Connecting Desk Phone to Ethernet

Prerequisites

Finding an Ethernet Connection at Home

If you have a home that was built in the last 5 years, you may have ethernet cables wired throughout your home. You can look at wall outlets throughout your home to see if this was something added during your building process. If you do not have any ethernet outlets in your home, you will need to connect your desk phone to your home router or switch directly.

Checking your Network Speeds

A single voice call will take 100kbs of upload and download speeds. It is always a good idea to check your network speeds to ensure you have the bandwidth necessary to handle quality voice calls. Run a speed test using this link: https://fast.com/

Checking your Network Settings

In order to ensure the highest possible call quality when using your desk phone on a home network, it is a good idea to verify the network is optimized for Voice. We recommend contacting your ISP (Internet Service Provider) and checking the following settings are set correctly.

SIP ALG

SIP ALG is a setting that is usually turned on by default on home routers/modems. This setting can cause call quality issues, dropped audio, ghost calls, or prevent your desk phone from being able to register correctly all together. When talking to your ISP, ensure this setting is DISABLED

SIP Ports 5060/5061

Some ISP's will have the SIP signaling ports of 5060/5061 blocked for security reasons. ATT is notorious for doing this on home routers. When talking to your ISP, ensure you request these ports be unblocked/opened so the desk phone can work properly. Your ISP will more than likely provide you with a disclaimer along the lines of "Opening these ports will make your network vulnerable to attacks...." and you may even be sent a form to sign, acknowledging you understand the risks. Rest assured, Vested Networks does not use these ports for any malicious intent, they are only to allow your desk phone to communicate the our phone system over the internet

Router QoS Settings (Optional for Technical Users)

If you bought your own router, or if you are comfortable logging in to the router provided to you by the ISP, you can tweak the QoS settings to prioritize VoIP packets. Some routers (like Netgear) have a built in "Smart" QoS filter with an option to prioritize VoIP packets, other routers may require you to specify the IP address of your device, and then assign a priority level to it. Regardless of the method, it is recommended to prioritize voice packets to ensure the highest call quality possible.

Using the right Ethernet Cable

When it comes to ethernet cables, there is a wide variety of types and lengths to choose from.

Ethernet Cable Type

In regards to the type of ethernet cable, we recommend using either a Cat5E or Cat6. These are the latest ethernet cable types and offer the highest internet speed throughput.

Ethernet Cable Length

Since most of the time the home router/modem is in a remote location like a back room or closet, it can be challenging to get wired connection to it. The length of the cable is based on your own personal needs. Measure the distance of where you are wanting to work from to your home router, and then add about 5 feet to it. Adding the additional length to the end of your measurement will account for any corners you encounter on the way to the router, and allow the ethernet cable to lay on the ground to limit any tripping hazards.