ext set to away but blf still sees it as available

[sylvaincyr]

Hi,

I have an aastra phone 57i CT with blf lights on. When extension is really busy, light is red. The problem is when a user put himself on away. It rings busy but it wont display a red light on 57i CT. Is it normal that away extension is considered as idle on list of extensions in 3cx.

Can anyone help me with this ?

Sylvain

 

[zensoftware]

Hi Sylvain,

Unfortunately, presence and BLF arent supported features in the Free Edition.

The phone knows it is on "Away" and so will report as busy, so you get a busy tone but this status wont be shown in the 3CX list of extensions because the feature to do this isnt on the Free Edition.

I hope this makes sense.

Emmet.

 

[sylvaincyr]

The only problem with that is that we have a commercial edition.
It supports 32 simultaneous calls.

I have version 7.1.6391.0

 

[jharrell]

I am also seeing this issue.

We are currently trying the 2 call trial version(NOT THE FREE VERSION) of 3cx with Grandstream 2010 phones to see if we want to make the switch. The BLF seems to be functioning correctly except that it does not show a red "unavailable" LED when the phone is set DND or when the Assistant is set for "away".

Also the Assisant does not see the phone in DND nor does the phone show DND when the assistant is set "away".

Is this even supported?

 

[Yakko]

I haven't your phones model and i'm not able to make tests, but be advise that DND on the phone and available/away on the assistant aren't the same things.
The DND status is not supported by 3cx server. Also it can create many problem to your telephone network with 3cx server if users set dnd status on your phones.
The default code to set away on the phone is *61
The default code to set available on the phone is *60

 

[jharrell]

So after much digging I see the Grandstream phones do not send any notification to they PBX when they go DND, not a huge problem, I can disable DND on the phone and set another speed dial key for *61 and *60.

They main issue still remains that even using *61 or the Call Assistant to set the extension to "Away" this is still not reflected in the BLF status. I have a sinking feeling this is simply not supported, that 3cx doesn't consider "away" as "busy", even though it's treated as busy when you call the extension.

Can anyone at 3cx confirm/deny? This is one feature we use considerably here, that if someone is away from their desk, our current nortel system will show DND on their extension, and would seem to be an common feature needed by receptionist etc.

 

[jharrell]

So no one can confirm this behavior as intended or not?

Any input would help here, we choose the Grandstream 2010 for evaluation mainly for the BLF buttons and having them reflect the "away" status is a large part of that. From the original poster it sounds like Astras have the same issue, what about Snoms?

I can tell 3cx prefers their call assistant, which is a nice app, but the whole point of a hard phone is a dedicated hardware UI to the phone system.

We are ready to purchase the 3cx system, it does many things better than our Nortel, but this basic "presence" feature is something we use everyday. We may simply live with it, but knowing it's not there might make us decide on say Polycom's instead of Grandstream's, since they don't really have good BLF support but better sound quality, or if it planned for a future release we might stick with the Grandstreams. If it is supported, then I know to look at a config issue/bug with the Grandstreams.

 

[jharrell]

Well as a follow up since 3cx did not bother to answer, by using network monitor I can see 3cx sends no sip messages of any kind to the phones when an extension goes "away", therefore I would imagine this is by design that the blf does not reflect this status.

I would like to request this as a feature if you guys are even watching, as knowing an extension is dnd or "away" is nearly as important as in call or ringing.

We are getting a Polycom 650 in to compare to the Grandstream 2010's, more than twice as much money and no BLF support currently, but from all sources seems to be a really good phone with great sound quality and reliability. The Grandstreams seem to have everything we want, but I already have had the BLF's stop responding completely, not even showing ring/busy, yet I can see SIP messages going to the phone from 3cx to update the blf's. A reboot of the phone resolves it.

I guess that for all the advances VOIP brings, reliable, full featured blf's are just to much to ask yet.

 

[LeonidasG_3CX]

Well as a follow up since 3cx did not bother to answer, by using network monitor I can see 3cx sends no sip messages of any kind to the phones when an extension goes "away", therefore I would imagine this is by design that the blf does not reflect this status.

I would like to request this as a feature if you guys are even watching, as knowing an extension is dnd or "away" is nearly as important as in call or ringing.

We are getting a Polycom 650 in to compare to the Grandstream 2010's, more than twice as much money and no BLF support currently, but from all sources seems to be a really good phone with great sound quality and reliability. The Grandstreams seem to have everything we want, but I already have had the BLF's stop responding completely, not even showing ring/busy, yet I can see SIP messages going to the phone from 3cx to update the blf's. A reboot of the phone resolves it.

I guess that for all the advances VOIP brings, reliable, full featured blf's are just to much to ask yet.

You could make the Request on the Request forum, you have a better chance of getting some attention on this matter there. Try making a new thread there about this issue.