Yealink W5x/W6x/W7x (DECT) — setting up for our PBX

A Yealink DECT kit is a base station (a palm-sized white box: W52B, W56B, W60B, W70B) plus handsets (W53H, W56H, W73H, W78H, and the rugged W59R). Venues put them where staff keep moving: the floor, the kitchen, the stockroom, a hotel front desk. Unlike a desk phone there are two different “connections” here, and they must not be confused:

• handset ↔ base — that is DECT radio. Our PBX has nothing to do with it;
• base ↔ PBX — that is a normal SIP registration. The extension credentials go into the base, through its web interface, and the handsets are then handed ready-made lines.

So the order is: pair the handsets with the base, enter the accounts into the base, then say which handset gets which line. Common credentials and network requirements are on the overview page “Setting up SIP phones”.

What you will need#

• The extension credentials from the admin panel: Admin panel → Telephony → Operators tab → “Reset password” next to the operator. The “Extension credentials” window shows the SIP server, extension number, username, password, port and transport (details).
• The base plugged into the venue network with a cable: PoE (IEEE 802.3af) from a switch, or the supplied 5 V power adapter.
• A charged handset — without it you cannot learn the base IP address or reach the web interface.
• A computer on the same network as the base, with any browser.

Pairing the handsets with the base#

If you bought a complete kit (W53P, W56P, W73P, W76P, W79P are a base plus a handset in one box), the handset is paired at the factory and shows its number. If the handset says “Unregistered!”, pair it:

1. Put the base into registration mode: press and hold the paging key on the base — the round button with the radio-wave icon — until the registration LED starts flashing. The mode switches itself off after about a minute and a half.
2. On the handset press the Reg soft key.
3. The screen shows “Handset Subscribed” and the base number — the last 4 characters of its MAC address.

The second way, if the handset offers no Reg key: OK → Settings → Registration → Register Handset, pick the base and enter the base system PIN — 0000 by default.

One W60B base holds up to 8 handsets, a W70B up to 10; the older W52P/W56P up to 5. One handset remembers up to 4 bases.

Step 1. Find the IP address of the base#

The base has no display, so the handset shows its address.

Press the paging key on the base. Every paired handset rings and shows the IP address of the base on its screen. Pressing it again (or any key on a handset) stops the ringing.

Screenshot: Yealink W70B DECT IP Phone User Guide V85.40, p. 8.

The same key does two more things — it toggles handset registration mode and, held down, resets the base to factory settings, so do not press it “just in case”.

Fallbacks:

• The base status screen on the handset: press OK, then Status → Base (on the CP930W — Menu → Status → Base Status, on the CP935W — More → Status → Base Status). The administrator guide points to exactly this path for finding the device address before logging in to the web interface. The Warning field there also tells you that the base still uses the factory password.
• The DHCP client list on your router — look for a device whose MAC starts with 80:5E:C0 or 00:15:65 (Yealink).

Step 2. Log in to the web interface of the base#

Open http://<base IP> in a browser.

Both are case-sensitive. Change the password on first login — while the factory one is in place, the handsets show a warning on the base status screen.

If the password was changed and forgotten, it cannot be recovered — only a factory reset helps.

Step 3. Enter the PBX credentials#

In the web interface open Account → Register and pick a free account in the Account list at the top (Account 1, Account 2 … — the base holds several extensions at once).

Leave the SIP Server 2 block empty and Enable Outbound Proxy Server disabled: we run no backup server, and a stray outbound proxy breaks registration. Leave NAT at Disabled — our PBX needs no STUN.

Click Confirm at the bottom of the page. A few seconds later Register Status at the top reads Registered.

Screenshot: Yealink IP DECT Phone Administrator Guide V81.10, p. 167.

Step 4. Assign lines to the handsets and check the registration#

A registered account does not reach a handset by itself: the base decides separately which handset receives calls on which line and which line it calls from. Until that is done the handset stays silent on incoming calls and will not let you dial.

Open Account → Number Assignment:

• in the Incoming lines block tick which lines arrive at which handset (one line on several handsets — they all ring, one answers);
• in the Outgoing lines block tick which lines the handset calls from, and choose its default line in the Default column;
• click Confirm.

Screenshot: Yealink IP DECT Phone Administrator Guide V81.10, p. 176.

How to verify:

1. On the base — web interface, Account → Register: Register Status: Registered.
2. On the handset — OK → Status → Line Status: the list of lines with their state. Faster still: the Line soft key when idle shows the same list, with the default line first.
3. In the admin panel — Telephony → Operators: a green dot next to the operator and the string the base identified itself with (for example Yealink W70B). The status refreshes no more than once a minute.
4. A test call to a colleague’s extension.

Factory reset#

A reset is needed if the base came from a previous operator (someone else’s accounts inside, and someone else’s provisioning address — it will restore its own settings on every reboot), if the administrator password is forgotten, or if the base behaves inexplicably.

From the handset (no computer required):

1. OK → Settings → System Settings → Base Reset.
2. Enter the base system PIN — 0000 by default — and press Done.
3. Choose Reset to factory and answer Yes to “Reset base to factory configuration now?”.

From the web interface of the base: Settings → Upgrade → the Reset to factory button → OK on “Do you want to reset to factory?”.

Screenshot: Yealink IP DECT Phone Administrator Guide V81.10, p. 469.

What happens: the SIP accounts, network settings, line assignment, language, directory and handset settings are erased; the handset pairing survives — you will not have to re-marry them to the base. The web interface password goes back to admin, the system PIN back to 0000. The power and network LEDs flash slowly in turn; the reset takes a few minutes — do not cut the power until the base has started up.

A handset is reset separately (OK → Settings → System Settings → Handset Reset) — that only wipes its personal settings: volume, ringtone, name.

After the reset: language → time zone → change the administrator password → the account (step 3) → line assignment (step 4).

If the handset does not register#

1. The handset says “Unregistered!” — that is radio, not the PBX: the handset is not paired with the base. See “Pairing the handsets with the base”.
2. Register Status is empty or not Registered — check the username: it must be the full sip-…-<number> from the admin panel window, not the short extension number, and it goes into both fields — Register Name and User Name.
3. The password is outdated. If somebody clicked “Reset password” in the admin panel, the old password no longer works — issue a new one and enter it.
4. The handset is registered but neither rings nor dials — no line is assigned to it. That is step 4, Account → Number Assignment.
5. An outbound proxy or NAT/STUN is on. On the account page disable Enable Outbound Proxy Server and set NAT: Disabled.
6. Wrong server address. A venue with a dedicated machine has its own address — copy it from the admin panel window instead of typing it from memory.
7. Transport. Keep UDP; the platform provides no TLS — with TLS the base will not register.
8. The venue network: SIP ALG on the router, the base in a guest Wi-Fi segment, UDP 5060 blocked — common network causes.
9. The call breaks up when the employee walks to the far end of the room — that is DECT range, not registration: you need a repeater (OK → Settings → System Settings → Repeater Mode) or a second base.

Models in the family#

The web interface is the same on every base: Account → Register, Account → Number Assignment, Settings → Upgrade. Capacity and radio differ.

The CP930W / CP935W stand apart — cordless conference phones that register to the same base as a handset (their menu paths read Menu → … / More → …).

Frequently asked questions#

Where do the username and password go — into the handset or into the base?#

Into the base, through its web interface. A handset has no SIP account of its own: it uses the lines the base handed it (Account → Number Assignment). That is also why the admin panel shows one device — the base.

How many employees fit on one base?#

As many as there are handsets: W60B up to 8, W70B up to 10, the older W52P/W56P up to 5. Keep in mind that a base holds fewer simultaneous calls than handsets (4 on the W52P/W56P, 2 per handset). If the rush hour needs more, add a second base rather than more handsets.

The handset is registered but cannot call — what is wrong?#

No outgoing line is assigned to it. Open Account → Number Assignment, tick the line for that handset in the Outgoing lines block and select it in the Default column.

Does a base reset remove the handset pairing?#

No. A factory reset of the base erases the SIP accounts, the network settings, the line assignment and the administrator password, but keeps the handset registrations — you will not have to pair them again. What you do have to re-enter are the extension credentials from the admin panel.

The web interface password of the base is lost#

It cannot be recovered. Reset the base to factory from a handset: OK → Settings → System Settings → Base Reset, PIN 0000 → Reset to factory. After the reset the password is admin again.

We bought a used base and the settings keep coming back — why?#

The provisioning server address of the previous provider is still inside: on every reboot the base downloads someone else’s configuration over yours. Only a factory reset cures it, after which the provisioning address is cleared.

The range is not enough for the whole floor — what now?#

Turn on a repeater: OK → Settings → System Settings → Repeater Mode, then register a Yealink DECT repeater (RT10/RT20/RT30) to the base. Repeater mode and the “eco mode+” power saving cannot be used at the same time. PBX settings and codecs have no effect on range.

Sources#

• Yealink IP DECT Phone Administrator Guide V81.10 (W52P/W56P; the base web interface, Account → Register, Number Assignment, Settings → Upgrade) — support.yealink.com
• Yealink W70B DECT IP Phone User Guide V85.40 (the paging key on the base, handset pairing, Base Reset, the 10-handset capacity) — support-cdn.yealink.com
• Yealink W59R (W60B) DECT IP Phone User Guide V85.20 (the W60B base: the 8-handset capacity, repeater mode) — support-cdn.yealink.com
• Yealink W70B IP DECT Phone Administrator Guide V85.30 (the same for the W60B/W70B generation: the admin/admin login, the base address via Status → Base, Settings → Upgrade → Reset to Factory, the line check via Status → Line Status). Yealink does not hand out recent administrator guides by direct link — its documentation portal runs on JavaScript; a copy is at data.nag.wiki, the official portal is support.yealink.com
• The source registry of the catalogue: docs/phone-knowledge/sources/yealink.json

The web interface screenshots were taken on a W52P/W56P: on the W60B and W70B the Account → Register, Account → Number Assignment and Settings → Upgrade pages look the same and live under the same paths — the W70B V85.30 administrator guide confirms it. The single ⚠️ verify mark above is the setup order for the multi-cell W80DM/W90DM: they have their own deployment guide and are not configured from this page.