Cisco Phone System Basic Usage : RESPEC IT Service Desk

Cisco Phone System Basic Usage

RESPEC leverages a Cisco Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) phone system for company communication. Below are the instructions to become more familiarized with the phone system.

Basic Phone Operation and Features

There are three common Cisco phone models used in RESPEC offices. Those are 7821, 7945, and 8851. These models have different features on each such as color display, number of available lines, and sidecar compatibility. However, basic functionality across all the models is the same.

Phone calls

Enter a number and pick up the handset.

Access voicemail

Press the Messages button and follow the voice prompts. To check messages for a specific line, press the line button first. Depending on the phone model the messages button will look like one of the following:

Put a call on hold

Press Hold

To resume a held call, press Hold again.

Transfer a call

From a call that is not on hold press:

Enter the person’s phone number you want to transfer to.
Press the transfer button again.

Forwarding calls

Select the line you want to forward and press Forward all.
- The forward all button is one of the softkey buttons found directly below the display.
Dial the number you want to forward to, or press Voicemail if you want it to go straight to voicemail.
To receive calls again, press Forward off.
- Advanced feature information can be found on the RESPEC Portal.

Locating Internal Phone Numbers

The easiest way to find a person’s phone numbers is to utilize the Global Address Book in Outlook.

In Outlook click the Address Book link on the home ribbon.

Locate the desired individual and double click on their name.
The General tab will show the externally accessible 10-digit phone number.
Click on the Phone/Notes tab.

Setting Up Voicemail

To setup the voicemail mailbox, press the voicemail button on the desk phone provided (illustrated below).\

Use the default pin of 12345# to gain access to the voicemail system, and then follow the prompts to set up a personalized voice mailbox.

4 Digit Dialing

Internal calls can be completed to others using a 4-digit extension number. To complete a call using a 4-digit extension dial the number of the individual and then pickup the handset to initiate the call.

NOTE: An employees 4-digit number is different than the last 4-digits of their external number. They are not the same due to overlap in numbers from carriers around the U.S.

Consult the company directory for someone's 4-digit number vs. external number

Example: 1200 (send)

How to Clean Up Voicemail

Voicemail messages will be delivered via email attachments to easily access the message. Deleting the email with the attachment does not permanently delete the voice message. Deleting the message from the “Deleted Items” folder in Outlook will remove the voice message from the phone system. Alternately, the voicemail can be deleted by using the voicemail button on the Cisco desk phone and signing in using your PIN.

Note: Voice messages will typically be deleted automatically 24 hours after being moved to the deleted items folder.

Long Distance Dialing

To place a long-distance call, do not input a 1 (one) prior to the phone number. Dial the full 10-digit phone number, and then press the button to begin the phone call or pick up the handset.

Example: 605-867-5309