Are there settings to allow the phones with an inbound call to keep ringing DURING an announcement, and also to allow the call to be answered during an announcement?
This has been raised in the past but I can’t find a resolution. I want all incoming calls to go to a ring group (reception), then after 5 seconds, an announcement stating “we are busy, hold on” then MOH plays while they wait for a receptionist to pick up the call. If reception becomes free during the announcement, they should be able to interrupt the announcement and answer the call. In fact reception does not know the announcement is playing-they just hear the phone ringing.
Set up is easily done with 2 Ring Groups (no queues).
RG1 Ring Time 5sec. Destination on time out: RG2
RG2: Announcement (Reception busy) with Destination after Playback: RG2 (I’m not sure about that, but seems to work), and MOH on default in RG2.
But during the announcement, the phones in the RG stop ringing and they stop showing an incoming call, until the announcement ends and the phone starts ringing again. This seems very clunky. It would be much better if reception could interrupt the announcement to answer. Any answers?
I’ve set this up in the past by having a queue with hold music. The hold music file is actually 10 seconds of ringing, then the courtesy message, and then more ringing. The ‘agent’ in the queue is the ring group you already have set up. This means the ring group is dialled whenever anyone enters the queue and they hear the audio file automatically. Calls are delivered to all members of the ring group. Hope this helps.
I really like the sound of that, but i can find nothing on compiling a complex MOH file like that. Any hints? Particularly on sourcing a wav file for a ring tone.
I am using FreePBX 13.0.190.2 and Asterisk 11.
(Another option could be to just forget the message, and have it switch to the music after 5 seconds: this would allow callers to feel like they have not been forgotten, and the ring group to continue to ring until they answer the call. But I like abcym’s idea even better, if it is not too difficult to set up)
Find a WAV file of a phone ringing. Using a wav file editor, paste a few copies of the ring back to back. If you’re really persnickety, you’ll find one with a couple of seconds of “comfort” silence after the ringing stops…
After that, take the file and upload it to the server through the “system recordings” interface.
Very easily done in Settings->MoH. Files easily sourced for Aust. ringtone sounds and converted within FPBX. I have stuck with Ringgroups rather than queues. I switch to default MoH after the message by proceeding to the second RG. Just have to get the timing of the ring time in the first RG to line up with the end of the recording of ringtone and announcement for a smooth transition.