Prepend CID info to show which line the call is coming in on

[nsudds]

I would love to see a feature added to the OBitalk setup to allow prepending the CID information with something to indicate which of the multiple SIP accounts the call is coming in from.  I have 3 separate SIP accounts setup but would like to know which one the call is coming in on before answering (i.e. I might answer differently if it's personal, or one of my two business lines)

This could be simple by just adding the line number in front of the caller id name information (if possible).

example:

GV: Bob Smith
L1: Bob Smith
L2: Bob Smith
L3: Bob Smith
L4: Bob Smith

Or any other variation on this concept to show which line is ringing

This way I can look and see L2: and know to answer it as my business line, instead of just answering with the personal greeting or having to answer all calls with my business greeting because I don't know who is calling.



Thanks!

[Ostracus]

You could try using distinctive ring to tell between them.

[nsudds]

Thanks for the suggestion. This sounds like a good alternative, although I'd like to still see this added as a feature --- could you point me to some info to help with setting up distinctive rings?  I did a quick search but wasn't sure how to configure different rings per SIP account -- is this something that can be done via the web interface or handset?

[nsudds]

Nevermind, found it -- only had my adapter for a short time, didn't even realize there was an "Obi Expert" configuration screen, this is great.

[giqcass]

I have a similar request to yours.  Distinctive ringing doesn't cover everything.
http://www.obitalk.com/forum/index.php?topic=5976

I would love to be able to assign a virtual area code to the other service providers.  When someone calls from service provider 2 you can have a distinctive ring but that doesn't work if you are on the phone already.  In addition if someone calls you on service provider 2 and you call them back you must manually dial the call and select the service provider.  Using my idea a call coming from service provider two would use a virtual area code in incoming the caller ID.
1-555-555-5555 would instead look something like **2-555-555-5555

Then we could see on the caller ID that a call came from SP2 if we were in a call.  In addition when we returned the call it would automatically select service provider 2 to place the return call.  This would be particularly useful on the new Obi device as it has four service providers but only one phone port.

SMS message already changes the caller ID to add a number to the end.  It probably would not be that much work to add something to the beginning of the Caller ID.

[azrobert]

You can add a "1" prefix to the CallerID with the following X_InboundCallRoute:
{(<1>@@.):ph},{ph}

Add a "1" for SP1, "2" for SP2.....

My phone only allows a numeric CallerID. If I add "L1" the CallerID displays blank.


Update:

giqcass,

I tried "{(<**1>@@.):ph},{ph}" and it worked.
My phone won't allow me to add a alpha character, but allowed *
I assume every phone is different, so just try.

[Shale]

I tried "{(<**1>@@.):ph},{ph}" and it worked.

Would "{(<**1>@.):ph}" have worked also?

[giqcass]

Anything other then 0-9 seems to upset my phone.  With an outgoing dial plan we don't need to prepend ** anyway.  I will probably create a country code for each of my service providers then set my outgoing dial plan to dial each separate service provider based on the call plan.  This is an excellent solution for my needs.  Thanks for the help.  

I think I might use the following "Country codes"
SP1 = No Change
SP2 = 02
SP3 = 03
SP4 = 04
BT1 = 09

I have been thinking about whether this might mess up international dialing.  I believe it will work fine.

[ianobi]

Shale,

My original rule for this was:

Voice Services > SP1 Service > X_InboundCallRoute:
{(<**1>(@@.|?)):ph}

Your rule {(<**1>@.):ph} does the same in a more concise way. It allows for an incoming call with CallerID or with no CallerID and prepends **1 to either. If there was no CallerID then that incoming call will now have a CallerID of **1.

It's a personal choice whether or not you wish to accept calls with no CallerID. In azrobert's example {(<**1>@@.):ph},{ph} only calls with some sort of CallerID will have **1 prepended.

In my original post I decided to allow incoming calls with CallerID or no CallerID, but also used the "oleg method" to defeat scanners like so:

If we are using the "oleg method" to defeat scanners and assuming that my AuthUserName is 1212121, then the rule would be:

{(<**1>(@@.|?))>(1212121):ph}

Some of this is personal choice and some must be decided by what your dect phone etc will display - I have some problems with that myself.

If you want to see all the possibilities of what the OBi can prepend to a CallerID, then fork the call to a softphone like PhonerLite and it will display the full transformed CallerID during ringing and it can be viewed using the debug feature. I have successfully prepended words such as "family" or "business" but getting a phone to display that plus the original CallerID is either impossible or just hard to read!