How to set the FreePBX call prefixes and call waiting?

November 29, 2017 by Ying-Hui Chen

Our tech support team at VoIP Supply offers great pre- and post-sales support plus provisioning, consultations, configuration, and installation help. We get a lot of VoIP hardware and software questions and would like to share the solutions with everyone.

In the previous Mom’s calling Q&A series, we have discussed: VoIP Terms: How Many Seats? Today, we have more new real questions and answers from VoIP users just like you.

How to set the FreePBX call prefixes and call waiting?

Q: Is there a specific trick to answering a concurrent call when you’re already on a call with someone else? We should be able to place a current call on hold to answer a second call on the same handset, but we can’t get it to work. Our phones are finicky when we try to call 1-800 #s or 1-888s, just like when we used to make out of area calls. I tried setting them as prefixes a month or two ago but it wouldn’t save, and now I can’t remember how I got to the module to edit the call prefixes in the first place.

A: The prefixes are based in the Outbound Routes section in the Dial Pattern. Do you have call waiting with your provider? If so, call waiting would have to be established on the PBX system. You can just use the dial pattern wizard if you were NOT to customize the pattern: https://wiki.freepbx.org/display/FPG/Call+Waiting+Module+User+Guide

Stay Tuned

Come back for more VoIP questions and answers next time! If you have VoIP questions to ask us, please submit a technical support ticket or contact our VoIP experts today at 866-582-8591!

VoIP Supply Receives Editors’ Retail Choice Award™

November 27, 2017 by Mary Cheney

VoIP Supply, North America’s Leading VoIP Solutions Provider, has been awarded the Editors’ Retail Choice Award for its Comprehensive Telephony Marketplace from Deal Crunch. Since 2002, VoIP Supply has provided expert knowledge to the VoIP industry and its customers. It has also provided unmatched product availability to over 125,000 customers worldwide. It is the company’s mission to provide the highest level of service to all customers, while ensuring they are educated on the solutions they are purchasing.

“We pride ourselves on choosing the perfect solution for our customers, we listen to the needs of our customer and fit them with the ideal hardware and service,” said Mary Cheney, Marketing Supervisor at VoIP Supply.

While VoIP Supply is known for its telephony hardware, the company is shifting its focus to hosted solutions. Aiming to aid businesses to transition into services that provide savings in resources, capital and IT time.

“That is why our slogan is ‘everything that you need for VoIP.’ With hosted solutions becoming more predominant in the industry, we’ve adjusted our focus to better support customers,” Mary said.

VoIP Supply’s dedication to customers begins with a company culture rooted in a sense of family, togetherness, and service that goes beyond the telephone. That commitment, and a vast selection of hardware and services, has earned VoIP Supply our Editor’s Retail Choice Award™ for its Comprehensive Telephony Marketplace.

VTech Bacteria-Resistant Hotel Phones Protect your Guests from Unwanted Germs

November 9, 2017 by Ying-Hui Chen

Have you ever wondered how many people use the phone in a hotel room each day and how filthy it is? When vacationers and travelers check in and out of their hotel on a daily basis, so do their germs.

Studies show that 80 percent of all infections are spread through contact, especially areas that are touched by multiple people – Phones.

It’s no fun for your guests to get a cold during their stay or for your staff to get sick while on duty. However, even with an efficient housekeeping staff, it’s still very difficult to eradicate all the germs that yesterday’s guests left behind. And that’s where VTech phones come into play.

vtech-bacteria

VTech Bacteria-Resistant Hotel Phones Add a Layer of Protection

VTech phones are manufactured with anti-bacterial plastic to help you reduce the spread of common bacteria-causing illnesses.

What’s so special about this plastic layer? The plastic contains Zeomic®, an inorganic antibacterial agent that uses silver and other ions to prevent the growth and migration of bacteria, mold, and fungus. With this FDA, EPA, and NSF approved material, everyone has an added layer of protection and peace of mind!

See the chart here that illustrates the results of a test conducted using a VTech phone sample by the Hong Kong Standards and Testing Centre Ltd.

Learn more about the bacteria-resistant VTech phones here and start protecting your guests and staff today!

Sennheiser Launched a 24-hour Enterprise Advance Replacement program (EAR)

by Ying-Hui Chen

November 06, 2017 – Sennheiser, a leading provider of premium audio solutions for business, announces it has launched a 24-hour replacement program in the United States to swiftly address any incidence of defective headsets.

What is EAR program?

EAR stands for “Enterprise Advance Replacement”. It is a unique program designed to provide new Sennheiser headsets overnight in the event that the headsets are found to be in need of repair or replacement.

The EAR program is designed to accommodate customer emergencies and build loyalty in the

marketplace. It is available only to companies located in the US, with shipping solely to US

addresses.

ear-program

How Does It Work?

Companies using the Sennheiser business headsets can initiate the EAR process with a call to

Sennheiser’s service department at 1-877-736-6434, extension 2.

The end-user must then immediately validate their product warranty by emailing a proof of purchase to the service department, which initiates the emergency replacement process. Companies with a valid warranty will not be billed for repairs or shipping, and those end-users can receive up to 25 replacement headsets overnight if ordered before 2:00 p.m. (Units required beyond the 25-piece maximum will be sent via ground.)

Resellers whose purchases are no longer under warranty can still take advantage of the replacement service, however, they will be billed the flat-rate repair fee which includes standard ground shipping. Overnight shipping is still available for an additional charge.

Questions? Learn more here!

Don’t waste another second. Join Sangoma’s Cloud 9 Webinar Series to steal all the VoIP Cloud Service Secrets!

November 7, 2017 by Ying-Hui Chen

The Cloud 9 is a webinar series co-hosted by VoIP Supply and Sangoma that includes 9 webinars with various must-learn VoIP Cloud Service topics, starting from December 5th, 2017 ending April 26th, 2018. This is a unique opportunity for all of you who are interested in learning effectively about in-depth VoIP in a timely manner.

Also, you will be entered to win

One s500 IP Phone (worth $149) when you register & attend 5+ webinars – Five winners will be selected
One s705 IP Phone (worth $229) when you register and attend all 9 webinars! – One winner will be selected

Must be located within the continental US to be eligible for the prize. Winners will be selected randomly and announced during the webinars! Register early before they are all filled up!

What are the Topics?

Register for all 9 webinars here!

Dec. 5, 2017 PBXact Cloud: Setup and Installation

– Ended

Dec. 19, 2017 PBXact Cloud: Daily Operations

– Ended

Jan. 16, 2018 Securing your VoIP Solution Part 1- Ended
Feb. 6, 2018 Securing your VoIP Solution Part 2

– Ended

Feb. 20, 2018 Zulu: Much More Than a Softphone

– Ended

March 6, 2018 SIPStation: What is it and How is it Used?

– Ended

March 20, 2018 FaxStation: Faxing Without a Fax Machine

– Ended

April 5, 2018 User Control Panel for PBXact Cloud and FreePBX
April 26, 2018 Sangoma Solutions: How do They All Connect?

Who Should Attend?

Individuals/organizations selling
IT & Telecom professionals
Service providers’ technical personnel
Anyone who is interested in learning about VoIP in depth

Why Cloud 9 Webinars?

Learn about all important VoIP topics efficiently in one place
Get answers from VoIP experts during the interactive webinar(s)
Steal the secrets of selling Sangoma’s PBXact Cloud
Enter to win one of five s500 IP Phones or one s705 IP Phone! See details above.

Do you have in house talent to maintain your VoIP system?

November 6, 2017 by Steve Lopian

It seems that PSTN lines are just about a thing of the past. No matter what the size of your business is, the smart thing to do is get yourself on a VoIP network. This can do several things for you and your business.

Obviously, cost savings is the first thing that comes to mind, but there is so much more. Being able to work from remote locations, and the ease of using a feature-rich phone to help your business run more efficiently are just a couple examples of the VoIP advantage.

While this all seems great, often times VoIP is a little bit more involved and can be misinterpreted as something more along the lines of ‘plug-and-play.’ This especially goes for people who are choosing to have an on-premise VoIP system.

I cannot make this any more clear when I say “MAKE SURE YOU HAVE SOMEONE ON STAFF TO MAINTAIN YOUR VOIP SYSTEM.” There are a number of issues that can arise if you do not have someone there that knows what they are doing.

In fact, this is so important that we felt we needed to make a video to help make people more aware, or just to simply remind those who are running the rise of disaster by not having someone knowledgeable at their disposal.

So sit back, pop some popcorn and watch as we cover the question “Do you have in-house talent to maintain your VoIP system?” And if you find that you still have questions after the video, please don’t hesitate to call us at 1-800-398-8647

CompletePBX 5.0.34: What has improved?

November 2, 2017 by Ying-Hui Chen

November 1st, 2017, Xorcom, a privately-held IP-PBX manufacturer, released their latest version of PBX, CompletePBX 5.0.34. This version includes a lot of new features such as Global Search Results, SIP PnP, Extension Sources and more fixes and improvements in other areas. Let’s take a peek really quickly. Xorcom

SIP Plug-and-Play (SIP PnP) allows SIP phones to immediately locate the PBX on the network and receive settings from Endpoint Manager without any special actions on the user’s side

xorcom-completepbx-5-0-34

PBX Management

Extension sources revealed via a new Relations tab
Improved PBX Global Search results
Each kind of entity is now marked by its own color to make it easy for the user to quickly see what type of item is being shown. Placement, size, and shape were optimized. Redundant icons were removed.
User Time zone automatically set to System Time zone

Fixes

Users got “asterisk” as caller ID for unknown SIP callers.
Unanswered queue calls left empty recording files.
Wrong time/date on CDR reports.

Check out more fixes and updated on Xorcom’s site!

VoIP Terms: How Many Seats?

November 1, 2017 by Ying-Hui Chen

In previous Mom’s calling Q&A series, we have discussed: My phone IP addresses have changed. How do I get them back? Today, we have more new real questions and answers from VoIP users just like you.

VoIP Terms: How Many Seats? What Does that Mean?

Q: I am still learning all the VoIP terms. What does seat mean for VoIP service? Does that mean how many lines?

A: Yes, that is correct. One phone = One seat.

STAY TUNED

Come back for more VoIP questions and answers next time! If you have VoIP questions to ask us, please submit a technical support ticket or contact our VoIP experts today at (866) 582-8591

Polycom Integrates HD Voice and Video Technology into Microsoft’s Teams

October 26, 2017 by Ying-Hui Chen

Recently, Polycom announced their integration of its HD voice and video technology into Microsoft’s Teams. Aside from this integration, Polycom also introduced two new audiovisual solutions, Polycom RealConnect Hybrid and Polycom Microsoft Skype Room System.

Polycom has a long-standing partnership with Microsoft and they are dedicated to supporting Microsoft customers in all stages of their collaboration which include Skype for Business, Office 365, and Microsoft Teams.

“We are pleased to partner with Polycom to integrate their core voice and video devices with the Microsoft Teams platform. Microsoft Teams and solutions like Polycom MSR and Polycom RealPresence Group Series will be a powerful combination for customers that need high-quality collaboration experiences.” – Bob Davis, CVP, Skype Business Services & Office Product Group Customer Experience at Microsoft

Skype for Business to Teams Migration: What’s the plan?

October 25, 2017 by Ying-Hui Chen

Back in September 2017, Microsoft officials announced that they are planning to roll Skype for Business users to its Microsoft Teams group-chat service. Yesterday, Microsoft revealed some more details about this migration plan, which is expected to happen in the second quarter of 2018. Let’s take a look:

Microsoft will supplement the existing group chat capabilities in Teams with additional features such as screen sharing and federation between companies.

For team meetings, in addition to the chat history and audio conferencing preview features that offered by Teams, Microsoft plans to add meeting room support with Skype Room Systems and cloud video interoperability to allow a third-party to connect to Team meetings.

SKYPE Also, more calling capabilities will be seen such as the ability to use existing lines to activate calling services in Office 365.

Recently, Polycom announced their integration of its HD voice and video technology into Microsoft’s Teams which shows their long-standing partnership with Microsoft and their dedicated support for Microsoft customers.

To have more information about Skype for Business, visit our site here!

How to set the FreePBX call prefixes and call waiting?