Devices & Provisioning

A Device is a physical desk phone — or a compatible piece of hardware like a paging device — that UCBC can automatically configure for you. This article covers adding a device, how auto-configuration ("provisioning") works, editing and removing a device, which phone brands are supported, and a quick note on the browser-based UCBC Softphone.

Overview#

Instead of logging into each desk phone's own web interface and typing in SIP settings by hand, UCBC can push the configuration to the phone automatically. You tell UCBC the phone's MAC address (a unique hardware ID printed on a label on the phone or its box) and which extension(s) should ring on it; the phone then fetches its settings the first time it starts up on your network, with no manual setup on the handset itself.

Devices are managed from Devices. The list shows each device's address (MAC), label, vendor/model, assigned lines, and whether it's enabled, along with when and how it last checked in for provisioning.

The Devices list for a domain

Screenshot needed · devices-list

How to Add a Device#

1. Go to Devices and click Add.
2. Enter the Device Address — the phone's MAC address. You can type it in, or in some setups select it from a short list of auto-detected candidates and convert it to text.
3. Enter a Label for the device — a friendly name so you can tell it apart from other phones (e.g. "Front Desk" or "Jane's Desk Phone").
4. Choose the Template — the exact vendor and model of the phone (e.g. Yealink T46U, Grandstream GRP2614). This tells UCBC which configuration format to generate.
5. Under Lines, assign one or more extensions to this device:
   • Pick the Line number (1, 2, 3...) for multi-line phones.
   • Choose the extension this line should register as.
   • Optionally set a Label and Display Name shown on the phone's screen for that line.
6. Fill in optional device details — Vendor, Model, Firmware Version, Location, Serial Number, Description — useful for your own inventory records.
7. Leave Enabled set to Yes so the phone is allowed to provision.
8. Click Save.

The next time the phone boots (or is rebooted/factory reset) on a network that can reach your UCBC server, it automatically downloads its configuration and registers using the extension(s) you assigned — no manual entry of SIP credentials needed on the handset.

How Provisioning / Auto-Configuration Works#

In plain terms: every supported phone is built to ask its configuration server for a settings file, identifying itself by its MAC address. When the phone is pointed at your UCBC server (either by default out of the box, by DHCP option, or by a one-time manual entry on the phone), it sends that request, UCBC recognizes the MAC address from the Device record you created, and generates a configuration file tailored to that exact phone model — SIP server address, line credentials, and any extra settings you've configured.

You don't need to build this file yourself. As long as the device's MAC address, template (vendor/model), and assigned line/extension are entered correctly, the phone configures itself the next time it checks in. If you later change an extension's assignment or settings, many phones will pick up the change automatically the next time they re-check their configuration (or after a reboot).

How to Edit a Device#

1. Go to Devices and click the device's address/label to open it.
2. Change any fields — reassign lines, update the label, vendor info, or enabled status.
3. Click Save.

Editing a device's line assignment (which extension it rings as) takes effect the next time the phone re-provisions.

How to Delete a Device#

1. Go to Devices.
2. Select the checkbox next to the device(s) you want to remove.
3. Click Delete and confirm.

Deleting a device removes its configuration record; the physical phone will no longer have a matching MAC address on file, so it will stop being able to provision until a new (or the same) device record is created for it.

Supported Phone Brands#

Most common business desk-phone brands can be auto-configured out of the box, including:

• Yealink
• Grandstream
• Cisco
• Poly / Polycom
• Snom
• Avaya
• Algo (paging/intercom devices)
• Fanvil
• Htek
• Flyingvoice
• SwissVoice
• Aastra

When adding a device, the Template list is organized by vendor, then by exact model — pick the one that matches your phone for the most accurate configuration.

The UCBC Softphone#

The UCBC Softphone is a browser-based phone built into the Agent Center / Agent Portal — no desk phone or separate app required. It lets a user make and receive calls from any computer with a browser and a microphone/headset, using the same extension as their desk phone (or as their only phone, if they have no desk phone at all).

The UCBC Softphone also supports the multi-identity Outbound Caller IDs feature from the Extensions screen: if an extension has more than one Outbound Caller ID configured, the Softphone prompts the user to choose which number to call out from before placing each call.

For full details on signing in, call controls, chat, and other Agent Center features, see the Agent Center article.

Field Reference#

Tips & Common Issues#

• If a phone never picks up its configuration, double-check that the Device Address (MAC) was entered exactly as printed on the phone — a single wrong character means no match.
• A phone that provisioned once but doesn't reflect a later change usually just needs a reboot (or its own "check for updates" option) to re-fetch the latest configuration.
• Make sure the correct Template (exact vendor and model) is chosen — a mismatched template can produce a configuration the phone doesn't fully understand.
• A device with Enabled set to No will not be allowed to provision, even with a correct MAC address — check this first if a phone that used to work suddenly stops provisioning.
• You can assign more than one line to the same device for multi-line desk phones (e.g. a receptionist phone with several extensions showing as separate line keys).