Grandstream HT-812 2FXS Gateway, Black

The imminent arrival of FTTP prompted the investigation of VOIP to allow the ditching of the increasingly expensive landline which is now only used by ageing relatives and neighbours who have not moved to mobile. Since I do not intend to make outgoing calls, Sipgate provides a low cost (free), local number to which I can later migrate my BT number if it works well (at additional cost). The HT-812 allows the use of my existing analogue phones to assess the performance/reliability of VOIP as an alternative to the existing copper landline so I can use the money saved to pay for fast FTTP.Configuration is somewhat daunting due to the huge number of settings in the configuration GUI but only a few need changing. After updating the firmware to the latest version (see online manual) there are even more options available but most VOIP providers do supply settings for this series of adapters as well as the SIP codes, passwords etc. I also made these additional changes to make my phones sound like BT phones rater than US ones. In Advance Settings:-System ring cadence: c=400/200-400/2000;Dial tone: f1=350@-19,f2=450@-22,c=0/0;You will need one (or two) RJ11 (male) to BT (female) adapters in order to plug in your existing phones. For traditional phones these need to be masters including the ring capacitor. For modern DECT base stations the capacitor does not seem to be required. For my experiment I had to resort to adding some old ADSL filters which contain the ring capacitor, to my adapter cables.So to the results. The HT812 works perfectly. Audio quality is better than the landline but otherwise I can see no difference. I will have to see what the reliability of the VOIP service is but for the very low number of calls it will probably not matter. I will be migrating my BT number and then will enjoy not having to pay the line rental costs which will soon recoup the cost of the HT812! Do remember that migrating your number will cease the existing copper line and all services including ADSL/FTTC.If this appears too complex a process then it might be better to pay for Digital Voice (the same thing but configured by your ISP), but for my use case the VOIP gateway is an attractive option.

The device works perfectly since Vodafone switched to VOIP Phone. I didnt want to use the terrible router which doesnt support bridge mode either. This device is a great solution to continue using my custom router.However, the firmware UI is the major and only downside to using this device. It has the worst UI I have ever seen compared to other Grandstream products and possibly every other routers and ATA firmware UIs I've seen. I stand corrected when I thought D-Link had the worst UI. Its as if it was built out of Adobe's Dreamweaver from back in the old days. I'll change my review, if Grandstream fixes this.Aside from the horrible UI, the setup process is deceptively simple. It looks bloated with many options but you only need a few to set it up.Some general tips for anyone setting up for Vodafone Broadband. However, this may get outdated/changed from the time of writing:-The device doesnt come with a manual so use the Grandstream Documenation on the official website. Just type 'grandstream HT812' on google and click on the link that leads you to official grandstream product page. From there, just look for anything that will lead you to HT812/HT814 user manual as websites get updated and location may change.-For vodafone setup configuration, type 'Landline phone with own router on FTTP' on google and look for anything that will take you to the vodafone forums. Once you ahve reached the forum thread, go to page 9 and scroll down until you see setup instructions.

I bought this after reading helpful and detailed feedback from previous purchasers. It is an excellent product, delivered promptly, good value, everything as it says on the can. It came equipped with the latest firmware, so no update required.A very detailed manual is downloadable. As others have said, setup appears quite daunting, but you only have to change a few parameters - but which ones?. You connect the WAN port on the product (ATA) to a LAN port on the router, Plusnet Hub2 in my case (note; ignore the BT phone connector on the router because Plusnet currently do not provide a voip service). You need a telephone number and an address to connect to a SIP server. I went to the website of Number-People, who are incredibly helpful provided both for just £1/month, so it was just a question of entering their info in to the ATA config file. Note that some Number-People menu choices may not work if you have adblocking or other extensions active on your browser. I was using Firefox but had to switch to Google Chrome to get around this. They give you a port number (5060) which you overwrite on the default port number given in the ATA config file. Then you need to open that port in the router configuration by setting up port forwarding to allow voip call forwarding through the firewall. Then all works fine.

Total waste of time and money - Bought this thinking it would come with a UK plug, not even realising it was going to be shipped from the US - so it arrived only with US 2 prong plug - no good for the UK. Will not waste time trying to source a power adpater 12v at the right amperage, even if the 60hz doesn't affect the operating not willing to risk. SO want to return the item - Amazon have ordained they will allow me to return the item - either I pay for the return myself or I can print a label and drive to a UPS drop off point - I am rural, so this is going to take time and money - not to mention the label they have provided is several pictures on the web page which you have to screen grab to print. When the itme was delivered it was left in a pool of water - great for an electrical item! Now I am off to start my research again to find another item to work on my network - What a waste of time, money and effort, not even going to mention the amount of CO2 we could of avoided if AMazon had been honest on the description in the first place!!