Cisco 7940 not holding on to IP Address or other settings

Dear Cisco 7940 Experts:

The office where I work has just received 6 Cisco 7940 phones loaded up with SIP image POS3-07-4-00, Boot Load ID: PC030301, and DSP Load ID: PS3AT45.

I have located a SIP service provider. A VPN has been created between this office and the SIP service provider. I was told to assign to each phone a unique static private IP in the range of 10.101.75.x.

The problem I have is that the 7940's are not holding the 10.101.75.x range of static internal IPs. Below is an explanation of exactly what I have done and the problems I see.

First I unlock the Cisco phone to configure it. I hit 9, select, enter the password "cisco," accept. Now I attempt to assign the phone a static internal IP in the 10.101.75.<2-10> range. If I go directly to the IP Address option, the 7940 does not give me the option to edit the IP. I cannot edit or assign an IP unless I have first disabled DHCP. So I try to disable DHCP. I enter the Network Configuration area of the Cisco phone. I hit 3 (Network Configuration), I hit 25 (DHCP Enabled)- I say NO.

*** THIS IS THE PROBLEM: when I disable DHCP, the phone says: "TFTP Server Required." There is no TFTP server in this office, and from what I understood, these phones were already provisioned with the SIP image and files when we got them.

When I try to click "SAVE" (to disable DHCP) nothing happens. When I click "Back," I see that DHCP is STILL ENABLED.

I now try a different approach: I hit 3 (Network Config), I hit 25 (DHCP enabled)- I say NO. ***The phone says "TFTP Server Required," just as before. However, instead of clicking "BACK" I attempt to move directly to other Network Configuration settings within the same Network Configuration submenu. I click the up arrow and go to "IP ADDRESS". At "IP Address," I AM NOW ABLE TO SUCCESSFULLY ENTER AN IP: 10.101.75.2. I enter this address. I now attempt to enter other settings that I was told to enter: I move to Default Router 1. I enter the IP, 10.101.75.1, which the VOIP service provider told me to enter. When I click SAVE, the Cisco gives me the message: "TFTP Server Required." Finally at this point I click "BACK" in order to exit the configuration area.

Now I re-enter Network Configuration. I see that ALL THE SETTINGS I HAVE INPUTTED ARE GONE! The IP address has not been saved. The Default Router IP has not been saved. DHCP is still enabled.

Conclusion: I am unable to configure these phones with the settings given to me by the VOIP service provider. I simply cannot get the 7940's to hold onto their static private IP's! I really need help. Any answers, advice, or questions that might help lead me to a solution, would be very greatly appreciated.

Note: when I connect the phones to the network (a) with DHCP enabled, (b) with a dynamically generated IP, and (c) using the VOIP service provider's public SIP server address (the 7940's "Proxy Address" setting in the SIP Configuration submenu) rather than my network's private internal SIP Server address- when I do (a), (b) and (c), then I am able to MAKE SIP CALLS OUT. However, when someone tries to call in on the phone's incoming number, then the caller gets an automated message that the person is not available. I think this message is generated by the VOIP service provider's IP PBX.

Again, I would sincerely appreciate your suggestions and advice. I hear very good things about the Cisco 7940 but I am having a hard time with these phones and I want so much for them to finally work. I hope that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Thank you-

Phil

Welcome to Voipuser forums.

Other than having one in my office (that I never liked), I don't know much about Cisco phones.

Try unplugging the phone from your network before you try to configure it. If it already has an IP by DHCP it may not allow you to change it.

I run a 7960 and I have never tried entering setup data directly to the phone - too laborious and unreliable.

You should get a hold of a software TFTP server (I suggest 'solarwinds' which is a free download) and run it on a PC on the same LAN, note the IP address of that PC and load that into the phone (Settings » Network » TFTP Server) - that's the only thing you need to enter into it from that point.

If you PM me with your email address I can send you some notes I was sent by the late David Boyce - a Moderator on this forum. They were very helpful when I first did this.

The 7.4 SIP image you have already is years old and you should get a copy of something more recent. Cisco are on 8.9 now but anything 8.x should be workable.

There are a lot of resources on doing this job here on Voipuser and on the Voxilla forum so forgive me if I don't write it all out again. (Forum search for Cisco 7960 or Cisco 7940 will bring them up)

If/when you come across specific problems as you go then please list them and we will try to help.

These are great phones but a bit unforgiving in their set-up routine