Set Distinctive Caller ID Name

Distinctive Caller ID Name lets you decide what your employees see when a call comes in. You can choose whether their devices show the matched contact name, the caller ID name sent by the caller, the name of the call feature that routed the call (a Queue, IVR, Ring Group, or Call Flow), and the name of the trunk DID/DDI the call arrived on.

Note

A call feature is a Queue, an IVR (Interactive Voice Response menu that plays options like “press 1 for sales”), a Ring Group, or a Call Flow. A DID/DDI (Direct Inward Dialing, also called Direct Dialing In outside North America) is the specific phone number a call came in on. Showing these names tells an employee how a call reached them before they answer.

All of these options live in the same place. Sign in to the PBX web portal and go to PBX Settings > Preferences.

Choose which name takes priority

The Caller ID Name Display Rules section decides whether a device favors the local contact name, the caller ID name carried by the caller, or both. You can set the rule separately for different endpoint types.

1. Sign in to the PBX web portal and go to PBX Settings > Preferences.

2. In the Caller ID Name Display Rules section, set the rules described below.

   

   Web Client, Desktop Client, Extension Endpoint

   Controls the caller ID name shown on the Cloud Voice App (Web and Desktop) and on extension endpoints such as IP phones and softphones. Choose one of the following:

   • Display both the contact name and the caller ID name carried by the caller.
   • Only display the contact name.
   • Only display the caller ID name carried by the caller. When the caller sends a number with no name, the matched contact name is shown instead.

   Note

   This rule currently affects only the incoming call screen and the in-call interface.

   Note

   When you also turn on the distinctive call feature name or DID/DDI name, that name is inserted alongside the contact and caller ID names. If both a contact name and a caller ID name are shown, the distinctive name appears between them; if only one name is shown, the distinctive name appears in front of it.

   Mobile Client

   Controls the caller ID name shown on the Cloud Voice App for mobile. Choose one of the following:

   • Display both the local contact name and the name carried in the From header of the SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) message. SIP is the signaling protocol that sets up the call, and its From header carries the caller’s name.
   • Only display the local contact name.
   • Only display the name carried in the From header of the SIP message. If the From header contains a number rather than a name, the local contact name is shown instead.

   Caution

   The mobile rule takes effect only after each extension user updates the Cloud Voice App to at least the version below. On older versions the setting is silently ignored, so confirm the app version before assuming the change worked.

   • Cloud Voice App for iOS: version 5.21.3 or later
   • Cloud Voice App for Android: version 5.21.7 or later

3. Click Save, then Apply.

Show or hide the call feature name

The call feature name is the name of the IVR, Ring Group, Queue, or Call Flow that handled the call before it reached the extension. Displaying it helps employees see how a call was routed.

1. Sign in to the PBX web portal and go to PBX Settings > Preferences.

2. In the Distinctive Caller ID Name section, set Display Call Feature Name:

   • Select the checkbox to show Queue, Ring Group, IVR, and Call Flow names.
   • Clear the checkbox to hide them.

   

3. Click Save, then Apply.

Show or hide the trunk DID/DDI name

You can also surface the name of the trunk DID/DDI that received the call.

1. Sign in to the PBX web portal and go to PBX Settings > Preferences.

2. In the Distinctive Caller ID Name section, set Display DID/DDI Name:

   • Select the checkbox to show the trunk DID/DDI name.
   • Clear the checkbox to hide it.

   

3. Click Save, then Apply.