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Managing Devices

The Devices page lets you manage every phone on the account — deskphones, DECT base stations, and the wireless handsets paired with those bases. Deskphones are PoE-wired or Wi-Fi desk phones; DECT systems are a base station plus a fleet of cordless handsets.

Viewing Devices​

Navigate to Devices from the sidebar. The table shows every device on the selected account with its name, type, hardware identifier (MAC address for deskphones and bases; IPEI for handsets), vendor, model, status, location, and the user it is assigned to.

DECT handsets are listed underneath their paired base in the table — indented and grouped — so a base and its handsets stay visually together. A handset that has been stocked but not yet paired with a base appears as a top-level row.

Ordered hardware​

Hardware ordered with the account that hasn't been delivered yet appears at the bottom of the table — one row per unit, each with an ordered badge showing the vendor and model. There is no device to configure yet; once a unit ships and registers, that same row becomes a regular device row.

You can decide ahead of time who each ordered phone or handset is for and which site it goes to. Click an ordered row to open its detail page and pick a user and a location — the same way you configure a delivered device. The Assigned to and Location columns show the plan, and both are applied automatically when the device arrives and registers. Base stations can be staged for a location but not assigned to a user (they serve all users at a site); handsets are assigned to a user but inherit their location from the base they pair with.

Searching and filtering​

A filter strip above the table lets you narrow the list:

  • Search — type any part of a name, MAC address, IPEI, model, vendor, or an assigned user's name or email.
  • Type — show only deskphones, bases, or handsets.
  • Location — show devices at one or more physical sites (or "Unassigned"). Handsets are matched by the location of their paired base.
  • Status — show devices in a specific provisioning state.

Filters and search compose, and the result is preserved as you move through the table.

Provisioning​

Phones added here are configured automatically — no per-device data entry. See Phone Provisioning for the overview, including what to do if a phone won't register.

The provisioning token and URL live on the Account Settings page under the collapsible Provisioning section. See Account Settings for details.

Adding a Device​

  1. Click Add Device in the top-right corner.

  2. Choose the type of device you want to add:

    • Deskphone — PoE-wired or Wi-Fi desk phones.
    • DECT Base — Wireless system with a base station and cordless handsets.
    • DECT Handset — A cordless handset that pairs with a DECT base station.

  3. For deskphones and DECT bases, enter the MAC Address (format: 00:04:13:XX:XX:XX).

    For DECT handsets, enter the IPEI and pick the DECT Base to pair it with. You can leave the base picker blank to stock an unpaired handset and pair it later from the handset's detail page.

  4. Optionally enter a Name to help you recognize the device later (e.g., "Reception", "Conference room", "John's phone").

  5. Optionally enter the Model (e.g., "M500" for DECT, "D785" for deskphones).

  6. For deskphones and DECT bases, choose the Location — the physical site the device lives at. This determines the dispatch address used when the device places an emergency call. For DECT systems, the base's location is shared by every handset paired with it. See E911 Dispatch Addresses for the full picture.

  7. Click the submit button to register the device.

Devices can be renamed, moved between locations, or repaired with a different base later from their detail page.

Is My Phone Working?​

Every device tells you where it is on the path from "in the box" to "in service" — no phone-system expertise needed.

The setup checklist​

While a phone is being set up, its detail page opens with a Device setup checklist:

  1. Phone retrieved its configuration — the phone has fetched its configuration from DialStack.
  2. Online — the phone is reachable right now: it's powered on, on the network, and holding a live connection to DialStack.
  3. Ready to call — the phone belongs to a user and that user's line is live, so it can make and receive calls.
  4. First call made — the phone has placed or received a call, proving its connection to the phone network works.

Step titles reflect their state — a step that hasn't happened yet reads as pending ("Not online yet"), never as a fact. The current step shows a one-line hint for what to do next — plug the phone in, check the network, assign a user, or make a test call.

Online is not the same as ready to call. A phone can be reachable before anyone is assigned to it — it's on the network and healthy, it just can't place calls yet. Assigning a user is what unlocks calling, and you can do it at any point: before the phone is plugged in, or long after. The checklist points it out only when it's the thing standing between you and a working phone.

The checklist updates live, so you can watch a phone come up while you're standing next to it.

After the first call​

Once a phone has carried a call, the checklist is replaced by a compact status: "Phone is working" (or "Phone is offline") with the evidence underneath — online since when, the last call, and the last time it fetched its settings. A working phone stays quiet; if it ever drops offline, the problem — and what to check — shows up right there.

In the devices table​

The table's status badge gives you the same signal at a glance:

  • Setting up — the device is still onboarding.
  • Online / Offline — the device has proven itself with a call; the badge now tracks live reachability.

Reloading Device Configuration​

Each device row exposes a reload icon (the circular arrow next to the row's actions). Clicking it asks the device to fetch and apply its latest configuration without rebooting — active calls keep going and the device stays registered.

Use this after changing settings that affect a specific device (name, line keys). Routine clicks on the admin UI do not need it. Assignment changes don't need it either: when you assign a user to a device, remove one, or move a user between devices, the affected device reloads automatically if it is registered.

  • Deskphones and DECT base stations — Clicking the icon triggers the reload directly on the device.
  • DECT handsets — Handsets do not reload on their own. Clicking the icon opens a dialog explaining that the reload is performed on the paired base, which then fans the update out to every handset registered with it. Confirming the dialog reloads the base. A handset that is not paired with a base cannot be reloaded.

Device Detail Page​

Click any device row to open its detail page. The header carries the device's name with an inline edit affordance — click the pencil to rename in place.

Below the header are two cards:

  • Device Info — type, hardware identifier (MAC or IPEI), vendor, model, status, firmware version, last-provisioned timestamp, current IP address, and (for bases) max handsets and multicell role. Most fields are read-only and reflect what the device reports during provisioning. The exception is a DECT handset's model: handsets never provision (the base fetches config and pushes it over DECT), so the handset can't report its model — set it here from the dropdown. This is required before you can bind a button template (see below).
  • Configuration — inline pickers for the fields you control:
    • Location — the device's E911 dispatch address. For deskphones and bases this is editable directly. For DECT handsets it is read-only and shows the value inherited from the paired base.
    • Paired base (handsets only) — move the handset to a different DECT base on the account, or unpair it entirely. The handset record stays so you can re-pair it later.
    • User — the user this phone is assigned to. The picker shows everyone on the account; selecting a user assigns the device to them.

One device per user​

A user can only have one phone assigned at a time. If you pick a user who is already assigned to another device, the admin shows a confirmation dialog noting which device they're on. Confirming reassigns the user to this device and releases the old one. Cancelling leaves both assignments untouched.

Programmable buttons​

Deskphones and DECT handsets carry a Buttons card where you bind a reusable button template — speed dials, call parking, voicemail, and do-not-disturb. The Effective buttons table shows exactly what the phone will provision after the template and any per-device overrides are merged, along with whether each button is supported by the model. You can add per-device overrides, suppress individual template buttons for this phone, and restore them later — all without changing the shared template. Templates are managed from the account's Settings view; per-device tweaks live here on the device.

DECT bases do not carry their own Buttons card — a base has no assigned user and renders no buttons of its own. Buttons live on each paired handset, so bind templates on the handset's detail page instead.

If the device's model isn't in our capability matrix yet, the card shows a "Button management not available" message instead of an empty table — the phone still provisions, just without programmable-key configuration from the admin. For a DECT handset, this usually just means the model hasn't been set: set it in the Device Info card and the Buttons card will appear.

Removing a Device​

From the devices table, hover a row and click the trash icon to delete the device. Deleting a DECT base keeps its handsets: they become unpaired top-level rows in the table, with their user assignments intact, and can be paired with another base later from each handset's detail page. A handset stays out of service until it is re-paired. Deleting a deskphone does not affect the users that were assigned to it — the user simply has no phone until you assign them a new one.