Polycom VVX Phones

This section covers some of the WebFones specific features implemented on the Polycom VVX Phones.

Note: Polycom VVX phones are now 7–10 years old, and since Polycom ended support in 2022, many are failing to retain their settings after a reboot or power outage. This is a clear sign the phone has reached end of life and may need to be replaced.

Here is a quick help guide which will help you navigate the most common features on the phone:

VVX Users Guide

Quick Summary of Dial Commands:

• star + 00 to 99 – Speed-dials
• Pickup soft key+ 0 to 9 – Call Pick-up Groups
• Xfer2VM soft key+ extension – Transfer/call voicemail, bypassing ring Intercom soft key+ extension – Open 2-way intercom with extension
• star + star + extension – Remote ringing extension pick up
• BlindXfer soft key+ extension – Perform a blind transfer, preserve caller ID Whisper soft key + extension – Connect to an extension using whisper mode

VVX Display

The Polycom VVX phones provide a display showing the extension, park pickup buttons, other extensions, and shortcut dial buttons. These can be set up and customized on the “Extensions” page on the website.

At the bottom of the display, there is a list of soft-key commands which allow you to perform various functions. The functions are described below.

VVX Soft-key Functions

The soft-key functions that appear on the bottom of the display, and they are either selected by buttons right below the display (VVX 300/400 models) or using the touch screen (VVX 500/600 models). Since they are contextual, they only show up when they are relevant. For instance, the “Park” or “Hold” buttons will not show up until you are on a phone call. The same goes for other features.

Hold

The “Hold” function allows you to place a call on hold while you pickup another call. When a call is on hold, a “Resume” button will appear at the bottom of the screen, which allows you to resume the call at any time. If you have multiple calls on hold, you can use the navigation wheel or the touch screen to select the call you would like to resume.

“Hold” is different from “Park” in that it is local to the phone. If you need to put someone on hold and pick it up from a different extension, you will need to use the “Park” function.

Park

“Park” allows you to place a caller on hold so that it can be picked up from any extension within your organization (as defined in your account defaults). Extensions that are assigned to the same organization will see parked calls appear on the park lines on the upper left of the screen.

IMPORTANT NOTE: When placing a call on “Park,” you must press the soft-key on the bottom of the screen. Pressing the “Parked” buttons at the top left will hangup the call you are on. The “Parked” buttons are for picking up calls when the display shows a call is waiting.

Since WebFones allows multiple organizations to share a phone system, the park system is isolated by organization. When adding an extension, you can optionally assign it to an organization setup on the “Defaults” page. That allows the extension to inherit the e911, Caller ID, and Park settings for that organization.

Do Not Disturb

The “Do Not Disturb” feature keeps your phone from ringing and sends the caller directly to voicemail by default. To activate this feature, press the “DnD” soft key.

It is important to note that when your phone reboots, it will set DnD off. If DnD was previously on, you will need to set it on again.

Forward

There is an expert setting in your account “Defaults” page which has forward turned off by default. If you have it turned on, it will show up as an option when the phone is idle.

When using the “Forward” feature, you must be very careful that you do not forward your calls to a number that will ring your extension. This will cause a forwarding loop which will result in all calls going busy. This is why we turn it off by default.

If you are going on vacation and would like someone else to answer your phone, you should use the online web interface to add a simultaneous ring or change your call routing to accommodate the forward.

Blind Transfer

A “Blind transfer” transfers a call to a destination extension. Blind transfers are preferred over attended transfers because they preserve the original caller ID when the call is transferred. Attended transfers do not.

To perform a blind transfer, press the “BlindXfer” soft key located below the phone’s display after you answer a call. Enter the number of the webFones extension where you want the call transferred. Press the “Send” soft key when you are done, and the call will be transferred.

Attended Transfer

An “Attended transfer” allows you to transfer a call to another extension and gives you the option to introduce the caller. The caller ID on the transferred call is set to the person performing the transfer, not the caller. If you want the caller ID to show up with the caller’s originating number, you should perform a blind transfer.

To transfer a call to another user using an attended transfer, press the “Transfer” soft key. Enter the number of the WebFones extension or outside number where you want the call transferred. You can do this by dialing the number and pressing the “Send” soft-key.

Attended transfer requires that you stay on the line. After introducing the caller, you can connect the caller to the destination extension by hanging up your handset. If the destination person would prefer not to take the call, they have to hangup first. This will reconnect the original caller with you.

Most customers use the blind transfer function because it is less confusing and has a smaller chance of disconnecting a call by accident.

Transfer to Voicemail

To transfer a caller directly to Voicemail, you can use the “Transfer to Voicemail” function. Press the “Xfer2VM” soft key in the center of the phone, below the display. Enter the number of the WebFones extension where you want the call transferred, and press the “Send” soft key.

Alternatively, you can also transfer the call to 99+extension. This will send the caller directly to that extension’s voicemail.

Intercom

Intercom opens hands-free, 2-way communication with others on your WebFones system using Polycom phones. It does not work with cordless models. This feature will also need to be turned on for each extension since it is turned off by default.

Once the intercom feature has been activated, press the “Intercom” soft key below your Polycom display. Enter the WebFones extension that has an intercom enabled and press the “Enter” soft key to open up hands-free, two-way communication.

Alternatively, you can dial 78+extension to access the intercom from any phone on the network provided that the destination has the intercom settings turned on.

3-Way Conferencing

To conference in a third party, place the current caller on hold by pressing the “Conference” soft-key button. Dial the extension or phone number of the person you want to conference in. Once the second caller is on the line, press the “Conference” button again to connect for a 3-way conference call. Note that the “Conference” button may be located on the second page of buttons so you may need to press the “More” button to see it.

WebFones also offers a conference bridge option for times when you want to have a conference call with a larger group. Refer to the “Conference Bridge” documentation to set that up.

Whisper Mode

The “Whisper Mode” feature allows a more experienced employee to listen in on a conversation and privately offer pointers to a new employee that the customer cannot hear.

By default, this feature is turned off for all webFones extensions, but can be easily activated in the “Extension” settings.

To provide coaching via whisper mode, press the “Whisper” soft key located below the display. If it is hidden from view, you may need to press the “More” soft key to show the “Whisper” soft key. Enter the WebFones extension that has a whisper enabled, and press the “Enter” soft key to open up monitoring and whisper audio.

Other Features

Call Pick-up

WebFones has call pick-up groups, which allow a user to pick up a call that is ringing another phone in the office. For them to pick up the call, they have to use the correct group code that has been assigned to the call.

Each phone number, call flow, and extension has a pick-up group. Each call can only have one, so the call remembers the last setting that it received from the phone system (either by the number, call flow or a specific extension).

To pick up a call, follow these instructions exactly:

• Dial the pickup code, 0 (or code). Do not pick up the receiver before you dial.
• Pick up the receiver.

Speed-Dial

You can speed dial frequently called numbers by pressing the “Speed” soft key, entering a 2-digit speed dial number, and pressing the “Enter” soft key. Speed dial numbers are created inside the “Extension” settings.

Alternatively, you can access a speed dial using the following steps:

• Dial **+ the two digit speed dial code. Do not pickup the receiver before dialing.
• Pick up the receiver to initiate the dial.