How to make an IP phone that works REMOTELY also work from INSIDE the office

[MStepan]

I've seen some posts relative to struggles getting IP phones working from a home office, etc. I actually have the OPPOSITE situation: I have an InterTel 8620 IP phone that works fine/great from OUTSIDE of the office (it's sitting right next to me at home working like a charm), but I don't know what to do to make it work when I'm at the office. Can someone help me?

Thanks in advance!

Mark

[jjordon]

Depends on your ISP.  Some do not let you "hairpin" or "Round Robin" communications like that.  Is the system behind a firewall, or is it directly on an outside IP (I have heard of people having better luck that way as the Firewall may also be preventing communications between the phone and the system).

[MStepan]

That was my suspicion too. But is that the only way for this to work? I'd be surprised if there isn't a way to just tell "something" that the 2 pieces (phone system and the phone itself) are on the same network.

[jjordon]

If you go into phone programming and set the ICP, TFTP, and ICA (I think) to the local IP of the 5000, no question it would work.

As for without changing the settings in the phone (Plug and Play wherever you are), it doesn't sound like it would work.  Either the ISP is stopping it or your firewall is.  Who is your ISP by the way?

Another solution might be to take a phone that is already onsite, and have it set to ring with your IP phone.  Do you always work remotely or does the customer?

[DND ON]

If I remember correctly, you could enter local and remote IP addresses on the 8620's. Boot up the phone while holding down the 7 & 8 keys to put in in programming mode, and scroll through the set-up options. It's been a while since I looked at an 8620, but I had one at home that I recall would also work in the office.

Maybe this requires a specific firmware, and this was on an Axxess system. It's worth a try, just document any settings before making changes.

[MStepan]

Thanks ... I'll try the phone settings first. I'm not in front of the systems right now, but are the settings you referenced (jj) at the PHONE level? I'm really just exploring options at this point so ultimately will want to know how to support phoneA that's IN the office and simultaneously phoneB being used from home. Our ISP is Charter, but since the phone already works from OUTSIDE the office, it really "feels" to me like it's going to be a local setting, and really nothing to do with them. Thanks for the responses.

[Tech Electronics]

MStepan,

What you want to look at is the IP Settings of the phone. The 86xx series phones could auto-negotiate whether it was Native or NAT since the Axxess days; unlike the 53xx series phones we use now. Also what DND ON was referring to is programming done at the phone itself when it boots up.

Go to System > Devices and Feature Codes > Phones > {86xx phone} > IP Setting:

Look at the NAT Address Type which should be set to Auto if you want to move the phone between Native an NAT; otherwise it should be set for either Native [‌In the LAN] or NAT [outside the LAN].

If you are continuing to have issues then we may need to look at a few other pieces within the IP Settings of that phone, but it should at least connect to the phone system once it is set to Auto or Native when on the LAN.

Thanks,

TE

[DND ON]

Thanks TE, I forgot about the NAT settings. My brain is overwriting sectors that haven't been used in a while with new data!

[Tech Electronics]

DND ON,

Not a problem and I know what you mean as my 40 MB harddrive is full and I tend to forget stuff that I knew so well back in the day. Of course, in my opinion, it is better than these kids with TB drives full of useless information. lol.

Thanks,

TE

[MStepan]

Thanks for the ideas and suggestions. (On the phone) I updated the REMOTE IPC IP address to that of our phone system (192.168.x.x) and that worked! So at least I have >>>A<<< solution. Now to see if I can improve it by coming up with a configuration that doesn't require any changes. If anyone has any ideas on that, in the words of Dr Frazier Crane, "I'm listening". I asked the folks that manage our internal network gear to see if the IP address that wasn't "reachable" internally could be made reachable. Other than that I'm not sure what else to try ...

[Tech Electronics]

MStepan,

The Automatic Network Address Translation (NAT) Detection feature allows 86xx IP phones to operate inside or outside a private network NAT or firewall without having to change the IP Settings\NAT Address Type field every time the phone is relocated.

An IP phone designated with the Auto NAT Type automatically selects the appropriate NAT or Native IP address. This feature allows the IP phone to be moved from inside a NAT to outside and back again without programming intervention.

If the default Auto NAT Type is designated for an IP phone,

System > Devices and Feature Codes > Phones > {86xx phone} > IP Settings > NAT Address Type: Auto.

The Auto NAT Detection feature determines the correct IP address to use when the phone comes online.

After the NAT type is determined, the IP phone uses the setting for all calls. However, the NAT IP address associated with the system must be programmed manually in order for the NAT detection test to run.

System > Devices and Feature Codes > IP Connections > {P6000 Processor Module} > NAT IP Address: {Public IP NATed to LAN IP}

System > IP Settings > System NAT IP Address: {Public IP NATed to LAN IP}

Thanks,

TE

[MStepan]

Thanks TE. I DO have the phone's NAT Address Type set to AUTO. In both "NAT IP Address" locations (S/DAFC/IPC/P6 and also S/IPS), I have the same IP address (the one the phone cannot find internally). Maybe there's another setting somewhere that's not tweaked just right to enable it to work in either location ... I DO appreciate your thoughts/comments/efforts. Mark

[MStepan]

I'm wondering if the DEFAULT GATEWAY (on the phone) might be part of the issue here. It's set to 0.0.0.0, but maybe should be something valid?

[Tech Electronics]

MStepan,

Ah, I think I see your issue here. Are you not using DHCP to get your network information for the phone? If you are not then you will have an issue as the phone will always do what is hardcoded first.

Look here. System > Devices and Feature Codes > Phones > IP Settings > Network Configuration > Processor Module DHCP Enabled: Yes or No? IP Address Assignment BootP: Yes or No? Overwrite Self-Programming: Yes or No?

Thanks,

TE

[MStepan]

In System > Devices and Feature Codes > Phones > 949 > IP Settings > Network Configuration ...

Processor Module DHCP Enabled: YES
IP Address Assignment BootP: YES
Overwrite Self-Programming: YES