Plantronics CS540 Manual: Setup, Controls and Settings

The Plantronics CS540 manual, in short

Everything here comes from Plantronics' own CS540 user guide and applies to any CS540 with a C054 base, including the current Poly CS540 wireless headset. The steps and settings are laid out on one page, with what each one is for.

What's in the CS540 box

You get the headset with its battery already fitted, the base, a power supply, the telephone interface cable, a headband, and a fit kit with extra ear tips and ear loops in other sizes. The headset ships set up for the right ear, with the small ear tip and the medium ear loop on.

Plantronics CS540 setup on a desk phone

This is the standard setup, for a desk phone with no lifter or EHS cable. The base connects through the phone's handset jack, so the phone doesn't need a headset port.

1. Power the base

   Plug the power supply into the jack on the back of the base and into a wall outlet. The power light on the front turns solid white.

2. Charge the headset

   Set the headset in the base's cradle. The charging light flashes green while it charges and turns solid green when it's full. Give it at least 20 minutes before the first call; a full charge takes three hours.

3. Connect the telephone interface cable

   Plug one end into the back of the base. Unplug the handset's coiled cord from the phone and plug it into the cable's junction box, then plug the cable's free end into the phone's handset jack. The handset still works as normal.

4. Check the settings under the base

   Set both volume dials to 2 and the configuration switch to A, or D for a Cisco phone without an EHS cable. If your phone has its own volume control, set it to the middle.

5. Make a test call

   Put the headset on, lift the handset and press the headset's call button. No dial tone? Move the configuration switch one letter at a time, A through G, until you hear one. Then dial a test call.

If your phone has its own headset port, you can plug the cable in there instead of the handset jack, but only if you won't be adding an HL10 lifter. You'll then press the phone's headset button as well as the headset's call button to answer and end calls.

Where the base sits matters. Plantronics asks for at least 6 inches between the base and the phone, and 12 inches between the base and your computer, to keep noise and interference off your calls.

Answering calls away from your desk

Out of the box, the CS540 can't take the phone off hook by itself, so every call starts at your desk: press the call button and lift the handset. To answer and hang up from anywhere in range, add one of two accessories, both sold separately.

• An HL10 handset lifter sits beside the phone and lifts the handset for you. It plugs into the lifter jack on the base, and our handset lifter setup guide shows how to fit it.
• An EHS cable does the same job electronically, on phones that support one. It takes the place of the lifter in the same jack.

With either one fitted, you can also turn on auto answer and answer a call just by lifting the headset out of the cradle.

Plantronics CS540 settings on the base

Every setting on the CS540 is a switch, button or dial on the base. Most of them you set once during setup and leave alone.

Headset controls and base lights

The headset has two controls. The call button places, answers and ends calls, and the headset's light flashes white while it's in use. The volume button rocks up and down for volume and pushes in to mute. When you wear the headset on your left ear, up and down swap: press down for louder.

Muting gives you three high tones, and you can still hear the caller. The three lights on the front of the base tell you the rest.

• Call/mute light: solid red while the headset is muted.
• Power/subscription light: solid white when the base is on and paired, flashing white while it pairs a headset or has guests on a conference call.
• Charging light: flashing green while the headset charges, solid green when it's full.

If the headset ever stops talking to the base, our guide to pairing a CS540 headset to its base covers both ways to fix it.

Changing how you wear it

To swap ears or sizes, pull off the ear tip, rotate the ear loop down 90 degrees (you'll feel some resistance) and lift it off. Fit the size you want, for either ear, and press the ear tip back on with its notch facing the microphone. To use the headband instead, take off the ear tip and ear loop first, then push the headset into the headband and rotate it up.

However you wear it, the microphone should sit as close to your cheek as it can without touching. Push the headset in and back toward your ear and it clicks round, bringing the microphone closer to your mouth.

Battery and talk time

A full charge gives up to seven hours of talk time, less in wideband mode or if you spend the day near the edge of range. On a call, a low tone every 15 seconds means the battery is nearly flat. The battery is user-replaceable, and Plantronics recommends replacing it after three years or 300 charge cycles, whichever comes first. For dial tone, echo, static and charging problems, see our CS540 troubleshooting guide.

The CS540 is built for a desk phone and has no Bluetooth. If you want it on your computer, here's how a CS540 connects to a PC or Mac.