Assigning Numbers

Assigning a phone number connects it to the personal or shared inbox that should handle its calls and messages. Every active number should be assigned to the inbox representing the person, team, department, or location customers are trying to reach.

An inbox can have multiple phone numbers, but each phone number can be assigned to only one inbox at a time.

An inbox can also remain active without a number. Numberless inboxes can support internal workflows, but they do not have a direct external dial-in or text address and cannot originate external calls or texts.

Before you begin

• You must be an organization Owner or Admin with access to manage the relevant inbox. An inbox's Manager role alone does not let you assign, move, remove, rename, or change the primary phone number. Admins do not gain access to an Owner's or another Admin's personal inbox through their organization role.
• Have an active, unassigned Waveline number ready, or be prepared to purchase one from the destination inbox.
• Confirm that you selected the correct destination inbox.
• If the number is assigned to another inbox, follow the moving instructions below.
• Confirm that the number is not reserved for a pending teammate invitation. If it is, update or cancel that invitation before assigning the number.

An Owner or Admin can purchase a number directly from the inbox's Numbers section when there are no available numbers to assign. A number purchased this way is automatically assigned to the inbox being viewed.

Open this setting on mobile

Open Settings → Inboxes, select the inbox you want to edit, then tap Phone Numbers. Owners and Admins with permission to manage that inbox can open a number to edit it. Other people with inbox access can view its assigned numbers.

For more information, see Open inbox settings in Mobile App Overview.

Add an available number

1. Open Inboxes and select the destination inbox.
2. Scroll to Numbers.
3. If your organization has an unassigned number, select Add phone number.
4. Choose the available number, then select Add number.
5. Confirm that the number appears in the inbox's Numbers list.
6. Test an incoming call and, if messaging is active, send a test message.

If there are no available numbers to assign, the Add phone number button is replaced with Buy a phone number. An Owner or Admin can select it, purchase a new number, and Waveline will assign the number directly to the current inbox.

See Choose or Port a Number for more information about searching for and purchasing numbers.

When multiple numbers are helpful

Each number assigned to an inbox acts as another way for customers to reach the same team. Calls and messages from every assigned number enter the same inbox, and incoming calls use the same members, hours, ring order, voicemail, recording preferences, and call flow.

This lets you configure the customer experience once rather than recreating the same setup for every number.

Multiple numbers can be useful when:

• Tracking marketing sources: Publish one number on your website, another in print advertisements, and another on billboards. Because each number remains identifiable, you can compare which source generates the most customer activity while every call still reaches the same team.
• Creating a local presence: Use numbers with different area codes for the communities or regions your business serves. Customers can call a familiar local number while your existing team handles every call through one inbox.
• Supporting multiple brands or campaigns: Give each brand, service, or campaign its own number when the same team should answer them all.
• Keeping familiar numbers: Connect multiple established or ported numbers to one inbox when they should all reach the same people and follow the same customer experience.

Choose the primary number

An inbox can use multiple phone numbers. Calls and messages received by any assigned number enter the same inbox and follow its configuration.

One number is marked Primary. Waveline selects this number by default when someone places an outbound call from the inbox.

To change it:

1. Open the inbox's Numbers section.
2. Select the radio button in the Primary column beside the preferred number.
3. Wait for the success message.
4. Place an outbound test call and confirm the caller ID.

The Primary control is unavailable when the inbox has only one number because that number is already primary.

Choose the inbox's caller name

In the web app, an organization Owner or Admin with access to manage the inbox can choose the registered caller name used by its numbers where supported.

1. Open Inboxes and select the inbox.
2. Scroll to Caller name, below Numbers.
3. Choose Default to use the organization's default caller name, or choose another registered name from the list.
4. Wait for the saved confirmation. An approved name can take up to 72 hours to appear where carriers display caller names.

If there are no names to choose from, add one in Trust Center. If the selected name is still awaiting approval, the inbox's numbers keep their current approved name until the new name is approved. Rejected names cannot be selected; rename them in Trust Center.

Caller-name display varies by receiving carrier, device, and saved contacts. Many mobile carriers do not display it, and toll-free numbers do not show a caller name. Changing the caller name does not change the phone number selected for an outgoing call.

Move a number between inboxes

An Owner or Admin can move a number directly from Settings → Numbers. You do not need to remove its current assignment first.

1. Decide whether the source inbox should keep a direct number. If it should, assign a replacement before moving its last number.
2. Open Settings → Numbers and select the number you want to move.
3. Under Inbox, select the destination inbox.
4. Select Save.
5. If Waveline shows Leave source inbox without a phone number?, review the effects. Select Continue without a number only if the source should lose its direct external calling and texting number; otherwise, cancel and assign a replacement first.
6. Confirm the saved assignment, then test incoming calls, outgoing caller ID, and messaging.

If you are working from the inbox's Numbers section instead, remove the number from its current inbox, then add the now-unassigned number to the destination inbox. An Owner or Admin can complete the direct move above when you cannot access the required controls.

Moving a number does not release it or stop its billing. If the moved number was primary and the source still has another usable number, Waveline makes a remaining number primary. Review the destination's primary number as well. Existing call records and conversation history remain associated with the inbox where they were recorded.

Remove a number from an inbox

Select the remove icon beside a number to remove its inbox assignment.

Removing a number:

• Makes it Unassigned and available for another inbox.
• Does not remove it from the organization.
• Does not stop recurring billing.
• Does not make it available for someone else to purchase.

If you remove the last number, Waveline asks you to confirm that the inbox will become numberless. The inbox will have no direct external dial-in or text address and cannot originate external calls or texts. Internal calls, transfers, messages, and forwards from other inboxes still work. Direct to Cell attempts fall back to the app or an enabled deskphone or SIP device.

Best practices

• Give numbers clear labels in Settings → Numbers, such as Main Line, Support, or a location name.
• Configure the destination inbox before moving a customer-facing number.
• Keep a number assigned when customers need to call or text the inbox directly or teammates need to use it for external calls and messages.
• Test incoming calls, outgoing caller ID, and messaging after every assignment change.
• Release unused numbers only after confirming that customers and connected services no longer need them.

Troubleshooting

Related pages

• Choose or port a number
• Create an inbox
• Inbox overview
• Shared vs personal inboxes
• Release a number
• Default ring order
• Call flows overview