How do I prepend digits to incoming Caller IDs?
Many people prepend their outgoing numbers with a 9 to get outside lines, and 1 for long-distance. However, when calls come in, the caller ID just shows the 10 digit number (area code + number). If you were to navigate through your call lists, (missed calls, received calls), pressing the Dial key will result in a failed call. This occurs because it lacks the beginning digits 91 to properly make the outgoing call.
To auto prepend incoming calls, the Alter Caller ID IVR action will be used. For this example, we'd like to have the caller ID numbers prepended as they come into our main IVR so we begin by editing that context.Â
Navigate to PBX Features->IVR Editor.
Select to View the main IVR, then choose, "Modify Actions".
Select, "Create Action" Action Type =Â "Alter Caller ID" and click "Next".
Here is a screenshot of the settings we used:
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After saving the settings, the action we've created is now on the list. We just need to move it to the top of the list so the system will prepend the Caller ID Number right away when receiving a call.
We end up with this:
Now when people call into the main IVR, the digits 91 will be added to the beginning of their phone number, so you can dial them back directly from a Call List on your phone.
Additional Situation:
This next part is only for those that may need it. Our company is based in the 858 area code. When local calls are received, their Caller ID Number still shows as the full 10 digit number, including the area code. Once the 91 is prepended, we can call them back by pressing the Dial key on our Polycom phone from our received calls list, but our system will treat it as a long distance number and send it out through our VOIP provider. We'd prefer to have local calls placed through our analog lines for cost purposes. How is this fixed?
We will need to make an Outgoing Call Rule for this case.
Navigate to System Setup->Outgoing Calls.
Go to "Add New" and choose "Outgoing Call Rule".
Here's how we set ours up (yours may vary):
Once the rule is added, outbound local calls will go through our analog lines.