Callforward to voicemail

[ssteiner]

I seem to be having some problems with that.. I call *4 from any phone, enter *0 as forwarding destination, and activate the service. Now any caller gets a "Number dialed temporarily unavailable" message. If I put in a extension number instead, it works just fine. Am I missing something?

[AramK]

You can't enter *0 as a forwarding destination, as it is restricted by design. The forwarding destination must be a phonenumber, but not service code like *0. In any case, when the call isn't answered, it will go to Voice Mail, so there is no sense to forward it VM. Or if you want to forward the call direct to the VM of another extension, then you can use "PBX-Voicemail" type in Routing.

[ssteiner]

Umm.. isn't there a voicemail "head" number you can forward your calls to or a routing pattern you can configure that does the trick? I'd very much like to be able to activate an immediate callforward to voicemail for a single extension by pressing the least possible number of buttons and without having to go to the user homepage (but where I'd also wonder what I'd have to put in the immediate call forward number field to immediately transfer the call to voicemail).

Edited by: ssteiner

[AramK]

To forward all the call immediatelly to VMS you must use not the Call Forwarding feature, but DND (Do Not Disturb) fearture instead. You can activate it by *72. All your calls will go to VMS without ringing the phone during the time specifiedin theextension's "Do Not Disturb Settings" page.

[ssteiner]

I just managed to configure my first "send call directly to voicemail of extension x" call pattern. However, I seem to be unable to just send a call to voicemail on a generic basis (like you call number x, then you are greeted by voicemail and asked to enter the mailbox number, followed by the password)

Am I to take it that there is no number / uri to call to get to the voicemail? This is a standard feature on pretty much any PBX I've seen.

[AramK]

Sorry, I can't understand your question/request, especially the password entering part. You can create a general routing rule with pattern 4??, discard 1 and choose PBX-Voicemail type. Now you can call to 4+"extension number" and your call will go directly to that extension's VMS. Is this the functionality you want ?

[ssteiner]

Alright.. here's one scenario where I'm stuck:

I have a bunch of Linksys SPA9x2 phones. They have no programmable buttons, and line buttons cannot be used for anything but selecting a line - hence I cannot program a shortcut to voicemail. However, these phones do have an envelope button - but which is hardlinked to call the extension "vm". Now, there's no extension vm by default, so what I'd like to do is create a routing pattern of type PBX-Voicemail, which would strip "vm" and replace it with the voicemail head number. Since there are multiple phones, stripping vm and replacing it with an extension number won't do the trick.. rather I need to send any call to "vm" to the appropriate voicemail box.

We sell Alcatel and Cisco based solutions at work.. on both systems the voicemail has an extension number you can call. If you call that number from an extension that has a voicemail box defined, you'll be taken to your voicemail box. If the extension you're calling from has no voicebox defined, you are prompted to enter a box number, and can then leave a voicemail for the box you selected. My Linksys system at home is somewhat less flexible, but still has that basic functionality. It reacts to calls to vm, or 900@<ip-voicemail>:5090.

I realize having a programmable voicemail button would be preferable and I'm lobbying Linksys to make it configurable, but as it is, the button is static so I need the routing intelligence on the PBX.

[AramK]

There is no general voice mailbox or VM head number on Quadro, so I still cannot understand your goal. We are talking about configuring Quadro, not Alcatel or Cisco, right ?Every extension on Quadrohas its own internal, embeddedVM that you can accessby pressing *0from the phone and manage your mailbox. To leavea message the caller must call to the extension number and the VM will be activated accordingly. I wonder if you are talking about external Mailbox, especially after "[email="900@900@<ip-voicemail>:5090[/email]" string.My personal opinion is that Quadro implementation is much user friendly, than calling to some general number andenter some username/password. Actually it remainds me remote VM access on Quadro through AA, when you can dial "00 -> *0 -> username/password" and get into the extension mailbox. Also we put *0on Snomphones (when they are autoconfigured),under the same envelope button,as a VM access shortcut. If that button is hardlinked on Linksys phones, then better to dial *0 on the phone, than createa routing rule or do some weird configuration. And if you want all your calls to go to extension's VM, then DND feature is the best to do that.


Please send the names and model numbersof IP-PBXs that you are selling at your work, to see the VM functionality implementation on them and compare it with Quadro.

[ssteiner]

I think you will be hard pressed to find any PBX where the voicemail doesn't have a number extension number that can be connected from any phone on the PBX, regardless of whether that phone has a voicemail box or not. I know for a fact that it works like this on the Alcatel Omni PCX Office, Alcatel Omni PCX Enterprise, Cisco Call Manager Express (Unity Express), Cisco Call Manager (Unity (Express / Connection )), Ascotel / Aastra Intelligate, Linksys LVS and Asterisk

(in case you know ASterisk.. this is how you define a voicemail number:

exten => 199,1,VoicemailMain(s${CALLERIDNUM})

exten => 199,2,Hangup


- calling 199 from a phone that has a mailbox will take you to the mailbox)

The voicemail then decides where to send the call.. if it's coming from a phone for which a box has been configured, the call can enter the box. If the call was a transfer call with the last redirection party = an extension which has a box, the call is taken to the place where you can desposit a voicemail.
In any other case, you get to the entry point for users that have no mailbox. This isn't where you normally come in.. it's a last ditch thing.. obviously nobody wants to leave a voicemail message that way. None of the system I mention has this as a default.. you always just press the envelope button and are taken directly to your voicemail box.

then better to dial *0 on the phone, than createa routing rule or do some weird configuration.

You can tell that to a techie, but not a chance when dealing with an average user that's not much into technology. User "Why is there a voicemail button on my phone that I can't use? ", IT guy: "Uhh, the system doesn't support it, you will have to dial *0 instead", User "but... it used to work like that, I want the old PBX back", then shuffles off to the boss to complain.

Why can't the voicemail listen to a regular extension number you can call from anywhere? You have 00 for aa.. why can't 01 be voicemail so you have no restrictions from where you can call it? If the last redirecting party is a local extension, you'd be taken to the voicebox (that's the same as calling *0 from the phone), and if it is not a local extension, then you'd be taken to the place you are taken to when calling 00 and press *0.

[AramK]

I think we havesome misunderstandinghere. *0 will take you into your Voice Mailbox, where you can navigate through messages, manage them, also leave a self-reminder. And for leaving a messge for some extension you must just call to that extension and wait until the VM service will be activated and leave a Voice Mail for that extension. This isthe current implementation of Voice Mail Systemon Quadro and we had no complains until this time. I will ask our Product Manager to post some comments here, as Isee that your are already talkingabout implementation differences on different PBXsandabout customers' habits.


About envelope button - for example on Snom it's called "Retirve" and by pressing it the user will enter to his Voice Mail to listen and manage the existing messages, but not to leave a voice message(*0).