T48G Auto Provisioning For 3CX v12

[Slator]

Will someone with the appropriate knowledge please review the attached 3CX Provided T48G Provisioning Template and let me know if it is possible to modify the {Linekey Parameters} and auto provision the T48G phones via 3CX v12. I have provided two versions of the 3CX T48G Provisioning Template: (1)a copied .txt version and (2)the actual 3CX XML version.

The reason I need Yealink's help is:
(1) It looks to me as if 3CX has provided a very customized, non-standard version of the T48G Common Configuration file
I reached this conclusion after (a)comparing the 3CX version with the Yealink version and (b)modifying the 3CX version as per the Yealink Auto Provisioning Guide V72 - these modifications did not produce any visible results on the T48G phone.
(2) 3CX has refused to provide any help with modifying the T48G template - see below.

Also, of interest are all the {IF...} Statements in the 3CX XML template...


Thanks...


BACKGROUND:
I am a new 3CX user/customer and I am having some difficulties trying to modify the 3CX Provisioning Template for the T48G phone. I have purchased/used optional 3CX Software Support but, 3CX Support is telling me they will not support any efforts to modify the supplied T48G Provisioning Template. 3CX says it has no problem with me modifying the supplied template but, 3CX will not provide any information toward the modification effort. The verbatim excerpt from the 3CX email is at the bottom of this post.

From 3CX Support Ticket:
"Unfortunately we cannot provide any support in regards to template customization, please refer to the yea-link documentation in order to identify the parameters that need to be changed in order to achieve the desired behavior..."

---

After posting my thread, I received a reply from 3CX - see below.
However, the Linekey Parameter information provided by 3CX did not produce any visible results on the T48G phone.

The Linekey Parameter I Used To Modify the 3CX Template:
#{IF blf5}
linekey.7.line = 0 (? - no "0" in Guide)
linekey.7.value = 19 (an existing 3CX extension)
linekey.7.pickup_value = *20* (? - no .extension in Guide)
linekey.7.type = 13 (speed dial)
linekey.7.label = Tony ext19
linekey.7.extension = *20* (? - no .extension in Guide)
#{ELSE}
#linekey.7.type = 0
#{ENDIF}
NOTE: The '#' sign makes the line a comment line - as per 3CX



**************EMAIL FROM 3CX*******************
Hey there Slator,
Thank you for your email.

The last template modification that we give any support on:
The default is like that:
{IF blf5}
linekey.7.line = %%Line%%
linekey.7.value = %%blf4%%
linekey.7.pickup_value = %%PickupValue%%
linekey.7.type = %%DKtype%%
linekey.7.label = %%blffirstname4%% %%blflastname4%%
linekey.7.extension = %%PickupValue%%
{ELSE}
linekey.7.type = 0
{ENDIF}

You need to remove the If and the else statements in the template like below:
linekey.7.line = 0
linekey.7.value = extension number
linekey.7.pickup_value = *20*
linekey.7.type = 16
linekey.7.label = extension name
linekey.7.extension = *20*

Kind Regards
**************EMAIL FROM 3CX*******************

[Slator]

Problem Solved! 3CX+T48G Provisioning/Configuration

My Perspective
The Telco community is "way less" organized that the IT community - especially when it comes to "disseminating" support information and, most especially when someone needs to "drill down" into a configuration process/method. Further complicating the configuration process is that the "PBX people" and the "Phone people" do not seem to communicate very well - at least, not at the level needed for customer support. I often found myself "jockeying" back and forth between the "PBX people" and the "Phone people" just to collect the necessary information needed to begin a configuration process.
Some Examples:
...the Yealink T48G Provisioning Guide had 166 pages of configuration parameters that were only organized alphabetically - meaning you had to "know what you needed before you could find what you needed";
...there is no "Tier-1", "Tier-2", "Tier-3" support - it's just "support". In the IT environment, the forums exist largely to avoid the cost of Tier-2/Tier-3 support. In the Telco environment, the forums are necessary for "survival";
...Telco companies (i.e., 3CX & Yealink) "hide" behind emails and websites - they never expose themselves to "talking" with "real" people. The IT world would never accept this type of inaccessibility - and honestly, I do not know why the Telco world does...;
...it is often impossible to locate the needed information from only one source - such as The ... Solution below: I had to literally "scour" the {3CX website} + {3CX Support} + {3CX Forum} + {3CX manuals} + {Yealink website} + {T48G guides, 3 versions} + {Yealink Forums}. It was only after I gathered some (relevant) information from each source that I was able to finally discern/create a solution for my configuration need;

NOTE: In fairness, I should also mention that I am a software developer - not a Telco Technician. My learning curve would have been a lot quicker had I been schooled in the Telco "way" of doing things.


The 3CX Configuration Solution
(i) Completely Remove the {IF}{THEN}{ELSE} Statements
3CX uses a very customized XML provisioning/configuration file that requires you to remove (not comment out) the {IF}... Statements for any relevant parameters or any changes you make will not take effect. I only discovered this by chance when I inadvertently completely over wrote a parameter section.
(ii) Always verify the parameter values you are given...
3CX actually gave me the wrong parameter values - along with a message to not ask any more questions about the topic. I found the correct parameter values from an unrelated Yealink Forum post that surfaced during one of my many Google searches.
(iii) Make Sure You Are Using the Best Firmware for Your Needs
Using the "best" firmware does not automatically mean the latest version or, in my case, the latest "official" version. My configuration problem was not completely solved until I upgraded the T48G phones to the (not officially released) BETA 2, 35.73.0.16 version. I do not usually use BETA firmware - but, since I disparately needed a solution, I gave it a try and it seems to be working OK. And, once again, I only discovered this solution by chance - via a unrelated Google Yealink search.
BTW: Yealink has published a special firmware for 3CX (35.72.0.225). This version of the firmware did not work for me and it may not work for many people going forward. My "guesstimate" is that 3CX is not completely prepared (yet) for the T48G phone and is going to use the (35.72.0.225) firmware to stabilize the firmware environment and "buy some time" while they "catch up".


In Closing
I really like the T48G phone! Once all the "kinks" have been worked out, the T48G will be an awesome platform for VoIP. In the meantime, I will just have to (patiently) wait for 3CX (and other vendors) to learn how to better utilize the T48G's features/capabilities.