When were the M3900 phones first released? 6

[chippowell9]

I got my first Nortel switch in 2001, and we bought the 3900 series telephones in various flavors. Can anyone tell me what year these were first released? Google isn't coughing up that information. I found this: "The Meridian M3904 digital telephone was first introduced and supported on X11 Release 24.24/24.25

 

[phonebits]

Just thought I'd jump in and explain the display issue with the M3900 series sets.

I used to work for a company that repaired and refurbished them, and it's a very
very common problem that affects very near 100% of the phones at some point down
the line.

The displays are connected via two mylar ribbon cables to the circuit board. Each contact
controls a line or two of pixels. The mylar cables are attached to the board and the display
by means of hot-press soldering. The trouble is it eventually starts to degrade as the temperature
fluctuates or the phone gets bumped around, and little by little contacts start giving out. Plastic
really isn't the best of materials for long term reliable soldering.

The only way to fix reliably is to tear the phone apart and replace the ribbon cable, but this
requires a very expensive machine. (Over $2000USD for a basic one)

This is what the hot-bar soldering connection looks like.

 

[EddieDuece]

Have a star. I've always wondered what caused that. You by chance refurb any shoretel 230g's lol. I've got some issues with those as well......And the sunlight isn't a fix!

 

[nessman]

3900's have reliability issues - mainly (as pointed out above) the display issues, and handsets tend to be a bit fragile (the metal weight will snap off if dropped enough times - same deal with the T-series Norstar/BCM sets). M2000 series - reliable workhorses... seen many out there in the field 20+ years old and still running but labeling keys in large roll-outs... not fun. M3000 - I had a customer still using a couple of them as of last month. Their CEO has a thing for them - but can't promise replacements if they stopped working. M2317 - cool phone, but need a power supply. IP phones - the 1140's are crap... others seem to do OK.