Changing common area phone settings

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After adding common area phones, you can change settings like the phone's display name, emergency address, and caller ID.

This article covers:

Prerequisites for changing common area phone settings

  • Common area phone added and provisioned
  • Pro, Business, or Education account
  • Account owner or admin privileges
  • Common area license to add a common area and use minimal features
  • Zoom Phone Pro or higher license to use auto receptionist, call queue, voicemail, and IVR

How to access common area phone settings

Follow these steps if you want to edit the settings of a common area phone you have added.

Note: There are also global phone settings, and policy settings that enable or disable certain phone features.

  1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal.
  2. In the navigation menu, click Phone System Management then Users & Rooms.
  3. Click the Common Area Phones tab.
    Note: If you signed up for a new Zoom account after May 21, 2022; or the New Common Area Experience is enabled on your account, common area phones have migrated to the new Common Area tab in the Users & Rooms page.
  4. Click the display name of the common area phone you want to edit.
    You will see the following information and options:

Profile tab

  • Display name: Click Rename next to the display name to change it.
  • Description: Click Edit next to the description to change it.
  • Site: Displays the site that the phone user belongs to. Select another site using the drop-down menu to move the phone to another site.
  • Package: Click Assign to assign an outbound calling package. Click × next to an assigned package to remove it.
  • Extension Number: Click Edit to change the extension number assigned to the phone.
    Note: Extension numbers can be up to 6 digits. If you have multiple sites and enabled site codes, extension numbers can be 2 to 5 digits and site codes can be 1 to 2 digits.
  • Number(s): Click Assign to assign direct phone numbers to the common area phone. This setting is only visible if you assign a package.
  • Outbound Caller ID (only visible if you assign a package): Select the outbound caller ID when the phone calls out. You can choose from phone numbers assigned to the main auto receptionist.
  • Country/Region (only visible if you assign a package): Displays the country of the phone's emergency address. The country determines the reserved extension numbers that you can't use for the phone.
  • Area Code (only visible if you assign a package): Displays the default area code for outbound dialing. Click Edit to change it, or Set if you haven't added the area code.
  • Emergency Address: Click Manage to edit the emergency address assigned to the common area phone. If you have multiple sites, you can select any address assigned to the site or the site's default address.
    Note: To update the emergency address on an IP phone, make sure to remove it first, then reassign it.
  • Time Zone: Select a time zone to set the time displayed on the common area phone.
  • Department: Click Set to add the common area to a department.
  • Device Type: Displays the device's brand and model.
  • Firmware Version: Displays the installed firmware version of the device. See the certified phone hardware page for latest supported firmware versions. Dashes are displayed if the device isn't provisioned or doesn’t support firmware version sharing.
  • MAC Address: Displays the 12-digit MAC address of the desk phone.
  • IP Address: Displays the local IP address of the device.
  • (Optional) Provision Template (only visible if the device supports provision templates): Select a provision template to apply custom settings to the phone.
  • Status: Displays the provisioning status of the phone. If you provisioned the phone and it's currently functioning, you will see an Online status. 
  • Communications Content Storage Location: Manage the storage location of Communications Content.

The following buttons are at the bottom of the page:

Note: Click Resync after changing common area phone settings. This will re-sync your phone with the provisioning server and apply your changes.

Policy tab

Policy settings allow you to enable or disable certain Zoom Phone features.

Settings tab

Note: After setting custom hours, you can customize how inbound calls are routed during these hours. 

  • Business Hours: Click Edit to change the times when the user can answer calls. You can set business hours to span past 11:30 PM. You can also set business hours in increments of 10 mins by manually entering a time; for example, 11:10 PM.
  • Closed Hours: If you customized business hours, you can also set closed hours. 
  • Holiday Hours: Click Manage to designate certain days are holidays. 
  • Keys & Positions: Change line key settings.
  • Blocked List: Set rules for blocking external calls.

Call handling settings

  • Ring the Device: Enable or disable the ring for inbound calls.
  • Ring Duration: If you enabled Ring the Device, set the maximum ring duration before the call is handled as specified in the setting below (When a call is not answered).
  • When a call is not answered: Select how unanswered calls are handled during the specified hours.
    • Play a message, then disconnect: Plays a custom message for the caller then hangs up the call. Click Audio Library to select, record, or upload custom audio.
    • Disconnect: The call will be disconnected without playing a message.
    • Forward to another extension: Route calls to another extension in the account.
    • Forward to External Contact: If the account has a directory of external users, you can route calls to an external contact.

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