Forward Call to cell phone then external number

[SecTech]

We are trying to set up a forwarding rule for our after hours on-call technician.

When someone dials in, they select an option for emergency service from the digital receptionist.
This connects them to the extension set up for the on-call tech (all calls are forwarded to a cellphone)

If for whatever reason the on-call tech doesn't answer the call, we would like to then forward the call to an external number (our 24 hour answering service)

The problem is, no matter how long I set the ring time in 3cx, the cell phone voicemail picks up. Every Time.

Is there any way to make this work?

 

[craigreilly]

Does the mobile device provider have the option to forward on no answer instead of going to voicemail ?

The "no answer" feature I do not think will do what you need it to do. Even with rebound turned on - that will only bring it back to the local voicemail.

What about a Prioritized Ring Group?

Make the "ANSWERING SERVICE" another extension and forward all calls for that extension to their number (put into Mobile field).
It should give up on the CELL PHONE after 20 seconds - set it shorter if need be based on the ring time of the voicemail on the mobile. Some providers will let you move this up to 30 seconds.

 

[SecTech]

Prioritized Ring group doesn't seem to work either, still getting the cell phone voicemail.

It seems as though once the call is forwarded to a mobile number, even when set to ring extension and mobile simultaneously, 3cx can no longer do anything with the call.

 

[paul.hadley]

Try this

Set the extension to ring my mobile as well as ring the extension.

Set up a ring group and instead of forwarding the call to the extension send it to the ring group

In the group set the one extension you want to call in the Members Group. With a 25 sec ring out and the option at the bottom set to forward to an outside number (Your message service).

I think that should ring the mobile for 25 secs and then forward to the external number before the mobile answer machine cuts in. You might have to play with the time out in the ring group to just beat the mobile answer system.

 

[SecTech]

Tried that also, even going so far as to set the ring time to 5 seconds. It seems once the mobile phone starts ringing, 3cx sees the call as connected and does not perform any other actions.

 

[craigreilly]

Seems even rebound doesn't work properly in this scenario.
I would go back to my original tip - check with provider about changing DO NOT ANSWER / BUSY from VoiceMail to an alternate phone number.
I am pretty sure this is possible - I once had my Cell Phone forward to an external provider for voicemail instead of cell providers voicemail.

 

[paul.hadley]

Just tried it here and it worked fine.

When 3CX forwards the call to the mobile it, in essence makes a new call. I guess that whatever out bound provider is used is causing the problem.

If I route the call to the mobile through a ATA (Linksys SPA3102) then I have the same problem as you. Because from a Sip point of view the ATA actually answers the call before making the call on the PSTN.

So I think your problem is your outbound call method causes a Sip connection to be made before placing the call, therefore 3CX considers the call to the mobile to completed and performs no further action. If you used a pure Sip Trunk for the outbound call then 3CX would not consider the call completed until someone actually answered the mobile, thus allowing for further routing of the call when not answered.

 

[SecTech]

All of our calls are routed through a Grandstream GXW1404 Gateway. Would that be the cause?

 

[paul.hadley]

I don't have a GXW1404 Gateway to check but I would be pretty sure it works the same way a SPA3102

When a call is placed to it it actual answers the sip call and then places the call onto the PSTN. In that case 3CX does not know what the actual status of the call is, it could be ringing, engaged or answered on the PSTN side but in the Sip side is connected and answered.

The caller is connected to to gateway immediately and hears what ever the phone line sends, this through can not be used to control the PBX, only give feed back to the caller through tones etc.

To make this work the way you want it to you would need a direct sip trunk to a VoiP provider. Then 3CX would be able to see the call had not been answered until it actually was, and if not take the appropriate action to forward the call on.

 

[SecTech]

We'll definitely look into the SIP trunk.

Thank you for your help, it is much appreciated.

 

[active5]

I've had a similar issue until I switched outgoing calls to a SIP VoIP provider.

In a non 3CX issue I had the same problem at home with the apartment building intercom which dials your home number. I had my Cablevision home number programmed to "find me" using our Verizon cell phones. If any cell phone was answered by voicemail, no one could open the door, Cablevision considers the call completed. You also have to take into consideration that if a cell phone is either unavailable or in the process of connecting a call it goes straight to voicemail.

 

[craigreilly]

sounds like the provider is the way to go - get them to change the no answer vm to an external number.

 

[jjwerkman]

@SecTech, are you from The Netherlands? I have exact the same issue and so far only with Vodafone mobile numbers. I tried it with another provider (Hi) and it works fine. My desktop phone and mobile are ringing at the same time. Did you have any succes with changing to SIP trunk instead of SIP Provider?