Customer Reviews

Cisco SPA941 4-line IP Phone with 1-port Ethernet

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I put together two Asterisk servers for two businesses, and bought several of the SPA941 phones. I looked at Grandstream products, and read reviews, and bought one, but they are basically cheap crud in comparison. This SPA941 series is a solid business phone that works well... the cheaper competitors feel like cheap plastic (they are), and have all kinds of operational issues working with Asterisk. I'm basically a fan of this product.

On the down side, I have had trouble getting and installing the 2-to-4 line upgrade. Be aware that this is only a 2-line phone, even though it has 4-line buttons.

This item is the SPA-941 model, which has been sold under the Sipura, Linksys, and Cisco brands. It is a fully featured SIP standard phone that is compatible with Asterisk, and it works through NAT.

Before Sipura was liquidated, they published firmware that unlocked most of the extra-cost features, like certificates and multiple line registrations. Ensure that you upgrade the firmware to get these valuable goodies. The spa941-5.1.8.zip file is the latest and probably last release.

Advanced features like certificate registration and automatic provisioning seem to be very difficult to configure, so I run these phones with manual configurations. It's just easier to use the web configuration interface than to figure out the XML magic.

If the SPA-941 gets the same ease of integration with Asterisk VOIP systems as the Polycom product family, then I will upgrade my rating from 4/5 to 5/5.

This Amazon SKU comes with a power supply, so you don't need the extra part that Amazon recommends.

I would have rated the SPA941 with 5 stars had it included a backlit display and a few speed dial buttons. Even so, I wouldn't hesitate to buy another, unless I went up to the 942 version, which does have backlight.

I've owned a Grandstream GXP-2000 for over two years, but the SPA941 is definitely higher quality in construction and audio quality. Granted, the GXP-2000 is less expensive, but mine started giving minor problems after a few months and now has started rebooting itself nearly every day. Firmware upgrades have not helped and email support thin.

I replaced the GXP with the SPA941. Took only a few minutes to set up, with the help of a Asterisk tutorial for the 941 I found via google. I've been using it now for several weeks, without any issues at all.

This is an amazing phone that works flawless with several SIP service providers. The call quality is clear and it feels like a business phone. A great variety of options are built into the firmware conveniently accessible via its own web server. The firmware that shipped with this phone was built in around 2004 and would keep disconnecting which caused a temporary "send this cr%@* to the attic" status but now it works fine with the new update.

UPDATE: LInksys does not sell parts for this phone, the headset is now broken (speakerphone works tho) and there is no way to find parts to repair it.

Purchased 6 of these phones for a small office Asterisk system. Solid feel, good handset - good sound quality. Speakerphone works well with good pick-up for those sitting close to it - not a conference room phone. The power adapter and a short black Ethernet cable are included in the box. This model does not include the built in Ethernet switch and does not support POE. The switch feature is of little value as most new installations are gigabit Ethernet and the phone has a 100Mb port. The POE would be nice if we had POE switches or injectors - but that would add about $20 per port so the AC adapter is fine for desktop use - just don't grab the phone and move it around since the power cord is short. Also, needed to update firmware in all the phones we received - fairly quick and easy. All in all great value with a few compromises.

Worked with every SIP PBX I've used. Nice phone, basically the same look, feel, user interface as some of Cisco's earlier phones. You can manage the phone over the network. The web interface to the device is a little different from Cisco. Basically, it's a Sipura (company was purchased by Cisco) device with the old Sipura web interface.

Would definitely recommend. Good product.

I ordered these for my office staff and it has all the bells and whistles of a big system... Very nice unit....

This phone has great sound quality, so many features it'll make your head spin. You definitely need to make sure you have the latest firmware so you can unlock the remaining lines. When I talk to people they don't even know the difference between it and a land/cell line

I knocked off 1 star because the Power connection/socket is not very well made so if you jiggle the phone a bit or pull it just slightly taut then sometimes the power cuts out. Minor inconvenience.

It took several criss crossed emails and trouble tickets to tech support to get this phone fuly configured, but once it was online its been fine.

Don't even get me started on the Cisco/Linksys website... what a mess that is!

Work perfect in my 3CX small office server, the voice message red light, Call ID and other features are compatible with 3CX, very clear sound... and I upgrade the firmware, I have the 4 lines now.