Tag: Sangoma

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Blog FreePBX Technical

Muting call recordings

Recently we had a request from a customer that was not the normal request to be able to start and stop recordings. They wanted to just mute it but keep the recording intact duration wise, also the ability to just mute the caller was required.

Asterisk has a manager command ‘MixMonitorMute’ that does just this on all legs of a recording or just the caller / callee legs.

Action: MixMonitorMute
[ActionID:] <value>
Channel: <value>
[Direction:] <value>
[State:] <value>

[Synopsis]
Mute / unMute a Mixmonitor recording. 

[Description]
This action may be used to mute a MixMonitor recording.

[Arguments]
ActionID
    ActionID for this transaction. Will be returned.
Channel
    Used to specify the channel to mute.
Direction
    Which part of the recording to mute:  read, write or both (from channel, to
    channel or both channels).
State
    Turn mute on or off : 1 to turn on, 0 to turn off.

So as the customer wanted the simplest interface possible we provided a simple login form which uses the freepbx user module users to log them in and pass their extension number over to the muteing form, with an icon showing the mute state as well as some text confirmation.

We split the code as this will mean in the future they can incorporate it into their CRM or dashboard with a simple post command if they so wanted.

How it works is by making a manager request to find variable RECORD_ID this is channel that what we need to pass in the AMI request to mute the recording and is best retrieved by running the ‘core show channel’ command and retrieving the variable from it, this is then passed in another AMI command to set the (un)mute.

Im sure there are other ways of achieving this and if you want the code to use or alter to your needs its available at https://github.com/cybercottage/muter.git

Categories
Applications Sangoma Phones Software

Sangoma Desktop Phone

The Sangoma Desktop Phone Application is a professional-grade softphone solution designed to mirror the full functionality of a high-end physical desk phone within a sleek, software-based interface. For businesses looking to simplify workforce management and reduce overheads, this application is the bridge between traditional reliability and modern flexibility.

Seamless Integration and Accessibility

The foundation of any robust communication strategy is accessibility. The Sangoma Desktop Phone Application integrates directly with your existing Sangoma UC (Unified Communications) platform, allowing your team to carry their office extension anywhere. For on-call staff, this means no more juggling multiple mobile devices or sharing private numbers. By simply logging into the app on a laptop or home PC, the user is instantly “in the office,” ensuring that critical client calls are never missed due to location.

A tool is only effective if your team actually uses it. Sangoma has prioritised a “user-first” design, featuring a clean, minimalist interface that reduces the cognitive load on employees. This is particularly vital for staff handling high-pressure on-call rotations. When an urgent request comes in at 3:00 AM, the user needs a clear, lag-free interface to manage the call, check details, and record notes without fighting with complex menus.

Communication is only as good as its clarity. Sangoma utilises advanced high-definition (HD) audio codecs to ensure that every conversation sounds as if you are in the same room. For businesses dealing with technical support or emergency services, where every detail matters, this superior audio quality prevents costly misunderstandings and improves the professional image of your brand.

Comprehensive Call Management Features

The Sangoma Desktop Phone App isn’t just a dialler, it is a full-scale command centre.

  • Visual Voicemail: View and play back messages in any order, allowing on-call staff to prioritise urgent issues.
  • Blind and Attended Transfer: Move calls to the right expert instantly.
  • Call Recording: Ensure compliance and quality control with one-click recording.
  • Do Not Disturb (DND): Crucial for managing the transition between “active” and “standby” status for your workforce.

Integrated Corporate Directory

Eliminate the “who do I call?” frustration. The application synchronises with your central corporate directory, giving every user instant access to the entire organisation. You can search by name, department, or extension, which is a massive productivity booster for new hires or temporary staff who may not yet know the company structure by heart.

Presence and Chat Functionality

Knowing who is available is half the battle in workforce management. The “Presence” feature allows users to see if a colleague is “Available,” “Away,” “On a Call,” or “Busy.” Paired with a built-in instant messaging (chat) tool, this allows for quick internal queries. For an on-call engineer, being able to quickly chat with a manager to confirm a protocol—without dropping the active customer call—is a game-changer for efficiency.

Video Conferencing and Screen Sharing

Sometimes, a voice call isn’t enough to solve a complex problem. The Sangoma Desktop Phone App supports high-quality video conferencing and real-time screen sharing. This allows on-call staff to troubleshoot issues visually, provide remote demonstrations, or hold emergency briefings with the rest of the team. It turns a simple phone app into a collaborative powerhouse.

Hot Desking Support

For businesses with hybrid office models, “Hot Desking” support allows any employee to sit at any workstation, log in to the desktop app, and have their unique extension and settings follow them. This flexibility reduces the need for permanent, assigned seating and allows for a more fluid, dynamic office environment.

The true value of this application lies in its ability to facilitate a “work from anywhere” culture. Because the app uses secure VoIP protocols, it works over any standard internet connection. This enables your business to hire the best talent regardless of geography and ensures that your on-call rotation remains resilient, even if staff are unable to reach the physical office.

Productivity Gains and Workforce Efficiency

The shift from hardware to the Sangoma Desktop Phone App results in a measurable spike in productivity. By consolidating chat, video, and voice into one window, employees stop “toggling” between apps, a habit known to reduce focus. For workforce management, managers can oversee call volumes and response times through the central system, ensuring that on-call staff are utilised effectively without being overwhelmed.

The financial argument for switching to the Sangoma softphone is undeniable:

  1. Reduced Hardware Spend: You no longer need to purchase £150+ desk phones for every new employee.
  2. Lower Maintenance: Software updates are handled centrally, eliminating the need for physical on-site repairs of handsets.
  3. Real Estate Optimisation: With remote work enablement, you can reduce your office footprint, saving on rent and utilities.
  4. Consolidated Billing: By using a single platform for voice and chat, you eliminate multiple third-party subscriptions.

Simplified Management for On-Call Staff

Managing on-call rotations is traditionally a logistical nightmare involving call forwarding to personal mobiles and manual logging. Sangoma simplifies this by keeping the on-call staff within the company’s ecosystem. Calls are logged, recorded, and handled through the business app, protecting employee privacy and ensuring the company retains all data and client interaction history.

Security and Reliability

Sangoma’s desktop application uses end-to-end encryption for signalling and media. This ensures that your business conversations especially sensitive ones handled by on-call staff remain private and protected from interception.

In Conclusion

The Sangoma Desktop Phone Application is more than a utility, it is a strategic asset. By integrating this tool, businesses can simplify their workforce management, empower their on-call staff, and realise significant costsavings while maintaining a professional, high-performance communication standard.

Categories
Products and services

Sangoma Desktop Softphone

Sangoma Desktop Softphone turns a user’s computer into a fully featured phone that is primed to take full advantage of all of Sangoma’s unified communications features.

Sangoma Desktop Softphone For Desktop turns a user’s computer into a fully featured phone that is primed to take full advantage of all of Star2Star’s unified communications features. Sangoma Desktop Softphone lets users make, answer, hold, and transfer calls, participate in voice conferencing, access voicemail, integrate calls with CRM software, and more.

Features

  • Workforce Flexibility: Your staff will no longer be tethered to one location, allowing employees to work remotely while expanding your potential pool of employees to a much greater geographic area.
  • Cost Savings: Instead of purchasing a computer and a desk phone, you can just purchase a computer and a headset, saving hundreds or even thousands of dollars with softphone software.
  • Efficiency: Employees can stay in contact on the go or from home, softphones allow them to respond faster. Even better, Desktop Softphone allows them to take advantage of our many powerful features that will go anywhere they go, unlike a traditional mobile phone that lacks much of this functionality.
  • Incredible Functionality: With Desktop Softphone, your employees have access to a complete unified communications system at their keyboard, meaning they can do it all wherever they are.
  • Business Voice & Business Voice+ Compatible: Use Desktop Softphone with either of the Full Spectrum Communications platforms for the ultimate flexibility.

Email or Call for current licence pricing

Categories
Handsets Products and services Sangoma Phones

P-Series IP Phones

Sangoma’s line of P-Series phones are designed to deliver the features you need, at price points perfect for every type of user, and every type of business.

All models include color screens, high definition voice, are headset-ready, provide unprecedented plug-and-play deployment, and have built-in productivity applications including voicemail, call log, contacts, phone status, user presence, parking and more.

Sangoma’s P-Series phones are the only phones that are compatible across Sangoma’s communications as a service portfolio, further enhancing their value.

Entry-Level – The Sangoma P310/P315 Phones
Sangoma’s value-line is perfect for large floor deployments in offices, schools, manufacturing, and retail.
Mid-Range – The Sangoma P320, P325, P330 Phones
Perfect for knowledge workers, with built-in business applications*, controlled via a large 4.3-inch IPS display and plenty of programmable function keys. The P330 also supports built-in Bluetooth and WiFi as well as the forthcoming PM200 expansion module.
Executive – The Sangoma P370 Phone (coming soon!)
For the executives in the office who demand a sleek desktop presence, the P370 delivers. With a large 7.0” 1280×800 color IPS touchscreen display, built-in Bluetooth and WiFi, all of Sangoma’s business applications* are easy-to-use with finger-touch access.

Email or Call for current pricing and qty discounts

Categories
Blog Handsets Products Sangoma Phones Software

Sangoma Connect Mobile

Revolutionise Your Business Communications: In the modern corporate landscape, the traditional office desk is no longer the sole hub of productivity. Whether your team is working from home, travelling for client meetings, or managing critical on,call shifts, the need for seamless connectivity is paramount. Enter Sangoma Connect, the mobile softphone application designed to turn your smartphone into a fully featured business extension.

For businesses looking to simplify workforce management and reduce the complexities of on,call rotations, Sangoma Connect offers a robust, secure, and cost,effective solution. This guide explores the extensive feature set of the application and demonstrates how it can transform your operational efficiency and bottom line.

What is Sangoma Connect?

Sangoma Connect is a high,performance mobile application for iOS and Android that integrates natively with Sangoma PBXact and FreePBX phone systems. It is engineered to provide a consistent “in,office” experience regardless of a user’s physical location. By leveraging VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) technology, the app allows staff to make and receive high,quality voice and video calls using their business phone number, ensuring professional identity remains intact while keeping personal mobile numbers private.

The application is more than just a dialler, it is a unified communications (UC) hub. It bridges the gap between traditional telephony and modern collaboration tools, offering everything from instant messaging to multi,party video conferencing within a single, intuitive interface.

The core of Sangoma Connect is its ability to deliver crystal,clear audio and high,definition video calls. Because the app uses the business’s PBX infrastructure, calls are routed via the internet (Wi,Fi or mobile data), providing a reliable connection even when cellular signals are weak. This is particularly vital for on,call staff who must remain reachable in various environments.

Gone are the days of manual configuration and complex setup codes. Sangoma Connect features a “magic link” onboarding process. Once an administrator enables a user in the PBX management module, the employee receives an auto,generated email. By clicking the link within the email, the app automatically configures itself, logging the user in without the need for hostnames or passwords.

Understanding the availability of your team is crucial for efficient workforce management. The Presence feature allows users to set their status, such as “Available”, “Away”, or “Do Not Disturb”. This status is synchronised across the entire Sangoma ecosystem, including desk phones and desktop clients. For managers, this provides an at,a,glance view of who is ready to take a call, which is essential for coordinating on,call responses.

Managing messages is simplified through the Visual Voicemail interface. Instead of dialling into a system and listening to prompts, users can see a list of their voicemails, see who called, and play back messages in any order. This allows on,call staff to prioritise urgent queries quickly without wasting time on administrative navigation.

Professionalism is maintained through powerful call control features. Users can perform “blind” transfers (sending a call directly to another extension) or “warm” transfers (speaking to the colleague before passing the call over). This ensures that customers are always directed to the right expert with the necessary context.

Collaboration often requires more than two people. Sangoma Connect supports native 3,way audio conferencing, allowing users to add a third party to an active call instantly. For larger groups, the app integrates with Sangoma Meet, providing a platform for multi,party video collaboration and screen sharing directly from the mobile device.

Security is a non,negotiable for modern businesses. Sangoma Connect uses advanced encryption protocols, specifically TLS (Transport Layer Security) and SRTP (Secure Real,time Transport Protocol). This ensures that every conversation is private and protected from eavesdropping, whether the user is on a private home network or a public Wi,Fi hotspot.

Push Notifications

To preserve battery life without missing important calls, the app utilises push notifications. The application does not need to run in the foreground to receive an alert, the system “wakes” the app when a call or message arrives, ensuring reliability for on,call personnel who cannot afford to miss a notification.

Strategic Advantages for On,Call Workforce Management

Managing a workforce that is frequently on the move or “on,call” presents unique logistical challenges. Sangoma Connect is specifically tailored to address these pain points, creating a more agile and responsive team.

Simplifying the On,Call Rotation

When an employee is on,call, they are often tethered to a physical handset or forced to give out their personal mobile number. Sangoma Connect removes these barriers. Because the app acts as a secondary extension, managers can use the PBX’s “Follow Me” and “Call Forwarding” features to route calls to the on,call staff’s mobile device automatically.

If an on,call technician is busy, the “Presence” indicator lets the rest of the team know immediately, allowing the system to route the call to the next available person in the queue. This level of transparency reduces “phone tag” and ensures that urgent client issues are resolved faster.

Professionalism and Privacy

One of the greatest benefits for staff is the separation of business and personal life. When making an outgoing call via Sangoma Connect, the recipient sees the company’s caller ID, not the employee’s personal mobile number. This maintains a professional image and protects the privacy of your staff, which is a significant factor in employee satisfaction and retention for those working outside traditional hours.

Increasing Productivity Through Unified Communications

Productivity is often lost in the “spaces between” tasks, the time spent checking various apps, returning to the office to check a desk phone, or trying to track down a colleague. Sangoma Connect recaptures this time.

Real,Time Collaboration

With integrated team chat and file sharing, employees can collaborate on the fly. An on,call engineer at a client site can instantly message a senior architect for advice, send a photo of a technical issue, or even start a video call to show the problem in real,time. This immediate access to collective knowledge drastically reduces the “Time to Resolution” for complex tasks.

Geographic Flexibility

Sangoma Connect empowers businesses to hire the best talent regardless of location. Because the communication system is entirely portable, a business based in London can have on,call support staff in Manchester or Edinburgh, all appearing as if they are sitting in the same office. This flexibility allows for better coverage across different time zones without the need for expensive regional offices.

Unlocking Cost Savings

While the productivity gains are significant, the financial benefits of adopting Sangoma Connect are equally compelling for any business owner or IT manager.

Elimination of Hardware Costs

Traditional business telephony requires a desk phone for every employee. With Sangoma Connect, your employees’ existing smartphones become their primary or secondary business devices. For remote or mobile workers, this eliminates the need to purchase, ship, and maintain physical hardware, leading to substantial savings on capital expenditure (CAPEX).

Reduced Mobile Tariffs and Roaming Charges

Since Sangoma Connect uses the data network to route calls, it bypasses traditional mobile voice minutes. For businesses with international on,call requirements, this is a game,changer. Employees can make “internal” calls to the office or other colleagues for free from anywhere in the world, provided they have an internet connection, effectively eliminating expensive roaming charges.

Simplified IT Infrastructure

Sangoma Connect is managed via the same interface as your main phone system. This centralisation reduces the administrative burden on your IT department. With automated provisioning and cloud,based certificate management, the time required to manage mobile extensions is reduced from hours to minutes, allowing your IT team to focus on higher,value projects.

In Conclusion: Sangoma Connect is more than an app, it is a strategic tool that empowers your business to be more responsive, more professional, and more efficient. By simplifying the management of on,call staff and unifying your communication channels, you create an environment where productivity thrives and costs are kept firmly under control.

Whether you are a small business looking to scale or a large enterprise seeking to modernise your workforce management, Sangoma Connect provides the features and flexibility required for success in a mobile,first world.

Categories
Handsets Products and services Sangoma Phones

Sangoma P310 and P315

These phones are very competitively priced; and are perfect for anyone that needs reliable, basic calling functionality or needs a lot of phones either in one place or over a distributed set of large-facility locations. 

However, you can be rest assured that they are manufactured to very high standards and have all the qualities you would expect in more expensive models.

With these two new phones you can utilise essential Unified Communications features without sacrificing the function and performance that is usually only available with more expensive IP phones!

Want a closer look? Watch the first P315 being unboxed in Europe! Contact us for how you too can get your hands on the P310 or P315 and for bulk pricing.

Unboxing the P3xx handsets

Categories
Blog

3D Printers and why you need one.

I recently had the need for a wall bracket for a Sangoma S505 handset and the S300/S400 handsets.

Looking at my suppliers price list there were none in stock and at nearly £10 each this seemed like a perfect project for the newly acquired 3d printer. After a bit of design work on paper then in Tinkercad (Ill be moving on to fusion 360) it was ready to print.

I’ve put a link to download of the STL code here for S505 and here for the S300 so anyone can download and modify it, Its robust and angles the phone so that the handsets arnt knocked off easily, angling and supporting the phone. The S300 Bracket can also be used as an alternative desk base allowing the phone to sit flatter on a desk.

It is surprising how useful the 3d printer has become, and how readily available designs are. Another recent request was for an additional mount for a Ubiquiti wireless access point, We found a design on Thingiverse printed it out and sent it to the customer. Add to this all the little widgets that we have been making since getting it i’m not sure how we lived without one for so long.

I would urge any IT company to invest in a printer, The price point is now so low that you don’t need to produce many items to have it pay for itself, Just the 2 items mentioned here would have cost nearly £20 plus postage, and very little margin, They now cost £0.20 worth of filament and maybe £0.20 worth of renewable electricity.

Categories
Knowledge Base

Setting up Postfix to use Office 365 mail

FreePBX uses centos 7 and postfix fom its mail delivery, normally this is fine unless the customer is using Office 365 mail then there can be delivery issues.

Firstly you will need to set up a user in Office 365 for the system.

Postfix’s main configuration file is main.cf and that is where we make the required change as follow:

[root@localhost ~]# vi /etc/postfix/main.cf

Append the following lines

masquerade_domains = domainname
myhostname = USERNAME.domainname
mydomain = USERNAME.domainname
myorigin = USERNAME@domainname
relayhost = [smtp.office365.com]:587

mynetworks = 127.0.0.0/8
inet_interfaces = loopback-only
smtp_use_tls = yes
smtp_always_send_ehlo = yes
smtp_sasl_auth_enable = yes
smtp_sasl_password_maps = hash:/etc/postfix/sasl_passwd
smtp_sasl_security_options = noanonymous
smtp_sasl_tls_security_options = noanonymous
smtp_tls_security_level = encrypt
smtp_generic_maps = hash:/etc/postfix/generic 
# smtp_tls_CAfile = /etc/ssl/certs/ca-certificates.crt

Save and exit from the file.
Next we need to edit the configuration for the postfix SASL credentials:

[root@localhost ~]# vi /etc/postfix/sasl_passwd

Add a line below

[smtp.office365.com]:587 user@domainname:password

Replacing user@domainname:password with your sender account details

Save and exit from file

A Postfix lookup table must now be generated from the sasl_passwd text file by running the following command.

[root@localhost ~]# postmap /etc/postfix/sasl_passwd

Now change permission for this file

[root@localhost ~]# chown root:postfix /etc/postfix/sasl_passwd

[root@localhost ~]# chmod 640 /etc/postfix/sasl_passwd

Next, we need to configure generic file in order to be able to send emails as a valid user (this is required for Office365).

[root@localhost ~]# vi /etc/postfix/generic

Go the end of file and append following lines.

root@localhost.localdomain UserName@Domain.com

Again replacing localhost.localdomain and UserName@Domain.com with your service hostname and the email user are using

Save and exit from file.

Next let’s correct the file permission.

[root@localhost ~]# chown root:root /etc/postfix/generic

[root@localhost ~]# chmod 0600 /etc/postfix/generic

[root@localhost ~]# postmap /etc/postfix/generic

Now restart Postfix service.

[root@localhost ~]# systemctl restart postfix

Now try to send a test email using the command below:
FOR Centos:

echo "This is the body of the email"| mail -r"Sender-Display-Name<sender@domain.com>" -s "This is the subject(E-Mail from SMTP Relay) line" recipeat@gmail.com

In FreePBX under Voicemail admin you must change the senders address to match your account as well as the sender for notifications such as backups etc. otherwise you can get errors and mail wont be delivered.

Categories
Applications Remote Working Services Special Offers

Sangoma Meet, Free multi-party, video conferencing and desktop sharing

Sangoma Technologies announced the general availability of its new video conferencing and collaboration service Sangoma Meet. Sangoma Meet is a multi-party, video conferencing and desktop sharing, cloud-based service, specially designed to enable a great work from home or collaboration experience. HD video support is standard with Sangoma Meet, ensuring the highest quality video calls possible. 

Sangoma Meet is also highly secure, fully encrypting password-protected video conferences to avoid problems with unauthorised users hacking into a video meeting, and Sangoma will not rent or sell Sangoma Meet user information to any third parties, including any social networks. It can also be used as a stand-alone service or in conjunction with its Unified Communication Business Phone Systems. 

Connect

Its simple to use with all the features you need

Moderator Privileges: If you are holding a team call, you have full moderator privileges. You can mute/unmute attendees, send them private messages, or kick anyone off the call. You also have the option to invite audio-only participants to limit video sharing.

Chat: If you prefer not to talk on your video call, use the chat feature in Sangoma Meet to share your thoughts with the group. A full suite of emojis will keep the conversation engaging and light!
Screen Sharing: Give your coworkers real-time examples and streamline meetings with screen sharing in Sangoma Meet. Instantly share your screen and choose what you want to show to others.
Inviting users: Its as simple as, copy your meeting link and send it to the desired parties. As soon as  users click on the link, they immediately join the conference.

Sangoma Meet is available for use today in the company’s General Availability release. It has already been in beta usage, both internally and with partners, with excellent reviews to date.

The Sangoma Meet cloud service has been updated to include additional functionality such as mobile apps (for iOS and Android), calendar integration (for Google G-suite and Microsoft Outlook), desktops apps (for both Windows and Mac) to further enhance user experience, and dial-in functionality to the video conference using a phone (with enhanced security via a PIN).

To help its end-users communicate more effectively during this global pandemic, Sangoma decided to launch this new service completely free of charge to everyone, during these troubled times. 

The full datasheet explaining all the features can be viewed here and the help site is located here

Categories
Knowledge Base

Using FreePBX FollowMe

Follow Me allows you to redirect a call that is placed to one of your extension to another extension or external number.

You can program the system to ring your extension alone for a certain period of time, then ring some other destination(s), such as a mobile phone or another extension, then go to the original extension’s voicemail if the call is not answered.  

It can also be used to divert calls to another extension without ringing the ‘original’ extension, or ring both together in a ‘twinned’ manner. This is useful if you are regularly away from your desk

Your can modify certain Follow Me settings using the User Control Panel as well as disable and enable Follow Me using a feature code that is normally *21,

To use the UCP to change settings if you have had permissions enabled is done by clicking the COG icon on teh Follow me Widget and below is a short Video on the key settings