Cisco 8841 vs 8851: the difference
The 8851 is an 8841 with Bluetooth, a USB port and room for key expansion modules. The 5-inch color screen, the five line keys, the Gigabit Ethernet and the corded headset jack are the same on both. Choose the 8851 if you want a Bluetooth or USB headset, or more buttons than five lines give you. With a corded headset, or a wireless headset whose base uses an EHS cable, the 8841 works exactly the same way.
Most of what separates the 8800 desk phones is how things plug into them, and for most people that means the headset. If you're choosing the headset around the phone, our headsets that fit each Cisco phone are listed by the models they work with.
How the 8811, 8841, 8851 and 8861 compare
All four have a 5-inch, 800 x 480 screen, five programmable line keys and a built-in Gigabit Ethernet switch for a PC. These are the rows that change, taken from Cisco's data sheets and user guide for each model:
| Feature | 8811 | 8841 | 8851 | 8861 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Screen | Grayscale | Color | Color | Color |
| Corded headset jack (RJ-9) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Aux port for an EHS cable | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| USB ports for a headset | None | None | 1, on the side | 2, side and back |
| Bluetooth | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Wi-Fi | No | No | No | Yes |
| Key expansion modules | No | No | Up to 2 | Up to 3 |
| PoE class | 2 | 2 | 3 before hardware V08, 4 from V08 | 4 |
The 8851NR is the no-radio version of the 8851. It keeps the USB port and drops Bluetooth.
What the 8851 adds for your headset
Does the Cisco 8841 have Bluetooth? No. The 8841 takes a headset two ways: a corded headset plugs into the RJ-9 jack, and a wireless headset's base plugs into that jack too, with an EHS cable in the Aux port so the headset's button can answer and end calls. The 8851 keeps both and adds two more:
- Bluetooth. A Bluetooth headset pairs straight to the phone, with no base on the desk. Cisco specifies Bluetooth 3.0 EDR, Class 1, with the Hands-Free Profile that headsets use.
- A USB port on the side. Cisco lists it for wired or wireless USB headsets, and it also puts out up to 500 mA for charging a smartphone.
So the choice comes down to the headset. A corded or EHS wireless headset works the same on both phones. A headset that only speaks Bluetooth, or a USB headset you also use with a laptop, needs the 8851.
Pay for the 8851 if
- You want a Bluetooth headset with no base on the desk
- You use one USB headset for both the phone and a laptop
- You need more than five line keys, since the 8851 takes up to two key expansion modules
The 8841 is enough if
- Your headset is corded and plugs into the RJ-9 jack
- Your wireless headset has a base with an EHS cable
- Five line keys cover your lines and speed dials
Where the 8861 differs from the 8851
For headsets, the 8861 and 8851 are the same phone: the same Bluetooth, the same RJ-9 jack and Aux port, and USB headsets work on both. The 8861 adds Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n/ac), a second USB port on the back that can be raised from 500 mA to 2.1 A, and support for a third key expansion module. Wi-Fi is the real reason to choose it, because it lets the phone sit on a desk with no network cable.
The 8811 next to the 8841
These two are the same phone apart from the screen: the 8811's is grayscale and the 8841's is color. They share the RJ-9 headset jack, the Aux port, five line keys and PoE class 2, and neither has USB or Bluetooth. For headset use there's no difference at all.
Stepping up from a 7841 to an 8841
The 7841 is the smaller phone: a 3.5-inch grayscale screen and four lines, with Gigabit Ethernet, which the 7821 and 7861 don't have. It takes a corded headset in its RJ-9 jack and supports an EHS cable for wireless headsets, like the 8841, and it has no USB or Bluetooth either. Moving from a 7841 to an 8841 gets you the bigger color screen and a fifth line key, not new ways to connect a headset.
Before you buy either
Two things are worth checking. Cisco hasn't set an end-of-sale date for either phone, so neither is being retired yet; our page on 8841 end-of-life status tracks which 7800 and 8800 models do have dates. And a phone that's been used before still carries its last setup, so plan on resetting a used Cisco phone before you hand it to someone new.
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