Wissensdatenbank

When call forwarding is required to be done at the main number the following has to be considered.

• Will the forwarding be done on demand or will it follow a schedule?
• Will the account (DID or main number) Ring, Forward, and/or Voicemail (AA)?

The DID or main number also has to be registered on an IP phone so that the user can select the account to use *71, *72, and *73. If the system gives a tariff plan error message, the Dialing Rules have to changed to accept the feature codes at the customer level. We use *% which will allow any and all feature codes to work .We also use 411 in the exceptions field in the Dialing Rules tab. It would be entered as follows: "411,*%", but without the quotation marks.

When forwarding consider that if the cell phone voicemail picks up, the call will not be returned to the system's voicemail. The timeout period should be less than 20 seconds, to avoid the cell phone's voicemail from answering. If the user wishes to have the cell phone take the voicemail, then the timeout should be at least 30 seconds or longer. Please note that not all cell phone companies will send to the voicemail system at the same time.

Call Forwarding on a schedule

• If the forwarding will follow a schedule that can be configured in the Follow Me tab. Change the forwarding mode to Follow-Me.

• The Follow Me tab will appear once "Follow-Me" has been selected from the Forward Mode dropdown options in the Service Feastures tab.

• From the Service Features tab, also consider if the account needs to Ring, Forward, and/or Voicemail (AA).
  • Ring - This will ring an IP phone or ATA. Default timeout is 30 seconds.
  • Forward - This will follow the configuration set up on the Follow Me tab. Default timeout is 15 seconds.
  • Voicemail - This will either go to the account's voicemail box or an auto attendant.

• Depending on how the call flow should be handled, any or all three options can be used. For this scenario, we want a schedule on the forwarding.
• To set a schedule on the Follow Me tab Click Add, then enter a description in the Name field, enter the number or destination the call is going to be forwarded to, define the Calling Party Display, set the Timeout period, and finally click on the Active link.

• The Active link will open a Period Wizard that will define the schedule (8:30 am to 5:30 pm on Workdays) required. Go through the Wizard and to complete the Period Wizard, click Finish.

• Click the Save icon, which looks like a disckette. 
• Click Save & Close.

Please note that the timeout period in the Follow Me tab will can affect whether or not the call will go to the account's voicemail. If the timeout is set too long and the forwarding number's voicemail answers, the call will be handed off to that voicemail. Same goes if the forwarding number is answered by an auto attendant. 

A recommended timeout period is anything less than 20 seconds. However, if the call is answered before the timeout period (by an auto attendant), the call will be handed off to the forwarded number, and the call will not go to the account's voicemail.

Call Forwarding on Demand

Forwarding on demand requires feature codes. The following feature codes can be used to enable and disable call forwarding.

To enable call forwarding you may use *71 or *72. 

We will start off with the following under Service Features tab. Forward Mode set to No Forwarding, and Default Answering Mode is set to Ring, Forward, Voicemail. 

Enable Call Forwarding

• Using *71
  • Forwarding Mode: Follow-Me
  • Default Answering Mode: Forward Only
  • Follow Me Tab is now available

Notice the number entered from the phone now appears in the Destination field and the Timeout has been set to 120 seconds (mostly will go to cellular voicemail). This will not allow the call to return to the account's voicemail.

 

• Using *72
  • Forwarding Mode: Follow-Me
  • Default Answering Mode: Forward then Voicemail
  • Follow Me Tab is now available

Notice the number entered from the phone now appears in the Destination field and the Timeout has been set to 15 seconds. If the call is not answered, it will return to the account's voicemail.

 

Disable Call Forwarding 

• Using *73
  • Forwarding Mode: Follow-Me
  • Default Answering Mode: Ring then Voicemail
  • Follow Me Tab is still available

The only change is the default answering mode is changed from either Forward Only or Forward then Voicemail to Ring then Voicemail. 

 

Web Self-Care

Log into the Self-Care Portal and go to IP Centrex tab and first select the Incoming Calls option from the left pane. Next delect the Default Answering mode and change as needed.

Next, select Forwarding option from the left menu pane, and add a new entry or edit an existing one. When done, click Save Order at the bottom.