Introduction
So, I want to use this board to create a sort of S.O.S. location for worldwide Panasonic Mobile Softphone users, as I have dug the Internet, and unfortunately there is almost no content (excluding Japanese web pages that I couldn't evaluate) regarding the infamous Panasonic Mobile Softphone app. Let's hope this thread on Tek_Tips can be the hub for abandoned or disappointed users, as Panasonic is a multi-tier company to such an extent, that it is impossible for end users to get in contact and receive meaningful replies or support from the company itself.
First of all, let me introduce our story.
As a school, we have been looking for an app that could rapidly communicate with the PBX and the central offices, allowing management of emergencies within the campus, including the wide outdoor area, entirely covered by WIFI.
After investigation and discussions with a few vendors, we have been recommended to opt for Panasonic PBX and the Mobile softphone app, however, we have discovered how badly this app will work, only once it was purchased and fully configured in our scenario.
Panasonic Mobile softphone issues
Firstly, 1 out of 3 calls from the hard phones connected to the PBX towards mobile users, will not get through. The recipient's phone will not ring at all
Secondly, phone calls to Panasonic Mobile Softphone users will require a long time before the recipient's phone will ring.
Thirdly, iPhone users require up to 10 seconds to get "online" status.
Last but not least, this app requires permanent Internet connection, therefore even though users might be connected to the corporate LAN WIFI, in case the Internet is suddenly disconnected, users won't be allowed to use the app locally.
The developers at Panasonic did not think about a disaster/emergency situation, where hundreds people might be in a building with WIFI coverage to the PBX during an Internet outage, in turn without being allowed to use the app at all.
The reasons of the failure
- Each time the app requires to be online, it will initiate the authorization process connecting with Panasonic servers. Under ideal conditions, this operation will last many seconds (3/4 seconds on Android phones, 10 seconds on iPhones). Since the Internet connection might be clogged at times, the app can easily fail to authenticate and gain the online status.
- When activating "push notifications", if on one hand it will save phone battery from drain, on the other hand, the process required to make a phone ring (as for the push mechanism that must wake up the app, plus the authentication process), will easily last 15 seconds. This is simply UNACCEPTABLE
It would have been much better if Panasonic engineers would have thought about all this before developing the authentication architecture. For instance, downloading the keys to the PBX, so that WIFI users would be online immediately, or maybe opting for a once-a-day automatic authentication (timer)
Minor glitches
- The app does not support PBX address book as the physical phones do
- There's no option to hardcode in the PBX a predefined list of most used/most important extensions, so that all users might receive this automatically on the mobile softphone app.
Conclusions
Users are so frustrated that they're gradually switching back to Whatsapp, while Panasonic is earning a bad reputation.
Please if you're reading this, write your experience following this post. Who knows, some manager at Panasonic might read all this and decide to make a change
So, I want to use this board to create a sort of S.O.S. location for worldwide Panasonic Mobile Softphone users, as I have dug the Internet, and unfortunately there is almost no content (excluding Japanese web pages that I couldn't evaluate) regarding the infamous Panasonic Mobile Softphone app. Let's hope this thread on Tek_Tips can be the hub for abandoned or disappointed users, as Panasonic is a multi-tier company to such an extent, that it is impossible for end users to get in contact and receive meaningful replies or support from the company itself.
First of all, let me introduce our story.
As a school, we have been looking for an app that could rapidly communicate with the PBX and the central offices, allowing management of emergencies within the campus, including the wide outdoor area, entirely covered by WIFI.
After investigation and discussions with a few vendors, we have been recommended to opt for Panasonic PBX and the Mobile softphone app, however, we have discovered how badly this app will work, only once it was purchased and fully configured in our scenario.
Panasonic Mobile softphone issues
Firstly, 1 out of 3 calls from the hard phones connected to the PBX towards mobile users, will not get through. The recipient's phone will not ring at all
Secondly, phone calls to Panasonic Mobile Softphone users will require a long time before the recipient's phone will ring.
Thirdly, iPhone users require up to 10 seconds to get "online" status.
Last but not least, this app requires permanent Internet connection, therefore even though users might be connected to the corporate LAN WIFI, in case the Internet is suddenly disconnected, users won't be allowed to use the app locally.
The developers at Panasonic did not think about a disaster/emergency situation, where hundreds people might be in a building with WIFI coverage to the PBX during an Internet outage, in turn without being allowed to use the app at all.
The reasons of the failure
- Each time the app requires to be online, it will initiate the authorization process connecting with Panasonic servers. Under ideal conditions, this operation will last many seconds (3/4 seconds on Android phones, 10 seconds on iPhones). Since the Internet connection might be clogged at times, the app can easily fail to authenticate and gain the online status.
- When activating "push notifications", if on one hand it will save phone battery from drain, on the other hand, the process required to make a phone ring (as for the push mechanism that must wake up the app, plus the authentication process), will easily last 15 seconds. This is simply UNACCEPTABLE
It would have been much better if Panasonic engineers would have thought about all this before developing the authentication architecture. For instance, downloading the keys to the PBX, so that WIFI users would be online immediately, or maybe opting for a once-a-day automatic authentication (timer)
Minor glitches
- The app does not support PBX address book as the physical phones do
- There's no option to hardcode in the PBX a predefined list of most used/most important extensions, so that all users might receive this automatically on the mobile softphone app.
Conclusions
Users are so frustrated that they're gradually switching back to Whatsapp, while Panasonic is earning a bad reputation.
Please if you're reading this, write your experience following this post. Who knows, some manager at Panasonic might read all this and decide to make a change
