Grandstream 2-FXS Port Analog Telephone Adapter (HT802)

After months of research and two failed attempts with other service providers, I finally locked in on the Grandstream HT802, along with VOIP.ms. Likes: small, solidly built hard plastic unit, similar to most consumer modems & routers. The LED indicator lights on top glow a bright, pleasant blue color. The RJ-11 & RJ-45 jacks on the back are color-coded and clearly marked. The tolerances are snug when plugging in cables, which is perfect. No loose sloppy fit here! There are TWO seperate RJ-11 Phone jacks, allowing you to have 2 different phone lines, if you buy another line (less than $5 / month actual fees after activation!). Perfect for a home business, or a child's phone line. Dislikes: only 2; the first is simply a minor irritation concerning the orientation of ports 1 & 2 for the RJ-11 telephone jack. The one on the far left, as you look at the box from the front or top view, is labeled "2", when I personally think it should be "1". The "1" jack is in the middle of the device. This caused a minor problem while connecting, which was quickly corrected. Many, many others also did this, as I found this issue on dozens of support forums. The other minor issue, which is a non-issue, is the old 90's looking interface for the box, which you enter into using a web browser and the box's IP address, found by dialing *** (3 asterisks, or stars), once your unit and phone(s) are connected. This is on the instructions for the unit, and also at VOIP.ms's support WIKI (which is excellent and easy to use to copy their recommended settings over to your device). FYI: We have one interface box that connects all phones in our house, upstairs and downstairs. We simply use the old copper wire that was pre-existing to this setup. When one handset rings, they all ring. This is convenient if we are upstairs and away from our main phone. This unit and Grandstream's other similar devices are well made, extremely clear (with voip.ms's service), durable and a winner. THE SETTINGS AND CONFIGURATION ARE NOT HARD TO DO! There are about 3 pages of info to manually type in as you copy that from the support wiki. Email support was FAST...same day, less than an hour after the support ticket was submitted to voip ms, on a weekend, no less! This combination is perfect for our needs, as it may be for your home or small business.

Works really well with VoIP.ms. Fairly easy to set up, you can use the local web config page or do the full blown device management that Grandstream offers for free. VoIP.ms has setup guides.

This is a good product and value. I have two of them and have not had any problems. I have tested with multiple VOIP ptoviders and the sound is fine. It looks cool and has taken a couple of falls without damage (magnet mount to wall). I have two and durability hasn't been an issue. The UI is a bit dated but works fine. It times out too quickly but has dozens of options. I use two for SOHO but the number of options could lean towards enterprise. I have not had anyone complain of lack of clarity.

Leaving a review because none of them seemed to mention that this works great with FreePBX. I am in no way a VOIP/PBX expert so I struggled to find instructions on how to get them working together. I also discovered that there must be a password length limitation on the Grandstream as it failed to register until I set a shorter device password/secret (FreePBX logs showed failed to authenticate). To get this working with FreePBX In FreePBX: 1) Applications > Extensions 2) Add Extension > Add New SIP (chan_pjsip) 3) Pick your extension number and set a Secret that is less than 14 characters. 4) Take note of the banner at the top indicating what Port your PJSIP is listening on (default 5060 UDP) Log into the Grandstream Web UI using the device IP address (default login is admin/admin) 5) Click FXS Port 1 or FXS Port 2 at the top 6) For Primary SIP Server, enter your FreePBX IP address AND the port (192.168.1.10:5060) 7) Scroll down to SIP User ID and Authenticate ID, enter the extension number from step 3 above 8) For Authenticate Password, enter the Secret you set for the extension. 9) I also set my Primary DNS IP (probably not necessary if you use DHCP) 10) Scroll to the bottom and click Apply. After that, on the Grandstream Status page you should see your FXS port as Registered after some time. You might need to reboot the device. Obviously repeat all steps for the other FXS port. If you google the Granstream model number their website has a PDF document that explains what all the options are within the configuration.

Well, all good things come to an end, and the writing is on the wall with the Obi202 reaching end of life in December 2023. Rather than wait for things to just suddenly stop working someday, I decided to sign up for outgoing service through CallCentric and use this officially supported box. I'm glad I did. I have used my Obi202 and Google Voice for what feels like 15 years now. Free phone service has been great, except for $2/month for an incoming number through CallCentric that gave me e911 service and caller ID. However, people would often complain that they couldn't hear me that well over the past 2 years. I decided, with the announcement of Obi202's retirement, that I would sign up for CallCentric's outgoing plan and pair it with this box. Using the instructions on CC's site, I configured this box as instructed and immediately had service within minutes. I made a few test calls, and everything worked great, including my outgoing caller ID showing up as my Google Voice number, which CallCentric can do for you. This box helps me get much better sound quality than I had with the Obi202 + Google Voice combination. People on the other end of the phone say they notice a big difference when talking to me now, which is great. I don't mind paying a few bucks more every month for reliable, quality phone service at home. This box was a great deal under $40 and I will recommend it to friends and family.

Call quality is full of static. Can't get into user interface because it won't recognize my password. Too complicated to download firmware again to possibly fix password issue. Would like to address the static issue by adjusting codec but can't because of password issue. Grandstream support is extremely poor.

My VOIP provider only charges eighty-five cents per month for a phone number, and two cents per minute for calls anywhere in the US. But to get that deal, you need this device to allow a normal landline phone to work. This device plugs in to your router and can give you up to two analog phone lines with a normal dial tone on each line. Just plug it in to any phone outlet in your house after setup, and all phone outlets in your house will have one or two active phone lines. The setup with your VOIP provider and configuration of this device is a bit complex and might not work for those who are not familiar enough with networking. I had to have my internet service provider tell me how to open a port on the cable modem/router to get it to work. There is also a learning curve if you're not experienced at networking and setting up a SIP service. But with some patience, the setup process is not too bad. Tech support from your SIP provider should be available to you for free. I could do it quickly and easily again, now that I know how. Once it's working, you never need to do anything technical to it again. It just keeps working after the initial setup.

These units work very well. There are a couple parameters that have to be changed. The instructions are straight forward and tech support is very helpful. Be sure to hit save once you change the communications parameters under each tab. If you click on a different tab without saving your changes, they will be lost. If you are comfortable with setup software for devices, it should take you about 20 minutes. Have tech support at the VOIP provider send you the field names to change and the values you should input or select. I found it easier to use the phone you connect it to in order to get the IP address, then type the IP address into your computer browser. This unit must be plugged into the same switch as your computer.