We got so excited setting up the VoIP system at my office that we decided to set it up at my home, too.  We didn't have a PBX to worry about so could choose pretty much any hardware we wanted.  We decided on a Linksys SPA921 IP phone.

In the world of all things wireless, it seems that corded phones are marketed at those who can't or don't wish to afford a cordless phone.  Thus, to keep prices low, quality is often low.  For ages, we've wanted a really nice corded phone...but we haven't been able to find one, until now.

Firmware upgrade

The first thing you need to know is that this is a HOT-looking phone.  We got it out of the box and were sold right then and there.  We were disappointed when we tested it out though.  There was echo.  Echo.  Plenty of it.  It.  So much that it made the phone unusable.  Unusable.

Dammit.

Dammit.

We played with various settings including turning down the gain on the handset.  This didn't help, and even one person on the other end complained about echo when we talked loudly.  We decided to do a firmware upgrade, even though the notes mentioned nothing about echo cancellation.  After the firmware upgrade, the echo left, completely.  WOOHOO!

Nifty features

Now that we had voice quality at an acceptable level, we could start playing with all the features the phone had to offer.  Scrolling through the menus, we discovered we could set a ringtone.  We tried them all, hoping everyone else in earshot wouldn't mind.  Now, here's the best part about this phone.  The very last ringtone was the CTU ringtone from '24'!!! Now I can pretend to be Jack Bauer.  Send that to my screen, would you please?

The SPA921 has a voicemail button on the phone which is programmable with the access code of your voicemail provider.  Unfortunately, as far as we know, there's no way for it to pause for a few seconds and then automatically enter your password.

We tested out the speakerphone and found the sound quality to be above average.

There were buttons for Call Forward, Do Not Disturb, Transfer, and Conference within easy reach.  Additionally, a Missed Call shortcut appears if any calls have been made to the phone that I did not answer.  The phone also has a Mute button, a Hold button, and a button for enabling the headset, which we have as yet not tried.

Default settings

Much of our PAP2T Review also applies to this phone as well.  Unlike the PAP2T, we've had the most success leaving the Handset Input Gain on the SPA921 at its default of 0.  Ring1 Cadence on the PAP2T is known as Cadence1 on the SPA921; the other ring settings do not apply.  Other than that, the settings for Dial Plan, Daylight Saving Time Rules, NAT, Codecs, and RTP Packet Size are common to both units.

Missing features

In another review that we read, the author complained about the SPA921's LCD not having a backlight.  This is true, but the contrast of the LCD is very easy to see as it is, if there is ambient light in the room.

One other feature that exists in the PAP2T that we miss in the SPA921 is the ability to forward specific calls to specific locations.  It would be great if this could be added in a firmware upgrade at some point.

We had trouble with the DNS client on this phone.  Occasionally, it fails to perform a DNS lookup and an outgoing call will fail.  We haven't been able to solve this issue, so instead we use the IP of our SIP server instead of the hostname.

And finally, in case you're all anxious to hear Mango's beautiful voice...

Here's a recording of Mango himself talking on the SPA921, if anyone's interested in hearing the audio quality.

The missing features we have mentioned are really nothing to worry about.  Call quality is of course most important and this phone couldn't perform better.  At some point we hope to test some Aastra phones as we are very intrigued by their XML browser.  Imagine - a VoIP phone that can be programmed! We drool just thinking about it.