Cisco SPA 508G 8-Line IP Phone

Top quality VoIP phone with black and white screen. I use it in the SIP mode. Easy to setup and upgrade firmware. Easy to use web interface (unlike previous versions of Cisco SIP phones). Please be sure to read firmware upgrade instructions: firmware must be upgraded to an intermediate version first before being upgraded to the latest version. Excellent audio quality on both speaker phone and handset. Excellent price. I recommend getting this 8-line phone as you can use unused line buttons as speed-dials. An 8-line phone is only a few dollars more than a lesser-line phone in the SPA-5xx series.

The review that gave this phone 1 star because of the PoE issue wasn't reasonable. To be clear - the phone does not come with a power adapter. You will need to buy one separately or use a PoE (Power over Ethernet) injector or switch to power the phone. I don't mind this at all - in some locations, it's easier to power it with PoE, and I appreciate not having to pay for an extra adapter I won't use. This is not a consumer phone. Don't buy it expecting to plug it in and start making/receiving calls without some work to configure it to talk to a service provider. I bought several to use with an Asterisk system and I've been very happy with them. They're easy to configure via the web interface (which takes a long time and has a lot of options) or they can be made to download a (lightly) XML-structured configuration file, which is very helpful if you've got more than one to configure/manage. They support the G.722 codec for "high def" voice, if the entire call path + other endpoint support it too. If you've played with the Sipura phones/ATA's, this will feel familiar, though the build quality of the hardware is much nicer than the Sipura 841's. I bought two as evaluation units and have ended up buying several more, and I expect there's another batch order coming in the future since the last ones have worked nicely. The only downside - and it's not a big deal, because I don't use the "switch port" - is that the downstream network jack loses connectivity if the phone reboots.

Easy to set up - to push settings on, crystal clear sound work with SIP Asterisk, no problem so far!

After multiple phone calls w/ our VOIP service provider tech support, numerous attempts to provision and troubleshoot this device have failed. They also stated this is one of the more unreliable models of VOIP phones. We initially thought it was a network issue but now know the device itself is bad. This is the 2nd Cisco SPA508 that has died within the past few weeks. SO FRUSTRATING - STAY AWAY FROM THIS MODEL!!

I love this model of Cisco phone. We use the 8 lines to monitor other users to see if they are on the phone and to quick dial them. Well made and it just works. It also has a ton of options that you can edit.

For some reason these phones come with no way to power them. I guess they assume that every purchaser has a POE switch to power the phones but that certainly isn't the case. It's almost like buying a toaster without a plug. "Oh you wanted to actually use your toaster? No problem, give me another 10 bucks for the plug and wait another week for it to be shipped to you!" So unless you have a POE switch, you'll need to buy this plug to go with the phone: Linksys PA100-NA Power Adapter. Thanks Amazon for making it easy!!!

I have been testing different models of thenCisco and Polycom IP phones. This Cisco is good butmimhave to say, dollar for dollar I believe the Polycom has richer sound. The Cisco is IMHO easier to deploy and manage and that is important. But if audio quality is most important, go Polycom

Tried other models like CISCO 7940, they usually don't work on SIP requiring tech's reprogramming, which does not always work. With 508G, fantastic - plug and play. This is third order, multiple units, in under a year. Will keep buying 508's as old 7940's and 7960's burn out.

Perfect, work well.

Very good phone.

I bought this as I needed a SIP telephone which supports multiple (SIP) lines. This device is only suitable for experienced users or sysadmins with IT experience, otherwise it will be impossible to set up. Users who buy computers from high street stores will find configuration a challenge. Clearly, this device is intended for use an a corporate/education/hospitality environment with a dedicated IP telephone system, such as Asterisk. However, I am using it stand-alone with a SIP service from a moderately-well-known-in-IT-circles paid-for but affordable UK-based provider, Call quality is very good on an FTTC connection. This device is used with a Public IP address (suitably fire walled off) to avoid NAT issues. The telephone has 8 programmable extension buttons next to the LCD screen. It is very useful that the virtual "label" next to each button can be named. eg: Main Line, Second Line etc.. Pressing the button gives a dial tone the the chosen line. With a bit more work, unused extension keys can be programmed as a speed dial on a chosen line, and appropriately labelled on the screen. The GUI is not helpful or as intuitive as other Cisco devices. The SG-500 / SF-300 switches were easier to setup via the GUI in comparison. Annoyingly, there is no way to backup the settings to a file. However, the GUI will enable one to eventually configure up to 8 SIP accounts and the locally stored phone book. I give this a 4 stars due to the amount of effort needed to configure, and the cluttered/unhelpful GUI and manual. There's no obvious way via the GUI to upload a X.509 certificate to protect the web-GUI, and finally, I was disappointed to have received a factory refurbished product (in the original Cisco factory-refurbished sealed carton), rather than a "brand new" one. This fact was not reflected in the product description by the 3rd party seller. The item however, appeared "as new" and was properly factory packed.

it was non-functioning.