SIP phone setup: Zoiper, MicroSIP and IP desk phones

SIP phone setup takes a few minutes and saves money every day. An incoming call to SIP is free, while forwarding to an employee's mobile costs $0.0165 per minute. A manager takes calls in an app on the computer or on an IP phone on the desk, and calls to clients from the CRM go through the same account.

A SIP phone is an app or a device that makes calls over the internet using the SIP protocol. An app on a computer or smartphone is called a softphone: for example, Zoiper, MicroSIP for Windows or Telephone for macOS. A device on the desk is an IP phone, and a regular handset is connected through a VoIP gateway. All of them need the same data from your account.

Watch the two-minute video, and below you'll find step-by-step setup and a table of fields for popular apps and devices.

Why businesses need it

• In-office sales team: managers work at a computer with a headset, incoming calls arrive in the softphone for free, and the budget isn't spent on forwarding to cell phones.
• Call center and support: IP phones on agents' desks, each with its own SIP account, while the incoming call scheme distributes calls between them.
• Remote employees: a softphone on a laptop or Zoiper on a smartphone works wherever there's internet — at home, in a coworking space, on a business trip.
• The manager: the “SIP” column in the “Users” list shows who is available right now, and all calls are collected in “Call details”.

How SIP telephony works in your account

Each employee has their own SIP account: a login, a password and a server address. When a client calls, the incoming call scheme picks an employee and calls them where the “Reception type” points. With “SIP”, the call arrives in the app or device where this data is entered. How the scheme picks an employee is explained in the article automatic call distribution.

A call to a client from the CRM works the same way: first your SIP phone rings, and once you answer, the account connects you with the client. The connection status is shown in the “SIP” column of the “Users” list:

• “Online” — the app is connected, and calls will get through;
• “Offline (!)” — reception is set to SIP only, but the app isn't online: calls won't reach the employee;
• “Not created” — SIP data hasn't been generated yet.

How to connect a softphone to the CRM: step by step

1. 1
   Open the employee's card

   “Users” → ⚙ in the employee's row. How to add a new employee and grant access is covered in the article CRM user permissions.
2. 2
   Choose SIP reception

   In the “Call reception” block, click “SIP” under “Reception type”.
3. 3
   Create SIP data

   Click “Generate password”: the SIP login, SIP password and SIP server appear with copy buttons. For a new employee, click “Save” first, otherwise the account will ask you to save the user.
4. 4
   Install an app

   “Download SIP client” opens the download page of the free Zoiper. Any other softphone will work too.
5. 5
   Create an account in the app

   Paste the login, password and server from “SIP data”. Take the server address only from the card: if it shows “—” instead, check the address with support.
6. 6
   Save and check

   Click “Save” in the card. When the app connects, the “SIP” column will show “Online”.

What the fields are called in Zoiper, MicroSIP and IP phones

All apps and devices need the same three values; only the field names differ. The login is often asked for twice — as the user name and as the authentication name: enter it in both fields.

General SIP settings: port, codecs and STUN

If the app or device asks for more fields, use these values:

• SIP port — 5060, transport — UDP;
• STUN — off: with it, outgoing calls often work, but incoming calls don't reach the app;
• registration period — 300 seconds;
• NAT Keep Alive — on, if the device is behind a router;
• SIP ALG on the router — off: this router feature interferes with registration;
• codecs — G.711a and G.711u (PCMA and PCMU), with G.729 as a backup;
• DTMF — RFC 2833 or “auto”: this is what makes voice menu buttons work;
• dial Russian numbers starting with the country code 7, without “+” and without a leading 8.

In Zoiper, STUN is turned off in the app's network settings: choose “Don't use STUN”. In other softphones and devices, this setting is usually in the network or NAT section.

Why a SIP phone doesn't make or receive calls

• “Offline (!)” in the “SIP” column — the app isn't running, or the data was entered with a mistake. Paste the login, password and server again: connecting takes a minute or two.
• You clicked “Generate password” again — the old password no longer works, so enter the new one in the app.
• Outgoing calls work, but incoming ones don't — turn STUN off.
• The data is correct, but there's no registration — the router or internet provider blocks SIP. Turn SIP ALG off and try another internet connection or a VPN.
• The app is online, but no calls come in — check the “In calls” toggle in the “Users” list and the incoming call scheme.
• The handset keeps getting calls from numbers like “100” or “1001” — these are SIP scanners from the internet. In the device, allow SIP only from the registration server: on Panasonic, set the “SSAF” option to “Yes”.

After setup, make a test call: call the project number from a mobile, and the SIP phone should ring. If nothing happens, open “Call details” — the same log keeps your sales call recordings — and see whom the scheme called and how the call ended.

Does a SIP phone work abroad?

Yes. A softphone or an IP phone works in any country with internet access: an employee's SIP account has no country restrictions. Calls go through the same SIP server as in the office, with the same login and password.

Check sign-in to the account itself separately. If sign-in only from allowed IP addresses is turned on in “Login history”, an employee abroad can't sign in to the CRM from a new address: the log shows “IP check failed”. This setting doesn't affect the SIP phone — calls keep coming in. If the employee needs the account while traveling, the main account adds the new address to the list; more in the article protect customer data from employees.

If the details are correct but there's no registration abroad, the hotel network or the local mobile internet is blocking SIP. Connect to another network or turn on a VPN.

Read also: CRM user permissions: how to add an employee and set access rights, Call forwarding to mobile: setup and carrier voicemail, Automatic call distribution between managers: queue and bot