Guide to Configuring Extension Mobility in Call Manager

What is Extension mobility?

In today’s corporate environment you can sometimes find yourself shuffling between different desks within your office or between branch offices. Typically, people work at various locations and desks during the week, and – boosted by the Coronavirus– people are also forced to work from home for extended periods of time. This means that a personal desk is no longer the rule, it has become the exception and people share so-called flexible desks. Still, these flex desks are often also equipped with fixed-line telephones. So, many users work daily at another desk with another desk phone. And that makes it complicated since they still want to be reachable via their own number and use their own settings and contacts. Extension mobility is one handy feature that allows you to take your desk phone number where you go without the need to contact I.T or physically take your desk phone with you. Cisco developed Extension Mobility as a value-added service on top of their Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM).

By following the steps outlined in this guide, users will be set up with a phone login that can be used to log into a desk phone. Once the phone has been logged in successfully, the settings of the user’s personal desk phone will be loaded. This brilliant feature allows the user to receive calls via his or her personal number, make calls using its own contacts, check the voicemail and use other phone settings (such as line appearances and speed dials).

Cisco Extension Mobility Configuration Checklist

To set up Extension mobility you will have to complete a short list of tasks. Here’s a checklist of all the things we need to do.

1. Verify Extension Mobility Service is Running
2. Set the Cisco Extension Mobility Service Parameters
3. Configure the Cisco Extension Mobility Phone Service
4. Create an Extension Mobility Device Profile for Users
5. Associate a Device Profile to a User
6. Subscribe to Extension Mobility
7. Configure the Change Credential IP Phone Service

Step 1: Verify Extension Mobility Service is Running

The first thing we need to do is verify that the service is activated and running because by default it’s not activated. So we need to turn it on.

1. From the Navigation menu select Cisco Unified CallManager Serviceability
2. Select Tools>Control Center – Feature Services
3. Make sure that the Cisco Extension Mobility service shows status Activated

Step 2: Set the Cisco Extension Mobility Service Parameters

Next, we will modify some enterprise parameters to reflect the IP address of the call manager.

1. Select System > Enterprise Parameters
2. Under Phone URL parameters, change all fields from CCMNAME:8080 to IPADDR:8080. Change ONLY your existing server name to the correct IP address.
3. Click Save
4. Click Ok from the pop-up warning. and then Click Reset
5. Click Close

Step 3: Configure the Cisco Extension Mobility Phone Service

Next, we will Configure the extension mobility IP phone service to which users can later subscribe to access the feature. Follow these steps –

1. From the Cisco Unified CM Administration Console, choose Device > Device Settings > Phone Services.
2. Click Add New.
3. In the Service Name field, enter a name for the service.
4. In the Service URL field, enter the Service URL. The format is 

http://<IP Address>:8080/emapp/EMAppServlet?device=#DEVICENAME#. 

The IP Address you will enter will be the IP address of the Unified Communications Manager where Cisco Extension Mobility is activated and running. Example:http://123.45.67.89:8080/emapp/EMAppServlet?device=#DEVICENAME#

Note If you append the Extension Mobility Cross Cluster suffix &EMCC=#EMCC# in the service URL for Extension Mobility, the Extension Mobility login fails with an HTTP 400 error on phones that do not support Extension Mobility Cross Cluster. Users will see a blank screen on the phone when the Extension Mobility service is not selected.

5. In the Service Type field, choose whether the service is provisioned to the Services, Directories, or Messages button.
6. Click Save.

Step 4: Create an Extension Mobility Device Profile for Users

The next step is to create a Device profile for each user. This profile acts as a virtual device that can be applied to a physical device when a user logs in. The physical device takes on the characteristics in this profile.

1. From Cisco Unified CM Administration, choose Device > Device Settings > Device Profile.
2. Click Find to force a list of existig profiles to modify and choose an existing device profile from the resulting list.
3. Click Add New to add a new device profile and choose an option from the Device Profile Type.
4. Click Next.
5. Choose a device protocol from the Device Protocol drop-down list and click Next.
6. Configure the fields. For more information on the fields and their configuration options, see Online Help.
7. Click Save.
8. From the Association Information section, click Add a new DN.
9. In the Directory Number field, enter the directory number and click Save.
10. Click Reset and follow the prompts.

Step 5: Associate a Device Profile to a User

Once you have created the device profile, you will then need to associate the device profile to a user so that they can access their settings from a different phone. You associate a user device profile to a user in the same way that you associate a physical device.

1. Open your CUCM Administration portal, choose User Management > End User.
2. Perform one of the following tasks:Click Find to modify the settings for an existing user, enter search criteria, and choosing an existing user from the resulting list.Click Add New to add a new user
3. Under Extension Mobility, locate the device profile that you created and move it from Available Profiles to Controlled Profiles.
4. Check the Home Cluster check box.
5. Click Save

Step 6: Subscribe to Extension Mobility

Subscribe IP phones and device profiles to the service so that users can log in, use, and log out of extension mobility.

1. Perform one of the following tasks from Cisco Unified CM Administration:Choose Device > Phone, specify search criteria, click Find, and choose a phone which users will use.
2. Choose Device > Device Settings > Device Profile, specify search criteria, click Find, and choose the device profile that you created.
3. From the Related Links drop-down list, choose Subscribe/Unsubscribe Services, and then click Go.
4. From the Select a Service drop-down list, choose the Extension Mobility service.
5. Click Next.
6. Click Subscribe.
7. Click Save and close the popup window.

Step 7. Configure the Change Credential IP Phone Service

To allow users to change their PINs on their phones, you must configure the change credential Cisco Unified IP Phone service and associate the user, the device profile, or the IP phone with the change credential phone service.

1. From Cisco Unified CM Administration, choose Device > Device Settings > Phone Services.
2. Click Add New.
3. In the Service Name field, enter Change Credential.
4. In the Service URL field, enter the following value, where server designates the server where the Change Credential IP phone service runs: http://server:8080/changecredential/ChangeCredentialServlet?device=#DEVICENAME#
5. Optional) In the Secure-Service URL field, enter the following value, where server is the server where the Change Credential IP phone service runs:https://server:8443/changecredential/ChangeCredentialServlet?device=#DEVICENAME#
6. Configure the remaining fields in the IP Phone Services Configuration window, and choose Save.
7. To subscribe the Cisco Unified IP Phone to the Change Credential IP phone service, choose Device > Phone.
8. In the Phone Configuration window, go to the Related Links drop-down list and choose Subscribe/Unsubscribe Services.
9. Click Go.
10. From the Select a Service drop-down list, choose the Change Credential IP phone service.
11. Click Next.
12. Click Subscribe.
13. Click Save.