I have an Avaya PartnerMessaging R7.0 system with 3 incoming lines. The way it is set up right now, lines 1 & 2 go to the automated attendant, and line 3 is a direct extension transfer to extension 18. When the user is on extension 18, callers who dial in via the number for line 3 get a busy signal, but callers who dial in via line 1 or 2 and then select extension 18 will get the voicemail for extension 18, if extension 18 is in use.

Is there a way to set it up so that callers who dial directly via line 3 will get voicemail if extension 18 is in use?

Nope. If the line is busy then there is no way to get the call to the phone system. You could get voicemail from the phone company on that line

Another thought would be to hunt extra calls to line #3 back to line #1 and have callers utilize the auto attendant options.

So the initial caller in on line #3 goes right to x18 via DID/Line Ownership while any secondary caller goes to the auto attendant via line #1 or #2. For that to happen you would need to contact your service provider to have them modify the hunt sequence.

I don't think that's what he is saying. From what he does say though I'm not clear about how the system is set up. I believe he is looking to do either call coverage or line ownership of line 3 by x18.

-Hal

Sounds to me like that is exactly what he is saying. He has two lines in hunt and a 3rd line that is owned by X18. The direct extension transfer terminology is incorrect.

I am not married to direct extension transfer to line 18, although that is how line 3 is set right now. The idea is for callers on line 3 to ring extension 18 without going through the automated attendant, and to get voicemail (or the automated attendant) if extension 18 is in use.

I was hoping that it would be possible to assign line 3 to a hunt group that first went to ext 18 and then to voicemail (preferable) or to the automated attendant (second choice).

Is that do-able?

Your terminology is way off which makes your questions a little tough to answer but i believe i have a handle and will take a stab at answering.

First off direct extension transfer takes place within the.voice mail when the caller is allowed to dial an extension and be transferred versus using a selector code such as 1 or 2 which is then programmed to ring an extension. I don't believe that applies here.

Next it is important to realize that all hunting comes from the phone company and not the phone system. You also don't want to forget that in order to get two calls to the system you need two lines. The last thing to recognize is that to handle calls differently they need to be in two separate hunt groups.

If i understand your situation you have two lines in a hunt group going to the auto attendant and a third line that rings extension 18 and then goes to the mailbox for extension 18 if unanswered? If so you would want to add a 4th line and tell the phone company to make line three hunt to line four and you will be all set.

Calls to line one or two will be handled as is. If 18 is busy on line 3 the call rolls to line 4 and goes to the voice mail for 18.

Thank you, John. You understand my set-up correctly. It sounds like there is no way to do what I would like to do without adding another line (which is not going to happen).

Thanks.

So make the line that belongs to Ext. 18 hunt to Line 1 when it is busy. The caller will get the auto attendant, and can dial 18, which will then ring the phone and cover to voicemail if 18 doesn't put the current call on hold and answer. Calls to that line when it isn't already in use will still be answered directly by 18's mailbox.

Tommy, having the line that belongs to Ext 18 hunt to line 1 when ext 18 is busy is exactly what I want it to do. But John suggests that is not possible. (Wouldn't that require line 1 to be in more than one hunt group?) If it is possible, where would I set it up to do that?

If I understand the scenario correctly, the LEC would need to establish a secondary hunt sequence for Line #3. Check out my previous post.

They would be all be in one hunt group. It would work fine if line 2 is idle but if line one and two were in use then all calls that roll to line 3 would end up at x 18 or x18's voicemail.

That was my point about handling calls differently.

A fourth line costs $30 per month +- so you would be looking at $360 for the year. One other option would be to get telco voicemail on line 3 so if it was busy then callers would end up in the mailbox from the telco provider.

You could just have the LEC put call forward busy CFB on line 3 and then forward it to line 1. If line 3 is busy it will forward to line 1 hit the auto attendant. They may have to pay a little for the CFB feature.