spikerjack
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- Joined
- Apr 5, 2011
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I have had a couple of Cisco 7971 phones successfully working with my well-tuned PIAF installation for about a year. Unfortunately I discovered (through forum research and ultimately Plantronics) that the 7971 doesn't support electronic hookswitch (EHS) control in any form, including SCCP. And I hate handset lifters....
I got a Cisco 7975G-GE phone which DOES have EHS support, but with the SIP firmware I was using (8.4.2S) the default setting for hookswitch control was "disabled" and nowhere in the available sample XML configuration files found here or elsewhere could I figure out how to enable it.
Seeing some posted support information about how to use CLI to modify the setting for a phone configured for SCCP, I took a guess and added the following line to the <vendorConfig> section of the XML:
<ehookEnable>1</ehookEnable>
Upon a factory reset, firmware, and configuration re-load, I was pleased to see that I "guessed right" and the hookswitch control was now "enabled". Using the EHS-41 cable and the Plantronics CS540 wireless headset (other headset/EHS cable combos probably work too), I am able to have full EHS capabilities with the 7975 and this headset under SIP running against my current PIAF installation.
Accessing the current Headset Hookswitch Control setting on the Cisco 7975 is via Settings/Device Configuration/Media Configuration (last listed setting - at least on firmware 8.4.2S).
I am VERY well aware of how difficult it is to get these Cisco 79XX phones to work with Asterisk/PIAF, never mind get additional capabilities to work under SIP without the help of Cisco Call Manager - the delicacy of the physical XML config file itself is insane. I hope this small endpoint tech note is helpful to somebody else either now or down the road who wants the freedom to use a wireless headset on a Cisco phone and didn't know how it could be done.
Any questions ask...
My PIAF Configuration
I got a Cisco 7975G-GE phone which DOES have EHS support, but with the SIP firmware I was using (8.4.2S) the default setting for hookswitch control was "disabled" and nowhere in the available sample XML configuration files found here or elsewhere could I figure out how to enable it.
Seeing some posted support information about how to use CLI to modify the setting for a phone configured for SCCP, I took a guess and added the following line to the <vendorConfig> section of the XML:
<ehookEnable>1</ehookEnable>
Upon a factory reset, firmware, and configuration re-load, I was pleased to see that I "guessed right" and the hookswitch control was now "enabled". Using the EHS-41 cable and the Plantronics CS540 wireless headset (other headset/EHS cable combos probably work too), I am able to have full EHS capabilities with the 7975 and this headset under SIP running against my current PIAF installation.
Accessing the current Headset Hookswitch Control setting on the Cisco 7975 is via Settings/Device Configuration/Media Configuration (last listed setting - at least on firmware 8.4.2S).
I am VERY well aware of how difficult it is to get these Cisco 79XX phones to work with Asterisk/PIAF, never mind get additional capabilities to work under SIP without the help of Cisco Call Manager - the delicacy of the physical XML config file itself is insane. I hope this small endpoint tech note is helpful to somebody else either now or down the road who wants the freedom to use a wireless headset on a Cisco phone and didn't know how it could be done.
Any questions ask...
My PIAF Configuration
- PIAF 3.0.6.5
- FreePBX 2.11.0.37
- Asterisk 11.8.1
- CentOS 6.5 64-bit
- IncrediblePBX 11.9
Phone System 