Grandstream IP PBX
Grandstream make desk phones, cordless handsets, the on-site system that runs them, and the gateways that connect older equipment to a modern phone system. This is what each part is for, and what is worth checking before you buy any of it.
Desk phones
The GRP and GXP ranges are the wired handsets that sit on a desk. They run from a basic two line phone up to models with colour screens and a dozen programmable keys.
What actually decides which one: how many lines somebody needs to see at a glance, and whether they need to watch other people's lines as well as their own. A receptionist covering six extensions needs the buttons. Most desks do not, and paying for them is money spent on nothing.
There is also the DP cordless range for people who move around the building, and the WP wifi handsets used in warehouses and on factory floors. We cover the trade-offs between corded and cordless on our DECT and cordless page.
The UCM, which is the system itself
The UCM series is the on-site phone system. It is a box in your comms cabinet that runs the extensions, the voicemail, the call routing and the menus for the whole office. The handsets are just what people touch.
If you are reading about the UCM6102, and a lot of pages still are, that is the older UCM6100 range. It has been superseded. Grandstream handsets last a long time and are usually worth keeping, but an old UCM eventually stops receiving updates, and that is a thing to know before it decides for you rather than after.
A UCM is a purchase you own outright, sitting in your building. That suits a single site with decent internet and somebody on staff who does not mind owning it. It also means your phone system is a box that can fail, in a cupboard, on your premises, which is the trade-off our hosted PBX page sets out.
Gateways, for the lines you already have
The GXW gateways and HT adapters connect equipment that predates VoIP. An analogue line, a fax machine, a lift phone, an old alarm dialler, or a legacy phone system somebody is not ready to part with yet.
This is the least interesting thing Grandstream make and the one that saves the most trouble. It is what lets an office move across without ripping out the three things that cannot move yet. It comes up most often on an NBN changeover.
Mixing Grandstream with what you already have
Grandstream handsets work on other phone systems, and other manufacturers' handsets work on a UCM. Most offices we see are a mix, usually Grandstream and Yealink on the one system, and that is normal rather than a problem waiting to happen.
So what is on the desks now does not lock you into anything.
How Grandstream support works, and why that matters before you buy
Grandstream run support by ticket through their online helpdesk. They publish no support phone number, here or anywhere, and they have no Australian office. The only address on their contact page is their head office in Boston.
That is worth knowing at the point you are buying, not the first time something breaks. It means whoever installs the equipment is who you will actually be ringing. There is more on that, and the fixes for the common faults, on our Grandstream support page.
What we do with them
We install and service Grandstream equipment for Australian businesses, put it on systems we host, and support it afterwards.
We are not Grandstream. We are not one of their partners, resellers or authorised agents. VoIP System is an independent Australian phone systems company.
Independent means we will tell you when the answer is to keep what you have. Grandstream handsets in particular last a long time, and replacing working ones is rarely money well spent.
Talk to us about Grandstream
Tell us what you have now, roughly how many desks there are, and what is prompting the change. That is enough for us to tell you what would actually improve and what it would cost.
Call 1300 865 879, or send us the details and we will come back to you.
Common questions
- Is VoIP System part of Grandstream?
- No. Grandstream makes the hardware. VoIP System is an independent Australian company that installs and supports it. We are not a Grandstream partner, reseller or authorised agent.
- Does Grandstream have an Australian support number?
- No, and they do not have one anywhere. Grandstream runs support by ticket through their online helpdesk, and publishes no support phone number and no Australian office.
- Can we put Grandstream handsets on the system we already have?
- Usually yes. They are standard VoIP handsets and they work with most systems. Tell us what your system is and we will confirm it before you buy anything.
- Our UCM is old. Should we replace it?
- Not automatically. The older UCM6100 and UCM6200 units have been superseded and eventually stop receiving updates, which is the real reason to move rather than age on its own. The handsets around it are usually worth keeping either way.
- Can you support a mix of brands?
- Yes. Most offices we see are a mix, usually Grandstream and Yealink handsets on one system. That is normal and it is not a problem.