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Cisco IP Phone 8841/8851 Multiplatform Phones User Guide
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Third Party Headsets
Cisco Systems performs internal testing of third-party headsets for use with Cisco IP Phones.
But Cisco does not certify or support products from headset or handset vendors.
Headsets connect to your phone using either the USB or the auxiliary port. Depending upon
your headset model, you may need to adjust your phone's audio settings for the best audio
experience, including the headset sidetone setting.
If you have a third-party headset, and you apply a new sidetone setting, then wait one minute
and reboot the phone so the setting is stored in flash.
The phone reduces some background noise that a headset microphone detects. You can use a
noise canceling headset to further reduce the background noise and improve the overall audio
quality.
If you are considering a third-party headset, we recommend the use of good quality external
devices; for example, headsets that are screened against unwanted radio frequency (RF) and
audio frequency (AF) signals. Depending on the quality of headsets and their proximity to other
devices, such as mobile phones and two-way radios, some audio noise or echo may still occur.
Either the remote party or both the remote party and the Cisco IP Phone user may hear an
audible hum or buzz. A range of outside sources can cause humming or buzzing sounds; for
example, electric lights, electric motors, or large PC monitors.
Note
: If you use a local power cube or power injector may reduce or
eliminate a humming sound.
Environmental and hardware inconsistencies in the locations where Cisco IP Phones are
deployed mean that no single headset solution is optimal for all environments.
We recommend that customers test headsets in the intended environment to determine
performance before making a purchasing decision to deploy on a large scale.
You can use only one headset at a time. The most-recently connected headset is the active
headset.
Audio Quality
Beyond physical, mechanical, and technical performance, the audio portion of a headset must
sound good to the user and to the party on the far end. Sound quality is subjective, and we
cannot guarantee the performance of any headsets. However, various headsets from leading
headset manufacturers are reported to perform well with Cisco IP Phones.
For additional information, see
https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/unified-