# Set up an Inbound Route

An inbound route tells Cloud Voice what to do with calls that arrive from the outside world. Before external callers can reach anyone on your system, at least one inbound route must be in place.

Cloud Voice ships with a default route that sends every incoming call to an IVR (interactive voice response menu, the automated "press 1 for sales" prompt). You can leave that route as-is, or delete it and build your own routes that match how your organization actually handles calls.

## Before you begin

Set up at least one trunk so that external callers have a way to dial in. Without a trunk, an inbound route has nothing to receive calls from.

## Create the route

1. Sign in to the PBX (Private Branch Exchange) web portal, the admin interface for your phone system, and go to **Call Control > Inbound Route**, then click **Add**.

2. In the **Name** field, enter a label that will help you recognize the route later.

3. Optional: Enter an **alert info text**. Cloud Voice adds this value to the Alert-Info header of the INVITE request (the SIP message that sets up an incoming call) for calls on this route. When a phone receives the call, it reads the Alert-Info header to decide which ring tone to play, so you can give this route a distinctive ring.

4. In the **Trunk** section, move the trunks you want to use from the **Available** box to the **Selected** box. Any call that comes in on a selected trunk number will be handled by this route.

5. Optional: To route calls by the number the caller dialed, known as the DID (Direct Inward Dialing) number, fill in the **DID Pattern** field. Only calls whose dialed number matches the pattern will follow this route.

   :::note
   Leave **DID Pattern** empty to match calls that carry any DID information, or none at all.
   :::

   For details and examples, see [Route Inbound Calls based on DID Numbers](/pbx/administrator-guide/route-inbound-calls-based-on-did-numbers/).

6. Optional: To route calls by who is calling, fill in the **Caller ID Pattern** field. Only calls whose Caller ID matches the pattern will follow this route.

   :::note
   Leave **Caller ID Pattern** empty to match calls that carry any Caller ID information, or none at all.
   :::

   For details and examples, see [Route Inbound Calls based on Caller ID](/pbx/administrator-guide/route-inbound-calls-based-on-caller-id/).

7. Set the destination for the route.

   :::note
   When the destination is an extension, a **Ringback Tone** field appears below it. Select or upload an audio file here, and Cloud Voice plays it to the caller while the extension rings, before anyone picks up.
   :::

   ![Ringback tone selector shown beneath an extension destination on an inbound route](/images/pbx/route-ringback-tone.png)

   Choose one of the following approaches:

   - **Send every call to the same place.** Leave **Time Condition** unselected and set the **Default Destination**.

   - **Send calls to different places depending on the time of day.** Select the **Time Condition** checkbox, then:

   1. Pick an option from the **Time-based Routing Mode** drop-down list.
   2. Set a destination for each time period. When a call arrives during a given period, Cloud Voice sends it to the matching destination.
   3. Optional: Select **Ignore the Holiday Destination** if you want calls during holidays handled by your normal business-hours and after-hours destinations instead of a separate holiday destination.
   4. Optional: Select **Play Holiday Prompt During Holidays** to play an announcement before a call is routed to the holiday destination.

        :::caution
        This only works if you have assigned a prompt to the holiday under **Call Control > Business Hours and Holidays > Holidays > Type > Prompt**. Without a prompt, holiday calls go straight to the holiday destination with no announcement.
        :::

     For time-based routing examples, see:

     - [Route Inbound Calls based on Business Hours](/pbx/administrator-guide/route-inbound-calls-based-on-global-business-hours/)
     - [Route Inbound Calls based on Department Hours](/pbx/administrator-guide/route-inbound-calls-based-on-department-hours/)
     - [Route Inbound Calls based on Employee Hours](/pbx/administrator-guide/route-inbound-calls-based-on-employee-hours/)

8. Optional: To accept faxes on this route, turn on **Fax Detection** and choose where faxes should go:

   - **Extension**: Faxes are delivered to the extension you select. That extension must be registered on a SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) compatible fax machine.

     :::note
     If you later delete this extension, the fax destination automatically changes to **Hang up**, and faxes can no longer be received on this route.
     :::

   - **Fax to Email**: Faxes are converted to attachments and emailed to the address on an extension.

     :::note
     Confirm that the system email is set up correctly, otherwise Fax to Email will not deliver.
     :::

   For more about fax handling, see [Fax Overview](/pbx/administrator-guide/fax-overview/).

9. Click **Save**, then **Apply**.