Cloud Phone System Feature Guide

About RingOffice Cloud Phone System

RingOffice Cloud Phone System is a fully featured VoIP phone system for small and medium sized businesses. Often referred to as a Hosted PBX or Cloud PBX system, this communication solution provides businesses a rich feature set that can be managed from any browser by logging into the RingOffice Customer Self-Care Portal.

This feature guide was designed as a quick reference document to assist subscribers of RingOffice Cloud Phone System with using common phone system features. While some extension features can be managed from IP Phone handsets, softphones or mobile apps, the RingOffice Customer Self-Care Portal is required to fully manage system functionality. We recommend customers to designate a phone system administrator to manage phone system and user extension functionality.

To access the RingOffice Customer Self-Care Portal, use the credentials provided in your RingOffice Welcome Email to login at: https://customer.ringoffice.com

For further questions  or assistance with features covered in this guide or with other functionality not covered in this guide, please open a ticket with our helpdesk any time.

Voicemail

Access Voicemail *98

*98 is the shortcut you can dial to access your voicemail. Most phones can be configured to dial this shortcut by using the built-in “Messages” key. Once logged into your voicemail box, you can follow the voice prompts to listen to and manage messages.

Voicemail Management from Phone

Dial *98 to access voicemail. Then press 3 to manage your Personal Options and then press 3 to record/set your desired greeting. There are 4 greetings options you can set: Extended Absence, Personal, Name or Standard (generic system default greeting).

Internal Voicemail System Access *99

*99 is the shortcut you can dial from any extension to access the voicemail system. The system will ask you to enter your Account Number (6-10 digits SIP Account ID, not 3-4 digit extension number). Enter the Account Number followed by #. The system will then ask you to enter your password. Enter the Voicemail Password followed by #.

External Voicemail System Access

External Voicemail Access is an optional feature for customers who wish to check their voice messages by dialing in from an external number. If this feature is configured on your RingOffice system, dial into your system and enter the External Voicemail Access number assigned to you. The system will ask you to enter your Account Number (6-10 digits SIP Account ID, not 3-4 digit extension number). Enter the Account Number followed by #. The system will then ask you to enter your password. Enter the Voicemail Password followed by #.

Voicemail Password

By default, no password is needed when dialing *98 from your phone to check your voicemail. However, if a password is set for added security or when dialing in to remotely check messages from an external number, then you will have to enter the default voicemail password (check with your solution consultant if you are not sure of your password). To change this password, dial *98, press 3 for Personal Options, then press 2 for Administrative Options, then press 1 to change your password. There are some other options available at the voice prompt.

Voicemail Management from the Customer Portal

To manage Voicemail greetings, login to your RingOffice customer portal at https://customer.ringoffice.com

• Go to the IP Centrex tab
• Click on ‘Phone Lines’, then click ‘Configure’ button beside the line on which you need to manage Voicemail. This will open up settings of this line.
• Click IP Centrex once again (for the line being managed).
• From the menu on the left, click the arrow beside ‘Voicemail’ to expand the voicemail submenu.
• On the ‘Voice Menu’ page, you can change your voicemail password and set whether you want to be prompted for a password when dialing into voicemail from your own phone.
• On the ‘Greetings’ page, you can record or upload your greetings and select which one you would like to remain active. If uploading, greeting file size should not exceed 3 MB and format should be mono-channel, .mp3 or .wav format.
• On the ‘External Email’ page, you can set an Email address and select notification preferences. More explanation on notification options is provided below.
• There are also folder and inbox settings available in this menu if you plan to use the RingOffice Unified Messaging Inbox to store voicemail messages in the customer portal and display a Message Waiting Indicator on the phone.
• Click ‘Save’ and test your Voicemail greeting by calling into the line.

Voicemail Notification/Retrieval Actions

Each extension voicemail feature can be setup to work using 4 voicemail notification/retrieval methods, called ‘Actions’ in your External Email settings.

• Forward: messages are not kept in your voicemail box (so you can’t listen to them from your phone) and instead they are attached as audio files and sent to your email. With this setting, please make sure these messages are marked as safe so they do not end up in your spam or junk folders.
• Copy: a copy of your messages are stored in your voicemail box (so you can listen to them from your phone) and a copy is forwarded as an audio attachment to your email. Your phone Message Waiting light (if your device supports it) will indicate you have messages so you can check them from your phone. With this setting, you will have to periodically check/delete messages from your phone voicemail box (even though you may have deleted it from your email) to avoid your mailbox from filling up.
• Notify: an email notification is sent to inform you that you have a new message but the audio file will not be attached to this email. Your phone Message Waiting light (if your device supports it) will indicate you have messages so you can check them from your phone.
• None: all messages are stored in your voicemail box only so you can check these from your phone.

Incoming Call Routing

Incoming Calls

From the RingOffice Customer Self-Care Portal, you can control incoming call routing behaviour of your Extension. This includes ring time, call forwarding and voicemail as well as the preferred sequence of where to send calls first. To manage this, login to your RingOffice customer portal at https://customer.ringoffice.com

• Go to the IP Centrex tab
• Click on ‘Phone Lines’, then click ‘Configure’ button beside the line which you need to manage. This will open up settings of this line.
• Click IP Centrex once again (for the line being managed).
• From the menu on the left, click on ‘Incoming Calls’.
• In the field “Default Answering Mode”you will see the following options to select your preferred sequence of behavior for incoming call routing:
  • Ring, Forward, Voicemail: Ring to the registered phone system for the ”Timeout” duration first. If call goes unanswered, then follow defined Forwarding rules (if any) for the duration defined. If call is still unanswered, then send to Voicemail of the line (if feature is enabled). Voicemail messages can be forwarded to email.
  • Ring Then Forward: Ring to the registered phone system for the ”Timeout” duration first. If call goes unanswered, then follow defined Forwarding rules (if any) for the duration defined.
  • Ring Then Voicemail: Ring to the registered phone system for the ”Timeout” duration first. If call goes unanswered, then send to Voicemail of the line (if feature is enabled). Voicemail messages can be forwarded to email.
  • Forward Then Voicemail: Follow defined Forwarding rules (if any) for the duration defined. If call goes unanswered, then send to Voicemail of the line (if feature is enabled). Voicemail messages can be forwarded to email.
  • Ring Only: Ring to the registered phone system for the ”Timeout” duration first. If call goes unanswered, then disconnect the call.
  • Forward Only: Follow defined Forwarding rules (if any) for the duration defined. If call goes unanswered, then disconnect the call.
  • Voicemail Only: Send the call to the Voicemail feature of the line (if feature is enabled). Voicemail messages can be forwarded to email.
  • Reject: Reject/disconnect the call
• In the “Timeout” field, set the duration of time you would like calls to ring to a registered phone system or device.
• Click ‘Save’ and test.

Group Call Pickup *40

The Group Pickup feature enables members of the same huntgroup to answer each other’s calls by dialing a Group Pickup Prefix. If this feature is enabled, simply dial access code *40 to answer a call ringing on any extension in the huntgroup you belong to. Note that group pickup must be enabled for the customer and the huntgroup.

Call Forwarding

This section covers Call Forwarding features and functionality that can be managed from the IP Phone or from the RingOffice Customer Portal.

Enable Forward All *72

*72 is the shortcut you can dial to set a call forwarding number from your phone. After dialing, you will be prompted to dial the forwarding destination number. For North American numbers, be sure to enter the number starting with 1, e.g. 1-XXX-XXX-XXXX. This will create and enable a Follow-Me rule in your account. *72 sets the default answering mode to "forward_then_voicemail"

Disable Forward All *73

*73 is the shortcut you can dial to disable a call forwarding number set by using *72. After dialing, you will hear a confirmation that forwarding has been disabled. *73 sets the default answering mode to "ring_then_voicemail".

Advanced Forwarding and Follow Me

Each extension has a powerful forwarding feature that can be managed through the RingOffice Customer Portal. This allows you to set up basic and advanced call forwarding rules. For example, you can have a call ring your phone but if you do not answer, follow you to ring your mobile, and if you still do not answer go back to your office voicemail. You can also preset time of day based forwarding rules.

In the RingOffice Customer Portal. Go to ‘IP Centrex’, then Extensions. Beside your Extension, click the wrench icon ‘Configure’ and then once again go to ‘IP Centrex’ for your Extension. You will see a link on your left called ‘Forwarding’. Here you can set your preferred Call Forwarding and Follow Me rules, Don’t forget to click ‘Save’ after updating your desired settings.

Failover Follow Me / Fail to Cell

When creating a Follow Me rule in the RingOffice Customer Portal, setting the rule name to “:FTC:” will enable the Failover Forward (or Fail to Cell) feature. Normal Follow Me rules are triggered after attempting to ring to the registered phone or device on the line. With an “:FTC:” Follow Me rule enabled, the system will first check  the registration status of the phone or device. If a phone or device is registered to the line, then the “:FTC:” Follow-Me rule will not be triggered (i.e. excluded from routing). If however the system does not find any phone or device registered to the line, calls will be routed to external failover number or cell phone.

Call Transfer

The method of transferring calls may vary depending on the type of IP phone handset being used. Below are some general descriptions of how to use the transfer feature:

Blind Transfer to an Extension

In Blind transfer, the Transfer feature on the phone can be used to transfer a call directly to an Extension Number (e.g. 200), Account ID (e.g. 0201234200) or External Phone Number (e.g. 14162345555).In blind transfer, the call is blindly sent to the destination number and the transferrer just hangs up without receiving any kind of feedback or confirmation.

Attended Transfer to an Extension

In Attended transfer, the Transfer feature on the phone can also be used to transfer a call directly to an Extension Number (e.g. 200), Account ID (e.g. 0201234200) or External Phone Number (e.g. 14162345555) in much the same way as in a blind transfer. However, the difference is that the before completing the transfer, the call connects the transferrer to the destination number or transferee so they can communicate before the transferrer completes the transfer (usually by hanging up or pressing the transfer key again).

Transfer to an Extension Voicemail without Ringing

To transfer a call directly to the voicemail of an extension without ringing, you can simply perform a Blind Transfer using the following prefix: aa999Extension (e.g. aa999200).

Auto Attendant

When the Auto-Attendant feature is enabled on any Line or Account, it automatically changes the Default Answering Mode for Incoming calls to ‘Calls routed to auto-attendant’. Once this is done, all other actions like ‘Ring’ or ‘Forward’ will be skipped and all incoming calls will be routed only to the Auto Attendant.

Configure/Manage Auto Attendant settings

To configure/manage Auto Attendant settings, login to the RingOffice customer portal at https://customer.ringoffice.com

• Go to the IP Centrex tab
• Click on ‘Phone Lines’, then click ‘Configure’ button beside the line on which your Auto Attendant is configured. This will open up settings of this line.
• Click IP Centrex once again (for the line being managed).
• Click on ‘Auto Attendant’ from the menu to the left to view Auto Attendant settings.
• Select the Menu you wish to manage and click Edit. By default, there will be one ‘ROOT’ menu where all calls go to first.
• Click on ‘General’ tab to manage Active Time windows.
• Click on ‘Prompts’ tab to record or upload your greetings. The system allows you to upload auto-attendant greetings up to 3 MB, mono-channel, .mp3 or .wav format.
• Click on ‘Actions’ tab to set Auto Attendant behaviour for various key press options. Use the ‘Transfer’ feature to send calls to internal destinations like extension numbers or hunt group numbers. Use the ‘Transfer to E.164 number’ feature to send calls to external destinations like landline/mobile numbers (when doing so be sure to start all North American number with 1).
• Click ‘Save’ and test your Auto Attendant by calling into the line.

Audio Greeting Format

RingOffice allows you to personalize your Voicemail Greetings and Auto Attendant Prompts. The system supports common audio formats such as .aiff, .au, .gsm, .mp3, .ogg, .wav. The limitation on the audio file size is 3 MB in our Web Self-Care portal. We advise to record files with these attributes: 8,000 Hz, 8-bit, Mono channel.

You can use any sound recorder app like Windows Sound Recorder or a 3rd party voice talent service to record your prompts. In Windows Sound Recorder you must use the ‘Save As’ option to save this format.

If your app does not save to the required format, you can convert your file using this free site: https://online-audio-converter.com/. Simply add your file(s), select wav, click Advanced Settings, Reduce Sample rate to 8000 Khz and Channels to 1, Click Convert, save your file.

Auto Attendant Actions

Default – Plays the Default prompt from the current menu and returns to the “Play Menu prompt” step (this is the action used for all menu items where the initial value has not been modified).

Disabled – Caller will hear system prompt “This selection is not available”. “Play before Action” prompt will not be played

Transfer – Transfers the call to a given telephone number or extension. The phone number should be entered in the same format as the customer would use to dial it from an IP phone in his IP Centrex environment; for example, to transfer a call to extension 123, simply enter 123.

Transfer to E.164 Number – Transfers the call to a given number. The number should be specified in E.164 format: the country code, followed by the area code, and then the number (e.g. 16045551234 for Canada).

Dial extension directly – Transfers the call to an extension number entered by the caller from his phone. The extension number should start with the same digit as the “Dial extension directly” option. To prevent abuse (e.g. someone attempting to enter a long-distance number in this way), you can specify the maximum allowed number of digits in an extension (Max Size).

Prompt for extension # – You will hear the prompt to enter the extension number. You can specify the maximum allowed number of digits in an extension (Max Size).

Transfer to Voicemail – Switches to voicemail mode. This should be designated as an action for the “Fax” event, in order to allow storage of received faxes.

Menu “ROOT” – Transfers the user to the selected menu.

Directory – Launches this company’s dial-by-name directory.

Setting up Dial by Name Directory

The Dial by Name Directory feature allows callers to search for an extension user by entering the first few characters of the user’s last name. In each Auto Attendant, an ‘Event’ with Action ‘Directory’ can be selected. To be useful, this event should be mentioned in the Auto Attendant greeting script to prompt callers of the option to use the company directory. When sending calls from the Auto Attendant to the dial by name company directory feature, the following additional setup steps are needed:

From the Customer Self-Care Portal, go to the “IP Centrex” tab and then click on the “Extensions” from the menu tree on the left. Click the “Edit” icon or double click on the Extension name or number to open the Edit Extension window and set as follows:

• Fill in the ‘Extension Name’ in the format ‘last name, first name’ since the directory searches by last name
• Check the ‘Published’ checkbox for these entries
• Record or upload the recorded name of the extension user
• Click ‘Save’ and repeat for all extensions that should be searchable via the directory feature

Transfer to an Extension Voicemail without Ringing

Transfer Call directly to Voicemail of an Extension – Use “Transfer” action but send calls to destination of our special IVR application (aa999%) which sends directly to voicemail. Please configure the action of the needed event of AA to forward calls to aa999Account_ID or aa999Extension (e.g. aa999201).

Forwarding Incoming Calls before Auto-Attendant

Any Line/Account that requires both Forwarding and Auto-Attendant features to work in concert (e.g. Forward first and then go to Auto Attendant) must be configured according to the method described below:

For example, if you want incoming calls to 14165551234 to be forwarded to Huntgroup 2000 (or Receptionist extension 200) during business hours (9am to 5pm Monday to Friday) before being sent to the company Auto Attendant, and for calls to go directly to the company Auto Attendant outside business hours, use the following settings:

1- The DID Account 14165551234 should have Forwarding feature enabled, Default Answering Mode set to “Forward only”, and Dialing Rules explicitly ‘Disabled’.

2- The Auto-Attendant Account should be named as: 14165551234AA

3- In the Account 14165551234, set ‘Order’ forward ringing strategy and create the following 2 forwarding rules:

– the first rule should point to the Huntgroup 2000 (or extension 200) with Ring Schedule matching the required business hours defined in its Forward Settings

– the second rule should point to the Auto-Attendant Account 14165551234AA with Ring Schedule defined as ‘Always’ in its Forward Settings

Fax

Receiving Fax by Email

Fax to Email is the most popular and preferred method for receiving faxes by most RingOffice customers. Once setup, incoming faxes are converted to PDF and sent to the recipient’s email address.

Fax settings are managed from IP Centrex within the Voicemail menu of the fax line. Here, you will see an option for ‘External Email’. Select your preferred ‘Action’ and update your Email address. Don’t forget to click ‘Save’ after updating your desired settings. Actions are defined in detail in the section titled “Voicemail Notification/Retrieval/Email Management”.

Sending Fax from Email

Only an authorized email address is able to send faxes using this service. Below are instructions to send fax from email:

1. To send a fax, open an email compose window and enter the following destination email address: email2fax@um.ringoffice.com
2. Insert the 11 digit fax number (starting with 1) in the subject line without any spaces, dashes or other punctuation/symbols.
3. Attach a PDF document.
4. Leave the email message body empty and delete any signatures, images or links as these will not be sent.
5. Send the email message
6. Once your fax has been transmitted, the fax server will send you a confirmation email indicating the status of the send attempt (success or failure).

Sending Fax from RingOffice Customer Portal

Once logged into the RingOffice Customer Portal, go to IP Centrex and click on ‘Send Fax’.

1. Select the Email to Fax account that is to be used for sending
2. Attach a PDF document.
3. Insert the 11 digit fax number (starting with 1) in the Destination field without any spaces, dashes or other punctuation.
4. Click ‘Upload’ to send the fax

6. Once your fax has been transmitted, the fax server will send a confirmation to the email associated with the account used indicating the status of the send attempt (success or failure).

Call Parking

Call Parking allows the receiver of a call to put a call on hold at a common Park Slot location from where any other user extension in the company can retrieve the call. A customer may have more than one Park Slots. Prior to using this feature, it must be enabled by RingOffice. Please note that this feature has been tested with some common phone models but cannot be guaranteed to work with all models.

Park a Call *70

1- Put a received call on hold

2- Dial a new call to the park prefix *70 (or 777 or any other custom code). The system will acknowledge the call as parked and announce a park release code (e.g. *71X).

3- Hang up. Your call is now parked. The caller is hearing music on hold.

Retrieve a Parked Call with Pickup Code *71x

1- Any Extension under the same Customer can dial the Release Prefix followed by the park code (e.g. *71X or other custom code) and the call will be retrieved.

2- The Extension that parked the call can also retrieve it by simply dialing the Release Prefix *71 (or custom release code).

View Status and Pickup a Parked Call on a BLF Key

Many common phones models will allow you to configure a BLF key to monitor the status of a Park Slot.  We have tested this feature with certain models from Yealink, Grandstream, Snom and Cisco.  Simply configure the phone button to subscribe to BLF updates in one of the following formats (depending on phone model):

p-cid– or p-cid–@20889104241:5060
= customer id to be provided by RingOffice
= park slot number, e.g. 1, 2, 3…
E.g. for Customer id ‘112233’ and Park Slot ‘1’, use one of these for your BLF key:
p-cid-112233-1 or p-cid-112233-1@20889104241:5060

Important Notes about Call Parking

1- Busy status is updated every 15 seconds, therefore when you park or unpark a call, its LED will be updated within 15 seconds.

2- Parked calls will continue to remain on hold until either the caller hangs up or the maximum system call duration limit expires (180 minutes).

3- This feature will not work for calls received by Extension Accounts via their aliases. Please make sure the Extension Account(s) using this feature do not have aliases.

Important Notes about Call Parking

1- Busy status is updated every 15 seconds, therefore when you park or unpark a call, its LED will be updated within 15 seconds.

2- Parked calls will continue to remain on hold until either the caller hangs up or the maximum system call duration limit expires (180 minutes).

3- This feature will not work for calls received by Extension Accounts via their aliases. Please make sure the Extension Account(s) using this feature do not have aliases.

Paging/Intercom

The Paging/Intercom feature is designed to allow a two way audio call to be established between a calling party and called party without the called party answering. A paging/intercom call is auto answered by the receiving extension. The receiving extension could be a phone, a door intercom, or a paging amplifier.

Enable Paging/Intercom

To configuring this feature in RingOffice please follow the steps below when logged into the RingOffice Customer Portal:

1. Go to the Customer Info page. Under Service Configuration->Outgoing Calls, enable the “Paging/Intercom” feature.
2. Define a Paging/Intercom Prefix which should be dialed before the destination number, e.g. 444 or *33. Click Save.

Phone to Phone Paging

1. From any registered phone extension, dial the paging prefix followed by the extension number of the device you want to page. e.g. 444225 or *33225 (where 225 is the extension number). The system will automatically establish an audio session with the paged number.

If any additional setting is required on the phone models you are using, please refer to their admin guides.

Multicast Paging (One to Many)

Multicast Paging is not a RingOffice Cloud Phone System feature so it cannot be controlled from the Customer Portal. To page multiple phones at the same time, you can setup multicast paging on the local network. This feature operates between the phones so please consult the administrator guide of the phone models you are working with for further instructions on such features.

For Yealink phones, you can define a DSS key for ‘Multicast Paging’ and use this number. 224.5.6.20:10008 and give it any title you want. This will be the key to use to send a Multicast Page. On any phone which needs to receive such Pages, login to the Web interface and go to ‘Directory’ and then ‘Multicast IP’. Add the same number 224.5.6.20:10008 and name as a ‘Listening Address’. Save and test. This phone should be able listen to incoming Pages.

BLF stands for Busy Lamp Field. This feature when programmed on a line key shows On-Hook or Off-Hook status of the extension being monitored (usually with a green or red LED indicator on the key depending on phone model). BLF keys usually also double as Speed Dial keys.

There are 2 ways to program a BLF key on Yealink phones. This can be done either by holding the desired line key down for 3-5 seconds or by logging into the phone’s web interface and going to the “DSSkey” tab and then by clicking on Line Keys. Either way, you can follow the steps below:

1- Select the Line key you wish to configure with a BLF feature

2- Under “Type” column, select “BLF”

3- Under “Value” column, enter the full Account ID of the extension to be monitored. *Note this is not the extension number.

4- Under “Label” column, type the name you want to appear on the button

5- Under “Line” column, select “Line 1” (this should the line used for the primary extension configured on the phone)

6- Under “Extension” column, enter your “Group Pickup” feature code 888 (if this feature is enabled for your phone system)

7- Click the “Confirm” button and the new BLF key should appear on the screen

* To find your Account ID, login to RingOffice Customer Portal, go to the “IP Centrex” tab. There you can find the Account ID listed under “Phone Lines” in the “ID” column OR under “Extensions” in the “Assigned to Phone Line” column.

Mobile Softphone

Install the ‘Mobyx’ app from the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store. Once installed, launch the Mobyx softphone.

QR Code Setup (Recommended)

– Scan the QR code visible on the Dashboard screen of the Account Self Care Interface on the Extension Account you wish to provision.

To find the QR Code, login to your self-care portal, go to IP Centrex, click ‘Extensions’ from the left side menu, click ‘Configure’ beside the extension you wish to setup on your Mobyx App. A new screen will pop up and the QR code will be visible for you to scan using your Mobyx App.

Manual Setup

– Alternatively, specify the following parameters:

Account ID: <60> (e.g. 60020123456 for Account ID 020123456)
Password: service password of the Account

Still Need Help?

For further assistance with the RingOffice Customer Portal features or with feature codes, please ask the phone system administrator within your company or contact the RingOffice Helpdesk by emailing helpdesk@ringoffice.com.

Please note that some IP phones may have built-in feature codes that might conflict with these shortcuts. If you find such a conflict, you will need to disable the code in your phone settings in order to use the above shortcuts.