Getting Familiar with Sangoma S500 running with FreePBX as back end. . .
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Hi Scott and All:
Firstly, please forgive me is this is a stupid question but I am deploying 11 Sangoma S500 with hosted FreePBX as back end.
I have sorted most queries except one that really has my head wrecked.
If I pick up an incoming call on an extension and discover that I need to transfer this call to another extension. Call is live and I hit the "Transfer" Horizontal Key.
I wish to be able to look up the PBX Contacts list to allow me complete the transfer but I don't seem to be able to look up the Contacts App from within a live call / Talk mode.When the phone is Idle I have Full Access to this Contact list as I have a horizontal key programmed as "REST-Contacts" but have no access to this once on live call / Talk Mode.
I reckon that the difference is something about "REST-Contacts" is an application running from the PBX and not a "Native Function" of the handset e.g. Directory?
If this is the case, is there any workaround? The old system did it and they seemed to have relied on it quite a bit - now I am quickly losing face . . .
Any help appreciated . . .
Thanks a Million
Jason
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Oh that's an unusual one. I have a phone of that type but not at my office here so I can't just look at it to see what it does. I've never heard of someone doing that before - putting someone on hold then using the phone to look up the number to transfer to - but it makes sense and I can see why people would want that. This will take some research.
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@JasonMinard I believe that you are correct in that you cannot use a rest app while on a call.
I find all of the rest apps extremely slow to use so after initial testing, I stopped looking at them.
For a test, you can put the Directory rest app on a BLF button instead of the soft buttons on the bottom. These should always be available to press during a call.
My S500 is currently on site at a client for testing. I will not be able to play with it until one day next week.
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Yes, Scott, I am finding that and am a little surprised. We are replacing an Alcatel System where it seems to be a standard feature and. to me, I would have thought a reasonable expectation. Maybe not here with only a small number of extensions but if you imaging a place with 100s of extensions and want to transfer a call - I would have thought it would make sense that they could access their contacts to look up the party they want to transfer to . . .
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I tried that Jared and seems like that there is a complete disconnect between what happen with the REST application and what's happening locally on the phone.
As suggested, I have programmed up a BLF with the REST XML code and it works perfectly. However, when I am on a call and access the Contacts in this manner I still can't complete the transfer via this method. It actually dials the person with the "Mid-Transfer Call" still on hold but doesn't allow me to complete the transfer.
I agree completely regarding the REST apps - definitely slow and clunky . . .
What do you use for a System Wide contacts list as an alternative?
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@JasonMinard said in Getting Familiar with Sangoma S500 running with FreePBX as back end. . .:
What do you use for a System Wide contacts list as an alternative?
I don’t use Sangoma phones. I feel they are overpriced for the features.
I have not looked into the non-REST capabilities of the Sangoma phones yet.
For Yealink phones I have created various scripts for this purpose.
Grandstream phones can also use an XML feed like the Yealinks, but I have never been asked for that.
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Thanks a mill for that Jared . . .
I have only started using the Sangoma . . . used Yealink before that and was told that Sangoma and FreePBX are "made for each other" . . .
Do you think it might be possible that there is a "non-REST" options for System Wide contacts or is there some where I shoudl check?
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@JasonMinard said in Getting Familiar with Sangoma S500 running with FreePBX as back end. . .:
Thanks a mill for that Jared . . .
I have only started using the Sangoma . . . used Yealink before that and was told that Sangoma and FreePBX are "made for each other" . . .
Do you think it might be possible that there is a "non-REST" options for System Wide contacts or is there some where I shoudl check?
Sangoma phones are 100% made for FreePBX.
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@JasonMinard said in Getting Familiar with Sangoma S500 running with FreePBX as back end. . .:
I have only started using the Sangoma . . . used Yealink before that and was told that Sangoma and FreePBX are "made for each other" . . .
They are, Sangoma makes the Sangoma phones specifically for use with Sangoma's FreePBX. However, that doesn't mean that they are the best phones. Yealink, Snom and many others make phones for many PBXs, including FreePBX, and have way more experience and scale and most of us seem to feel that they do a better job of "Making for FreePBX" than Sangoma does.
Not that the Sangoma phones are bad, but just not up to par with similarly priced and more broadly known competitors.
Yealink and Snom are my top picks for FreePBX use. Polycom works but I really dislike it, so hard to manage, so inflexible. Sangoma is fine, but I would certainly not get it just because it is "made for FreePBX", that is a bit misleading as if it implies that the competition isn't also "made for FreePBX."
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@JasonMinard I just tested the Yealink phone I have on my desk.
I made a BLF for the scripts I have in my github.
I was able to hit transfer and then pressed the BLF button to dig through the menu and dialed the call and then completed the trasfer. -
Hi . . Wow, OK Jared . . . Would there be any chance you could send me more details / scripts to implement here . .. I have spent the day on site and my head is wrecked . . .
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@JasonMinard said in Getting Familiar with Sangoma S500 running with FreePBX as back end. . .:
Hi . . Wow, OK Jared . . . Would there be any chance you could send me more details / scripts to implement here . .. I have spent the day on site and my head is wrecked . . .
You have Sangoma phones, that is a totally different thing.
My scripts are on github.
https://github.com/sorvani/freepbx-helper-scriptsI will have access to a Sangoma phone tomorrow.
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@JasonMinard if you have not been on the FreePBX community today, you are simply out of luck with the Sangoma phones.
https://community.freepbx.org/t/accessing-rest-contacts-from-horizontal-key-within-call/56374/10
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@JaredBusch said in Getting Familiar with Sangoma S500 running with FreePBX as back end. . .:
@JasonMinard if you have not been on the FreePBX community today, you are simply out of luck with the Sangoma phones.
https://community.freepbx.org/t/accessing-rest-contacts-from-horizontal-key-within-call/56374/10
Well that really sucks.
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@scottalanmiller said in Getting Familiar with Sangoma S500 running with FreePBX as back end. . .:
@JaredBusch said in Getting Familiar with Sangoma S500 running with FreePBX as back end. . .:
@JasonMinard if you have not been on the FreePBX community today, you are simply out of luck with the Sangoma phones.
https://community.freepbx.org/t/accessing-rest-contacts-from-horizontal-key-within-call/56374/10
Well that really sucks.
Some of the REST-APP functionality is neat. But I find it slow to use.
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@scottalanmiller said in Getting Familiar with Sangoma S500 running with FreePBX as back end. . .:
Yealink and Snom are my top picks for FreePBX use. Polycom works but I really dislike it, so hard to manage, so inflexible. Sangoma is fine, but I would certainly not get it just because it is "made for FreePBX", that is a bit misleading as if it implies that the competition isn't also "made for FreePBX."
Do you find the FreePBX EPM to have any short coming with the Yealinks? I keep reading that FreePBX allows much more control over the Sangoma than other brands, but that could just be a marketing comment.
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You get the EPM for Sangoma by default. You have to buy the full EPM for all other devices. I believe it is $125 usd.
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@JasGot said in Getting Familiar with Sangoma S500 running with FreePBX as back end. . .:
@scottalanmiller said in Getting Familiar with Sangoma S500 running with FreePBX as back end. . .:
Yealink and Snom are my top picks for FreePBX use. Polycom works but I really dislike it, so hard to manage, so inflexible. Sangoma is fine, but I would certainly not get it just because it is "made for FreePBX", that is a bit misleading as if it implies that the competition isn't also "made for FreePBX."
Do you find the FreePBX EPM to have any short coming with the Yealinks? I keep reading that FreePBX allows much more control over the Sangoma than other brands, but that could just be a marketing comment.
But they do less, so more control of less is... about the same.
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@JasGot said in Getting Familiar with Sangoma S500 running with FreePBX as back end. . .:
Do you find the FreePBX EPM to have any short coming with the Yealinks?
Yes. In fact, I found and reported a bug about a Yealink function that the EPM implemented incorrectly.
Sangoma's answer? They will not support it and will, in fact, remove the incorrect settings in a future update. Bug report closed.
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@brandon220 said in Getting Familiar with Sangoma S500 running with FreePBX as back end. . .:
You get the EPM for Sangoma by default. You have to buy the full EPM for all other devices. I believe it is $125 usd.
Yes, and Sangoma restricts (chooses not to program for) what you can do with non Sangoma phones. The $149 (new) is not the issue, if it saves me 1 hour of time, it's paid for. But I don't want to tell a customer I can do X for them, only to find out I have to do it manually, because Sangoma decided to not support that through EPM.
