– Which Plantronics headset QD (quick disconnect) cable will work with my phone?
A question that we are asked daily is, “Which connection cable do I need for THIS headset to work with my phone?”
Well first off, almost all headsets & parts are proprietary into their own brands. So, while there may be a few oddball cables out there that claims to work with the big name-brand’s equipment (ie. Plantronics, Jabra, etc.), let’s keep this simple & stay within the same brand as your headset. For now, let’s assume that you have a Plantronics headset (Called an H-Series Headset).
All corded headsets for Professional Office phones require 2 parts; the headset itself, and then the connection cable. This cable will vary depending upon your phone’s brand & sometimes even the model number. While most of these phone’s will use an RJ9 modular plug, that doesn’t mean that “Any old headset will work just because it has an RJ9 plug.” On the contrary! Each phone manufacturer wires their headset ports different from one another. So remember, just because it fits…doesn’t mean it’ll work.
There are simply far too many phone brands to mention them all in this blog, so for sake of space (And your attention span) I will just list the most commonly used brands & which cables will work with them…in conjunction with a Plantronics H-Series Headset.
- CISCO Phones – For most of the Cisco phones (Generally those with a model number in the 7900, 8900, or 9900’s with a dedicated headset port) you will use the Plantronics Cisco/M22 Cable. However, if you have a Cisco/LinkSys “SPA” model phone, then you would use a special cable, simply called the Plantronics SPA Cable.
- POLYCOM Phones – For Polycom phone’s it can be a bit tricky. For most of the Polycom IP phones you can ONLY use the following model headsets from Plantronics (HW710, HW720, HW510, HW520, HW540, H31, H81N), in addition to a cable called the Polaris Cable. However, if you have the following Polycom SoundPoint models (IP320, IP321, IP330, IP331, Pro SE220, or Pro SE225) then you can use ANY of the Plantronics H-Series headsets in conjunction with the 2.5mm to QD Adapter Cable.
- NORTEL, NEC Phones – This is the single most commonly used cable in the industry…called the A10 Cable. This comes in 2 flavors; the standard A10, or an A10-12 High Output Cable (Which is exclusively designed for use with the Nortel phones due to its low level onboard amplifier). Essentially, if you have an NEC or a Nortel phone with a dedicated headset port…you are almost certainly going to be using an A10 Cable, along with ANY Plantronics H-Series Headset.
- SHORETEL Phones – Shoretel’s also use the A10 standard cable, along with ANY Plantronics H-Series Headset.
- AVAYA Phones – Once again, Avaya phones have 2 different cables depending upon your phone model. For the most part, if you have an Avaya 9600 or 1600 series phone (With a dedicated headset port) you will use the HIS Cable. However, if you use any other Avaya phone model and it has a dedicated headset port, you will almost certainly use the HIC Cable instead….again, with an H-Series Headset. Call us if you are unsure.
- YEALINK Phones – For Yealink basic desk phones with a headset port on the back you are required to use the Plantronics Polaris U10P-S Reversed Cable, you need to be careful when ordering your cable as there are different models of Plantronics bottom cable with similar names and can get confusing, this plus any of the H-Series Headset. For newer desk phones with a USB port on the top or side like the Yealink T54W or T57W if want a corded headset you can get a USB-A headset from Poly, the recommended here would be the Blackwire 5210 USB-A as this will work as plug and play as long the USB port on the Yealink is enabled. For Yealink cordless phones like the W52P you will need the Plantronics 2.5mm Quick Disconnect cable 18 inch and any of the H-Series Headsets, for W56P/W56H/W53P/W53H you are going to need the Plantronics 3.5mm Headset Smartphone Cable Apple iPhone, 18″ and any H-Series Headset or if want to make it simpler you can get the Blackwire 5210 USB-A and simply plug in the 3.5mm jack headset into your cordless Yealink phone.
- PANASONIC Phones –This one is simple…if you have a Panasonic phone with a headset port (Small round hole, called a 2.5mm port) then you can use ANY of the Plantronics H-Series headsets in conjunction with the 2.5mm to QD Adapter Cable.
- My Phone Has No Headset Port – If your phone has no dedicated headset port, then you will have to use an “External amplifier” such as the M22 Vista along with the H-Series Headset. Almost all handset/receiver ports (Even though they are RJ9) don’t have enough power to amplify any headset.
* Important note: Most of these cables look incredibly similar to each other. There are very tiny subtleties that can help to identify them, since they are not always listed on the cable itself. My next Blog will go into how you can tell these cables apart from one another.
WIRELESS SOLUTIONS
We talked about corded solution for these desk phones, that doesn’t mean that you are limited to only being at the desk all day and next to the phone. Next we will show some options on wireless headsets for your desk phone.
- CISCO Phones – For most of the Cisco phones models 6900/7900/8900 the phone has the built in EHS capability which means that you can get a wireless headset and a
special cable for the remote answer and no longer a mechanical lifter needed. The one we will recommend here will the bundle of the Plantronics CS540+EHS Remote Answer Bundle for Cisco Phones, this 
bundle is a easy to install and plug and play as long as your Cisco desk phone allows you to enable the remote answer capability on the menu of the phone. If your Cisco is a SPA desk phone even being a little outdated, you can still get a wireless headset with remote answer, for this case the Plantronics CS540+HL10 Wireless Headset Bundle will be your way to go and will work properly with your SPA desk phone.
- POLYCOM Phones – Similar as on the case of Cisco desk phones, some Polycom phones will have the built in EHS capability. For Polycom Soundpoint IP320/IP321/IP330/IP331 you are going to need the Plantronics CS540+HL10 Wireless Headset Bundle as these models of phones don’t have the EHS capability but will make a good job for you. For any other Soundpoint desk phones, VVX and CCX
you will be fine with the Poly Savi 7210+EHS Remote Answer Polycom IP Phone Package as this is one of the newest headsets from Poly compatible with your VVX desk phone covering one ear with a further range. Same as with the Cisco desk phone case, you will need to enable the EHS capability on your desk phone before plug in the headset/adapters as the phone will need to restart.
- NORTEL, NEC Phones – Nortel is another brand that can be a little tricky to find
out which wireless headset would be compatible. Most of the Nortel models are going to be your basic VoIP desk phone and for the same reason your best shot to get a wireless headset would using the Poly Savi 7220+HL10 Wireless Headset Bundle Package for a stereo sound headset with remote answer for your basic Nortel. If your
Nortel is on the family series of 11XXs that are branded as Avaya-Nortel, the phone has the EHS capability and for same reason you need the APU-72 hookswitch cable instead of the HL10 lifter to work with your Poly Savi 7310 Office Wireless Headset Mono, deskphone and PC
- AVAYA Phones – The majority of the Avaya desk phones in the market will have the EHS capability depending on the model you can go with the Plantronics Savi 8240 Office+ EHS Avaya J100 1400 1600 9400 9600 if want to use your headset
with your Avaya J139 for example and with your computer and your cell phone at the office. Depending on the model of Avaya you will need a different EHS for the remote answer and this can become a little confusing and frustrating, if in doubt give us a call and we can make sure to order you the proper EHS for your phone. If your Avaya desk phone is one of those joint brand phones with Nortel for example, most likely it will not have the EHS capability and for same reason you will have to go with the Plantronics CS540+HL10 Wireless Headset Bundle in order to get a nice quality headset compatible with this kind of phone and the remote answer when away from the desk.
- YEALINK Phones – Newer models from Yealink will have the built in capability for remote answer. The best way to find this is by turning over the phone, you will see the
desk phone ports and you should have 1 port for your handset (receiver), 1 port for a headset, your Ethernet port, your power port and 1 more port with
the legend EXT. If that is the case you will need the Plantronics CS540+EHS Yealink Certified Wireless Remote Answer. The latest
models from Yealink will have a USB port on the top, if this is the case instead of ordering the EHS36 of the mentioned bundle, you will need to get the EHS40 instead as these newest models replaced the EXT port by the USB. If your Yealink doesn’t have either port on it, this means that the phone is a basic model and the best alternative for this scenario will be getting the Poly Savi 7210+HL10 Wireless Headset Combo Package as these models doesn’t have the EHS capability.
- Cordless phones – For this kind of phones depends on the service you get if is an analog phone line such as fax for example the best way to get you with a wireless
headset will be with the Plantronics CS540 Wireless Headset, Convertible (C054, CO54) and get the Plantronics TR-11 Analog Adapter Cable CS540, Savi Wireless Head using these 2 items together with a splitter will let you use your
cordless phone with a wireless headset and get remote answer with it. If your service is VoIP unfortunately the best alternative would be replacing the cordless phone with a regular desk phone as wireless headsets are not cordless VoIP phone compatible.
For more information, contact Sales & Product Specialist at: 1-877-999-3838
