User Manual

5
3 Introducing Your Cisco IP Phone
A Cisco IP Phone is a full-feature telephone that provides voice communication over an IP (Internet
Protocol) network. This phone functions much like a traditional analog phone, allowing you to place
and receive telephone calls. It also supports features that you have come to expect from a
telephone—such as speed dialing, redial, call transfer, conference calling, and voice message access.
Your Cisco IP Phone offers features that might surprise you. Because it is part of an IP network, your
Cisco IP Phone can provide not only telephony services, but data services too—including
up-to-the-minute information and services from the network. With a Cisco IP Phone, you have access
to a whole range of communication features that are not available on a traditional telephone.
Why Does One Cisco IP Phone Behave Differently from Another?
The features exhibited by your Cisco IP Phone depend upon the call processing agent (or “protocol”)
that your phone uses.
To determine the protocol that your Cisco IP Phone uses, pick up the handset and then return the
handset to its cradle to reset the phone’s screen. The phone must be connected to a power source.
Observe your phone’s screen and compare it to the descriptions in Table 1. See the “Documentation
on the Web” section on page 12 for information about getting a user guide and other documentation
specific to your phone’s protocol.