Log in to a Hot Desking Phone

A hot desking phone is a shared device that anyone can claim for the duration of their shift. When you sign in with your extension number and PIN, the phone temporarily becomes yours, loading your extension details and function keys until you sign out. This page walks through the two ways an extension user can log in.

Before you begin

Make sure the following are in place:

• The phone has been configured for hot desking.

• Hot desking is enabled for each extension user who needs to sign in.

• If a user also has a personal phone and only occasionally borrows a hot desking device, raise the concurrent registration limit for that extension so both devices can stay registered at once.

  Caution

  Each extension has a maximum number of devices (SIP, or Session Initiation Protocol, endpoints and Cloud Voice App sessions) that can be registered at the same time. If that limit is not high enough, signing in to the hot desking phone can push the user’s personal phone offline, and calls to that extension may stop ringing there. Raise the limit before the user logs in.

Log in

There are two ways to sign in. Both prompt you for the same credentials once you start.

Dial the Guest In feature code

1. On the hot desking phone, dial the Guest In feature code.

   Note

   The Guest In feature code defaults to *84. To change it, go to Call Features > Feature Code > Hot Desking > Guest In.

2. When prompted, enter your extension number followed by # (for example, 2000#).

3. When prompted, enter your voicemail PIN followed by # (for example, 8471#).

Press the Guest In key

Setting up a phone for hot desking automatically adds a Guest In key (a programmable BLF, or Busy Lamp Field, key) to the device, so you can start the login without dialing anything.

1. On the hot desking phone, press the Guest In key.

2. When prompted, enter your extension number followed by # (for example, 2000#).

3. When prompted, enter your voicemail PIN followed by # (for example, 8471#).

   Caution

   If pressing the Guest In key does not start the login, the feature code behind it may have been changed. Confirm the current code under Call Features > Feature Code > Hot Desking > Guest In.

What happens after you log in

Once you are signed in:

• Your extension configuration, including your extension information and function key layout, is applied to the phone, and the system swaps the Guest In key for a Guest Out key you can use to sign out later.
• You can work from the phone as if it were your own extension:

  • Place calls.

  • Receive calls.

  • Use your extension’s function keys.

  • Look up contacts stored in the PBX (Private Branch Exchange, the phone system itself) directly from the IP phone over LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol, a standard way to query a shared contact directory).

    Note

    Directory lookups require LDAP to be configured for the phone under Auto Provisioning > Phones, then edit the phone and open LDAP Directory. See Auto Provision LDAP for IP Phones for the full setup.

As an administrator, you can see which phones are currently in use and who is signed in to each one under Auto Provisioning > Phones.