Assign your 3CX System Owner

Introduction

Assigning a 3CX System Owner is now a requirement. In the next version the Management Console will no longer be available. If you have not assigned a System Owner by this time you will not be able to login to the new “Admin Console”. Although some of the features in the Management Console are not yet available in the Admin Console, this is currently being worked upon.

Warnings Missing System Owner

You will see a warning pop-up banner in the Management Console and Web Client if no System Owner is assigned. If your user role is either System Admin, Group Admin, Group Owner, Manager and or Receptionist, you will see this pop-up warning.  

How to Assign a System Owner

If you created your system from update 6, the first extension is a System Owner by default. If your install is older than this you will have a root account only. You will not have a System Owner by default and must create one. You will get a warning.

Important: Root account only: If your current 3CX administrator only has a root account (Management Console > Security > Root credentials) without an associated extension, create an extension for the root account before assigning the System Owner role.

Step 1: Create the System Admin / System Owner Extension

1. Log into your 3CX Admin Console with your root credentials.
2. You will get a warning message telling you that you need to assign an extension user with System / Root privileges.
3. If your current 3CX administrator does not have an extension you need to create one.
4. Go to Admin > Users.
5. Go to the user extension, either Add User or Edit by clicking on the name of an existing user to edit their role.
6. Click on the 'Rights' tab.
7. In the 'Group Membership' section, select the "System Owner" role.
8. Your system and other users can now be managed through the Web Client.

1. Log into your 3CX Admin Console.
2. If you’re the System Owner, you do not need to do anything further.

If you want to assign the System Owner and / or System Administrator role to someone else, you need to follow these steps.

1. Go to Admin > Users and “Add User” or Edit an existing user.
2. Select from the ‘Role’ dropdown menu the permission you want to assign.
3. Assign System Owner / System Administrator roles to the user extensions responsible for ownership and management of your system.

Step 2: Add a new Group

This step will hide the System Admin extension from the Teams page and Phonebook. You can skip this step if you don't want this.

1. Go to Admin > Departments and click Add.
2. Name the Group, for example “Admins”
3. Uncheck ‘Publish group information to all extensions”
4. Go to the Members tab and add the System Admin.
5. Press back to save.

Step 3: Remove System Owner / System Admin from Default Group

By default the extension will still be part of the Default Group and so it will show up in the phonebook and in “Team” by virtue of its “Default” group membership. To hide the extension

1. Go to Admin > Departments and search for DEFAULT.
2. Edit the Group.
3. Go to Members and remove the System Owner / System Admin extension.

See Also

• How to set up departments
• How to set up your team
• User access roles explained

Last Updated

This document was last updated on 10 September 2026

https://www.3cx.com/docs/assign-system-owner/