Trinity Alps Unified now provides Cisco IP phones in our classrooms.  The two models present are the 8811 and the 8845. 

 

Cisco 8811	Cisco 8845 (note the video conferencing camera and color screen)

 

If you need help learning the functions of your phone, Cisco provides an online, searchable User Guide for all 8800 series phones:

 

 

If you would like a visual quickstart guide for these models, they can be accessed here:

 

Quick Troubleshooting

 

Problem: My phone displays a black screen and there is no dial tone when I lift the receiver.	Solution: Cisco phones are not powered like regular phones.  Please make sure that: The School Site you are working at has power The phone's ethernet cable is plugged into the jack on the back of the phone labeled "SW" or with a network icon. The other end of the network cable is plugged into a working ethernet port on the wall.
Problem: I don't know how to: Transfer a call Initiate a Group call Check my Voicemail	Solution:  Please consult the manuals and quickstart guides for how to perform common phone functions.
Problem: My phone displays a spinning icon on the screen which has not changed in 10+ minutes.	Solution:  Cisco Phones need to "start up" just like a computer.  Sometimes they get stuck in their start up cycle or cannot start up because their connection is bad.  Please make sure to: Unplug the network cable from the back of the phone, wait sixty seconds, and then plug the cable back into the back of the phone Try plugging the other end of the cable into a different port on the wall
Transfer a Call: Transfer a live call to another station.	Press the Transfer Button Dial the Extension (DO NOT HANG UP) Press the Transfer Button again to complete the transfer.
Transfer a Call Direct to VM Transfer a live call to another stations voicemail bypassing calls	Press the Transfer Button Dial "*" then the Extension (DO NOT HANG UP) Press the Transfer Button again to complete the transfer.
Check Voicemail Check your voicemail	Press the voicemail button Enter your pin Listen to your voicemail Listen to the options Follow the options
Set Up Voicemail This is how you initially set up your voicemail	Users should just push the voicemail button on their phone (it looks like a reel-to-reel icon) They’ll be prompted to enter a PIN for their voicemail box.  The default PIN for all the boxes are 12345.  The system will step them through building out their voicemail box. Make sure they do the whole enrollment process, which they’ll know when they’re finished when they hear their name greeting and can access settings in their voicemail box. If they hang up before the enrollment process is through, they’ll have to step through the process again.

 

In the past, TAU has relied on a complex series of PBX systems.  Their are 4 sites that TAU has to support for telecom: WES, DO, THS/AlpsView, and the bus barn.  Every site had their own unique system using everything from 20 year old hardware to a more modern ETS system.  We examined the costs associated with purchased hardware vrs leased hardware and determined the costs savings for a more robust system that is leased is more cost effective over the short and long term then supporting a single or multiple systems as was currently configured.  The Cisco system allows us to tie in all our devices together and with the lease, our tech support is contracted out and is included in our agreement.  Meaning any changes to the system does not incur additional costs as with our current ETS or PBX systems.  The costs of the phones should we decide in the future to purchase are between 10% to 35% cheaper then what we were being charged under the old ETS contracts.  We have a universal system that is robust and efficient and we continue to see massive cost savings as the systems continue to be brought on line.