The browser phone is your business phone line inside intSignal Connect. There's nothing to install: open Phone in the sidebar and you're ready to call. Because the phone lives in the browser, there's nothing to rack or wire at the desk. That's part of what makes intSignal a cloud phone system with no on-premise hardware.
Your phone connects when you sign in and stays connected as you move between pages, so you can answer a call while you're in Messages, Video or anywhere else.
Before your first call
Get an extension
Your administrator assigns you an extension. Until they do, the phone shows "No extension is assigned to your account. Ask your administrator to assign you an extension."
Wait for Ready
The status at the top of the dialer shows Starting…, then Provisioning your line…, then a green Ready. If it shows Offline or Error, check your internet connection and reload the page.
Confirm your 911 location
The first time your line is ready, Set up your 911 location opens by itself. Calling stays off until you confirm a verified address, because that's where emergency responders are sent. It takes about a minute. See Emergency calling (E911).
Allow notifications and your microphone
Your browser asks whether intSignal Connect can show notifications. Allow it so incoming calls alert you when the tab is in the background. The first time you place or answer a call, the browser asks for your microphone. Allow that too.
Click once after loading
Browsers don't play sound from a page you haven't interacted with. After you open or reload intSignal Connect, click anywhere in the app once so ringing and call audio can play.
Finding your way around the Phone page
On a wide window the Phone page has three columns. On a narrow window you see only the left list. Use a window at least about 800 pixels wide on the Phone page, or take calls from any other page using the floating call card.
Left: your lists
| Tab | What's in it |
|---|---|
| Messages | Shortcuts to your text messages, team chat and web chat |
| Calls | Your last 100 calls: Missed, Incoming or Outgoing, with when they happened. Each row has Call and Message buttons. |
| Team | Everyone's extension with their live status. See Your team's status. |
| Contacts | Extensions, then your company's shared contacts, with Manage contacts → |
| Voicemail | Your voicemail inbox and greeting |
| Notes | Summaries of your transcribed calls. See Live transcripts & call notes. |
Middle: the person or the call
Select someone in Calls or Contacts to see their name and number, Call and Message buttons, your Call history with them, and a Notes box. Notes you type there are saved in this browser only. They don't sync to other computers and colleagues can't see them.
During a call, this column shows who you're talking to, a timer and your call controls.
Right: the dialer
The dialer has Calling as, a search box, suggestions, your status and a keypad.
Place a call
Choose who people see
Calling as shows your extension and the number your call will come from. If your workspace has more than one number, pick one from the dropdown. Your choice is remembered on this browser.
Find the person or number
Type into Enter a name or number. Suggestions list matching extensions, company contacts and recent numbers. With the box empty, you'll see a few recent numbers and contacts to pick from. A name on its own can't be dialed, so select it from the suggestions.
Call
Press Enter, or select the green Call button. You'll hear ringback and see Calling…. When they answer, it changes to In call with a timer.
You can type numbers in any common format:
| You type | It dials |
|---|---|
(949) 555-0123, 949-555-0123 or 9495550123 | A US or Canadian number |
19495550123 or +19495550123 | The same number with the country code |
+442079460000 or 442079460000 | An international number, if your workspace allows international calling |
1002 | Extension 1002, or any internal number of 2 to 6 digits |
911 | Emergency services |
Use the keypad (Show keypad / Hide keypad) to tap a number instead, and ⌫ Delete to remove the last digit.
911 always shows your extension's own number
Whatever you pick in Calling as, an emergency call always comes from the direct number assigned to your extension, so responders can call you back and find your confirmed address.
International calls are off unless an owner or admin turns them on for your workspace. If an international call doesn't connect, ask your administrator. See Calling limits & fraud protection.
Answer a call
When a call comes in you'll hear ringing, see Incoming call…, and get a desktop notification if you allowed them. Select Answer or Decline.
The browser phone handles one call at a time. While you're on a call it doesn't ring for a second one.
During a call
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Mute / Unmute | Turns your microphone off and on. The button turns yellow while you're muted. |
| Keypad | Sends touch-tones, for example to choose a menu option on a call you placed. Use the on-screen keypad on the Phone page. Typing on your keyboard doesn't send tones. |
| Transfer | Sends the caller to another extension. See Transfer a call. |
| Record | Starts and stops recording, if your workspace's recording policy allows it. A red REC badge shows while your recording runs. See Call recording. |
| Live transcript | Real-time captions, plus optional suggestions of what to say. See Live transcripts & call notes. |
| Hang up | Ends the call. |
Transfer a call
- Select Transfer.
- In Transfer to (extension, number, or name), type an extension number, or start typing a colleague's name and pick them from the matches.
- Press Enter or select Transfer.
The caller goes straight to that extension and you leave the call. It's a direct (blind) transfer, so if you want to introduce the caller first, message your colleague before you transfer.
Taking calls from any page
Everywhere except the Phone page, calls appear in a floating call card at the bottom-left of the screen:
- Incoming: Answer or Decline.
- On a call: Mute, Record (when allowed), Transfer (type the extension, then Go) and Hang up.
The floating card has no keypad or live transcript. Open Phone for those. The call carries on while you switch pages.
Your status
Set your status from the menu at the top of the dialer (also shown in Messages):
| Status | What callers and colleagues experience |
|---|---|
| Available | Calls ring normally. |
| Away | Colleagues see you're away. Calls still ring. |
| Do not disturb | Calls made directly to your extension don't ring your phones. They go to your voicemail, or to wherever your administrator set unanswered calls to go. Ring-group calls still reach you. |
While you're on a call, colleagues automatically see you as busy.
Automatic away. If you're Available and switch to another browser tab, or don't use the app for 5 minutes, your status changes to Away. It returns to Available when you come back. It never changes Away or Do not disturb when you've set them yourself.
On a desk phone you can also dial *78 to turn Do not disturb on and *79 to turn it off.
Your team's status
The Team tab lists everyone's extension with a colored status: Available, Away, On a call, Ringing, Do not disturb or Offline.
- Search with Search people….
- You're listed first, marked (you).
- Pin the people you work with most so they stay in Pinned at the top. Pins are saved on this browser.
- Hover over a person to Call or Text them.
Paging and intercom
If your administrator has set up paging groups, they're listed under Paging when the dialer is idle and empty, marked One-way page or Two-way intercom. Select one to start the page.
When someone pages you, your browser phone answers by itself, hands-free, and shows who's paging. A page that arrives while you're on a call isn't connected.
Open phone links in intSignal Connect
intSignal Connect can open the phone numbers you click on web pages and in emails.
- When your browser asks whether intSignal Connect may open phone links, choose Allow.
- From then on, clicking a phone number link opens Phone and dials it as soon as your line is ready.
A separate panel for each of your numbers
If you answer several business lines, open Workspace in the sidebar, select Add panel, and choose a number under Phone line (separate panel). That panel's Calling as starts on that number. All panels share your one phone line, so you're still on one call at a time. See Finding your way around.
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Fix |
|---|---|
| "No extension is assigned to your account…" | Ask an owner or admin to assign you an extension. |
| Call does nothing and Confirm your 911 location is showing | Select Confirm location and finish the 911 steps. |
| A red banner says 911 is disabled — your location changed | You've moved away from your confirmed address. Select I've stopped — update my 911 location and confirm where you are now. |
| Status shows Offline or Error | Check your connection and reload the page. |
| You can't hear anything, or it doesn't ring | Click anywhere in the app once, and check your computer's sound output. |
| The other person can't hear you | Check you're not muted. Then allow the microphone for connect.intsignal.com in your browser's site settings and reload. |
| No ringing when the app is closed | The browser phone only rings while intSignal Connect is open in a browser tab. Keep it open in one tab during working hours. |
| International numbers won't connect | International calling is off for your workspace. Ask an admin. |