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Set up call pickup groups

Group extensions together so anyone in the group can answer a ringing call on a colleague's phone by dialling a short code.

Who this is for: admins

Before you start

  • Pickup Groups is included for every company. If you don't see a Pickup Group tab on the extension detail page, it has been switched off for your account: ask your provider or Phonovo support to switch it back on.
  • This has to be set up by an admin. If an everyday user opens their own extension's Pickup Group tab and saves a group name, they will see a "saved successfully" message, but the change doesn't take effect. Only an admin's changes are kept here today.
  • The extensions you want to group together already exist. See Create an extension and assign it to a user.
  • Decide on a group name for the team, for example "sales" or "reception". Every extension in the same group must use exactly the same name.

Steps

  1. In the sidebar, under Communication, select Extensions.
  2. Find the first extension you want in the group and select the Configure icon (the sliders icon in the Actions column).
  3. Select the Pickup Group tab.
  4. Under Group Name, type the name for this team, for example sales. Only lowercase letters, numbers, hyphens and underscores are allowed, and anything else is removed as you type. As you type a name that matches other extensions, they appear underneath so you can check you have the right group.
  5. Select Save Changes.
  6. Repeat steps 1 to 5 for every other extension that should belong to the same group, entering the same group name each time.

To remove an extension from a group, open its Pickup Group tab, clear the Group Name field, and select Save Changes.

Picking up a call

  • Any ringing phone in your group: dial *8 from your handset. You answer the call that is ringing on another member's extension. If more than one call is ringing in your group, *8 answers the one that has been ringing longest. Your own extension needs to be in the pickup group for *8 to work.
  • One particular colleague's phone: dial ** followed by their extension number, for example **1001. This works whether or not you are in the same pickup group.
  • Calls to a ring group: while a ring group call is ringing on a group member's phone, you can pick it up with *8 or ** and their extension number in the same way.

If nothing is ringing when you dial, the call ends straight away.

Screenshot

Screenshot of the Pickup Group tab showing the Group Name field, the *8 pickup explanation, and the list of other extensions already in the same group.

Ask Olivia

You can also ask Olivia, the in-portal assistant, to walk you through this.