Call Pickup for Digium Phones

This article describes how to set up Switchvox and a Digium IP Phone so that a phone-user can pick up someone else’s incoming calls.

See also: Updating to Switchvox 7.0, Switchvox 7.0 FAQs

Overview

Digium IP Phones offer easy Call Pickup, so that a person can answer someone else’s incoming calls:

• Custom ringtone for other’s incoming calls - an audio indicator to help answer the phone appropriately

• D80 activity card offers one-tap answer

• D6x-series rapid dial item offers long-press to answer

How to Use Call Pickup

D80

On a D80 model phone, the first 5 Favorites can be used to pick up the target contact’s incoming calls.

A D80 is alerted to a target’s incoming call with a Call Pickup activity card that indicates the target contact who is receiving a call. (The Call Pickup activity card does not indicate the caller ID for the incoming call).

These Call Pickup activity notices can be turned off from the D80 itself. Under the Call Answering settings, turn Display Call Pickup Notices to OFF. This setting is not controlled in the Switchvox web suite.

D65

On a D65 model phone, the first 5 rapid dial keys can be used to pick up the target contact’s incoming calls. Long-press the rapid dial key to pick up the call.

A D65 is alerted to a target’s incoming call with a green label and a blinking rapid dial key. You may also hear a ringtone, depending on how the Switchvox administrator has set it up.

Call Pickup also works on a D60 or D62, on the one rapid dial key available on those models.

Setting up Call Pickup

To set up Call Pickup, you must log in as a Switchvox administrator with write permission for managing extensions. Setup involves the following tools and concepts:

• Feature Code extension of type Directed Pickup

  • Authorized extensions

  • Target extensions

• For the authorized extensions, their Rapid Dial List must be configured correctly:

  • Target extension must be in the top 5 items, depending on the phone model and whether any additional lines are assigned to the phone. D60 and D62 models only have 1 available rapid dial key, so the call pickup contact must use that key. The D65 model has 5 rapid dial keys, so the call pickup contact can use 5 keys (unless there are additional lines assigned to the phone, that will reduce the number of rapid dial keys that can be used for call pickup contacts).

  • Number of Rapid Dial Subscriptions must be at least 5, to ensure the rapid dial keys with call pickup contacts are subscribed.

  • Directed Pickup Ringtone is mute by default, set a ringtone

  • Rapid Dial List Assignment (if you are using an admin Rapid Dial List, as opposed to letting the authorized extensions set up their own Rapid Dial List)

Note: Call Pickup on a Digium Phone is not related to the Extensions > Permissions tool. That tool, and the permission “can pickup ringing calls,” is for the Switchboard.

Instructions:

1. Create a Feature Code extension of the type Directed Pickup:Setup > Manage: Create ExtensionSet a feature code (usually 2 digits), and use Create Directed Pickup Group to specify the authorized extensions (who can pick up others’ calls) and the target extensions (whose calls can be picked up by the authorized extensions). Click Save Directed Pickup Feature Code.

2. Optional: use Rapid Dial Lists to set up the target extensions to be in the top 5 items on a list. Each authorized extension can set up a Rapid Dial List themselves, and put Call Pickup targets in the top 5 items. But using the admin’s Rapid Dial List tool lets the admin set this up once for many people.
   Tools > Rapid Dial Lists lets you create a “Favorites” list that can be assigned to the authorized phone extensions. Lists can include Switchvox extensions, External Contacts, and Status Indicators for a queue or a parking space. But for Call Pickup, items 1-5 can be used to pick up others’ calls, depending on the Digium Phone model.

3. For the authorized SIP Phone extensions:
   You can make this change in each extension, or use the Bulk Modify tool.

   • Digium Phone Settings : Contact Settings: Number of Rapid Dial Subscriptions
     Ensure that items #1-5 (depending on phone model) are subscribed to. Meaning, set this number high enough to serve your call pickup targets. Subscribing to the contact is how the phone knows that the target-contact has an incoming call.

   • Digium Phone Settings : Contact Settings: Directed Pickup Ringtone
     Select a ringtone if you want an authorized phone to ring when a target has an incoming call. This is optional, but very helpful. By default, the authorized phone does not ring. The visual indicators are still displayed, and the call can be picked up, but without the ring the authorized user may not realize there’s an incoming call. This can be a different ringtone than normal for this phone, to indicate it’s a call to someone else’s phone.

   • Optional: Common Settings tab
     For the setting Rapid Dial List Assignment, select the rapid dial list you defined with the target extensions near the top of the list.Now you can notify all affected phone users that their phone is going to ring.