The short answer
The portal calls this Office Anywhere. It is the reliable way to reach someone on the road, and the durable fix for a cell that the Webex app does not ring.
What it does
An outside number, usually a cell, is made part of the extension. When the extension rings, the cell rings too, on every call: a direct call, a menu key, a hunt group or a call center in which the extension is a member. The call comes in over the cellular voice network, so it does not depend on the Webex app, the phone's battery settings, or a data connection. Whichever device answers first takes the call, and it still carries the business caller ID.
This is the difference from call forwarding, which fires only on calls that reach the extension directly.
Setting it up
The Office Anywhere card sits on the extension's Settings tab. On an extension that has never had it, the card is hidden until it is added from the + Features panel. Each number on the card has three things of its own:
- Enabled. The switch that makes this one number ring. Turn it off to stop the cell without losing anything else.
- Answer Confirmation. The cell has to press a key to take the call. Keep it on: it stops the cell carrier's own voicemail from swallowing a business call when the cell is off or out of range.
- Schedule. The hours or dates this number rings. This is how a forward for a vacation or a day out is limited without leaving the number on for good. See schedules.
We normally set this up when you ask, because a mistyped cell number sends business calls to a stranger.
The card’s main switch is not a pause
Saving the card with its main switch off deletes every number on it, together with each number's schedule. There is no confirmation and no undo. To stop one number ringing, use that number's own Enabled switch; everything stays and one press brings it back.
Calling out with the business caller ID
From your cell, call the company's main number. When the system answers, dial 777. You get a business dial tone; dial the number you want, and the call goes out showing the company's number instead of your cell. The cell you call from has to be on your extension's Office Anywhere list, or the system asks who you are instead of giving you a dial tone. In Reports, that call shows as your outgoing call.
The dial-out portal is switched on per company, on request. Its extension is 777 unless 777 was already taken, in which case it lands on 788 or 799, and we tell you which.
Hours
Each Office Anywhere number keeps its own hours in its own schedule; a second number on the same extension is not affected by the first one's schedule. The Webex apps themselves have no hours: they ring whenever the extension rings. So when a cell still rings after hours with every number switched off or outside its schedule, it is the Webex mobile app, and the fix is turning off Webex notifications on the phone after hours, not signing out.
A number abroad
An overseas cell is entered as 011, the country code, then the number, with no plus sign. Ringing a number outside the US and Canada needs the international forwarding switch on the account, which is off until you ask, and the minutes are billed at the international rate. See extra numbers, caller ID, and international calls.