The release of 3CX Phone System 12 also marked the release of new clients for Android and iPhone. These clients take advantage of a new feature in 3CX Phone System 12, called Push Technology. Using 3CX Phone System's 12 Push Technology will help you avoid missing phone calls. 

3CX Phone System 12 Push Technology

Push technology is a way of sending information to the user instead of waiting for the user to actually request that information. 3CXPhone for Android and iPhone uses Push Technology to wake up the smartphone when a call  is received. This does not require the user to keep the phone active to be able to receive calls, the device can be put to sleep mode and save battery life.

Configuring Google Push for 3CX Phone System 12

Before you start using Google Push you first need to configure it with 3CX Phone System 12. To leverage Push Technology for Android you need to follow the next steps before you deploy 3CXPhone as the Google API key is needed to allow 3CX Phone System 12 to send push requests to the phone.

  1. Login to your Gmail Account.
  2. Follow this link to go to the Google API Console Page: https://code.google.com/apis/console/.
    (Note: you might receive a warning about redirecting you to the new Cloud Console. If that is the case select the "Go Back" option in the warning label).

    Press Create at the Google API Console to start creating your Google Project.

  3.  Click on "Create Project" to start creating your new Google project. The browser URL will then change to something like: https://code.google.com/apis/console/#project:622075684722:Services

    When you create your Project write down the project number which is contained in the page URL after the word '#project' for use later on.

  4.  Take a note of the value after #project in the URL link outlined above (622075684722). This is your project number, and it will be used later on as the GCM sender ID by 3CX Phone System 12.
  5. The new project will be created with the default name "API Project" (it can change from the left side menu, we changed it to "Google Push"). You will notice that there is a list of services available for this project.

    Scroll down the Services list in your Google API Project until you find the service named 'Google Messaging for Android Services'.Then press the 'Off'' button next to the service to enable it.

  6. Scroll down the Services list until you find the service named "Google Cloud messaging for Android". Once you have located the service press the "OFF" button next to the service name to enable it.

    After you enable your Google Messaging Service for Android, scroll up to the beginning of the page and click on 'API Access' on the menu to your left.

  7. After you enable the service, scroll to the top of the Services page and click on the "API Access" option on the left menu.

    While you are in the API Access page note down the value of the API Key for use later on.

  8. At this stage you should now note down the value of the "API Key" field. Close your browser and open the 3CX Management Console.
  9. Navigate to "Settings" and click on "3CXPhone"

    After you log in the 3CX Management Console go to Settings, then 3CXPhone and fill in the 'API Key' and 'Project Number' fields with the values that you noted in steps 3 and 7. Then,select which extensions will have Push notifications enabled and press apply and re-provision your smartphones.

  10. In the "URL field" insert the following: https://android.googleapis.com/gcm/send.
  11. In the "API Key" and "Project Number" fields insert the values that you noted down from step 7 and 3.
  12. After filling in the values to enable Push you need to select which extensions will receive push notifications. From the left column in the "Select 3CX Users section" select users and press "Add". The extension will be moved to the right column and will have Push notifications enabled (outlined in red above). Press "Apply" when done.

Important: You will need to re-provision your Android smartphone to enable Push notification functionality.

Configuring Apple Push for 3CX Phone System 12

  1. Login to the 3CX Management Console.
  2. Navigate to "Settings" and then select "3CXPhone".

    To configure iPhone Push, log into the 3CX Management Console, Select Settings and then 3CXPhone. After that click on the ‘Certificate Path’ drop down menu and select the ‘aps_production.pfx’ certificate, then select which extensions will have Push notifications enabled and press 'Apply'

  3. In the "Apple Push Notification Server Information" section, check the "Enable Push Notifications" option.
  4. Click on the "Certificate Path" drop down menu and select the "aps_production.pfx" certificate.
  5. Press "Apply" and your services will restart. This might take some time to be applied and saved. Re-provision your iPhone and you will be ready for Push Technology.

Important: You will need to re-provision your iPhone smartphone to enable Push notification functionality.

When you have an incoming call - even if you exited the 3CXPhone client - you will receive a notification on your phone. Tap the notification to auto start the client and answer the call.