Stage in a call · DISTRIBUTE

Ring several people, in an order you chose on purpose.

A ring group is the answer to "just ring whoever is around". Three phones ring, someone picks up. The only interesting part is what "whoever" means, and that is a decision you should be able to see rather than infer from a drop-down label.

What the call does

  1. inCall arrives
  2. step 1Ring group
  3. answeredFirst to answer
Ring groups: Call arrives → Ring group → First to answer.

Four strategies, shown as an order

When you pick a strategy, the interface shows the resulting ring order as a list of names. A label like "longest idle" tells you the rule; the list tells you the outcome.

  • Simultaneous — every phone rings at once
  • Sequential — a fixed order you drag into place
  • Longest idle — whoever has gone longest without a call
  • Round robin — takes turns, so the same person is not always first

What happens when nobody answers

Every group has a required destination for an unanswered call. There is no path where a caller rings out into nothing, because the field cannot be left empty — it defaults to the site voicemail box.

Two modes

Simple by default, detailed when you ask

Most people never open the second column. It is one click away rather than spread across the first.

Simple mode

  • Pick members from a list of lines, set a ring time, set where an unanswered call goes
  • A preview of the ring order in names, not rules

Advanced mode

  • Weighted distribution
  • Per-member ring delay for a staggered cascade
  • Skip members whose device is unregistered rather than ringing a dead phone

Where ring groups stops

  • A ring group has no hold music, no queue position and no wait announcements. If a caller should wait in line, you want a call queue.
  • Group membership is not scheduled. If the after-hours team is different people, that is a second group on a schedule node.