DID to Ring Group, SMS to Extension

[TwoRivers]

Like many others, the update last night broke my SMS routing / workflow. I had it set where the main # DID would go to a ring group, then another ring group then voicemail while the SMS would be directed to a specific extension. In my case, that extension is generic and shared by a few employees.

I think I can replicate the call flow using call queues, and that would allow 'separate' SMS routing? Hard to find solid information right now but I need to fix it tonight for tomorrow's business hours.

Do you have any suggestions on a path forward to achieve my desired results?

 

[GeorgeP_3CX]

Hi @TwoRivers,

In regards to your inquiry, you can send the DID to a Digital Receptionist and the callers will choose(based on input) where they want to redirected and set the destination of the SMS to be the previously used extension.

Please find the relevant guide how to achieve this here: https://www.3cx.com/docs/manual/ivr-digital-receptionist/#h.q1v8laia3t51

 

[TwoRivers]

Digital receptionist is no good, we have people to answer the phone when it rings hence the ring group. No selection input from the customer is needed or wanted.

I could have someone record a very short greeting, then have it buzz the ring group? Or I suppose I can leave the greeting as Emtpy.wav and the 'If no input within seconds' to 1, and only add a minimal delay to call connection time.

Thank you for your help! I think I can see a path forward

 

[TwoRivers]

I retract my statement, Digital reception is just fine Set it to Empty.wav then in the Options tab, put the value to 1 second and then connect to a ring group. Now callers get to hear a funky tune instead of ringing, the 2 second delay isn't really noticeable.

SMS didn't get to the intended user but I suspect that problem is elsewhere...

 

[GeorgeP_3CX]

I retract my statement, Digital reception is just fine Set it to Empty.wav then in the Options tab, put the value to 1 second and then connect to a ring group. Now callers get to hear a funky tune instead of ringing, the 2 second delay isn't really noticeable.

SMS didn't get to the intended user but I suspect that problem is elsewhere...

When you say the SMS didn't get to the intended user, you mean that the SMS was received by a different extension?

If this is the case, before making another test, ensure that the already active conversations from the number that you are sending an SMS from are marked as Dealt with.

Also, find our guide for configuring SMS: https://www.3cx.com/docs/manual/sip-trunks/
You will have to also make sure that the DIDs are configured in E164 format in the SIP Trunk.

 

[TwoRivers]

Actually, the SMS did not arrive to 3CX at all, at least according to the chat logs. Twilio says it sent them to the webhook, same as all the other DIDs which can send and receive messages.

When you say E164, you mean in the SIP Trunk settings under the DIDs tab it has the proper + country code? Or do you mean the Caller ID tab options.

 

[GeorgeP_3CX]

Yes that is what I mean. In the SIP Trunk configuration >> DIDs >> set up the DID in E164 format.

If that does not work, you will have to recheck the configuration in both Twilio side and 3CX side.
For the Twilio side: https://www.3cx.com/docs/sip-trunk/twilio/

 

[TwoRivers]

I've just verified the setup on both sides. SIP voice is working, SMS is working for users inbound/outbound except for this instance. I thought that this shared account, not having a DID could be the problem but assigning a spare DID to them did not fix it. Nor did changing the setting to route the message to another test extension, the messages just go into a black hole.

I noticed something interesting. On the Dashboard, the link to the Chat Logs, the 'Purge XXX messages' button increments when I send an SMS to the main line. But, brining up the log does not show the message received. So, 3cx is getting it, but it doesn't show where it goes in the logs.

 

[TwoRivers]

Exporting the logs shows the hidden ones. Strange things going on in there. I will send you a PM with what I see, but essentially my texts are stuck in a queue with multiple people. So I have threads from my testing number that haven't been 'Dealt With'.

 

[GeorgeP_3CX]

Exporting the logs shows the hidden ones. Strange things going on in there. I will send you a PM with what I see, but essentially my texts are stuck in a queue with multiple people. So I have threads from my testing number that haven't been 'Dealt With'.

Please note that you will have to mark those conversations as Dealt With in order to see if the SMS is routing to the extension that you have configured.
Until the conversation are not dealt with, the SMS will go the queue. Dealt with will be available in the agent that is handling the chat(has ownership). If no one has the ownership, you will need to first take ownership of the conversation and then mark it as Dealt with.

 

[TwoRivers]

Yep, that was the problem. I couldn't figure out how to embed a screenshot in PMs but I guess the GUI log viewer doesn't know how to handle group chats. Once I logged in as a participant, took ownership and marked it Dealt With, tests are working as expected. Thanks again!

 

[neurocis]

Sorry but this Digital Receptionist solution seems like quite the Cludge considering how seamless it was previously & how breaking this update is. Thanks.