DECT Cordless Phones for Nova PBX

← Hardware & Devices

DECT (Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications) phone systems consist of a base station that connects to your network and one or more cordless handsets that communicate wirelessly with the base. They are ideal for environments where users move around — warehouses, retail floors, clinics, restaurants, and multi-room offices.

With Nova PBX you register the base station as a device, assign one extension per handset on the base’s Handsets tab, and pair the handsets to the base over the air. Each handset then rings and dials as its own extension.

Supported Systems

Brand	Base station	Handsets	Handset slots	Auto-provisioning
Yealink	W53P, W56P, W70B, W73P (base + first handset bundles)	W53H, W56H, W73H	Per model — shown on the Handsets tab when you pick the base	Yes
Grandstream	DP750, DP752	DP720, DP722, DP730	5 (4 can be provisioned today — see below)	Yes

For most small business deployments, the Yealink W70B + W56H handsets or Grandstream DP752 + DP720 handsets are the recommended starting point.

Register the base only. Handsets are not devices in Switchboard — they are paired to the base and get their extension from the base’s Handsets tab. Do not register a handset’s MAC address; the register page rejects handset models.

Grandstream DP750 / DP720 / DP722. These models are being added to the model picker in the September 2026 Nova PBX release. If your picker does not list the DP750 yet, register the base as DP752 — the two bases share the same provisioning profile and 5-handset limit.

Grandstream DECT: all five handsets, each with its own extension

A DP750 / DP752 base provisions all five handsets, each with the extension you assign it on the Handsets tab. (The base holds ten SIP accounts in total; five is the handset limit of the hardware.)

Earlier releases wrote only handset lines 1–4, so a fifth handset paired and then never registered. If you set a base up before that fix shipped, click Apply Changes once to republish its configuration and reboot the base. Yealink W-series bases were never affected.

Gigaset N510 IP PRO / N720 IP PRO are not in the Nova PBX model catalog and are not auto-provisioned — manual configuration only, entering each handset’s SIP credentials on the base’s web UI from the extension’s SIP Auth tab. Gigaset (manual configuration only) also receives no configuration updates from Switchboard.

Before You Start: Your Provisioning URL and PIN

Every Nova PBX organization has one provisioning URL and one provisioning PIN that all of its phones and DECT bases share:

https://<slug>:<PIN>@cfg.sipstack.com/<slug>/

• <slug> is your tenant slug (also the username).
• <PIN> is your provisioning PIN — 8 digits for organizations set up since September 2026.

Both live in Switchboard → Nova PBX → System → PBX Settings → Provisioning Access. The URL is shown with the PIN masked; the Regenerate PIN button reveals a new PIN, once. The PIN is shown once when generated. Lost it? Rotate it in Provisioning Access — phones keep working on the old PIN for 24 hours.

The fastest way to deliver it is DHCP option 160 on the scope your bases use — see DHCP Option 160: Provisioning URL for Nova PBX Phones. The steps below also show manual entry for each base.

Registering a DECT Base in Switchboard (all brands)

1. Log in to Switchboard and navigate to Nova PBX → Devices → Devices.
2. Click Register device. If the page asks you to generate your provisioning PIN first, do that in PBX Settings → Provisioning Access — devices cannot be registered until the PIN has been generated.
3. Enter the MAC address of the base station (from the label on the back or bottom of the base).
4. Pick the brand and the base model (for example W70B or DP752) and click Register device.
5. Open the device and go to the Handsets tab. It shows one slot per handset the base supports. Assign an extension to each slot you intend to use — handset 1 takes the extension in slot 1, handset 2 the extension in slot 2, and so on.
6. Click Apply Changes. Applying publishes the base’s configuration to the provisioning server — until you apply, the server has nothing to hand the base.

Yealink DECT Setup (W53P / W56P / W70B / W73P)

Step 1: Physical Setup

1. Connect the base station to your network using an Ethernet cable. The base requires PoE (802.3af) — use a PoE switch port or a PoE injector.
2. The base has no display; a solid green LED indicates it is powered and connected.
3. Charge the handsets for at least 30 minutes before first use.

Step 2: Point the Base at the Provisioning Server

If DHCP option 160 is set on the base’s network, skip this step — the base provisions on boot. Otherwise:

1. Find the base station’s IP address in your router’s DHCP client list (look for the base’s MAC address).
2. Open a browser and navigate to http://{base-ip}.
3. Log in with username admin and password admin.
4. Go to Settings → Auto Provision.
5. Set Server URL to https://cfg.sipstack.com/<slug>/, User Name to <slug> and Password to your provisioning PIN.
6. Click Confirm, then Autoprovision Now. The base fetches its configuration and registers every handset slot you assigned.

Step 3: Pair Handsets to the Base

To pair a W53H / W56H / W73H handset:

1. On the handset, press OK (center navigation button) → Settings → Registration → Register Handset.
2. Select the base station (usually listed as Base 1) and enter the base PIN (0000 by default) if prompted.
3. The handset pairs into the next free slot and starts ringing as that slot’s extension.

To manually open pairing mode on the base:

1. Log in to the base web UI at http://{base-ip}.
2. Go to Status → Handset Status and click Register next to an empty handset slot.

Verifying Registration

Each handset’s idle screen should display its extension number and show signal bars indicating the wireless connection to the base. A registered handset can make and receive calls like any desk phone on Nova PBX. In Switchboard the base’s provisioning status reads Registered once its configuration has been published.

Grandstream DECT Setup (DP750 / DP752)

Step 1: Physical Setup

1. Connect the DP750/DP752 base to your network via Ethernet. The DP750 uses a 12V DC power adapter (included); the DP752 supports PoE.
2. Power on the base. The LED will flash as it connects to the network.
3. Charge the DP720 / DP722 / DP730 handsets for at least 2 hours before first use.

Step 2: Point the Base at the Provisioning Server

If DHCP option 160 is set on the base’s network, skip this step — the base provisions on boot. Otherwise:

1. Find the base IP by checking your router’s DHCP client list, or press the Page button on the base and read the IP from a handset that is already paired.
2. Open a browser and navigate to http://{base-ip} and log in with admin / admin.
3. Go to Maintenance → Upgrade → Provisioning tab.
4. Set Upgrade Via to HTTPS and Config Server Path to cfg.sipstack.com/<slug> (host and slug only, no https://).
5. Set HTTP/HTTPS User Name to <slug> and HTTP/HTTPS Password to your provisioning PIN.
6. Click Save and Apply, then reboot the base. It requests cfg<mac>.xml from the server and provisions the handset lines in that file — slots 1–4 today, see the caution above.

Step 3: Pair Handsets

1. In the base web UI, go to DECT → Handset Registration.
2. Click Subscribe next to the handset slot you want to fill.
3. On the handset, press Menu → Registration → Register → select the base (usually Base 1).
4. The handset pairs into that slot and starts ringing as the extension you assigned to it in Switchboard.

Keeping Bases Up to Date

The configuration a base downloads also carries the provisioning server address and username, so the base keeps checking for updates on its own. Yealink bases also receive SIPSTACK’s instant “reprovision” signal (click Reprovision on the device page after changing handset assignments); Grandstream bases poll on a schedule — wait or reboot the base. The PIN is never written into a configuration file. If you rotate the PIN, update DHCP option 160 (or the PIN you typed into the base’s provisioning settings) within 24 hours.

Coverage and Range

DECT operates on the 1.9 GHz band (DECT 6.0 in North America) which provides better wall penetration than 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi with less interference.

Environment	Typical Range Per Base
Open outdoor area	Up to 300 meters
Open office / single floor	50–80 meters
Multi-wall / multi-floor	20–40 meters per base
Industrial (concrete/metal)	10–20 meters per base

For environments larger than a single base can cover, place additional bases and split extensions across them — each base is its own device in Switchboard. Synchronized multi-cell roaming between bases is a vendor feature configured on the bases themselves and is outside what Switchboard provisions.

Replacing a Failed Handset

If a handset is lost or damaged:

1. Purchase a replacement handset (same model or compatible model for your base).
2. Charge the new handset fully before pairing.
3. In the base web UI, delete the registration entry for the failed handset.
4. Register the new handset into the same slot using the pairing procedure above.
5. The new handset picks up the extension assigned to that slot — nothing changes in Switchboard.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Likely Cause	Fix
Handset shows “No Base”	Out of range or base not powered	Move closer to base; check base LED status
Handset registered but no extension / no service	The base has no configuration yet, or that handset slot has no extension	Check the base’s MAC under Nova PBX → Devices, assign an extension to the slot on the Handsets tab, click Apply Changes, reboot the base
Base logs a provisioning authentication failure (401)	Wrong slug or PIN in DHCP option 160 or in the base’s provisioning fields	Compare with PBX Settings → Provisioning Access; after a rotation the previous PIN stops working 24 hours later
A fifth Grandstream handset never registers	The base is still running a configuration published before handset line 5 was provisioned	Click Apply Changes to republish the base’s configuration, then reboot the base
Handset rings as the wrong extension	It paired into a different slot than you expected	Delete its registration on the base and re-pair it into the intended slot, or swap the extensions on the Handsets tab and apply
Audio breaks up during calls	Wireless interference or range	Move base to a more central location; check for 1.9 GHz interference sources
Can’t log in to base web UI	IP address changed via DHCP	Set a static DHCP reservation for the base MAC on your router

For additional help, contact SIPSTACK Support at https://www.sipstack.com/contact.