Phone basics

Receiving Calls

Incoming calls enter through a personal or shared inbox phone number, then Waveline applies number assignment, business hours, call flow routing, ring groups, forwarding, voicemail, and user availability.

Before you begin

  • Assign the phone number to the correct personal or shared inbox.
  • For shared lines, add answering teammates as inbox members.
  • Configure default ring groups or publish a call flow that includes a Ring Users step.
  • Make sure answering devices are signed in, available, and allowed to show notifications.

Where to find it

Incoming calls are configured from Phone -> Numbers, Phone -> Inboxes, and the inbox call-flow builder.

Step-by-step

  1. Assign each work number to a personal inbox or shared team inbox.
  2. Open the inbox and confirm owner, members, default ring groups, business hours, and recording settings.
  3. Build a call flow if calls should use menus, hours checks, forwarding, voicemail, or text follow-up.
  4. Publish the call flow so the live number uses it.
  5. Ask each answering team member to install the apps and keep availability enabled.
  6. Place a test inbound call from an outside phone.

What happens next

  • Calls can ring web/mobile clients, SIP deskphones, or direct-to-cell/proxy destinations depending on inbox and user setup.
  • If nobody answers, the call flow can continue to voicemail, forwarding, another branch, or an unhandled outcome.
  • Missed, voicemail, abandoned, and no-answer outcomes can appear in filters and analytics.

Best practices

  • Keep call flows simple enough that callers can reach the right person or team quickly.
  • Use business hours before ring steps when after-hours behavior should differ.
  • Keep at least one fallback route, such as voicemail, for every important inbox.

Troubleshooting

  • If nobody rings, confirm the number is assigned and the call flow is published.
  • If only some users ring, check inbox membership, ring group order, dial methods, and availability.
  • If callers hit voicemail too soon, increase ring group timeouts or simplify the flow.
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