Configuring SJPhone for EarthLink SIP

If you don't already have a free SIP account with SIP proxying, you might consider:

1. Getting a Free EarthLink Account (you also get free web-based e-mail, and access to nifty tools such as reader and myfavorites)
2. Turning-on your free online calling by going to http://myvoip.earthlink.net/ so you can send and receive SIP calls at your_username@earthlink.net

update July 2006: If you're a PC/Windows user, you might just download the FREE MindSpring Chat sofware. You'll be able to send and receive SIP calls to/from any SIP user with a SIP address.

If, like me, you're a Mac user and/or into doing "more advanced SIP stuff", I highly recommend using SJPhone. SJPhone is free, full-featured, and lets you do conferencing, which is truly insanely cool. SJPhone runs on Mac OS X, Linux, Windows, and even PocketPC.

You can download SJPhone here. Then be sure to follow configuration instructions below.

Note to Windows Users: David Beckemeyer isn't having much luck with SJPhone on Windows XP.

SJPhone Configuration Instructions:

1. SJPhone Menu ... Preferences ... click Profiles tab
2. Click New ... Profile Name: earthlink_fonc, select Calls through SIP Proxy
3. You should now be looking at a window called Profile Options
4. Initialization tab: Account row: check all boxes. Password row: check all boxes. Caller ID row: uncheck all boxes. Full Address of Record Row: check first 2 boxes
5. SIP Proxy tab: proxy domain: sip.earthlink.net : 5060. user domain: sip.earthlink.net. check [x] Register with proxy. check [x] proxy is strict outbound. Advanced options: uncheck [ ] Use separate registrar (registrar domain should be blank). check [x] unregister contact address only. leave proxy for NAT: blank
6. General Tab: check [x] accept redirection replies. check [x] Use short headers. i left the rest alone.
7. I left the DTMF tab alone
8. STUN Tab: check [x] Use discovered address in SIP. Server Address: stun.earthlink.net : 3478. I left advanced options alone
9. Click OK. you should be back on your Profiles list. Make sure earthlink_fonc is still selected and click the "Initialize ..." button
10. Account: your earthlink username (before the @sign). Password: your earthlink password. Full Address of Record: sip:your_earthlink_username@earthlink.net . Check [x] Save service information permanently
11. If you're on OS X and have a USB or bluetooth headset such as the Motorola HS810, go back to the SJPhone --> Preferences Menu, click the Audio tab and select appropriate input and output devices. It works very well.

Troubleshooting TIP: The status box should say: "earthlink_fonc: ready to call". If it doesn't say that, you might have accidentally activated one of the other SJPhone profiles, such as the PC-to-PC one. Just go back to the SJPhone menu --> Preferences --> Profiles tab. Double-click earthlink_fonc, which should now say "in use". Click OK.

Troubleshooting TIP: contributed by Mir Islam: Under Call Options tab in the Outgoing Calls section you may need to choose the default IP address that your machine is using. I have multiple interfaces with IP addresses and SJPhone by default chose the one associated with the ethernet device, even though it was not active. My wireless connection over airport is usually the active one. So I chose that and afterwards SJPhone worked fine for me !

To place a call just enter the person's sip address in the URL bar, and hit "Dial", example: sip:hollandct@earthlink.net. Click the "Conference" button to turn-on the ability to send and receive multiple calls at the same time. To send another call while already on a call, just type a new SIP address in the URL bar, and hit "Dial". If someone calls you while you're already on a call, you can just click "Answer", and they'll be conferenced-in. It's that easy.

More about SJPhone from Technorati.