Callback — when agents answer on a mobile

A caller waiting in a queue can press star, hang up and keep their place — and the system will call them back when their turn comes. This guide explains how to turn this on, and what matters most when agents answer from a mobile phone rather than a line of the phone system.

Two ways to call the caller back

Method	What happens	When it fits
Callback from the queue	The caller presses * while waiting and hangs up. When their turn comes, the system calls them back and connects them to an agent — in order.	Busy hours, a queue with a wait of a few minutes
Calling back manually	The agent sees in the call log who waited or wasn't answered, and dials from the control panel.	When you want to choose whom to call back and when

Both ways also work when the agent answers on a mobile, and in both the customer sees a business number on the display — not the agent's private mobile.

For a general explanation of callback and when it's worthwhile — see What is a queue callback in the Knowledge Center.

Turning on callback in a queue

In the side menu: Queues, and on the queue's card — Manage Queue.
Open "Advanced management", and in the group "The caller's wait":
- Offer callback by pressing * — turn it on.
- Caller ID for the callback — a business number (a number in the account). This is the number the customer will see when you call them back.
Click Save Changes.

The queue edit screen with the basic fields and collapsed Advanced Management — The callback settings are inside "Advanced management", in the group "The caller's wait".

Don't leave "Caller ID for the callback" empty. If it's empty, the customer sees a blocked number, and many people don't answer such a call.

Tell callers it exists. It's worth adding a short sentence to the queue message, for example: "For a callback, press star and we'll call you back in order".

Agents who answer on a mobile

In the "Queue agents" area, add an agent of type External Number and type the mobile number. This is a regular agent type in the queue — it receives both regular calls and the callbacks.

The list of queue agents and the add agent row — The agents in the screenshot are examples.

When agents are on a mobile, pay attention to these queue settings:

Setting	What to set	Why
Ring time per agent	15–18 seconds	A mobile's voicemail usually answers after about 20 seconds. Ringing longer may let the voicemail "answer" — and the customer will reach the agent's voicemail.
Screening before connecting	Play the number to the agent	The agent hears who is calling before being connected — an extra layer of protection against voicemail. Check with a test call.
Auto-answer at the agent	Off	It has no meaning on a mobile, and it may connect without anyone really answering.
Remove unresponsive agent	2–3 calls	A mobile that is off or without reception won't hold up the queue.
Wrap-up time after a call	10–20 seconds	A short gap between calls, so as not to ring an agent who has just finished.

How the phone system knows an agent on a mobile is free

What it sees: only calls that pass through it. An agent on a mobile counts as free when the phone system hasn't connected a call to them right now, and they aren't in "Wrap-up time after a call".
What it doesn't see: a private call on the mobile, a phone that is off or without reception. In these cases it simply rings — and when there's no answer within "Ring time per agent", it moves on to the next agent.

To the phone system, a mobile's voicemail looks like an answer. So the ring time must be shorter than the time the voicemail takes to answer — see the table in step 3.

Calling back manually from the control panel

In the side menu: Actions → Make a Call.

In "Where to call you first" choose Another number and type the agent's mobile.
In "Destination number" — the customer's number.
In "Caller ID shown to the destination" — a business number.

The phone system first rings the agent's mobile. When they answer — it dials the customer and connects the two. The customer sees the business number.

The Make a Call screen: choosing where to dial you first, the destination number, and the caller ID

A full explanation of the screen — in the Actions guide.

A test call before turning it on for customers

A test queue, with your mobile in it as an agent (External Number). "Offer callback by pressing *" — on.
From a second phone, call the queue, press * and hang up.
Check: that the caller heard a confirmation that the request was received; what appears on the display for the customer and for the agent; and that the mobile's voicemail doesn't "answer" instead of the agent.

Good to know

Cost: when the agent is on a mobile, every callback is two outgoing calls — to the customer and to the agent's mobile — and both count as minutes.
Channels: such a call takes up two channels at once. In an account with few channels, at busy times this may take up room needed for incoming calls. See Channels in the Knowledge Center.
Withheld number: there's nowhere to call back a caller with a withheld number.
The place in the queue: whoever presses star keeps their place. Whoever stays on the line — keeps waiting as usual.

Stuck? Does something on the screen not behave like in the guide? Write to us through the Contact Us page. We'll be glad to help, and also to hear what's missing from the guide.