AdminGuide:Service:Call Pickup

Return to AdminGuide:Service

Call Pickup

Description

This service lets a PBX user pick up a direct call to another extension.

If an extension is ringing and the user cannot or does not want to answer, another user can answer the call from their phone rather than from the other extension.

Direct pickup is applied to all calls to an extension, including those received as part of a ring group or a queue.

KalliopePBX offers two ways of picking up calls:

• Direct: the user who picks up the call has no information on the calling party.
• With invite: the user who picks up the call can check the identity of the calling party before choosing whether to complete the transfer or not.

Direct pickup is performed by dialing the direct pickup code (by default **) followed by the number of the extension which is receiving the call. Conversation with the original calling party will begin directly.

Pickup with invite is performed by dialing the pickup with invite code (by default #*) followed by the number of the extension which is receiving the call.
The user who is picking up the call will first receive a hang up signal; once they have done so, they will receive a call with the caller ID of the original calling party.
The user can now choose whether to complete the transfer (by answering the call) or not (by refusing the call).
The original extension will stop ringing only once the transfer is complete.

Configuration

The service can be enabled/disabled in the PBX -> Numbering plan page.

The service codes can be changed in the PBX -> Numbering plan page.

Interoperability

When using this service, it can be useful to have a key (with Busy Lamp Field) that lets you check the state of the extension which is receiving a call.

For monitoring, KalliopePBX sends SIP NOTIFY messages to communicate changes of state. The phone must send a SIP SUBSCRIBE message to request this information.

This operation is normally executed by configuring a BLF-type function key.

Apart from monitoring the state of the extension, with many phones it is possible to pick up the call with the same key. In this case, the pickup code must be specified.

Examples

On SNOM

Through the web GUI, you can configure function keys with:

Account: select the account from the drop-down (if only one account is configured on the phone, it will be the first in the list)
Type: BLF
Value: <extension>|**

Or you can directly edit the configuration file or the template:

<fkey idx="%%id%%" context="%%line_id%%" label="" perm="">blf sip:<extension>@%%KPBX_IP_ADDRESS%%;user=phone|**</fkey>

where %%id%% is the ID of the key to configure and %%line_id%% is the ID of the corresponding account (1 if the account is the only one on the phone).

Example:

<fkey idx="0" context="1" label="EXTENSION103" perm="">blf sip:103@192.168.23.190;user=phone|**</fkey>

On YEALINK

Through the web GUI, you can configure DSS keys with:

Type: BLF
Value: <extension>
Line: The line associated with the account (Line 1 if the account is the only one on the phone)
Extension: **

Or you can directly edit the configuration file or the template:

memorykey.%%id%%.line=%%line_id%%
memorykey.%%id%%.value=<extension>
memorykey.%%id%%.type=16
memorykey.%%id%%.pickup_value=**

where %%id%% is the ID of the key to configure and %%line_id%% is the ID of the corresponding account (1 if the account is the only one on the phone).

Example:

memorykey.1.line = 1
memorykey.1.value = 103
memorykey.1.type = 16
memorykey.1.pickup_value=**

For pickup with invite, you need to replace the direct pickup code (**) with the pickup with invite code (#*).