# Set Distinctive Ringtones for Queue Calls

Assigning a unique ringtone to a call queue lets agents recognize where a call is coming from before they answer. It is most helpful for agents who belong to several queues at once, since the ringtone alone tells them how to greet the caller.

You can apply distinctive queue ringtones two ways, depending on where the agent takes calls:

- [On an IP phone](#ringtone-on-an-ip-phone)
- [In the Cloud Voice App](#ringtone-in-the-cloud-voice-app)

## Ringtone on an IP phone

To play a different ringtone for each queue on an agent's desk phone, push the setting to the phone through Auto Provisioning. The workflow has two parts: tag the queue with an alert info string on the PBX (Private Branch Exchange, your Cloud Voice phone system), then map that alert info to a ringtone on the agent's extension.

:::note
Agents can also set a distinctive ringtone directly from their phone's own web interface. For those steps, check with the phone manufacturer.
:::

**Prerequisite:** the agent's extension is already linked to an IP phone through Auto Provisioning. If it is not, set that up first using one of these methods:

- [Auto Provision IP Phones Remotely via RPS Method](/pbx/administrator-guide/auto-provision-ip-phones-remotely-rps-method/)
- [Auto Provision IP Phones Remotely with Proxy](/pbx/administrator-guide/auto-provision-ip-phones-remotely-with-proxy/)

### Step 1: Tag the queue with an alert info string

The alert info is the signal that tells the phone which ringtone to play when a call arrives through the queue.

1. In the PBX web portal, go to **Call Features > Queue** and edit the queue you want.
2. Open the **Preferences** tab.
3. Under **Basic**, type a value in the **Queue Alert Info** field. This example uses `Support`.

   
   ![Cloud Voice, the Queue Alert Info field on a queue's Preferences tab set to Support](/images/pbx/distinctive-ringtone-queue-calls.png)

4. Click **Save**.

:::caution
The value you type here must match exactly what you select in the **Alert Info** field on the extension in Step 2. If the two do not match, the phone rings with its normal ringtone instead of the distinctive one.
:::

### Step 2: Map the alert info to a ringtone on the extension

1. Assign a queue ringtone on the agent's extension:
   1. In the PBX web portal, go to **Extension and Trunk > Extension** and edit the agent's extension.
   2. Open the **Phone** tab.
   3. Under **Distinctive Ringtone**, click **Add**.
   4. In the **Alert Info** field, choose the alert info you defined for the queue. This example uses `Support`.
   5. In the **Ringtone** field, choose the ringtone to play for those calls. This example uses `Ring3.wav`.

      :::note
      The ringtones on offer depend on the phone model.
      :::

      ![The Distinctive Ringtone settings on an extension, mapping the Support alert info to Ring3.wav](/images/pbx/distinctive-ringtone-queue-call-autop.png)

   6. Click **Save**.
2. Reprovision the phone so the change takes effect:
   1. Go to **Auto Provisioning > Phones**.
   2. Click the refresh icon ![Refresh](/images/pbx/refresh.png) next to the phone assigned to the agent's extension.

**Result:** when a call comes in through the Support queue, the agent's phone rings with `Ring3.wav`.

## Ringtone in the Cloud Voice App

You can attach a ringtone to a queue so that it plays in agents' Cloud Voice App whenever a call arrives from that queue.

1. In the PBX web portal, go to **Call Features > Queue** and edit the queue you want.
2. Open the **Preferences** tab.
3. From the **Cloud Voice App Distinctive Ringtone** drop-down, pick a built-in ringtone or upload your own.

   
   ![Cloud Voice, selecting a distinctive ringtone for a queue from the Cloud Voice App drop-down](/images/pbx/linkus-distinctive-queue-ringtone.png)

4. Click **Save**.

:::note
- Uploaded ringtones are managed under **PBX Settings > Voice Prompt > Custom Ringtone**.
- A custom (uploaded) ringtone applies only to the Cloud Voice App Web Client and Desktop Client for queue calls. On the Cloud Voice App Mobile Client, the ringtone set inside the app plays instead.
- If the caller is a contact who already has a distinctive ringtone in the agent's Cloud Voice App, that contact ringtone wins over the queue ringtone.
:::