PROVISIONING WITH THREEPBX

Provisioning a device refers to setting up or connecting an IP phone or another appropriate device to the ThreePBX cloud platform to be used for VoIP calling, audio conferencing, and online meetings.

Phones purchased from ThreePBX are set up to be plug-and-use; they come pre-configured/pre-provisioned with the necessary settings to connect immediately to the ThreePBX servers and should not require any additional work from you to be ready to use.

Phones NOT purchased from ThreePBX (maybe from a previous/different provider or bought directly from the manufacturer/distributor) may still be setup/provisioned and used with ThreePBX as long as the device is either:

Included in the list of Supported Devices (Assisted or Unassisted Provisioning)
SIP Compatible (Manual Provisioning)

Read on to see the provisioning requirements, as well as to learn the differences between the three methods of provisioning - Assisted, Unassisted and Manual.

Third-Party/BYOD Phone Provisioning Requirements

Regardless of what type of provisioning (Assisted, Unassisted, or Manual) you are going to use, you must complete the following before provisioning can start:

Determine what type of provisioning is available for your phone and what type you want. Assisted and Unassisted provisioning is only availble for devices that are supported by ThreePBX. See Supported Devices
If your phone was ever in use at a previous provider ensure that the device is unlocked before attempting to provision it as it may result in errors. It may be necessary to contact your previous provider's support to unlock the phone. ThreePBX cannot assist with this process.
Ensure that you or someone on your team has the necessary technical skills to complete your part of the type of provisioning you've selected. If you or someone on your team does not have the technical expertise, then BYOD provisioning is not for you and you should purchase new phones from ThreePBX.

Assisted Provisioning

Assisted Provisioning is only available for devices supported by ThreePBX. Each of your devices are uniquely identified by their MAC address. Once provisioning is complete our system will know your device's MAC addresses and you will be able to manage your devices using the ThreePBX Account Center.

With Assisted Provisioning, ThreePBX will help you configure your devices to communicate with our provisioning servers. This allows the device to automatically connect, download and update information directly from ThreePBX. Since your new phone system is in the cloud, updates and new features appear on your devices automatically.

We will likely need to remotely connect to a computer on the same network where your devices are connected. If you are unsure whether you have a computer on the same network as your devices please consult with your IT professional prior to contacting ThreePBX.

Unassisted Provisioning

Unassisted Provisioning is only available for devices supported by ThreePBX. Each of your devices are uniquely identified by their MAC address. Once provisioning is complete our system will know your device's MAC addresses and you will be able to manage your devices using the ThreePBX Account Center.

With Unassisted Provisioning, YOU will be responsible for configuring each of your devices to communicate with the ThreePBX provisioning system. We will provide you with the necessary username, password, and provisioning server url which must be entered into each of your devices. ThreePBX WILL NOT be able to assist you in configuring your devices to communicate with our provisioning servers.

Once you have completed the process of configuring your devices to communicate with the ThreePBX provisioning servers your devices will automatically connect, download and update information directly from ThreePBX. Since your new phone system is in the cloud, updates and new features appear on your devices automatically.

IMPORTANT: We highly recommend that you have an IT professional available to assist with this method of provisioning.

If you are unable to configure your devices on your own and require ThreePBX to do so, you will need to upgrade to our Assisted Provisioning method or purchase new phones from ThreePBX.

Manual Provisioning

Manual Provisioning is available for most SIP-compatible devices that are not on our list of supported devices. You will not be able to manage your devices in the ThreePBX Account Center.

With Manual Provisioning, YOU will be responsible for configuring each of your devices to register with the ThreePBX phone system. In this method, we will provide you with the Session Initiated Protocol (SIP) settings for each extension on your new phone system which you must manually enter into the phone's menu or web interface. Please contact our support team at support@threepbx.com to receive your settings. ThreePBX WILL NOT be able to assist you in configuring your devices.

IMPORTANT: We highly recommend that you have an IT professional available to assist with this method of provisioning.

If you are unable to configure your devices on your own and require ThreePBX to do so, you will need to purchase new phones from ThreePBX.

Limitations of Manual Provisioning:

Device cannot receive updates from ThreePBX servers.
Device cannot pull the firmware required for ThreePBX features.
Users with manually provisioned phones will not be eligible to receive support for those phones.
Phones manually provisioned will not have options for certain softkeys such as Paging and Intercom.