What is CallThru.us?
CallThru.us is an application that routes calls through your office PBX system to a mobile device. The app provides familiar caller dial pad and call management options on the mobile phone, including access to local contacts, import and save contacts, and view call history.
Before you start
- Access the account you want to enable and find the CallThru application.
- Make a list of the users you want to give access to for mobile phone use.
- Have the mobile device you are activating available for downloading the CallThru app through Google Play or the Apple App Store.
Set up CallThru.us access in Monster UI
STEP 1
Find the CallThru.us app in your application window.
STEP 2
Click on the icon to open the application. The Getting Started screen will display with a User Access tab at the top.
STEP 3
When the tab is open, a list of users will display. Search for the user(s) to enable and toggle the switch on.
Download and Register the CallThru App on a mobile device.
STEP 1
Open the User Portal app from the desktop.
STEP 2
You will see a new tab for Mobile to the right.
STEP 3
Click on the tab. A prompt will ask for a mobile phone number.
Once the number is verified a screen similar to below will display, prompting to download the CallThru.us app to the device.
- Once the app is on your phone, open it. You will be prompted to aim your phone at this code.
- Make sure your phone’s camera setting shows it is available.
NOTES:
- The CallThru.us app can be downloaded any time, either from the desktop or from the appropriate app. store on your phone.
Remember your phone camera must be available to read the QR code generated on the desktop. Review the “downloading your app” section of this STEP guide for notes on this process.
Notes on downloading the application
Search for CallThru.us in your Apple App. store.
You should see a screen similar to below left.
As you download the app, you will see the prompts in the center and the right:
Enter Credentials:
Choose to use your phone camera to read the QR code generated from your User Portal app. NOTE: The login Username and Password referred to here are derived from the QR code and very long and cumbersome to enter. They are NOT your login and password used on your desktop PBX.
Choose to Allow Access to your Contacts (or not).
If you choose to not allow access to. your contacts, you can change these settings later in the app. settings screen in iOs.
Accept License terms: Read the terms and choose I Agree
- View your home screen!
Once you agree to the terms, you will see the “home screen” for CallThru.us.
This is shown at the left, below. To access additional screens you can:- Select the “hamburger” icon next to the Home text at the top; this will show a pop-out menu.
- Select one of the icons at the bottom of the screen, for Contacts or the Dial Pad.
CallThru.Us Pages
Recent Calls / Call History
To refresh your screen and review updates, select the circular arrow at the top right.
Your screen will display recent calls made from your CallThru account.
NOTE: Currently the phone number will display the number used by CallThru, not the number you actually called. This will be captured in your SmartPBX call log.
Voicemail Page
Click on the Voicemail area to view details and listen to your voicemail. The icons below the VM recording bar allow you to:
Faxes Page
If your fax page shows “no faxes setup” (see below), check with your administrator, it will need to be configured and assigned to you as a user in the SmartPBX console. If a fax page is configured, you should see a screen similar to the one to the right.
Below are images that show how sent and received fax information will display on your phone.
You can view and delete the faxes from these pages.
NOTES
In this release, saving a fax is not supported; the fax can be saved from your desktop in SmartPBX however.In the interim, some of our users are “saving” these fax images by taking a screen shot with their phone.
In SmartPBX you can define if you want to receive an email of your fax, and/or send a fax to another number by email. If you have turned this setting on and are not receiving your emails, please check your “Junk” mailbox. You may see notifications like below. Remember to allow incoming emails from the no_reply server your system uses.
Settings Pages
To access the settings page for CallThru.us, select the Settings option from the home screen, as noted below. You will then see the Settings page, also shown below.
Settings Options
- Enable Call Forwarding
- Set the phone number you want to forward the call to.
- Also ring my other devices. If checked, will ring all devices that are assigned to this CallThru phone #.
- Keep Caller ID: This will retain the caller ID from the originating call, even when forwarded. If this is not checked, the Caller ID will show your CallThru.us phone #.
- Send Voicemail to email
- Enter an email address where voice mail notifications should be sent.
- Enter an email address where voice mail notifications should be sent.
- Do Not Disturb
- Select any devices that are assigned to this number to be in DND mode. This means the device will not ring, and if a voicemail is configured, it will go directly there.
Dial pad and Program Settings
When you select the dial pad icon at the bottom of any screen you will access your calling window, as seen below. In addition, you will see a gear at the top right. This will display the Program Settings screen, seen to the right (for reference ONLY!).
NOTE:
Most of this Program settings page is provided FOR REFERENCE ONLY. Check with your system administrator before resetting any of these fields.
- Account Setup
This displays the User Name and Password generated by the QR code during setup.
Delete this ONLY if you want to remove the application entirely from your phone.
- About
At the bottom of this screen you will see a version number for your app. This can be useful during troubleshooting calls. If you have auto-update set to on in your Apple apps. settings you will likely have a current version.
- Reset application
This may be recommended if there is inconsistencies with your SmartPBX application and/or you are changing your phone number.
Making a Call using CallThru.us
Dial your number !
In the background, the CallThru app follows these steps when making a call:
What callers will see is something like this:
- A quick screen that says “initializing” before the call is completed.
- An access number that the app is dialing.
NOTE:
This is not the phone number you are calling, it is the access
number that the CallThru.us has allocated to relay your call.
Select the access number to initiate the call.
What the call recipient will see depends on your settings:
- The person receiving your call will see a number you have assigned as your caller ID in your PBX system.
- If your caller ID is not set up to be shown, then your caller ID will show as Anonymous.
Receiving a call from CallThru.us and your PBX system
What callers will see / hear depends on your settings in your PBX application.
- Your cell device is added to your user settings, and will adopt the general settings you’ve applied to your other devices.
- The caller will hear what your PBX system had defined, and a possible pause during the phone forward process.
What you will see / hear
- When a call is forwarded to your cell phone, it will ring as a normal call. When you answer however, it will prompt you to “Press 1 to continue.” This is currently what indicates the call is from your PBX system. Future releases will provide alternate preference options for identifying these calls.
- If you want to turn the ring off at certain times go into the device settings for this CallThru device, and toggle the DND switch on.
If you are not receiving calls
Here’s some troubleshooting ideas if your phone is still calling out but not receiving calls:
- Verify your phone has been added to you as a user in your PBX setup.
- It should display in Smart PBX as in the above post, as a listed phantom device (without an icon for now)
- it should display in User Portal under Settings & Devices.
- Check your settings for and make sure the DND is not toggled on for this CallThru.us device.
- As a last resort, if you are still not receiving calls, you may want to reconfigure the phone — the phone number you entered may not have synched correctly as the number of your cell phone (think typo, we are adding a way to verify your input, will be available shortly). It is possible to dial out with an incorrect cell phone, but not to dial in.
To reset,- From the app on your phone, under the settings, choose Reset Application.
- Go to the User Portal app on your desktop, pick the Mobile Tab
- From this tab, type in your number.
- When you see the QR code screen, instead of capturing the code there, choose the “Link new phone number” arrow at the top left
- Enter your phone number again very carefully and double check it!
- Capture the new QR code
- This should reset your phone and your desktop
NOTE: For a more detailed view of these steps — with screen shots, refer to the CallThru FAQ.
Reviewing your CallThru.us settings
There are three places to check and set your CallThru Settings and preferences:
- From your CallThru.us settings screen
- From your SmartPBX and/or User Portal application on your desktop (soon also on your mobile phone)
- Control the ringing and routing behavior of incoming calls, e.g. voicemails, etc.
- Set your assigned devices and fax boxes.
- From your iPhone settings screen
- Control permissions for the CallThru mobile app related to iPhone data access, for example if CallThru can access your Contacts, Microphone and Camera. During your installation, you are asked to enable these; however if you choose not to at the time, you can through the iOS settings screen. See below
- Reset and/or re-couple your phone with your CallThru app.
CALLTHRU.US SETTINGS FROM YOUR PHONESettings controlled from standard iPhone settings screen
These are the traditional settings that you can control through your iPhone for most applications. If you declined access to your contacts during configuration, you can override that in these settings. Your contacts will display once the setting is changed.