Register your phone

Depending on how your administrator configures your phone on the call control system, you might use one of the following methods to register your phone:

  • Method 1: No action is required during the phone registration. The registration is done automatically.
  • Method 2: A 16-digit activation code is required during the phone registration. You can get it from your administrator in advance. Enter the activation code when you are prompted for it.
  • Method 3: A service domain and user credentials (user ID and password) are required if you select domain during the phone registration. You can get it from your administrator in advance. Enter the service domain and then user credentials when you are prompted for it.
  • Method 4: An alternate TFTP server address is required if your phone is missing a TFTP address. You can get it from your administrator when this situation occurs. You need to manually enter the alternate TFTP server to continue the registration.
  • Method 5: For Cisco Desk Phone 9800 Series, you can scan the NFC tag on the phone for the registration. The NFC reader/writer can be preconfigured with necessary information to deploy or provision the phone.
  • During registration, the phone checks the DHCP options in the default sequence of 66, 160, 159, and 150 to obtain the URL of the provisioning server. The first valid configuration response it receives (which includes a 401 authorization request), will determine its provisioning server. Ensure that your server is properly configured to process phone registrations successfully.

  • By default, 802.1X authentication is disabled on your phone.

    If your network uses the 802.1X protocol, ensure that you enable 802.1X authentication on your phone by accessing Settings the Settings key > Network and service > Security settings. Otherwise, your phone will fail to connect to the network.

  • If your phone has HTTP connection issues during the registration, you might be prompted to set up an HTTP proxy server on the phone. The HTTP proxy setting is only required for the phones registered to Webex Calling or BroadWorks. For more information about how to set up the HTTP proxy, see HTTP proxy settings.

Your phone gets registered automatically when it boots up and connects to the network. In this scenario of auto registration, you don't need to enter any input as the whole registration proceeds automatically.

Before you begin

  • You have turned on your phone.
  • Your administrator has configured your phone on the call control system.
1

Select Start on the Welcome screen.

If you don't take any action, the phone goes to the next step at timeout.

Your phone tries to connect to the network. If you use the wireless network, perform the next step. Otherwise, skip it.

2

(Optional) Choose your wireless network from the list, enter your credentials, and select Apply.

Cisco Desk Phone 9841 and 9851 don't support Wi-Fi.
3

Select Next when the screen displays that your phone successfully connects to Ethernet or WiFi.

If you don't take any action, the phone goes to the next step at timeout. Then the phone starts checking the configuration, and then starts the registration automatically.

If you are prompted to choose a call service, do one of the following actions:
  • If your phone will be registered on the Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Unified CM), select Cisco UCM > Register.
  • If your phone will be registered on the Webex Calling, select Cisco cloud service > Register.
Contact your administrator if you don't know which service to select.

Typically, the registration takes about 3 minutes depending on the network condition.

After the registration succeeds, your primary line name or number displays on the top left of the phone screen.

4

When the registration is complete, you will be prompted to enable or disable the noise removal feature.

If you don't take any action, the phone enables the feature at timeout.
This feature can filter out background noises during a call. If you choose to disable the feature now, you can still enable it later.

After your phone boots up, it checks the configuration automatically, and you will be prompted to enter an activation code. If you don't have a new activation code, contact your administrator.

Activation codes are used to set up your new phone. They can only be used once, and expire after 1 week.

You might be prompted to choose a call service during the registration, depending on your network condition and your administrator's configurations on the call control system.

Before you begin

  • You have turned on your phone.

  • Your phone connects to a wired or wireless network.

  • Get a 16-digit activation code from your administrator.

1

Select Start on the Welcome screen.

If you don't take any action, the phone goes to the next step at timeout.

Your phone tries to connect to the network. If you use the wireless network, perform the next step. Otherwise, skip it.

2

(Optional) Choose your wireless network from the list, enter your credentials, and select Apply.

Cisco Desk Phone 9841 and 9851 don't support Wi-Fi.
3

Select Next on the phone screen showing that your phone successfully connects to the network.

If you don't take any action, the phone goes to the next step at timeout. Then the phone starts checking the configuration, and then starts the registration automatically.

If you are prompted to choose a call service, do one of the following actions according to your network environment and the platform where the phone will be registered:
  • If your phone connects to the corporate network and will be registered to the Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Unified CM), select Cisco UCM > Register.
  • If your phone connects to the corporate network and will be registered to the Webex Calling, select Cisco cloud service > Register.
  • If your phone uses Mobile and Remote Access (MRA) to connect to the corporate network when it's away from the office, select Cisco cloud service > Register.
Contact your administrator if you don't know which service to select.
4

When prompted for an activation code, enter your activation code, and select Activate.

Your phone starts the registration immediately. Typically, it takes about 3 minutes depending on the network condition.

After the registration succeeds, your primary line name or number displays on the top left of the phone screen.

5

When the registration is complete, you will be prompted to enable or disable the noise removal feature.

If you don't take any action, the phone enables the feature at timeout.
This feature can filter out background noises during a call. If you choose to disable the feature now, you can still enable it later.

After your phone boots up, it checks the configuration automatically. If you're prompted to enter an activation code, but you want to use the domain credentials for this registration, select Domain. If you don't have a valid service domain and user credentials, contact your administrator.

  • You might be prompted to choose a call service during the registration, depending on your network condition and your administrator's configurations on the call control system.
  • This registration method is only available for the phones registered to Cisco Unified CM.

Before you begin

  • You have turned on your phone.
  • Your phone connects to a wired or wireless network.
  • Get a service domain, user ID, and password from your administrator.
1

Select Start on the Welcome screen.

If you don't take any action, the phone goes to the next step at timeout.

Your phone tries to connect to the network. If you use the wireless network, perform the next step. Otherwise, skip it.

2

(Optional) Choose your wireless network from the list, enter your credentials, and select Apply.

Cisco Desk Phone 9841 and 9851 don't support Wi-Fi.

3

Select Next on the phone screen showing that your phone successfully connects to the network.

4

When prompted to choose a call service, select Cisco cloud service > Register.

5

When prompted for an activation code, select Domain to switch to the domain activation screen.

6

Enter a valid service domain, and select Continue.

7

Enter your user ID and password, and press Sign in (on 9841/9851/9861) or tap Apply (on 9871/8875).

Your phone starts the registration immediately. Typically, it takes about 3 minutes depending on the network condition.

After the registration succeeds, your primary line name or number displays on the top left of the phone screen.

8

When the registration is complete, you will be prompted to enable or disable the noise removal feature.

If you don't take any action, the phone enables the feature at timeout.

This feature can filter out background noises during a call. If you choose to disable the feature now, you can still enable it later.

In some situation, the Cisco DHCP server doesn't contain the network information of the TFTP servers. To accomplish the registration, you need to manually enter an alternate TFTP server address that your administrator provides.

Before you begin

  • You have turned on your phone.

  • Your phone connects to a wired or wireless network.

  • Get a TFTP server address from your administrator.

  • Get a 16-digit activation code from your administrator, if needed.

1

Select Start on the Welcome screen.

If you don't take any action, the phone goes to the next step at timeout.

Your phone tries to connect to the network. If you use the wireless network, perform the next step. Otherwise, skip it.

2

(Optional) Choose your wireless network from the list, enter your credentials, and select Apply.

Cisco Desk Phone 9841 and 9851 don't support Wi-Fi.
3

Select Network.

The screen shows the message depending on how your phone connects to the network.
4

Select Network settings on the Network connection screen.

5

Toggle on Alternate TFTP in the IPv4 section.

6

Enter an IP address in TFTP Server <n>, where <n> represents the type of the TFTP server.

TFTP Server 1 is the primary server, TFTP Server 2 is the secondary server.
7

Select Apply.

The registration starts automatically. If your phone requires an activation code to continue, do the following:

  1. Get an activation code from your administrator if you don't receive it yet.

  2. Enter your activation code, and select Activate.

Typically, the registration takes about 3 minutes depending on the network condition.

After the registration succeeds, your primary line name or number displays on the top left of the phone screen.

8

When the registration is complete, you will be prompted to enable or disable the noise removal feature.

If you don't take any action, the phone enables the feature at timeout.
This feature can filter out background noises during a call. If you choose to disable the feature now, you can still enable it later.

By scanning the NFC tag on the phone, you can efficiently register the phone to a call control system.

The NFC onboarding can be performed in the following phases:

  • NFC offline: The phone is still in box (isn't turned on and doesn't connect to any network).

    In this situation, you can use a mobile phone that running a custom app to scan the NFC tag to write onboarding information to the phone. After the phone boots up, it will start the onboarding process automatically based on the information.

    The NFC provisioning information determines to which call control system (Unified CM or Cloud) the phone will be registered and the deployment preference mode (CDA preferred or local DHCP).

    During the phone's onboarding process, you might be prompted to choose a call service or enter an activation code, or both.

    If the phone is still packed in the phone box, you can use an NFC reader/writer to scan the NFC marked area NFC iconof the phone box to write the provisioning information to the phone. The phone will register by itself when it boots up.

  • NFC online: The phone (without any NFC provisioning info) is turned on and connects to a network.

    You can scan the NFC tag at any time during the onboarding process. To ensure that the NFC onboarding info can be detected in time, it's recommended to scan the NFC tag just after the phone connects to a network successfully.

    If the NFC onboarding method is Cloud URL, Unified CM, or Unified CM with Alternate TFTP, the ongoing onboarding process will be aborted when you scan the NFC tag. A new onboarding process will be triggered, and the phone will be registered to the call control system according to the selected method (UCM or Cloud).

    During the phone's onboarding process, you might be prompted to enter some information (for example, TFTP server or activation code) to proceed the process. In this situation, you can choose to scan the NFC tag to automatically fill in the information on the phone.

The following table lists the NFC onboarding methods, string syntax of the methods for configurations in the NFC reader/writer, and the applicable call control systems for the methods:

Table 1. NFC onboarding methods and string syntax
Onboarding methodDescriptionString syntaxAllowed security level Call control system

Cloud URL

Directly register the phone to the call control system. It uses the cloud URL for fetching the profile rule.

onboardingMethod:1

onboardingDetail:http://<URL_address>

Signature

Encryption + Signature

BroadWorks

Webex Calling

Webex Calling for BroadWorks

Cloud CDA Preferred

CDA takes preference over the local DHCP provisioning.

It's recommended to scan the NFC tag before the phone boots up. Otherwise, you might miss the configurable time range.

onboardingMethod:2

Plain text

Encryption

Signature

Encryption + Signature

BroadWorks

Webex Calling

Webex Calling for BroadWorks

Unified CM (if both CDA and DHCP onboardings fail)

Cloud Activation Code

Activation code (for Webex only).

Can be used when you're prompted to enter an activation code.

If you scan the NFC tag before the activation code prompt, the code will be submitted automatically.

onboardingMethod:3

onboardingDetail:<activation_code>

Online NFC: Plain text, Encryption, Signature, Encryption + Signature

Offline NFC: Encryption, Encryption + Signature

Webex Calling

Webex Calling for BroadWorks

Unified CM

Abort the ongoing registration (if existing), and directly register the phone to Unified CM.

onboardingMethod:4

Plain text

Encryption

Signature

Encryption + Signature

Unified CM

Unified CM with Alternate TFTP

Abort the ongoing registration (if existing), and directly register the phone to Unified CM with the alternate TFTP server specified.

Can also be used when you have to enter an alternate TFTP server.

onboardingMethod:5

onboardingDetail:<alt_TFTP_address>

Signature

Encryption + Signature

Unified CM

Depending on the NFC onboarding method and the call control system where the phone will be registered, you might do one of the following actions:

Prerequisites:

Before you start the registration, ensure that you know which NFC onboarding method will be used. If you don't know how to configure the NFC onboarding information in an NFC reader/writer, contact your administrator for support.

Onboarding methodSteps in NFC offlineSteps in NFC online
Cloud URL
  1. Scan the NFC tag.
  2. Turn on the phone and connect it to a network.
  3. Wait for the registration to complete.
  1. Scan the NFC tag at any time.
  2. Connect the phone to a network.
  3. Wait for the registration to complete.
Cloud CDA Preferred

During the onboarding process, if certain procedure failed, the phone might require you to enter an activation code or choose a call service, or both.

Scenario 1:

  1. Scan the NFC tag.
  2. Turn on the phone and connect it to a network.
  3. If prompted, enter an activation code.
  4. Wait for the registration to complete.

Scenario 1:

  1. Scan the NFC tag at any time.

    It's recommended to scan the NFC tag before the phone boots up.

  2. Connect the phone to a network.
  3. If prompted, enter an activation code.
  4. Wait for the registration to complete.

Scenario 2:

  1. Scan the NFC tag before the phone boots up.
  2. Turn on the phone and connect it to a network.
  3. If prompted, choose the call service "Cisco UCM".
  4. If prompted, enter an activation code.
  5. Wait for the registration to complete.

Scenario 2:

  1. Scan the NFC tag at any time.

    It's recommended to scan the NFC tag before the phone boots up.

  2. Connect the phone to a network.
  3. If prompted, choose the call service "Cisco UCM".
  4. If prompted, enter an activation code.
  5. Wait for the registration to complete.

Scenario 3:

  1. Scan the NFC tag before the phone boots up.
  2. Turn on the phone and connect it to a network.
  3. If prompted, choose the call service "Cisco cloud service".
  4. Enter an activation code or a service domain.

    If you select service domain, you need to enter the user ID and password.

  5. Wait for the registration to complete.

Scenario 3:

  1. Scan the NFC tag at any time.

    It's recommended to scan the NFC tag before the phone boots up.

  2. Connect the phone to a network.
  3. If prompted, choose the call service "Cisco cloud service".
  4. Enter an activation code or a service domain.

    If you select service domain, you need to enter the user ID and password.

  5. Wait for the registration to complete.
Cloud Activation Code
  1. Scan the NFC tag.
  2. Turn on the phone and connect it to a network.
  3. If prompted, choose the call service "Cisco cloud service".
  4. Wait for the registration to complete.

The method is only for the registration to Webex Calling.
  1. Scan the NFC tag at any time.

    If you don't scan the NFC tag at the beginning, you can do it later when prompted to enter an activation code.

  2. Connect the phone to a network.
  3. If prompted, choose the call service "Cisco cloud service".
  4. Wait for the registration to complete.
Unified CM / Unified CM with Alternate TFTP

According to your administrator’s configuration on the call control system or the onboarding method fails, the phone might require you to enter an activation code.
  1. Scan the NFC tag.
  2. Turn on the phone and connect it to a network.
  3. If prompted, enter an activation code.
  4. Wait for the registration to complete.
  1. Scan the NFC tag at any time.
  2. Connect the phone to a network.
  3. If prompted, enter an activation code.
  4. Wait for the registration to complete.