General Network Settings
These settings are very important:
RTP Ports
By default, the 3CXPhone uses the values 40000 - 40049. I don't think this will work with Dell Voice, or most any other open BYOD VoIP service.
The standard SIP VoIP RTP port range is between: 10001 - 20000.
However, for myself, I tend to use a reduced RTP range between 16384 - 16538. The reason is, because I also use this range on my Cisco SPA504G, PAP2T and SPA2102 VoIP phone adapters (their default range). It is interesting to note that Dell Voice and Fongo suggest RTP port 13000 only. But, I suspect that their servers will also accept anything in the "standard" SIP RTP range between 10001-20000. Anyway, my settings illustrated above work for me with Dell Voice and Fongo service.
I also set my NAT-Router to Port Forward or Port Trigger on the range from 16384 - 16538.
Whatever, RTP range you set in your VoIP devices, must also be port forwarded or triggered through your nat-router.
Local SIP Port
By default, the 3CXPhone is set to "Any" SIP port. 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, I'm using port 5067... to avoid conflicts with my other local network VoIP adapters.
I also set my NAT-Router to Port Forward or Port Trigger on the SIP port range 5060-5070.
When finished, click the OK button to save your settings.
At this time, the 3CXPhone should restart, and if configured with the correct login credentials and port ranges, your 3CXPhone softphone will successfully register with Dell Voice Fongo servers and display "On Hook" to indicate that it is ready to make and receive phone calls.
Testing The 3CXPhone
From my experience thus far, the 3CXPhone works very good with the Dell Voice - Fongo service. In fact, I would go so far as to say it performs superior to the Dell Voice Desktop App downloaded from the Dell Voice web site. And, this is why purchasing the VoIP Unlock Key may be a wise choice for those who can afford the one-time fee and have some technical ability to configure their own BYOD DIY VoIP devices.
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 3CXPhone, 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)
- Dell Voice - Voice Mail: *98
- Dell Voice - Customer Service: 611
Good luck using the 3CXPhone with Dell Voice and Fongo!
In future articles, I hope to discuss configuring the Cisco SPA504G IP-Phone, and the PAP2T VoIP ATA with Dell Voice. I use all these devices myself with various BYOD VoIP providers.
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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."
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Update 2: (march 22, 2013)
With the new freephoneline.ca proxy server(s), you will not need to use the setting "Use Outbound proxy". Disable this function (uncheck) for use with voip.freephoneline.ca or voip2.freephoneline.ca servers.
"Use of Fongo SIP Servers that are not listed in this document will result in your account being suspended."
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Update 2: (march 22, 2013)
With the new freephoneline.ca proxy server(s), you will not need to use the setting "Use Outbound proxy". Disable this function (uncheck) for use with voip.freephoneline.ca or voip2.freephoneline.ca servers.
