What exactly is a VoIP phone, and how does it work?

There are many limitations to analog phone systems. This traditional phone system has only one line and can take only one conversation. But with the advancement of technology, communication channels have evolved.

VoIP phones are the latest communication trend. It allows you to make free phone calls using your existing internet connection. It means that you can avoid using your analog phone by switching to free VoIP software.

A VoIP phone has interesting features that will help any business to grow. To begin, let’s talk about what a VoIP phone is and how it works.

What is a VoIP phone?

Voice over Internet Protocol or VoIP phones use Internet Protocol (IP) technology to transmit voice calls. Computer or mobile device programs are both functional as VoIP phones.

VoIP phones use the internet instead of traditional copper cables to make phone calls. VoIP phone systems allow you to be more interoperable and connected than conventional landline phone systems.

There are two main types of VoIP phones:

• Hard phones. Hard phones are desk or conference room phones, similar to traditional models.
• Softphones. These are digital application phones on a smartphone and can also be used similarly to a hard phone.

Hard phones and softphones are both useful to make phone calls over the internet. Businesses utilize VoIP because of its benefits, such as lowering overall phone costs, enhancing customer interaction, and simply holding conferences.

What are the pros and cons of the VoIP phone?

The VoIP phone system is an excellent choice because of its compelling features and competitive pricing. But aside from all the benefits of utilizing VoIP phones, there are still drawbacks you need to know before switching.

Advantages of using VoIP phone:

• VoIP is far less expensive than traditional landlines.
• VoIP phones allow long-distance and international phone calls without extra charges.
• Many VoIP service providers offer unlimited business calls if you’re using a local business phone number.
• Additional features like conference calling, call waiting, caller identification, and call forwarding are available with VoIP phone services.
• VoIP allows you to link up multiple offices and a decentralized workforce all at once.
• It can be scaled up or down, dependent on your company’s requirements.

Disadvantages of using VoIP phone:

• The most typical VoIP issues are poor voice quality or call delay.
• VoIP phones are dependent on the internet. If you don’t have access to the internet, you can’t use VoIP services.
• Using VoIP lines in an emergency can make identifying people’s exact locations harder.

How does a VoIP phone work?

VoIP service providers use the internet to link IP phones to the telephone network. Using internet protocol, it converts audio into data packets.

Analog calls are encoded into digital packets. Digital packets are then transformed back to analog before being used to complete phone calls with traditional landline customers.

With VoIP, you’ll be able to make phone calls to landlines and mobile devices. Another option is to use a computer-to-computer phone connection. Both computer and phone devices use microphones, speakers, and headphones.

How to set up a VoIP phone?

Now that you’re familiar with how VoIP phone works, let’s talk about how to get started with your VoIP phone setup.

Here are the five simple steps to set up a VoIP phone:

Step1: Run a network and internet speed test

Use a VoIP speed test to see how well your network is. The results will let you know if your connection is capable of supporting a VoIP setup.

VoIP phone systems are most likely to work fine with your current internet connection. Keep in mind that some residential internet connections have substantially slower upload speeds, such as DSL.

Step 2: Invest in VoIP hardware with the right features

Purchase VoIP hardware if you already have a provider. Many cutting-edge choices have emerged as VoIP since it has become the industry standard in recent years.

Identify what tools or features you need to improve collaboration across departments. Look for a VoIP service provider that can provide your requirements and needs.

Step 3: Make use of a VoIP adapter

Connecting your phone will require the use of an adapter or a dedicated VoIP phone. Depending on your router, the adapter may attach to your computer, the internet directly, or both. 

To make calls from your computer or mobile device, you’ll need to download and install an app from your service provider. You should be aware that you cannot use a regular PSTN phone unless it is clearly stated in the instruction. 

Step 4:Test your new VoIP lines and see how they perform.

A VoIP test is a great way to see how well your VoIP phone system works. You should also conduct testings before making purchases.

While testing, you can check your lines while the network is busy. Look how the VoIP works with dropped calls, poor audio, and other issues caused by network congestion.

Step 5: Train your employees about the new VoIP phone

With the existence of VoIP, many small businesses now have useful phone functions for their company for the first time.

Set up a time to train your team about the new VoIP phone. With the correct supervision, your employees can utilize the VoIP systems to connect directly to a CRM, set up custom routing policies, send voicemails through email, redirect phone calls, and record calls in the cloud.