IP phones have to be configured for a server. I have set up many VoIP phones for businesses. They connected to a VoIP PBX that the customer owned or hosted PBX in "the cloud". Until the phone service providers start supplying that info, there's not much point in selling VoIP phones. Also, the average customer might not be able to do the configuration.

BTW, your cell phone is VoIP, but it's automagically configured on the cell network. If you get your VoIP service from your ISP, then they could provide the configuration via DHCP, but again they generally don't do that.

 

yes its the configuration aspect of the voip phones, they sell analog handsets though they are becoming rare and rare you simply plug them into the ATA. no confgurartion required.
They want technology to be simple for te end-user, so plug in and go, no one wants to waste time configuring these things and messing with the settings

 

you simply plug them into the ATA. no confgurartion required

They have to be configured, but that's done by the service provider, not the customer. Mine is built into the Rogers cable modem that also provides my Internet service, including IPTV.

 

i meant the analog phones do not need config, the digital ones are configured either manually or provisioned remotely by the provider. anytime a device has the possibility of settings that can be changed, its frowned upon to let customers tinker with it, so thats one of the reasons its not widely available to consumers. businesses on the other hand, have a dedicated team to handle such instances.

 

Rogers used to have VOIP phones in their offices many years ago, then one day they all disappeared and everyone was forced to use their company provided cell phones as their business phones, and they provided some app for the cell phone instead.

 

@Humbar

Yeah, soft phones, on a cell phone or computer, are commonplace now. A soft phone allows a device to be on the company PBX, which a cell phone generally doesn't.