Configure caller ID

The number you present is the number people call back on. A direct line bypasses reception; the main number reaches whoever is available.

The number you present is the number people call back on. A direct line bypasses reception; the main number reaches whoever is available. Neither is wrong, but choosing by accident usually is.

Where the number comes from

Several layers can each set the outbound number, and the one that applies depends on how the call was placed. This is the list to work through when somebody reports that the wrong number showed.

One thing sits above all of these: the receiving network has the last word. Even when the system sends a specific number and name, the provider on the other side may replace it, ignore it or restrict it. That is why a number can be configured correctly and still arrive as something else.

Only three of these are the caller's to change: choosing a service in the Dialpad, switching identity, and withholding the number. Everything else, including which identities exist at all, is an administrator's. So "I picked the wrong number" and "the wrong number is configured" are different problems with different people to ask.

Choosing per call

If your company has several outbound numbers, users select the caller ID in the dialpad before dialling. That choice applies everywhere, including on a desk phone, which is why a customer sometimes sees an unexpected number.

Your administrator can also set up a switch among your Favorites in Collaboration 7, or on your Fn keys on a desk phone, that toggles between two outbound numbers. Double-click it to change which number you present, then place the call as normal. It is worth asking for when people swap numbers many times a day, because it is one click instead of a trip into the dialpad.

Setting the default

What goes out when nobody chooses is the user's own Full Name and Office number. Getting that right per team matters more than any per-call choice, because most people never change it. Sales usually wants a direct line and support usually wants the number people should call back. Tell us what each team should present and we will set it.

Withholding your number

Possible through the Hide number feature code, and usually a bad idea for business calls. Many people do not answer withheld numbers and those who do trust the call less. It also depends on the connection supporting anonymous calls, so it is not guaranteed in every case.

Rules on caller ID are tightening across Europe and North America, and calls presenting a number that cannot be verified are increasingly blocked or marked as suspected spam by the receiving network.

Presenting a number that is not yours

Possible, and only under all three of these conditions at once:

• The holder has authorised you to use it, and that authorisation is lawful.
• The number answers. Someone calling it back has to reach a real line.
• It is not used for fraud or unverified telemarketing.

The obvious case is a group presenting one central number for several entities, or an agency calling on behalf of a client that owns the number. Expect it to be less reliable than presenting your own: some networks block mobile numbers as caller ID regardless of authorisation.

In the Netherlands you may present a number that fits the destination numbering plan, with one exception: 090x and 18xy cannot be used as caller ID.

Some destinations have rules of their own

The layers above decide which number you send. What happens to it after that is the destination's business, and eleven countries treat it differently enough to be worth reading before you call them. Present a local number to Singapore or Turkey and operators filter it; present one to Japan and it arrives anonymised; Spain adds a surcharge to domestic fixed-line calls. None of it is a fault at our end, and none of it produces an error you can see.

• Australia
• China
• France
• Hong Kong
• Japan
• New Zealand
• Singapore
• South Africa
• Spain
• Turkey
• the United Arab Emirates

Emergency numbers are a category of their own: see Calling emergency services.

Making your calls look trustworthy

If your outbound calls go unanswered, presenting a consistent, verifiable number that matches your public listings helps. On CLASSOUND, branded calling can show your company name alongside the number.

Whether the name arrives at all depends on the provider, the destination network and the country. Wildix advises keeping caller names to about fifteen characters or fewer, which gives the best chance of consistent delivery and a readable display across trunks, carriers, phones and apps.

See also

• Block spoofed inbound calls
• What CLASSOUND is and when you need it
• Make and receive calls in x-bees
• Your number shows as spam when you call