Collaboration

Call pickup

Answer any ringing phone in your group from your own device.

Call pickup lets you answer a call that is ringing on a colleague's phone, from your own desk. If a teammate steps away, is on another line, or is simply across the room, any member of the same pickup group can take the call before it drops or goes to voicemail.

The feature is organised into pickup groups, typically aligned with departments or teams. Each group can be enabled or disabled independently, and a person can belong to more than one group. The result is a safety net that keeps calls answered without callers noticing the shuffle behind the scenes.

When you'd use call pickup

  • A reception team where callers should always reach a person, and any available receptionist can grab a ringing line when their colleague is already on a call.

  • A support team that works in shared office space: when one agent's phone rings while they are away from their desk, the person sitting next to them can pick it up.

  • A small business where everyone sometimes handles calls, and the right thing to do is answer rather than let any incoming call ring out.

How call pickup works in Voxbi

  1. Create pickup groups in the Voxbi Cockpit

    An administrator sets up one or more pickup lines (for example: Support, Finance, Dev) and adds the extensions that belong to each group. Groups can be enabled and disabled individually without removing their configuration.

  2. Use a key shortcut to intercept a ringing call

    When a colleague's phone in your group is ringing and you want to answer it, dial \*8 from your own phone or trigger the pickup from the Voxbi app. The call is immediately redirected to you.

  3. Manage membership as the team changes

    Users can belong to multiple pickup groups at once, so an administrator can mirror the real structure of a team. Removing someone from a group or disabling a group does not affect the others.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to know which colleague's phone is ringing to use call pickup?

No. The \8 shortcut picks up any ringing call within your pickup group, regardless of whose extension it is ringing on. You do not need to specify a particular colleague.

What if more than one phone in my group is ringing at the same time?

Pickup will answer one ringing call. If multiple calls are ringing simultaneously, the system intercepts the earliest one. The others will continue ringing until someone else in the group picks up, or until they reach their configured timeout.

Can someone be in more than one pickup group?

Yes. An extension can belong to multiple pickup groups at the same time. This is useful for team members who cover more than one department or shift.

How does a desk phone user use call pickup?

Dialling \8 from a SIP desk phone provisioned through Voxbi triggers the pickup. Some desk phones can also be configured to show a button light when a group member's line is ringing, giving a visual signal before you decide to intercept.

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