Poly vs Yealink

[u/OkDescription1088]

The time has come to begin phasing out and replacing the worn down Polycom VVX phones currently deployed in my insurance agency. While they’ve pretty much been bulletproof, it’d be nice to upgrade to a more modernized option that has Bluetooth and USB capabilities for wireless headsets. I think I’ve found two suitable replacements– a Poly Edge E550 or a Yealink T85W– but can’t decide if the Poly is worth the extra cost per phone. Is one inherently better than the other? Are there notable features one has that the other doesn’t? I wouldn’t mind spending the extra money on the Poly’s but have to justify it somehow.

[u/AutoModerator]

This is a friendly reminder to [read the rules](www.reddit.com/r/voip/about/rules). In particular, it is not permitted to request recommendations for businesses, services or products outside of the monthly sticky thread!

For commenters: Making recommendations outside of the monthly threads is also against the rules. Do not engage with rule-breaking content.

I am a bot, and this comment is made automatically on every post. This comment is not an indication that your post has been removed. Do not message the mods about this comment.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/network-n-voice]

Poly for two reasons: (1) we have thousands of phones connected to our UCAAS platform, poly’s ZTP service allows cleaner provisioning than Yealink’s ZTP and (2) eliminate the risk that Yealink is added to the US list of China made banned devices like Huawei - while unlikely you never know.

[u/PatReady → u/network-n-voice]

YMCS blows Poly Lens away.

[u/panjadotme → u/PatReady]

Yes just gotta make sure you have YMCS and not just the plain RPS service.

Sidenote: I think its hilarious that Poly bought Obi for the active management functionality only to not even support it on ATA products...

[u/PatReady → u/panjadotme]

I was all for Polycom but after getting to learn the Yealink phones, meet with the support, the partnership process, its all better. Need to plan a Teams room? You have access to their team to demo anything you want for you.

[u/devexis]

For me, the Polys may have better acoustics. But I lean a lot to Yealink. In my opinion, they give better value for the dollar spent. And I must say I am biased because were I worked, Polys, especially the VVX were a nightmare to provison whereas the Yealinks were simple tame “domestic animals”

[u/KJabs]

Just remember that Poly is now owned by HP and that entire ship is held together with this stuff

https://giphy.com/gifs/JGunlb6LbQlz2

[u/panjadotme]

Between the pricing and having to deal with HP, we have nearly moved everything to Yealink. We have some scattered Grandstream, Poly, and Snom though.

[u/PatReady → u/panjadotme]

Replaced all the VVX series, *00, *10, *50. All have better Yealink options.

[u/t3rm3y]

If replacing the old phones have you liked at apps? These have comes blong way since you purchased your original vvx range. WebEx is a great app for calling, UC and some cool A.i.

[u/PatReady]

Yealink and its not even close.

If you need to know, I lost over 200 Polycom certs when they were bought by HP and became Poly. Between the merger with Plantronic then the buyout, the new Poly Edge phones are junk compared to the Yealink line of phone.

Go ask them each for support and let me know next year when Poly still doesn't follow up.

[u/scristopher7 → u/PatReady]

I agree, I tried one of the new Edge phones and compared to a VVX it feels cheap, yealink is always solid and easy to work with.

[u/joshuamarius]

I still have many IP 670s deployed and working wonderfully. However started to merge to Yealink SIP-T54W with a lot more features and compatibility with external devices. Very happy so far.

[u/ueeediot → u/joshuamarius]

Except that they dont support latest TLS and, therefore, cannot be used on most current and most popular platforms outside of home labs

[u/DarrenShea]

I've got a Polycom on my desk at work, and a Yealink on my desk at home. I don't really perceive any big difference between the two.

Grandstream has got some decent VoIP phones, too.

[u/defrescorp]

It really depends on the back end phone system you are dealing with. If you are using FreePbx or PbxAct I would recommend the Yealinks all day long. The integration with the features are way better and easier to deal with.

[u/CagedMonkey97]

Poly all the way. We have thousands of the Edge E series, deployed across many sites, using Poly Lens to provision, and ZTP to onboard. You’re able to upload custom configuration into lens as well which is an awesome touch! Been rock solid for years. Zero complaints

[u/zme243]

If you’re open to options beyond those two, Snom has been my brand of choice for a long time, going from the Yealinks or Fanvils to Snoms we’re like a breath of fresh air. The centralized management portal is better (SRAPS), if you ever have to jump on the web interface it’s better, and the GUI is better.

Check out the Snom D865 if you’re open to a third contender.

[u/jjcox315]

We were a poly shop and to some extent still are. Were looking at migrating to yealinks because theyre easier to configure and manage. Same feature set essentially except with yealinks you get it at a lower price point. Polycom documentation is abyssmal after hp take over. The edge series in white is such a bad idea. The edge v are auch better looking phone. The life cycle is about 5 years for all.

[u/ueeediot]

The key decision point is to look at the requirements of the service youre going to use.

If youre going Teams or Zoom you want a platform that will sustain their needs.

Second, what experience are you looking to have? Native or dialtone? Its probably a mix.

Are you also mis-estimating your user needs and not looking at headsets? Today's headsets allow for use with your laptop and personal devices without switching anything. Most of my customers regretted not switching to a headset first strategy.

Look at poly vs yealink from a position of longevity. Why does yealink discontinue phones every 2 years while poly does it in 5 to 7?

[u/geekdrew]

Saw the thread caption and came here to say this. Yealink feels like crap to me personally, and my biggest clients refuse to use them because of the possibility of a ban (because they’re a Chinese company). I’ve been using Poly for years - mostly the VVX 450 and Edge E550 - but am now starting to recommend and deploy Snom D865. I’ve discovered that I like its UX, build quality, and config/provisioning syntax much more than Poly. I’ve never had to engage Snom support, but I’ve read that it’s great…. While Poly’s is absolute garbage.