help with softphones

[fishobx]

The customer has digital (6408D) sets in the office and wants to use softphones when on the road or from home. I initially thought (incorrectly) that when they logged in with the softphone the digital phone would be disabled. What actually happened is that the softphone behaved like Phone Manager Pro, activating the speaker on the digital set when a call was placed/received rather than using the computer's sound card.

Next I changed all of the digital extensions to a dummy extension number and created new users with the main (DID) extension number and said "Yes" to create a VoIP user. Softphones work like a charm. I then covered the softphones to the dummy digital number, so calls can be received either way. Problem is, if I put the mailbox on the softphone, I can't light the message waiting light on the digital set. If I reverse this, no message waiting/voice mail functions for the softphone.

I thought about making the DID extension a hunt group and using dummy extensions for both the softphone and the digital phone and members of the group. At least I could provide message waiting indicators, but then the user would have 3 extension numbers to remember and use correctly.

Any better ideas, or am I missing something obvious?


Dineane Whitaker

http://www.whitakercommunications.com

 

[intrigrant]

Interesting, why don't you use hotdesking?
I mean, make a user able to logon/off on a extension and your problem is solved.
When the remote user turns on iPhoneManager Pro he will logon as lets say user number 100, when he is in the office he just dials *35*100*pincode# and he is logged in on a hardphone. Only one disavantage : he can't use both at the same time.

 

[fishobx]

I experimented with hot desking a bit in the office and it didn't seem to work. It is entirely possibly I was doing something wrong, but it seemed to reject my attempt to log in to the digital phone with a softphone extension number. If this is supposed to work, I'll plan to try it again next week.

If the user is logged into the digital station and leaves for the day without logging out, what will happen when he attempts to log in from the softphone? Part of my problem is that most of the users will only use the softphone occassionally and it will not be practical for them to log in and out of their phones on a regular basis.

All thoughts are appreciated! Thanks for helping me brainstorm this.

Dineane Whitaker

http://www.whitakercommunications.com

 

[sizbut]

?Which softphone app is being used.

 

[intrigrant]

For each softphone you'll have to create a extension unless the gatekeeper is set to autocreate extensions.
When starting up the iPhoneManager Pro user can enter : usernumber, pincode and extension.
The extensionnumber must be a VoIP extension and not a hardphone.
I recommend to manually create VoIP extensions, then you can decide wich extension number to use.
If the user has number 100 then use for the hardphone extension number 1100 and for the VoIP extension number 2100, then it makes some sense for the customer.

 

[fishobx]

The license is Phone Manager Pro IP....I'm not on site to check the actual user application, but I'm pretty sure it shows up as "Phone Manager IPro". I don't remember the syntax but when I was there, I remember the "I" being in the right place to indicate the VoIP version of Phone Manger Pro.

thanks!

Dineane Whitaker

http://www.whitakercommunications.com

 

[fishobx]

intrigrant,

Thank you, thank you, thank you! I think I'm actually following you after thinking about this a bit. I would put a button on the digital set (1100) to log in phantom user 100, and set the softphone for user 100 and extension 2100. I think if I name 1100 something like "No User XX" (XX for the user's initials), they would know to press the "login" button for 100.

One more question...am I right that if 100 is logged on to the digital set when user 100 attempts to log in with the softphone that 100 will be logged off of the digital set?

Thanks so much for your help...I have really been struggling to find the best solution.

Dineane Whitaker

http://www.whitakercommunications.com

 

[sizbut]

Cheers, just had to check it wasn't a third party app.

Hope Intrigrant has you on the right track.

What does the user want when in the office.

- a) To be purely desk phone based.
- b) To be doing speech via the phone but have Phone Manager running for its various features.

The reason for asking is that Phone Manager can log the user on/off when started/stopped

 

[intrigrant]

The hardphone will be logged off.

 

[RePetE815]

Your original direction should be fine in terms of being able to have a user with a hardphone maps to a particular extension, at the same time configuring them for VoIP mode so when they're on the road and login, it will automatically login in their softphone and subsequently log out their hardphone.

Confirm the user is not logging into a base station via their softphone (Phone Manager IPro, Configure, PBX, Login, Login/Logout checkbox). If they do this, you will experience the symptoms you describe (.. activate speaker on digital set, etc.)

When the user is in the office using the digital set, they will opt to log into the base station via the above mentioned procedure, this time checking the box.

Obviously there's a few ways to skin this cat. I personally have been unsuccessful with configuring hotdesking for VoIP users. What I can say is we've been successful with the aforementioned configuration for many of our clients.


Erik

 

[NickBall]

Just comes down to 'Extension versus user' ... Our entire Sales floor Hot Desk as they are forever moving round, and that includes 3 Ip phone users who also remote work.
Created Extensions with Extn Number (Physical Handset), but created Users without mapping them to an extension (Physical Handset).
VOIP users are set up in the normal way, but when in the office they log their extension onto a physical extension. Either through phone manager & Login / Log out or *35*Pin#.

e.g. Physical extensions 801 through to 850 - No users assigned.
Users extensions 701 through to 750.

When using IP Phone, log the base extension on as the user
i.e Joe Bloggs (701) uses 701 as the base extension number.
When Joe Bloggs is in the office he uses whichever base extension is at the desk he is sat at.

Have had no problems with this and saves a world of time when they do a desk shuffle!!