Customer Reviews

Cisco SPA2102 VoIP Phone Adapter with Router

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

This adapter is excellent for those tech-savvy enough to configure.

Echo cancellation and jitter buffer work well.

The latest firmware allows you to increase the DTMF detection timing so that talkoff (spurious DTMF) can pretty much be eliminated. Currently, this can't be done using a PAP2T-NA adapter. This setting is under "Admin -> Voice -> Advanced -> Line1/Line2 -> DTMF Tx Strict Hold Off Time".

If your VOIP provider supports it, then T38 faxing works fairly well, with adjustable redundancy levels.

I've tried many other adapters and always had trouble, this is the only one I'll buy from now on. Anyone interested in a used PAP2T? :)

Works well with Gizmo5 and Google Voice. Easy to configure. There are only 4 things you have to change in the options page, so don't worry about the 200 other option fields for advanced users. The configuration below is from the Gizmo5 support page. I only changed the lines below where I've added an astrisk:

SIP Settings

* Display Name (your Gizmo5 user name)
* 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)

The Gizmo5 link for configuration is below.
[...].

 

This works well, and was easy to set up. I just followed the directions from the VOIP provider I chose (callcentric), changed a few settings, and that was it. Worked immediately. Haven't had any problems with it.

I'm sure if you know everything about VOIP, you could change all sorts of other settings (there are hundreds), and do clever stuff - but I just wanted this for a simple, cheap phone line.

I originally leaned toward this former Sipura product, now owned by Cisco based on 3 yrs of positive feedback from many VoIP users. I am not a huge fan of Cisco for several reasons, but D.Schumann's review here made the final decision for me. It does everything as advertised, but wait! There's more! ;-) I have been able to configure two lines completely differently. I design massive VoIP systems for global enterprises, and I like to test some of my theories at home using an Asterisk ACD/PBX and IVR. I can run my home and office off the two lines, then on the weekend, change Line 2 to be fully SIP enabled, with no legacy PSTN TDM connectivity. So my testing, albeit very tiny little test system, appears exactly like my millions of call/day systems. This ATA has prevented me from dropping a thousand or two on an enterprise level media gateway. I only need those for volume testing, and that's done in our labs, so I am probably the happiest SPA2102 customer in the world today! This VoIP professional gives the SPA2102two thumbs up. For a normal two line household, you should be able to tune the SPA2102 with a good VoIP provider to have better call quality than with a legacy carrier and certainly better than any cable digital phone service.

The Linksys SPA2102 Voip Phone adapter with Router is an amazing product. It works very well as it is supposed to do. My two voip's lines work fantastic, the sound is clear and I have excellent phone calls on it. Also, my internet speed is not disturbed when I am in a phone call. Easy to set up. I love this device! I strongly recommend it.

Bought this to use with Callcentric VOIP. Got here quickly, setup was pretty straightforward, phone and computers working great. I'm using it as a router: cable modem --> SPA2102 -->2d router (linksys wrt54gl) for pcs.

I haven't noticed any excessive heat (as others have mentioned on other sites) but I'm not pushing it very hard. I have it on a small rack with airflow top and bottom; if heat becomes an issue, could add a small fan but doubt if I'll need to.

One thing I haven't found in the menus (which are extensive) is an option to save my settings to a file. This may exist and I just haven't found it, haven't really done an exhaustive search. But with all the parameters required for setup it would be nice to be able to save it.

Not impressed with documentation. Nothing printed, not even a card... and what's on the CD isn't all that thorough either. Scrounging around online got more docs but still not what I would expect for a product like this. Maybe I haven't scrounged enough.

But it seems to work and work well, which is the point. If it keeps doing what it's doing now I'll be happy as the proverbial clam.

Functionally - good voice quality, dozens of adjustments so you can get the best out of your provider, and all the major providers have examples of how to configure the unit.
Physically - small, about 1 1/2 the size of a pack of cigarettes, wall-mountable.
Support - since this is a Cisco unit there's real manufacturer support by knowledgeable people who speak English, and support staff at the major providers are all familiar with the unit and can usually provide immediate answers.

 

I've been using two of these devices for a couple of years now with no problems--configured and forgot. One I configured in the US and sent overseas for zero-cost local dialing to an in-law's house in Central America. The device in my house is hooked to the house phone circuit (which I first disconnected from the Telco line--advised because a telco line can have current even without service). My device rings four house phones with no problem at all. My brother sent one to in-laws in Nepal--they find dialing cheaper to India using his VOIP provider than service provided by the local telco.

This device has options that allow you to fine-tune its performance, for example to operate behind a firewall and router, or to fine-tune to the available bandwidth on your Internet connection.

Get the administration guide from the manufacturer's web site if it ís not on your installation disk. I was unable to connect using the default IP address described in the quick install guide. To begin with, it turned out that a D-Link router on my network had the same default IP address for configuration. I was still unable to connect after I removed all other devices on my network. Finally I downloaded the administration guide from the Linksys/Cisco download page for the SPA2102 device, and its "Basic Administration and Configuration" instructions described how to get the IP address using a telephone attached to the device (****110#). The second page of the quick install guide, it turns out, has a table of the interactive dial commands, useful if you're having trouble initially connecting through the Web browser. For instance, you can enable the Web utility. For good measure I did that (****7932#1#1). After I got the correct IP address I had no difficulty updating the firmware and using the Web configuration utility.

Another reviewer claimed that the firmware may only be updated with at least Windows Vista. I downloaded the firmware update and followed installation instructions to install the firmware using Windows XP. No problem. Use the Linksys or Cisco (or other VOIP) community forum for this device if you're having problems configuring. Support costs money. At this price level don't expect a lot of support from any manufacturer--and bow down and worship them if they do provide extensive support!

The configuration details for IP telephony require a hobby-level skill and interest. I do not expect Cisco/Linksys or any other device at this price to provide unique configuration support for every service provider. Your VOIP telephony provider should be able provide configuration support for hooking up to their service. (Mine, future-nine, has configuration sheets for different devices and they'll review screen-shots or property sheets of the administrative settings if you're having problems.) This is a configurable device aimed at the bring-your-own-device crowd. If you want a configurable device and/or have good configuration support from your telephony provider, then the Cisco/Linksys Gateway adapters rate five stars for their combination of features at this price range (cheap). If you do not want to do VOIP configuration or it seems like a bear, ask your telephony provider if they'll let you purchase a preconfigured VOIP telephony adapter for their service. You are then stuck with that service provider for that particular device--and if it breaks or has configuration problems you'll have to go with their customer service, which may or may not be a pleasant experience.

I had been paying Qwest, my local phone service provider, almost $40.00 a month for a basic phone line with caller id for over 25 years. Other common options like Skype, Magic Jack, or Comcast did not look like they would allow much flexibililty, so I bought one of these unlocked voip routers. I settled on voip.ms service because they allowed me to port my number, but this voip router will work with a huge variety of other voip service providers. I would say that the SPA2102-NA is practically the standard method now. Your research will probably confirm this. The -NA on the end confirms an unlocked router meaning that it is not pre-configured for any specific voip provider.

Set up on this voip router was pretty straight forward for me, but I'm fairly technically inclined. You may need the assistance from your local teenager to help you figure it out. You'll find that most of the voip providers have a setup example page which will usually include the settings for this router or a similar model. Since it provides for two separate phone lines and service accounts, I also had it configured to work with Gizmo5, but Google recently phased that service out.

I have mine mounted on a wall in my basement where my main phone line comes into the distribution panel, that way, I can have all of my home phones connected to it. I plugged this router into my home network router and when I want to make changes on it, I temporarily unplug one of my computers from my network switch hub and plug it directly into the LAN port of the SPA2102. I could just leave it connected there, but the 2102 has a maximum throughput of about 6MB/sec, so if your internet connection is provided by your cable TV company, then your connection is likely much faster than that, so it's best to return your computer connection to your main router and surf from there. (Make sure the IP numbers are not the same on both routers.) For good measure, I have all of my networking devices on a backup battery system which smooths out the bumps in the electrical supply and provides many hours of phone and networking during a power outage. I highly recommend doing this on your network too. I have not had to reset my modem one time since I added the UPS battery supply.

I'm going to buy another SPA2102 for travel and have it set up and tested before I go. My next trip is several months in China, so I'll be reporting on how well it works from there. It should enable my family and friends to dial my local Portland number and have it ring me wherever I am located, provided my temporary location has a wired Interent connection for me to plug into.

My SPA2102 runs warm, but not hot. It has been running flawlessly for the past 4 months. My home phone bill has been averaging about ten bucks a month, so the amount I have saved has already paid for this router. Call quality is tops, but for my voip service, I had to spend some time making some adjustments so that the DTMF tones would be received without a clicking sound. The router also handles faxing fairly well and I have it hooked up to my home security system which has an internal modem to dial out to my alarm company, and it works fine for that too, but faxing and dial type modem success may depend on your voip provider. Some do not support fax tones and protocols. I like the indicator lights so I can verify my connection status.

Happy dialing!

I got the SPA2102 to replace my SPA3102 because this has the two regular phone jacks. Now I can have two telephone numbers running on VoIP. This product is great and installation can be tricky. It is not so difficult after reading the manual and working with the VoIP Company.