Thinking of moving to Teams Phone? You may already have a great handset you can re-use

Craig Chiffers

2 years ago

Poly Rove and Polycom VVX500 Handsets. Yes, that’s one of the lab phone numbers.

Many, many orgs are making the move to Teams Phone – making and receiving PSTN calls from your Teams client running on your desktop, laptop, meeting room or mobile device.

It makes sense too – having your desk number come with you no matter where you are in the world (hello beach calls!) rather than having it tie you to your desk makes perfect sense. Want to work from home today? No problem – your desk number comes with you.

What about those desk phones your org invested in a few years ago though? Don’t send them to e-waste just yet – they may make an excellent Teams phone device.

Do all SIP handsets work with Teams?

Not all, but a vast array of very popular pre-Teams handsets (like the Poly VVX range, and a bunch of CISCO, Yealink and others) support calling in Teams.

Here’s the current list (taken from: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/sip-gateway-plan#compatible-devices):

Vendor	Model	Minimum firmware version	Approved firmware version	Remarks	Links
Cisco				Devices running enterprise firmware must be converted to multiplatform firmware. Read the guide at the right to learn how.	Cisco firmware conversion guide
	8832¹	11.3.5MPP	11-3-7MPP
	6821¹	11.1.1MPP	11-3-7MPP
	7811¹	11.1.1MPP	11-3-7MPP
	7821¹	11.1.1MPP	11-3-7MPP
	7841¹	11.1.1MPP	11-3-7MPP
	7861¹	11.1.1MPP	11-3-7MPP
	8811¹	11.1.1MPP	11-3-7MPP
	8841¹	11.1.1MPP	11-3-7MPP
	8845¹	11.1.1MPP	11-3-7MPP
	8851¹	11.1.1MPP	11-3-7MPP
	8861¹	11.1.1MPP	11-3-7MPP
	8865¹	11.1.1MPP	11-3-7MPP
Poly				The device will auto-reboot and install the selected firmware.
	Trio 8500	5.9.5.3182	7.2.2.1094
	Trio 8800	5.9.5.3182	7.2.2.1094
	VVX150¹	5.9.5	6.3.1.8427
	VVX201¹	5.9.5	6.3.1.8427
	VVX250¹	5.9.5	6.3.1.8427
	VVX300	5.9.5	5.9.7.3480
	VVX301¹	5.9.5	6.3.1.8427
	VVX310	5.9.5	5.9.7.3480
	VVX311¹	5.9.5	6.3.1.8427
	VVX350¹	5.9.5	6.3.1.8427
	VVX400	5.9.5	5.9.7.3480
	VVX401¹	5.9.5	6.3.1.8427
	VVX410	5.9.5	5.9.7.3480
	VVX411¹	5.9.5	6.3.1.8427
	VVX450¹	5.9.5	6.3.1.8427
	VVX500	5.9.5	5.9.7.3480
	VVX501¹	5.9.5	6.3.1.8427
	VVX600	5.9.5	5.9.7.3480
	VVX601¹	5.9.5	6.3.1.8427
	Rove B2	8.0.3.0010	8.0.3.0010
	Rove B4	8.0.3.0010	8.0.3.0010
	Rove 30	8.0.3.0010	8.0.3.0010
	Rove 40	8.0.3.0010	8.0.3.0010
Yealink					Yealink support
	T21P	83	34.72.0.75
	T21P_E2	83	52.84.0.125
	T23G	83	44.84.0.140
	T27G¹	83	69.86.0.15
	T29G	83	46.83.0.130
	T30¹	83	124.86.0.40
	T30P¹	83	124.86.0.40
	T31G¹	83	124.86.0.40
	T31P¹	83	124.86.0.40
	T33G¹	83	124.86.0.40
	T40G	83	76.84.0.125
	T40P	83	54.84.0.125
	T41P	83	36.83.0.120
	T41S¹	83	66.86.5.1
	T42G	83	29.83.0.130
	T42S¹	83	66.86.5.1
	T42U¹	83	108.86.5.1
	T43U¹	83	108.86.5.1
	T46G	83	28.83.0.130
	T46S¹	83	66.86.5.1
	T46U¹	83	108.86.5.1
	T48G	83	35.83.0.130
	T48S¹	83	66.86.5.1
	T48U¹	83	108.86.5.1
	T53¹	83	96.86.5.1
	T53W¹	83	96.86.5.1
	T54W¹	83	96.86.5.1
	T57W¹	83	96.86.5.1
	W56H		61.85.0.56
	W73H		116.85.0.38
	W59R		115.85.0.56
	W70B NOAM		146.85.5.4
	W70B EMEA		146.85.5.2
	W70B APAC		146.85.5.3
	W80 NOAM		130.85.5.5
	W80 EMEA		130.85.5.6
	W80 APAC		130.85.5.4
	W90 NOAM		130.85.5.5
	W90 EMEA		130.85.5.6
	W90 APAC		130.85.5.4
AudioCodes				Some AudioCodes SIP devices need a provisioning URL setting. Download and install upgrade files for the affected AudioCodes devices at the right.	Downloadable files for affected devices at AudioCodes
	405¹	2.2.8	2.2.16.589
	405HD¹	3.2.1	2.2.16.589
	405HDG¹	3.2.1	2.2.16.589
	420HD¹	3.2.1	2.2.16.589
	420HDG¹	3.2.1	2.2.16.589
	430HD¹	3.2.1	2.2.16.589
	430HDG¹	3.2.1	2.2.16.589
	440HD¹	3.2.1	2.2.16.589
	445HD¹	3.2.1	3.4.6.704
	445HDG¹	3.2.1	3.4.6.704
	450HD¹	3.2.1	3.4.6.704
	C450HD¹	3.2.1	3.4.6.704
	445HD¹	3.2.1	3.4.6.704
	RX50¹	3.2.1	3.4.6.704
Spectralink					Spectralink Support
	7202	PCS22B	PCS22B	Handset
	7212	PCS22B	PCS22B	Handset
	7502	PCS22B	PCS22B	Handset
	7522	PCS22B	PCS22B	Handset
	7532	PCS22B	PCS22B	Handset
	7622	PCS22B	PCS22B	Handset
	7642	PCS22B	PCS22B	Handset
	7722	PCS22B	PCS22B	Handset
	7742	PCS22B	PCS22B	Handset
	IP-DECT Server 200	PCS22Ab	PCS22Ab	IP-DECT Server
	IP-DECT Server 400	PCS22Ab	PCS22Ab	IP-DECT Server
	IP-DECT Server 6500	PCS22Ab	PCS22Ab	IP-DECT Server
	Virtual IP-DECT Server One	PCS22Ab	PCS22Ab	IP-DECT Server
	IP-DECT Base Station	PCS22Ab	PCS22Ab	IP-DECT Server
Ascom					Ascom Support
	Ascom d43	2.11.4	2.11.4	Handset
	Ascom d63	2.11.4	2.11.4	Handset
	Ascom d81	4.13.1	4.13.1	Handset
	Ascom d83	4.13.1	4.13.1	Handset
	Ascom Myco 3 DECT	3.4.1	3.4.1	Handset
	IP-DECT Access Point IPBSx	11.8.8	11.8.8	IP-DECT Access Point
	IP-DECT Gateway IPBL	11.8.8	11.8.8	IP-DECT Gateway
	TDM Base Station	R3N	R3N	IP-DECT Base Station
	IP-DECT Virtual Appliance IPVM	11.8.8	11.8.8	IP-DECT Serve

How do I get my phones working with Teams?

In short, you:

Ensure the firmware is up to date on the phone (you could push this out via your existing phone management platform, or manually update each phone)
Configure the SIP Gateway provisioning server for your region. You can do this via DHCP options, or configure each phone manually
Add the phones MAC address to the Teams Admin Center (TAC) under SIP Devices > Provision
Generate an activation code for each handset in the portal
Enter *55* followed by the activation code on each handset to provision them in the TAC
Sign the phone in (either remotely from the TAC, or by reading the code off the handset and logging in at microsoft.com/devicelogin).

We have the full steps documented here: Configure SIP Gateway – Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Learn

Poly VVX 500 showing a new voicemail message is waiting, along with a missed call.

What’s the experience like?

You know how your VVX handset worked with Skype For Business? Guess what, It works exactly the same way.

You can:

Make and receive calls from the PSTN/Other Teams users
Receive voicemails (and set a custom voicemail message)
Answer call queue calls and calls transferred from auto attendants
Transfer calls internally between other handsets and Teams users, and externally
Enable paging (where supported on handsets)

The message waiting indicator will flash when someone leaves a voicemail message, and you can easily access voicemail messages right from the phone.

Calling is as simple as dialling a number. Handsets will adopt any dialling rules you configure in the TAC too, including 3, 4, 5 (etc) digit extensions.

Poly Rove handset showing options during a call

This sounds great! What’s the catch?

No catch! If you have the handsets within your org, you can start using them with Teams calling right away, without having to re-train your end users.

Of course, getting hold of older handsets could be a challenge, and most of these handsets are end of life now too. If you have them though, why not use them.

SIP handset VS Teams Handset – which should I choose?

Ultimately that is up to you of course. If you already have a supported SIP handset and want to sweat out those assets a little more, go right ahead and use them. If you’re after the newer Teams handsets, go down that path.

I love these older SIP handsets. They remind me of Skype for Business, are snappy, simple to use and easy to provision.

Have you given SIP handsets a go in your Teams environment yet?

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