Grandstream Handytone 286 and Gizmo/Sipphone

It is not much to look at. It is about the size of a pack of cigarettes. And it makes phone calls. Not exactly sexy.

I just purchased a Grandstream HandyTone 286 to work with Gizmo and, in turn, my Grand Central account. This device works with generic SIP accounts, allows you shut off your computer and, with a cordless phone, get out of the room. Novel ideas, huh.

The unboxing: a black box, power supply, Ethernet cable and cellulose packing peanuts. Mine came with no manual or quick start guide. Nothing. But the peanuts were a HUGE bonus.

Most people fret at the sight of a gadget with no instructions. But, hey, it's me. I already read the manual before Jim the FedEx guy delivered the box. I also had to dive through Google's cache to find some missing Gizmo forum pages, to get the right settings. So, should you find yourself in the same scenario, here is all the setup you need to do. I feel somebody has to put the Gizmo setup for this device out there to find, so I might as well. Following that is some weirdness with the device and my reactions.

Easiest way to get from there to here...

• Start clean! Do a full reset - (Online PDF manual - Page 37). Just trust me.
• Get the IP number of the box. On the phone you hooked up, dial "***" then "02" (zero two) to get the ip number to hit with your browser.
• Login ("admin")
  

On the "Advanced Settings" page set the following:

• SIP Proxy: proxy01.sipphone.com
• SIP User ID: Dial "**" in Gizmo, or look at "Edit" -> "My Profile" to find out (the number before the "@")
  
• Authenticate ID: same number as your SIP User ID
• Authenticate Password: Your password
• STUN server: Check "Yes" and enter "stun01.sipphone.com:3478"
• Set "Send DTMF" to "via SIP INFO" only (for all the number punching Grand Central demands.)

If it is working for you, change your passwords (there are two). (Then write down your passwords in big black marker on a post-it note and give them to the hacker teenager that lives down the street. Then call him "ugly.")

I realize that just because these instructions (sans the post-it note) work for me, it does not mean that it will work for you, but they are generic enough for a kick-start.

There was some weirdness that occurred when I tried to set a static IP number, then, afterwards, removing the static entry did not remove it completely- hence, weirdness and the necessity for the full reset in the instructions. It works fine with DHCP. Leave it like that if you can. I had no luck with static IPs.

Now, does it work? Yes. And it works well. Calls are clear without the latency I have seen in some SoftPhones. Well worth the $38 plus shipping.

One ringy dingy, two...

UPDATE:

From praveen:

"Hi I am unable to receive calls from grandcentral on my ht 286. i set up exactly as u said but still when i press 1 it doesnt go through..do u have any solution? thanks praveen"

aprigliano (that's me) responds:

There are two things that have changed since this post. I have updated my firmware to version 1.1.0.3. Get it here.

Also, it works for me to select ALL "Send DTMF" settings ("in-audio" AND "via RTP (RFC2833)" AND "via SIP INFO.") I do not know if this is right thing to do, but it works.

Try changing the settings first, then dive into the firmware upgrade. Warning: The firmware upgrade is a little weird.

Good Luck.