Cisco IP Phone Accessories

Supported Accessories

The Cisco IP Phone 7800 Series supports both Cisco and third-party accessories.

In the following table, an X indicates support for an accessory by a particular phone model and a dash (-) indicates no support.

Table 1. Accessory Support for the Cisco IP Phone 7800 Series

Accessory

Type

Cisco IP Phone 7811

Cisco IP Phone 7821

Cisco IP Phone 7841

Cisco IP Phone 7861

Third-Party Accessories

Headsets

Analog

-

X

X

X

Analog Wideband

-

X

X

X

Microphone

External

-

-

-

-

Speakers

External

-

-

-

-

Wall Mount

External

X

X

X

X

External Speakers and Microphone

External speakers and microphones are plug-and-play accessories. You can connect an external PC-type microphone and powered speakers (with amplifier) on the Cisco IP Phone by using the line in/out jacks. Connecting an external microphone disables the internal microphone and connecting an external speaker disables the internal phone speaker.


Note

Using poor quality external audio devices, playing loudspeakers at very loud volumes, or placing the microphone very close to the loudspeaker may result in undesirable echo for other parties on your speakerphone calls.

Connect the Footstand

If your phone is placed on a table or desk, connect the footstand to the back of the phone.

Procedure

Step 1

Insert the curved connectors into the lower slots.

Step 2

Lift the footstand until the connectors snap into the upper slots.

You may need to exert more force than you expect to connect or disconnect the footstand.

Step 3

Adjust the angle of the phone.

Note 

You cannot adjust the Cisco IP Phone 7811 footstand.

Headsets

We perform internal testing of third-party headsets for use with Cisco IP Phones. But we do not certify or support products from headset or handset vendors.


Note

The Cisco IP Phone 7811 does not support a headset.

Headsets connect to your Cisco IP Phone 7800 Series using the headset port or the auxiliary (AUX) port. The Cisco IP Phone 7811 does not have an AUX port. Depending upon your headset model, you have to adjust your phone's audio settings for the best audio experience, including the headset sidetone setting.

Headset sidetone is the feedback you hear through a headset when you speak.

After you apply a new sidetone setting, wait one minute and then reboot the phone for the setting to be stored in flash.

The phone reduces some background noise that a headset microphone detects. You can use a noise canceling headset to further reduce the background noise and improve the overall audio quality.

We recommend the use of good quality external devices; for example, headsets that are screened against unwanted radio frequency (RF) and audio frequency (AF) signals. Depending on the quality of headsets and their proximity to other devices, such as mobile (cell) phones and two-way radios, some audio noise or echo may still occur. Either the remote party or both the remote party and the Cisco IP Phone user may hear an audible hum or buzz. A range of outside sources can cause humming or buzzing sounds; for example, electric lights, electric motors, or large PC monitors.


Note

Sometimes, use of a local power cube or power injector may reduce or eliminate hum.

Environmental and hardware inconsistencies in the locations where Cisco IP Phones are deployed mean that no single headset solution is optimal for all environments.

We recommend that customers test headsets in the intended environment to determine performance before making a purchasing decision to deploy on a large scale.

You can use only one headset at a time. The most-recently connected headset is the active headset.

Audio Quality

Beyond physical, mechanical, and technical performance, the audio portion of a headset must sound good to the user and to the party on the far end. Sound quality is subjective, and we cannot guarantee the performance of any headsets. However, various headsets from leading headset manufacturers are reported to perform well with Cisco IP Phones.

For additional information, see https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/unified-communications/uc_endpoints_accessories.html

Analog Headsets

Analog headsets are supported on the Cisco IP Phone 7821, 7841, and 7861. The Cisco IP Phone 7821, 7841, and 7861 can detect when an analog headset is plugged in.