Unified Communications and Collaboration - Frequently Asked Questions

You have three (3) choices.

1. Press the "Answer" softkey. This automatically places your first call on hold and answers the new call. You may want to tell your first caller that you are answering another call so that they are aware they are going to be put on hold.
2. Press the “iDivert” softkey. This will immediately transfer the new incoming call to your voicemail (if you have voicemail).
3. Ignore the call. After four (4) rings (depending on line settings), it will go to voicemail (if you have voicemail), roll to another phone (if your phone has that setup), or continue to ring.

“#8” was used on the Centrex system because long distance lines were separate from lines that are used to make local calls. On the new system, all calls traverse the same path making the “#8” unnecessary. All calls – local or long distance – can be made by dialing 9+1+areacode+number. You may also make local calls as before by dialing 9+number. Fax machines and modems are the only exception where “#8” may still be used as a convenience so agencies do not have to update their on-board address books on their fax machines.

If someone is transferring a call to you and has not pressed the “Transfer” softkey to release the call to you, you are still on the line with the person who got the original call. When they press “Transfer” the second time to release the call to you, you will then be talking with the original caller.

All phones are set to have the screens go into a “blank” state from 6:00pm until 7:30am each day. However, if you lift the receiver or press the Display key on the phone, the screen will “wake up”. The phone will function normally (ring) even if the screen is blank.

The phone does not go "through the Internet", and is therefore not affected by the Internet. The phone system is also logically separate from your own agency's data network. That means that if your servers or other portions of your agency network are inaccessible, your phone will typically still function normally.

The “AUX” port is used to connect auxiliary devices such as a Cisco 7916 expansion sidecar. It is also used to connect selected headsets if you have a special cable called an “Enhanced Hookswitch Cable” that allows answering/terminating a call via the headset.

No. If you leave the “Headset” button illuminated, you can answer calls by pressing the “Answer” softkey. You can terminate the call by pressing the “EndCall” softkey. If you have a special cable called an “Enhanced Hookswitch Cable” for your headset, you can also answer/terminate calls with your headset.

There are two (2) ways of checking your voicemail from your IP phone.

1. Lift the receiver, then press the “Messages” button on the phone.
2. Lift the receiver, dial 8-7000.

When you hear another phone ringing that you know if in the same pickup group as you are, you can do two (2) different things to “pick up” the call.

1. Press the “Pickup” softkey on your phone to bring the call to your phone, then lift the receiver to answer the call or press the “Speaker” button to answer it on speakerphone.
2. If your phone has a Line button (on the right hand side of the screen) for the particular phone number that is ringing, you can press that key to bring the call to you phone. You may then lift the receiver to answer the call, or press the “Speaker” button to answer it on speakerphone.

There are two (2) methods of transferring a call to someone else.

1. Conference transfer: While on the phone with a caller, press the “Transfer” softkey. Dial the number you are transferring the caller to, wait for the person to answer the phone so you can announce the transfer. Announce the transfer to the person. Press the “Transfer” softkey to complete the transfer. You may now hang up the phone.
2. Blind transfer: While on the phone with a caller, press the “Transfer” softkey. Dial the number you are transferring the caller to, then press the “Transfer” softkey immediately to complete the transfer. You may now hang up the phone.

• Call-Forward-All allows you to redirect all calls that are destined for your phone number to an alternate phone number. Your phone will not ring when it is forwarded in this manner.
• You may “forward” all calls your phone receives to any other On-Net or local phone by pressing the “More” softkey, then pressing the “CfwdAll” softkey. You will hear 2 beeps indicating the phone is ready to accept your phone number to forward all calls to. Enter the phone number (if it is a local number, make sure to enter a ‘9’ before the local number). You will then hear 1 beep indicating that the system has accepted your input.
• To deactivate the Call-Forward-All, press the “More” softkey, then press “CfwdAll”. You will hear 2 beeps indicating your phone is no longer forwarded.

When you look at the screen, there are two (2) indicators that your phone is being forwarded to another number. At the bottom of the screen, you will see the message “Forwarded to xxxxxx”. You will also see an icon at the extreme top/right of your screen with a picture of a phone with an animated arrow moving to the right.

Yes. Only do this if you have voicemail, though, because if you do not the caller will be prompted to enter their voicemail credentials (which they probably won’t have). Use the following procedure to forward all calls directly to voicemail (your phone will no longer ring):

1. Press the "More" softkey.
2. Press the "CfwdAll" softkey.
3. Press the “Messages” button (it has an envelope on it) on your phone.

To deactivate the Call-Forward-All, press the “More” softkey, then press “CfwdAll”. You will hear 2 beeps indicating your phone is no longer forwarded.

Depending on the model and hardware that has been installed on your phone, you can do one of the following:

1. 6921 phone: Pick up the phone and gently pull the back stand off of the unit. You can flip it over to an alternate position of your choosing. Place the stand (click it) back into the unit.
2. 7945G/7965G (no sidecar): Press the button that protrudes from the right-hand side of the phone. While holding the button in, you may adjust the stand by tilting the phone up/down until you get the phone to a position of your liking. Release the button.
3. 7965G with sidecar: There is a release mechanism on the rear footstand in the middle of the unit that you must press to completely remove the rear footstand. Place the footstand in another slot of your liking and snap the footstand back into the unit.

Yes. By default (unless your phone administrator has changed your settings), you are allowed to have up to four (4) active calls. Normally, your phone will go into “busy” state – (new calls received will perform the action for “busy” such as giving the caller a busy tone or redirecting to voicemail) – after the 2nd call. However, if you place your caller on hold, you may press the “New Call” softkey to place another outgoing call while the original caller(s) are on hold.

No. Only employees who are on the new phone system, and if the agency has elected to put them into the Corporate Directory. If you have questions about this, please contact your local telecom representative.

The “DirTrfr” (Direct Transfer) softkey connects two (2) callers that you are talking with on your phone to each other and releases you from the call. Please see your training guide for instructions on how to complete the operation.

The “HLog” key logs you in or out of all Hunt Pilot line groups that your phone is a member of. If your phone is not a member of any Hunt Pilots, this key has no effect. However, your phone will still say “Logged out of hunt group” if you press the key – even if you are not a member of any Hunt Pilots. For further information on what a Hunt Pilot is, please see the question “What is a Hunt Pilot”.

A Hunt Pilot is a phone number (such as 296-1234) that will cause multiple phones to ring in many different programmable combinations of the agency’s choosing. Some agencies use Hunt Pilots to allow Help Desks to efficiently take calls by ringing a selected set of phones to ring “first” to allow a front-line to take calls, and if the front-line phones are busy, it will then ring a second set of phones to take calls. This can be in many different combinations depending on agency business requirements.

The “QRT” (Quality Report Tool) is a button that is active on your phone only when you are on a call with someone. It is used to “flag” a call as having a problem so that the phone system administrators can determine if there are problems that need to be addressed on the system. The phone system administrators are notified each time you press the QRT button, and you may receive a follow-up call to gather more information regarding the problem.

When you receive a call from “outside” the new phone system (such as a cell phone or a call from the older phone system), the phone will ring with a “stutter” ring tone that you have chosen on your phone.

A continuous long ring tone indicates the caller is from another phone on the State’s new phone system (another IP Phone).

The “Services” button on your phone is used for special applications that run on your phone.  Typically this is used for such things as "UCCX" (the ACD replacement) and specialized voicemail functionality.

There are three (3) indicators that you have voicemail.

1. The handset will have a red light that turns on when you have new messages that you have not listened to yet.
2. The display will have the message “You have VoiceMail” at the bottom of the screen.
3. There will be a “flashing envelope” beside the line button on your phone.
4. You MAY have an audible stutter tone on your handset.  However, this is only by special request.  If you need this feature, please contact your normal phone services representative.

There are too many features that are available to list them all here. However, if you have a business need that is not being met, please contact your site telecom representative to see if a particular feature is available.

Some agencies have that capability if they have installed some other product such as Microsoft Lync on PC’s. However, that is not using the State phone system and is only applicable to the agency. The State phone system has that capability as well, but we are not implementing that functionality yet. Stay tuned!

If you have a business need to do that, please contact your local telecom representative.

Only the phone number will be presented to the called party – but that depends on the called party’s phone carrier.

The State phone system will pass whatever caller-id is given from the carrier to your phone.

Yes. Please click here to download a copy of the phone training manual.

The State currently supports the Cisco 6921, 7945G, 7965G and 9951G phone models.

When you dial 911, you are immediately connected to the Shawnee County Emergency center. They will receive information about the address you are dialing from, and the floor that you are on in the building. In addition, the KHP dispatch center at the Docking State Office Building is also notified that you dialed 911. In many cases, the KHP desk in your respective building is also notified. If you accidentally dial 911, please stay on the line and let the dispatcher know you did not mean to dial them.

No. You must contact your telecom group to accomplish that.

Please contact your agency telecom representative to determine if that functionality is available.

The Personal Address Book is an option on the “Directories” button on your phone. To have access to it, however, requires that you login to the phone system via a web page to set it up in the first place. You need to contact your agency telecom representative to verify whether your agency has setup this option before you can proceed.

Unfortunately, no. Images and ringtone files are stored on a central server that is only accessible to system administrators.

Unfortunately, no. Images and ringtone files are stored on a central server that is only accessible to system administrators.

No. You may only plug in one (1) phone to any individual data jack.

No. Even though the technical answer to this is “yes”, the compression algorithm used on normal phone calls isn’t compatible with fax machines except in rare cases.

"800" numbers (i.e. 1-800-555-1212) are what is called "virtual numbers" that do not incur long distance charges by the caller.  Behind the scenes, these numbers actually go to a "real" number with an area code and number such as 1-785-555-1212.  So, when you call 1-800-555-1212, the phone with number 1-785-555-1212 is the actual phone that rings.

Currently, the following prefixes are Toll-Free:  800 (since 1966), 888 (since 1996), 877 (since 1998), 866 (since 2000), 855 (since 2010), and 844 (December 7, 2013).  Area codes reserved for future expansion include 833, 822, 880 through 887, and 889.

No. You may only move your IP Phones to any jack in a building that has been “prepped” for VOIP. If you have any questions on whether a building is “VOIP Ready”, please contact your OITS Telecom Representative.

In addition, for Law Enforcement entities that utilize the "Phone VPN" solution (such as KBI, KHP, Corrections and potentially others), failure to notify OITS of the physical location of where the phone is located may result in 911 services not being dispatched to the correct location.

Based on power consumption and requirements in the wiring closets, we are unable to supply PoE to all jacks, therefore the decision was made to require “power bricks” to power the phones. We do, however, enable PoE on special cases such as conference rooms. If you feel you have a special case, please contact your OITS Telecom Representative.

You need to contact your OITS Telecom Representative to do that. However, you may want to fill out the 7965 Form that you can save for later use and send to the OITS staff.

This occurs because there is no “phone number” assigned to the phone. If you need a phone activated, please contact your OITS Telecom Representative.

A quick explanation before we explain the procedure.  A Factory Reset clears any settings, call logs, and personalization from the phone.  This does not damage or erase any centralized configuration that OITS has provided to the phone.  NOTE:  If you are a CJIS-related agency such as KBI, KHP, Corrections or other agency that utilizes the VPN feature of the phones, do NOT perform this unless directed to do so by OITS. 

Procedure:

1. Unplug the phone's power cord (or Ethernet cable if you're using PoE)
2. Plug the phone's power cord in, AND CONCURRENTLY hold the "#" button on the keypad in while you do so.  Keep holding the "#" key in until the 2 Line Buttons alternately flash.  You may then release the "#" key.
3. Enter the following sequence on the keypad:  123456789*0#
4. The phone will begin its factory reset.  Do not unplug it from power!
5. When the phone is done with the reset, you will see your phone number, name, etc. on the display.

The data jack in your office must plug into the port on the phone that is labeled “SW”, and your PC must plug into the phone on a port that is labeled “PC”. If they are reversed, neither the phone nor PC will work properly. If you have verified they are plugged in properly, please contact your local agency telecom representative.

You can either unplug the power from the phone, or you may alternately reset your phone by pressing the following keys:

1. Settings
2. Press the "**#**" in quick succession. Your phone will perform a normal reboot sequence.

• Because your PC is reliant on the phone being powered up and working, you need to verify that the power cord is plugged in properly to the power outlet on the wall, and that the plug is firmly and securely plugged into the back of the phone. You may try pressing very firmly on the power cord that is plugged into the back of the phone – sometimes they are VERY difficult to get plugged in all the way.
  
  
• If you have verified that the power plugs are plugged in properly to the wall outlet and the back of the phone, and the phone is still dark (no power), you can remove the phone completely from the chain of ethernet cables so that your PC is plugged in directly to the ethernet jack from the wall. It will still function normally as before in that manner. If your PC is still not able to connect to the network, please contact your local telecom representative for assistance.

This may be caused by other callers that you are talking with being on a cell phone. However, if the party you are talking with is not on a cell phone, and the problem persists with other people you talk with, please let your local telecom representative know of the case or report the problem to the OITS Network Control Center (296-2310).

If you have recently reconnected your phone to the network, please check the cables on the back of the phone to verify they are plugged into the proper port on your phone. Otherwise, please contact your local agency telecom representative or the OITS Network Control Center for assistance.

If you have recently reconnected your phone to the network, please check the cables on the back of the phone to verify they are plugged into the proper port on your phone. Otherwise, please contact your local agency telecom representative or the OITS Network Control Center for assistance.

If you phone has the message "VPN Authentication Failed" on the bottom of the screen, that means that it was unable to connect to a firewall properly.  There are many reasons that this could happen, but the only option you have is to press the "Retry" softkey on your phone. 

If you press the "Retry" key and the phone still has the message "VPN Authentication Failed" on it, you will need to contact your IT staff to let them know about the error.