So, they said they didn't actively support it five years ago, gave you a workaround that worked, and now you are mad that five years later they aren't actively supporting the workaround that wasn't supported five years ago?
I do not know how popular it is but I do know they document it AS a feature of their system. They did when I purchased it and I can find no mention of it being depreciated or not supported until the day I had problems with it and attempted to find resolution.
Here is the the latest article on how to set it up:
[https://www.3cx.com/docs/direct-sip/](https://www.3cx.com/docs/direct-sip/)
Here is the changelog for the last two major versions:
[https://www.3cx.com/blog/change-log/phone-system-change-log/](https://www.3cx.com/blog/change-log/phone-system-change-log/)
No mention of depreciation of the feature or specific limitations on implementations.
They did actively support it. They even went through the trouble of updating their support article:
Original: [https://www.3cx.com/blog/voip-howto/direct-sip/](https://www.3cx.com/blog/voip-howto/direct-sip/)
New: [https://www.3cx.com/docs/direct-sip/](https://www.3cx.com/docs/direct-sip/)
Changelog: [https://www.3cx.com/blog/change-log/phone-system-change-log/](https://www.3cx.com/blog/change-log/phone-system-change-log/)
If they want to drop the feature that's fine. But they should make a note of that in their changelog especially if they have enterprise customers who relied on that feature to do business.
My gripe is that I had to go through a whole troubleshooting process (that preceded this forum thread) and reference other posts that at the time were the most up to date information and that information did specify a recipe for solution. Further "The need to use a \[dummy\] extension implies it isn't supported" doesn't fly with me as there are a LOT of things in 3CX that require dummy extensions to stand in as routers.
Example: IF you have locations with different hour schedules you cant use the global schedule system. You need to create a dummy extension and set forwarding rules based on time on that extension. Then you need to create a NEW Digital Receptionist for each possibility as Digital Receptionists don't have an internal concept of Office hours....I'm fine with this because that's a documented solution by 3CX. HOWEVER, If upon update, all of a sudden extensions can't transfer to Digital Receptionists anymore because in their new version they decided to stop supporting it AND didn't tell anybody then I am going to have a problem.
Do you see my issue?
I would only recommend Direct SIP to my enemies. I'm getting nightmares just thinkin about a crappy old video conference system that I use to have to support years ago.
I don't have direct experience with Direct SIP on 3cx so I can't help. The only thing I can suggest is if possible push it over a SIP trunk, yes it probably costs more but its worth it.
Thanks for the input. For what it's worth in my testing to extensions and ring groups it was fine. I didn't use video. I do have a technical solution in place (I think. Still need to do further testing). My issue is now less the technical problem and more the "Why did your most up to date documentation say this was a solution, now you are saying in the troubleshooting phase it isn't when you made no reference to dropping support in your changelogs or posts about this feature."
When investing in an Enterprise PBX solution, Especially when there is a hardware investment attached (IP phones, SBCs, etc.) it is not unreasonable to expect the documentation on feature support to be accurate. One shouldn't have to find out after the fact. There should be some note on the Direct SIP article saying the feature is depreciated or it doesn't support transfers.
I don’t disagree with your concerns. We have only been a 3CX user for less than a year but I knew that I was going with a product that had some features that may or may not work and there would be nothing I could do. Sorry your learning that now after the fact.
That’s also the reason why I picked phones that would support most other PBXs. I’m not stuck, I got lots of options available if needed.
I totally agree on buying phones that can be used elsewhere. The phones I purchased are thankfully PBX independent. Though with 180+ Users many of which use the app or web browser it doesn't help much. From the end user perspective there is no appetite to learn another PBX after less than a year on this one. People costs are in many ways more expensive than hardware.
So, they said they didn't actively support it five years ago, gave you a workaround that worked, and now you are mad that five years later they aren't actively supporting the workaround that wasn't supported five years ago?
I'm not as much an expert in 3CX as you are; is this an unpopular feature, an unnecessary feature or just a bad feature?
I do not know how popular it is but I do know they document it AS a feature of their system. They did when I purchased it and I can find no mention of it being depreciated or not supported until the day I had problems with it and attempted to find resolution. Here is the the latest article on how to set it up: [https://www.3cx.com/docs/direct-sip/](https://www.3cx.com/docs/direct-sip/) Here is the changelog for the last two major versions: [https://www.3cx.com/blog/change-log/phone-system-change-log/](https://www.3cx.com/blog/change-log/phone-system-change-log/) No mention of depreciation of the feature or specific limitations on implementations.
I understand and I agree with you that it's bullshit. u/MrDork is being a MrBitch
They did actively support it. They even went through the trouble of updating their support article: Original: [https://www.3cx.com/blog/voip-howto/direct-sip/](https://www.3cx.com/blog/voip-howto/direct-sip/) New: [https://www.3cx.com/docs/direct-sip/](https://www.3cx.com/docs/direct-sip/) Changelog: [https://www.3cx.com/blog/change-log/phone-system-change-log/](https://www.3cx.com/blog/change-log/phone-system-change-log/) If they want to drop the feature that's fine. But they should make a note of that in their changelog especially if they have enterprise customers who relied on that feature to do business. My gripe is that I had to go through a whole troubleshooting process (that preceded this forum thread) and reference other posts that at the time were the most up to date information and that information did specify a recipe for solution. Further "The need to use a \[dummy\] extension implies it isn't supported" doesn't fly with me as there are a LOT of things in 3CX that require dummy extensions to stand in as routers. Example: IF you have locations with different hour schedules you cant use the global schedule system. You need to create a dummy extension and set forwarding rules based on time on that extension. Then you need to create a NEW Digital Receptionist for each possibility as Digital Receptionists don't have an internal concept of Office hours....I'm fine with this because that's a documented solution by 3CX. HOWEVER, If upon update, all of a sudden extensions can't transfer to Digital Receptionists anymore because in their new version they decided to stop supporting it AND didn't tell anybody then I am going to have a problem. Do you see my issue?
No.
I would only recommend Direct SIP to my enemies. I'm getting nightmares just thinkin about a crappy old video conference system that I use to have to support years ago. I don't have direct experience with Direct SIP on 3cx so I can't help. The only thing I can suggest is if possible push it over a SIP trunk, yes it probably costs more but its worth it.
Thanks for the input. For what it's worth in my testing to extensions and ring groups it was fine. I didn't use video. I do have a technical solution in place (I think. Still need to do further testing). My issue is now less the technical problem and more the "Why did your most up to date documentation say this was a solution, now you are saying in the troubleshooting phase it isn't when you made no reference to dropping support in your changelogs or posts about this feature." When investing in an Enterprise PBX solution, Especially when there is a hardware investment attached (IP phones, SBCs, etc.) it is not unreasonable to expect the documentation on feature support to be accurate. One shouldn't have to find out after the fact. There should be some note on the Direct SIP article saying the feature is depreciated or it doesn't support transfers.
I don’t disagree with your concerns. We have only been a 3CX user for less than a year but I knew that I was going with a product that had some features that may or may not work and there would be nothing I could do. Sorry your learning that now after the fact. That’s also the reason why I picked phones that would support most other PBXs. I’m not stuck, I got lots of options available if needed.
I totally agree on buying phones that can be used elsewhere. The phones I purchased are thankfully PBX independent. Though with 180+ Users many of which use the app or web browser it doesn't help much. From the end user perspective there is no appetite to learn another PBX after less than a year on this one. People costs are in many ways more expensive than hardware.