General Questions (Connect)

On this page you will find answers to some general questions asked about our Connect product. If you cannot find what you are looking for here, try our Connect FAQ page.

Ordering, Order Tool, and Item Availability

Is there a professional looking order tool / proposal tool?

 Yes, and you can use it as desires. There are two rules:

1. In order for beta discounts to show up David Kullmann or Jen Lin has to submit the proposal.

2. If you find a bug please report it! This is one of our most used pieces of software and we want it to work for you 100% of the time!

Can I do a combination of renting and buying phones?

You can rent phones and purchase them outright later. You cannot rent some phones and buy others on the same PBX system.

Can a rental convert into a purchase?

Yes, you can rent phones and then purchase them outright. Rented phones which turn into a purchase are not discounted and there is no credit applied toward the phone price for renting.

Can I mix and match software versions (Standard Edition, Professional Edition, Call Center Edition) for different extensions?

Software versions are tied to your virtual PBX, not your extension. This means each system is all one edition.

There are no plans to change this at the current time.

Can a customer use their own phones or do they have to order them from Fonality?

Customers must purchase phones from Fonality. There is no remote provisioning or customer provided phones at this time.

Can we ship phones to multiple addresses?

No, all phones are shipped to the same address.

Where can I find router product information?

TrendNets official website: http://www.trendnet.com/products/pro...W-633GR&cat=66

Will other TrendNet router models work if the customer does not want the TEW-633GR?

NO! Some other routers from TrendNet are not able to connect multiple remote phones the same way as the TEW-633GR. The customer is responsible for finding another router if the TEW-633GR is not a good fit.

Phone Service

Can customers have more extensions than they have phone lines?

No, each extension get's an additional trunk.

What does a customer get for $25 a month (Standard Edition)?

1. A software license for Standard Edition software from Fonality

2. Phone service with unlimited minutes and free or competitively priced long distance calling

3. A DID which can be used for a phone or to go to an IVR

4. Unlimited support from Fonality for software and phone setup

5. Unlimited software upgrades

Are there extra costs for long distance?

Connect includes Calls to U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico, Guam, US Virgin Islands, France*, Ireland*, Italy*, Spain*, United Kingdom*

*Standard fixed line calls only; mobile and "premium" (toll/900 number) calls incur additional charges

What are our per minute billing increments?

All calls which are less than a minute (for instance, 1 minute and 30 seconds) and are billable by the minutes (for instance, toll calls or call center overages) will be rounded up to the minute.

What are the hidden fees?

Fonality charges no extra fees aside from what you see! Extra voicemailboxes are included, all features are included in the software version you subscribe to! The only additional charges are not charged by Fonality and are government taxes and regulatory fees which apply to all VoIP service providers.

HUD

Is HUD available for Connect?

 HUD is currently in the beta stages for Connect.

Can customers monitor/barge/record without HUD?

Customers cannot use monitor/barge, however, they can use inbound ACD recording.

How will customers get HUD once it's released? Is there a charge?

Customers will be able to order HUD as an add-on. Just like PBXtra, this is an add-on software package.

Phone Number Management and LNP (Local Number Portability or can I port my phone number)

I already have Connect, how do I order additional numbers?

Call Fonality's add-on sales team at 310.861.4300 and press option 4. Let the representative know you would like to add numbers to your Fonality Connect account and provide your server ID.

Can I port any phone number?

Fonality will attempt to port any phone number, however, certain numbers will not be portable. These reasons for this include:

• The number is a cell phone number

• Certain blocks carriers will not give to us

• The number belongs to a certain municipality which wont allow us to port

• Various other reasons.

We will NOT know until we have attempted to port the number that the number is portable. If we cannot port the number you will get a replacement number from Fonality for additional cost.

How long does it take to port a phone number?

Once we get a phone number porting request (LNP request) we will process it immediately, however, it typically takes takes 3 - 6 weeks for the carrier which owns the number to release it to Fonality.

Can I pick my own phone numbers?

You can pick your own area code and prefix (first 6 digits of a 10 digit number) but you cannot pick the entire number. This applies to 800 numbers and regular numbers. In the interim we will provide with with temporary numbers at no additional cost.

How do I call my phone system if I am porting over an old number?

Your Connect system will come with temporary phone numbers to use. This is because your old numbers cannot be ported instantaneously. Fonality recommends forwarding your numbers to the temporary numbers until your LNP request has been completed and your old carrier has released your phone number to Fonality. This will prevent downtime and result in a seamless transition to your new phone system.

What happens to my temporary numbers once my number is ported?

Your temporary number is removed and assigned to another system once your Line Number Porting request is completed and your number is ported to your new PBX.

Can I change phone numbers?

Yes, you can change your phone number. The customer will be responsible for providing notification to anyone who they would like to have the new number.

Can I Set My Caller ID name?

You can set your caller ID name by changing the customer name on your control panel. If this does not work for any reason, please contact our technical support technicians at 1.866.366.2548.

Failovers and Security

What security features / precautions are there?

We maintain and monitor all servers. Only top level engineers have access to the operating systems for Connect servers and all phone configuration files are password protected or use HTTPS. All phone login information is randomized for increased security.

Do we have a failover service incase the customers internet goes down?

There is no emergency failover forwarding service at this time.

What happens if there is a hardware failure on an Connect hosted system?

We are creating a process for easily moving customers to new systems incase of a hardware issue.

Support and Maintenance

Do customers for Connect have to buy support?

NO! The price of ALL Connect software editions INCLUDES support! Make sure this is known to customers!

Do customers for Connect have to pay for software upgrades?

NO! The price of all Connect software licenses includes lifetime upgrades! This includes enhanced security, bug fixes, new features, and more! This does not include add-on features like HUD.

What is the scope of support for Connect customers? What will we support?

Fonality support includes:

1. General setup instruction of software and phones

2. Break / fix ( Ex: phones needing to be reconfigured. )

Fonality support does not include troubleshooting the customers network or internet connection:

1. Customers should consult their ISP for issues with call quality

2. Customers should consult their IT department, IT person, IT consultant, or manufacturer provided documentation for firewall/router setup*

• Except for the TrendNet Router sold to customers by Fonality.

Additional Information

How many simultaneous calls can I place at one time?

You have 1 trunk for every software license (phone) you purchase and 1 trunk for every add-on DID. This means if you have 5 phones, you can place 5 outbound or inbound calls.  If you have 5 extensions and 3 extra DID's you can place 8 outbound or inbound calls. Extension to extension and system (voicemail, IVR) calls are not limited.

How do I change a phone that I am renting for a different model?

You can simply return your phone (damaged phones cannot be accepted) for different model. There will be a provisioning fee for the new phone and then the customer can rent the new phone at the standard price.

What is the minimum number of phones?

The minimum number of phone is 3. That means 3 phones and 3 lines.

What is the URL for the Connect Admin Panel and User Panel?

http://cp-connect.fonality.com will be used to login to Connect servers.

What does the CP look like?

The CP is the same as PBXtra with the exception of these changes:

1. All HUD references have been temporarily removed

2. All CP pages and options pertaining to maintaining and monitoring your own server are removed (Options -> reset server, Options -> network, Status -> resources, etc.)

3. Options -> billing and Billing -> billing have been added so customers can review their bills.

4. Added a new e911 Page.

Is FindMe the same?

FindMe is the same with the exception of HUD status parameters.

Do I need a static or dynamic IP for Connect?

Like any hosted phone system, we find your location by your ip address. If your IP address is changing (dynamic) then it will be more difficult to route calls to you. For this reason a static IP address is preferred.