If line in use, calls ringing elsewhere

In the past when a line was in use and another call came through calls would ring to another line. For some reason this stopped working and now people are routed to a recorded message telling them the line is not available.

Can you please advise how to make calls ring elsewhere when the line is occupied.

Much appreciated.

RE: If line in use, calls ringing elsewhere

Hello,

Please don't take this personal, since it is not intended just for you. A lot of PBXes users tend to do the same, so it's more of a general statement.

When talking about VoIP based telephony, everyone should be reminded, there are no lines of any kind. What we work with in VoIP telephony are SIP, H323 or IAX trunks.

In PBXes' case, all inbound calls are received over SIP Trunks and end up ringing on extensions, via Ring Groups, SIP URIs or Queues.

The only "thing" we can setup on ATAs, IP phones, soft-phones or other SIP clients are extensions. There are no lines on IP phones, only extensions.

The reason I tend to be adamant about this point, is that by not using the proper terminology, it's hard to almost impossible to understand an issue. It also perpetuates a line of thinking which does not apply on a hosted VoIP PBX.

• In this particular message, can I assume that by mentioning line you mean extension?
• Does this extension reside on the same IP phone or on another IP Phone / ATA?
• Are the inbound calls sent to a Ring Group or just one extension?

RE: If line in use, calls ringing elsewhere

Thanks for your response. Someone else usually handles these issues for our account. I am stepping in and know the terminology very little.

The following are the answers to your questions:

By lines I mean extensions.
Apologies, I dont know what you mean by: Does this extension reside on the same IP phone or on another IP Phone / ATA?. We have a polycom phone (IP Phones) at each desk, assigned to certain extensions.
The inbound calls are sent to a ring group.

Appreciate your assistance.

Kristen

RE: If line in use, calls ringing elsewhere

Hey Kristen,

Don't worry, the terminology will become familiar soon, even if it seems almost impossible now.

My second question referred to your original comment, "... and another call came through calls would ring to another line". What I was trying to determine was whether the second and third inbound call, would ring another extension on the same desk phone or an extension on a separate desk phone.

Judging by the fact, I could never get a second extension provisioned on a Polycom phone, I conclude your comment meant "the second inbound call would normally ring on the extension of another desk phone".

If the above assumption is correct, it seems the Ring Group in question is experiencing issues. A quick test to determine this, is to create a new Ring Group, add the extensions one by one, while you ensure the inbound calls ring all the desk phones, including when one of them is on an active call. To achieve this, it is also necessary to direct the proper Inbound Route to the new Ring Group.

If the new Ring Group behaves properly, just delete the old Ring Group and leave the new one to handle the inbound calls. If you need help with any of this, let us know. We are here to help.