Set Distinctive Ringtones for Internal Calls

A dedicated ringtone for internal calls lets an extension user tell, just by the sound, that an incoming call is coming from a colleague on the same phone system rather than from outside. This page explains how to give users’ desk phones (IP phones, meaning phones that connect over your data network) a distinct ringtone for internal calls.

Note

Extension users can also choose their own incoming-call ringtones directly in the Cloud Voice App (web, desktop, and mobile), independent of the phone-level setting described here.

The setup has two parts:

1. Define alert info for internal calls on the PBX.
2. Assign a ringtone to a user’s phone.

Define alert info for internal calls

The PBX (Private Branch Exchange, the phone system that routes your calls) tags every internal call with a small text label called alert info. It carries that label inside the call’s SIP signaling (SIP, or Session Initiation Protocol, is the standard that sets up and ends calls). When a desk phone receives a call carrying that label, it plays the ringtone you mapped to it.

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

2. In the SIP Request Header section, type a label in the Internal Alert Info field.

   This label is what triggers the phone to play the internal-call ringtone. For this example, enter Internal.

   

   Tip

   Note the exact label you type here. It is the same value you will pick from the Alert Info dropdown when you assign the ringtone in the next part, so the two halves stay linked.

Assign a ringtone to a user’s phone

For each user who should hear a distinct internal ringtone, map the alert info to a ringtone through auto provisioning. Auto provisioning is what pushes the configuration from the PBX down to the physical phone.

Note

Users can also open the phone’s own web interface and set a distinctive ringtone by hand. For those steps, refer to the phone manufacturer’s documentation.

Prerequisites

The user’s extension must already be bound to a phone. For guidance, see:

• Auto Provision IP Phones Remotely via RPS Method
• Auto Provision IP Phones Remotely with Proxy

Procedure

1. Set the internal ringtone on the user’s phone.

   1. Sign in to the PBX web portal, go to Extension and Trunk > Extension, and open the user’s extension for editing.

   2. Select the Phone tab to edit the phone tied to that extension.

   3. In the Distinctive Ringtone section, click Add.

   4. In the Alert Info field, choose the label you defined earlier for internal calls. In this example, select Internal.

   5. In the Ringtone field, pick the ringtone to play for internal calls. In this example, select Ring1.wav.

      Note

      The ringtones available depend on the phone model.

      

   6. Click Save.

2. Reprovision the phone so the change takes effect.

   1. Go to Auto Provisioning > Phones.
   2. Click the reprovision icon next to the phone assigned to the user’s extension.

   Caution

   The ringtone change does not reach the phone until you reprovision it, so this step is required, not optional. Reprovisioning re-pushes the phone’s configuration and usually reboots it, which briefly takes the phone offline. Avoid reprovisioning while the user is on an active call.

Result

When the user’s phone receives an internal call, it now rings with Ring1.wav.