Review: The Gigaset A580IP SIP/DECT Cordless Phone System
mjgraves | July 10, 2009
After announcements back at CES2009 in January the Gigaset line of cordless SIP/DECT are finally starting to become available in the US. The A580IP model is the entry-level system in the line-up, which we’ve been using around here for the past couple of months.
At the outset of the review process I was a little skeptical about installing an entry-level consumer cordless phone in the house. We’ve tried a lot of hardware and have some fairly clear ideas about what we need from it. However, the A580IP brings with it the possibility of wideband calling over IP into the cordless domain. That proved just too to attractive to not give it a try.
The A580IP system that we have installed consists of one DECT base and a set of three A58H handsets. A starter system comes with the base and one handset. You can add up to five additional handsets to suit your specific needs. In fact, you can mix and match handsets, using the entry level A58H, middle of the range S67H or high-end SL78H all on the same DECT base.
The DECT base is an inconspicuous little black box measuring 6” x 4.25” x 1.5″. It can be mounted on a wall or simply stood on a shelf or table. In our case it’s mounted high on a wall in a central closet where all the network switching is located in our house.
Gigaset has taken the stance that energy efficiency is important. With this principle in mind they provide small high-efficiency switching power supplies for both the base and the handset charging stand. This is one aspect of what they term “ECO-DECT.”
Another aspect of ECO-DECT is a software feature that dynamically varies the power output of the radios. While the handset is on the charging stand the radio power output drops to near zero. When on a call the handset modulates the power output to sustain an ideal RF signal level at the base. As the handset distance from the base grows the RF output increases just enough to maintain the ideal RF signal at the base. The result is up to 60% less power consumed by the devices.
The DECT base has an RJ-11 connector for one analog phone line and an RJ-45 for connection to your network. In our installation we use only the network since we haven’t had analog phone lines for several years.
The one status indicator on the DECT base is a square blue button on the front. This lights up when a handset is actively on a call. It is also used when registering handsets to the base, and when paging handsets that you might have left somewhere in the house.
[...] http://www.mgraves.org/voip/2009/07/review-the-gigaset-a580ip-sipdect-cordless-phone-system/ [...]
Mike,
Great review, as always… After being totally disappointed in the Snom M3’s that I have had for a year or so, Can you tell me….
Are the keys on the model you got backlit? And, if not, do any of the other handsets provide that feature?
Why did you go for the A580 and not one of the other ones, just the price?
Thanks.
Jim…
I think the keypads on some are backlit, but not on the A58H. I’ll put them in a row and take some pics to try and highlight this fact.
I didn’t really select the A580IP. Gigaset sent me several items; A580IP, S675IP, (2) extra A58H and (1) extra SL78H. I just started at the bottom of the range and am working my way up, thinking that I’d start simple. I’ll be posting reviews on the S675IP and SL78H eventually. Given that they build on the core capabilities of the A580IP those review will (hopefully) be shorter and a little easier to write.
“Finally, I am awaiting an imminent review by Michael Graves of the newly introduced (in the USA) Gigaset S675IP SIP-DECT cordless phone.”
http://www.cobankruptcylaw.com/bkr/blawg/Entries/2009/7/29_VoIP_calling_via_SIP_or_PSTN._Plus_GizmoVoice..html
Michael,
You wrote “You can add either of these as optional expansion handsets to the base A580IP system,” referring in part to the S67H handset. Have you personally tested compatibility in the other direction (S675IP base with A58H handset)? I know that compatibility is advertised, but trusted first-hand experience is always welcome before making a purchasing decision.
Also, if you’ve tried it, can an A58H handset listen to the voice mail in the S675IP base?
Yes, I have used the base A580 system with all three types of handsets. I’ve also used the base S675 system with all three. No issues to report.
Total nubie question: I just signed up with Phone.com, and plan to use their service (including attendant, possibly with some virtual extensions) with 3 or 4 lines (with separate phone numbers.)
Would these Gigaset phones be a good choice for this application?
Ideally, I’d like to be able to set up different extensions to ring to different handsets, but use the voicemail features of Phone.com. (Would these work with virtual extensions?)
Also, is it easy to transfer a call between extensions, and can you have two extensions talking on the same outside call?
Finally, can these indicate when there is a voicemail for the extension on the Phone.com system (I am thinking perhaps through the email capability on the higher-end handsets?)
Thanks in advance.
I think that you are going to have to put these questions to the people at phone.com. The Gigasets are SIP devices, pure and simple. Since Phone.com lists low-end Polycom phones and ATAs amongst their supported hardware there’s every reason to think that the Gigasets will work properly as well. They certainly have message waiting indication which is how you would know VM status.
That said, they are cordless phone which means fewer dedicated buttons for business class calling features like transfer.
They’re so inexpensive I’d just buy on starter set and an extra handset and try it out. If you’re not happy with the result you can resell them and probably get much of your purchase price back.
[...] Graves On SOHO VoIP » Review: The Gigaset A580IP SIP/DECT Cordless … [...]
Mike,
How do you setup Gizmo account (with Google voice) into Gigaset A580IP? I got the basic setting from Gizmo website as the following, but not sure how or where to enter these info.
SIP Settings
Proxy Server (Host): proxy01.sipphone.com
Proxy Server (IP): 198.65.166.131
Registration Server: proxy01.sipphone.com
SIP Port (UDP): 5060
STUN Server: stun01.sipphone.com
STUN Port: 3478
User ID: 17471115555 (replacing with your 1747)
Auth ID: 17471115555 (replacing with your 1747)
Password: (your gizmo5 password)
Thanks.
Anthony
Three things you need to set up to have Goolge Voice on the Gigaset.
1) enter Gizmo5 info into the Gigaset
2) enter your Google Voice number on your Gizmo5 profile page
3) add your Gizmo5 phone number on your Google Voice page (under Settings, Add Phone)
Here is 1)
On the handset, go to:
Menu (right softkey)
Settings
Base
Telephony
Connection Wizard [enter system PIN = 0000]
Do you have a code for auto-configuration? [select "no"]
Select VoIP Provider? [select "yes"]
scroll to USA and select “ok”
scroll to Gizmo5 and select “ok”
for Authentication Name, enter your Gizmo5 telephone number (e.g. 17471115555) and select “ok”
for Authentication Password, enter your Gizmo5 password and select “ok”.
Tony,
Thanks for taking the trouble to spell it out! As I’ve stated elsewhere around here, I’m not a big GV user so I haven’t made the effort yet.
Hi Gigaset_Man,
Thanks for the help. I have already done 2 and 3 before I do the first step. Now I can receive calls on my Gigaset A580IP handset, but I can not make any call from it. Is that something to do with the outbound proxy mode? I noticed that it setted to “Never” by default, and if I change to Always or Auto, It will says “Server not accessible” Do I need to sign up for something else as to make the free call? I thought I should be able to receive and make any call by using Gizmo5.
Thanks.
Anthony
Hi Michael,
My home/office is setup with Snom m3 (5 handsets). Given the current economy, it will not be replaced at once, but I got to have HDSP.
Do you think I could get handsets to register with the Snom m3 open dect 6.0 base?
And later when I have a critical mass change the base. I have my own asterisk pbx, so all I need is to register using SIP to start.
Nice review as always. Lleo19
Let’s be very clear. You want to buy one of the Gigaset basic systems, then try and register the m3 handsets with it based upon DECT 6.0 GAP compliance. I’m not sure, but I can try it and let you know.
I am sorry, I was not clear.
I have currently the Snom m3 base with 5 handsets. Since the Snom base can take up to 8 handsets, I could for now get one or two Gigaset handsets to get started, and one by one replace the snom one. At a later point then get one Gigaset base and and replace the base last. The Snom documentation does mention that other brands of DECT 6.0 phones can be connected to the base using the IPEI number but the intercom functionality will not work. I can leave temporarily without that and the other features provisioned through the Gigaset base as long as the handset registers. It would be awesome if you could give a try.
Thanks, Lleo19
I also would be interested in knowing whether a Snom m3 handset could be added to a Gigaset SL675 IP base station or the Gigaset S78H added to aSnom m3 network. I have the Gigaset at home and the Snom at the office. An extra Snom m3 headset from the office could be useful at home. And adding a Gigaset S78H at the office would be great. Loss of intercom function for a handset at each location is no big deal.
Doeoes anyone have any idea how to set up an A580IP with Sipgate.co.uk? I’m tearning my hair out with it as it’s not in the auto setup list of providers and the info on sipgate’s website just isn’t working. DHCP is enabled on my router and I can access the control panel so the A580IP is connected to the router, just not to sipgate. Tried the sipgate.de settings as well and they didn’t work. Thanks in advance for any help!
I have the same problem. No hair left to pull out though. Did you ever find a way to get yours working with sipgate?
Gr8 review! It could not have been more thorough and well written. Ordered mine last week and looking forward to switching from my existing ATA.
Thanks. One day soon I’ll get around to describing the other two handsets as well.
We just added an A580ip and 6 S78H handsets for our home. They went on to our OnSip PBX without a hitch and the whole system was up and running in just under an hour — that includes unpacking and setting up all the phones. The sound is great and the handsets are superb. One minor complaint is that the max ring volume is not quite up to snuff but the features and the quality more than makes up for that.
Great cordless SIP solution!
Mike, any idea of the ETA for your review of the Gigaset S675IP and the SL78H handset? Thanks!
I’ve decided that I’m not going to review the S675IP. The existing review that’s been online a while deals with it well enough. So I’m going to undertake the SL78H next. When is a good question. Hopefully soon, but work and personal things have been getting in the way the past few weeks.
Mike, for small SOHOs opting for the Siemens Gigaset S675IP base and SL78H handsets in combination with a hosted PBX/VOIP provider like Nextivity/OnSip, have you looked at low cost wireless routers appropriate for such a setup?
The folks at .e4 have recommended Edgemarc routers — but the wireless option is quite costly at $500+. We understand that in addition to firewall effectiveness, we should be concerned about dropped VOIP calls when downloading huge files, Network Address Translation traversal, and so on. Any ideas? Thanks as always.
I’m not certain that I understand your quandary? The Gigaset phones are DECT based, so have no requirement for any kind of wireless networking. You connect the DECT base to the switch or router by a common cat5 cable. Any decent firewall/router, like the Edgemarc, is going to provide rational management of quality-of-service (QoS) so your concerns about other traffic impacting your calls are probably unwarranted.
I use Gigasets and Polycom phones with OnSIP every day. I don’t use the Edgemarc device, but it seems like a solid product. I have dealt with E4 for some time, and find them very knowledgeable. They won’t steer your wrong. After all, if they did they’d be stuck supporting you…
Mike, thanks, and sorry if i wasn’t clear. E4 said a consumer-based Linksys WRT54G isn’t entirely firewall safe. Also the Linkysys NAT (network address system) isn’t as VOIP aware as others, like the Edgemarc, which also resolves the firewall issue.
All good. But what wireless router do you use/suggest with your Gigasets and Polycoms with Onsip?
Much appreciated! Tony…
Ah. Ok. My network is a little different. I’m not a fan of that little Linksys device. It’s just a matter of personal preference. I use an open source m0n0wall firewall/router running on a Soekris Net4801 board, no wifi capability at all. Then I have a separate Wifi Access Point, which is a NetGear N type. m0n0wall has no special VoIP NAT traversal provisions, but I do like it’s traffic shaping capability for ensuring voip bandwidth. The Edgemarc device is probably more capable with respect to voip.
You can always add a wifi AP external to the router if that’s less costly. In consumer space there really aren’t any dedicated APs left, so you end up using a cheap wifi router as just a wifi AP. In SMB gear you can still find dedicated APs, which can easier to setup and manage. You don’t need to subvert all those router functions to get down to just AP functionality.
The NetGear N type AP is around $124. N type wifi can be important if you plan to run any voice over wifi. The “WMM” feature of N type wifi is like QoS in the wireless realm.
Bear in mind that when you go the low road you may save a few dollars now but lack for comprehensive support later on. The Edgemarc wifi option will supported as part of the entire package. That can be important if you end up troubleshooting issues later on.
Hello Tony
I was looking for information on the Gigaset IP phones and stumbled upon the page where you posted this question in November:
> E4 said a consumer-based Linksys WRT54G isn’t entirely firewall safe. Also the Linkysys NAT (network address system) isn’t as VOIP aware as others, like the Edgemarc, which also resolves the firewall issue.
Although the Linksys firmware can be reflashed to run an enhanced Linux using OpenWrt, people in their forum recommend other hardware, especially the Planex MZK-W04NU and the Asus WL-500g Deluxe which both have 32MB RAM and offer a USB port to increase the amount of solid-state memory:
http://wiki.openwrt.org/toh/start
I’m thinking of ordering a Planex so that I get QoS for my ADSL connection and ensure good voice quality at all times.
Cheers,
Gilles.
Thanks for the excellent review. Because of the review I bought two phones, one for my parents. When I first got the phones and made a Gigaset.Net call between them I was impressed.
Unfortunately after a few days one of the units stopped working. It just would not connect via the browser nor would it register with Gigaset.Net. Unless the Siemens tech folks have any ideas I will need to replace the unit.
Look forward to reading more articles.
Hello people does anyone has an idea to set up the Gigaset A580 to Skype, I already made all the things such port forwarding, and firewall permit, fixed an IP adresses to the phone, but I am still fighting
I am working with W. vista, my router is linksys WRt54G and I a very nice cable connection of 3 Mb
Thks in advance
Skype is a closed network. You will not be able to interface the Gigaset directly with Skype.
Many thks for yr answer, Skype offers now a beta realese( for business only) with SIP account, I belived that it will be works but well … As far I understood from yr answer could be some interface (soft or whatever) to connect??
Thks again
Jeno