Welcome to the Android Softphone User Guide

Navigating the world of communication has never been easier, thanks to our state-of-the-art Android Softphone application. Designed with both simplicity and functionality in mind, our softphone app transforms your Android device into a powerful communication tool, enabling you to connect with colleagues, clients, and friends with unparalleled ease.

What is a Softphone?

A softphone is a software application that allows you to make and receive calls using your mobile device, rather than relying on traditional desk phones. With our Android Softphone app, your device becomes a versatile VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) phone, allowing you to harness the power of modern communication technologies at your fingertips.

Why Use the Android Softphone App?

• Mobility: Make and receive calls anywhere you have an internet connection.
• Flexibility: Integrate seamlessly with your existing contacts and communication tools.
• Cost-Effective: Reduce call costs, especially for international calls.
• Rich Features: Access a suite of advanced features such as voicemail, call forwarding, and conferencing.

Navigating This Guide

Our guide is designed for ease of use, allowing you to find the information you need quickly:

• Document Tree: Utilize the document tree on the top of your screen to jump between different sections of the guide. This is an excellent way to get an overview of the guide’s structure and access specific topics directly.

Ready to Dive In?

Whether you’re a first-time user or looking to leverage more advanced features of your softphone, our user guide is designed to support you at every step. The “Getting Started” section is your gateway to unlocking all the potential that the Android Softphone app has to offer.

Getting Started

How to start working with your mobile App on Android

To start using the mobile application on your Android device, you need to: 

1. Open an email from your PBX Administrator that contains links for downloading the apps, your authentication credentials, and a QR code for easy access to your account.

2. Click on the icon to download the mobile app, suitable for your Android device. 
3. After installing the app on your phone, click on the app icon to launch the app.
4. To log into the app, you can enter your Authentication Credentials manually or scan a QR code provided in the email you received from your PBX Administrator.

Manual entry of authentication credentials on Android

When you open the app for the first time, you will need to enter the authentication credentials stated in the email you received from the PBX Admin into the fields described below:

If you’re using a proxy server to access your PBX, you would need to press the icon and enter the IP address of your Proxy server:

Log in using a QR code on Android

To use a QR code that you received in an email from your PBX Administrator: 

1. Click on a QR-code icon at the login screen:

2. Point your mobile device camera at the QR code in your email to scan the QR code.

NOTE: Without access to your device’s camera, the mobile app cannot read the QR code. To scan a QR code, the mobile app will ask permission to access your camera.

User Interface Overview

User Interface overview on Android

After you’ve logged into the app, you’ll see a user interface as shown in a screenshot below:

The Navigation bar of the mobile app has the following tabs:

User presence statuses in Android app

Contacts

Contacts tab on Android

The ‘Contacts’ Tab is where you can find contacts of all your colleagues and clients.

All your colleagues will be displayed in the ‘My team’ section together with their presence statuses.

1. Search for contacts.
2. Switch between displaying all contacts, extensions only, and external contacts(clients, partners, suppliers, etc.).
3. List of external contacts stored on the device or accessible via integrations.
4. List of extensions within your organization.

Create a new contact in Android app

To create a new contact, tap on the icon.

Then fill in the name of the contact and add additional details by tapping on the ‘Add details’ button.

1. Press ‘Save’ to finish editing the contact.
2. Add an avatar picture to the contact.
3. Add details like phone numbers, company name, job title, etc.

Import contacts to Android app

To import a contact from your Android device into the mobile app:

1. Tap on the ‘Phone’ icon in the ’Contacts’ tab.

2. Tap on the icon to select the contacts you want to import.

3. Select the contacts you would like to import and press the ‘Done’ button to finish importing.

Working with contacts on Android

A Contact’s Profile contains all the details regarding a person or an organization, including the history of communication with your company.

To open a contact’s profile, simply tap on a contact from your contacts list, or select a ‘Contact Info’ option from a dropdown menu on a chat screen.

1. Add contact to favorites.
2. Share contact.
3. Contact’s menu.

Edit a contact

To edit a contact tap on themenu icon in the contact’s profile and choose ‘Edit’ from a dropdown menu.

Delete a contact

To delete a contact:

• Long-tap on a contact in the contacts list.

OR

• Tap on themenu icon in the contact’s profile and choose ‘Delete’ from a dropdown menu.

Add a contact to favorites

To add a contact to favorites, open a profile of contact and tap on theicon.

Share a contact

To share a contact with your colleagues:

1. Open the profile of a contact you want to share and tap on themenu icon.

2. Select “Share with” from the dropdown menu.

3. Select colleagues or chat groups you would like to share this contact with.

4. Tap on theicon to confirm and share the contact.

Block numbers in Android app

You can block incoming calls and SMS from the selected contacts and phone numbers.

NOTE: Blocked contacts are shared across your entire organisation, so if you block a number, it will also appear on other users’ blocked list.

How to add a phone number to Block list

How to block an existing contact

How to unblock a contact

Call Handling

Making outgoing calls on Android

There are several ways to initiate an outgoing call from the mobile app:

Making a call from a contact profile

1. Open the profile of a contact/user that you would like to call.

2. Tap on the icon to make a voice call or on the icon to make video call.

User’s profile example

External contact’s profile example

Making a call from a Calls tab

1. Open the ‘Calls’ tab

2. Select a contact from your call history. 

3. Press on aicon to make a call. 

Making a call from the Keypad

1. Open the Keypad tab.

2. Enter the phone number you’d like to call.

3. Press on abutton to make a call.

Dial a contact from your device’s phone book on Android

To call a phone number that is in your device’s contacts list and is not imported into the mobile app:

1. Switch to the ‘Contacts’ tab and tap on the ‘Phone’ icon.

2. On the screen with the list of your contacts, tap on a contact you want to call.

3. Press theicon to make a call.

Alternatively

1. Open the ‘Keypad’ tab

2. Press theicon on the bottom left corner of the numpad.

Working with incoming calls in Android app

Upon receiving an incoming call, on your mobile device, you will see the following screen:

1. Drop a call
2. Pick up with a video on
3. Pick up with audio only

During a call, you have access to the following features:

1. Mute / unmute microphone
2. Put the call on hold
3. Turn the speaker on / off, switch to Bluetooth
4. Open the Numpad to send DTMF
5. Turn call recording on / off
6. Open a contact’s profile
7. Transfer a call
8. Make a parallel call
9. Turn video on / off
10. Open a chat with the contact

Transfer a call in Android app

To transfer a call:

1. During an ongoing call, tap the ‘More’ iconto switch to the additional features set.

2. Press the ‘Transfer’ icon

3. Enter a phone number or choose a contact from the list, where you want to transfer a call.

i. Tap on the ‘Numpad’ icon to manually dial a phone number.

4. Choose if you would like to do a Blind or Attended transfer.

If you choose a ‘Blind transfer’, you will be disconnected from this call while the caller will be transferred to the number you selected.

In the case of ‘Attended transfer’, the caller will be put on hold, while the app will make an outgoing call to the number/contact you chose to transfer a call to.

i. Press the ‘Transfer’ button to confirm the call transfer.

Add a participant to a conference in Android app

To add a participant to a call:

1. Tap the ‘More’ icon during an ongoing call to switch to the additional features set.

2. Press the ‘Add call’ icon

3. Choose а contact that you’d like to add to a call from the list.

i. Tap the ‘Numpad’ icon to manually dial a phone number.

4. After you’ve connected with a new participant, press the ‘Merge’ button to add this participant to a conference.

i. Press the ‘Merge’ button to merge both lines into a conference.

You can repeat all the above steps to add more people to a conference call.

Remove participants from a conference on Android

To remove participant from a conference:

1. During an ongoing conference call, tap on the “Remove participant” button at the top-right corner of the app to open the list of participants.

2. In the participant list, select the user or contact you want to disconnect from the conference.

Switching between two lines during a call on Android

During a call, if you need to make an outgoing call while putting the current call on hold:

1. Tap on the ‘More’ iconto switch to the additional features set and press the ‘Add call’ icon

2. Choose а contact that you’d like to call from the list.

i. Tap the ‘Numpad’ icon to manually dial a phone number.

3. After the connection has been established, you can switch between the two calls by tapping on the icon (i).

Call parking on Android *

Call Parking feature allows you to put a call on hold from one extension (or device) and retrieve it from another extension (or device) with permission to do so.

To park a call:

1. During an ongoing call, tap the ‘More’ iconto reveal additional features.

2. Press the ‘Transfer’ icon

3. Choose a parking slot from the list, where you want to transfer a call.

Note: if all parking slots are busy, you will not see any parking slots in the list.

Retrieve a parked call

A parked call will be displayed in the Contacts tab above the list of users/contacts. It will be visible to all your colleagues, and they will be able to pick up this call from a parking slot.

1. Navigate to the Contacts tab and click on a parking slot to retrieve a call.
2. Confirm action in the pop-up window to connect with the call waiting on a parking slot.

* Please check the availability of this feature with your PBX Administrator.

Working with call details in Android app

When you make dozens of calls every day, it is very hard to remember the details of every single call. By filling in a call subject and adding some comments, you can highlight the most important parts of your conversation and easily find them later, when you’ll need them.

To view/add information about a call:

1. Open your conversation history with a contact. You can do that by switching to the ‘Calls’ tab and selecting a contact from the list of your calls.

2. After selecting a contact, you’ll see a history of all communication with that contact. Tap on a ‘View details’ link of a call you’d like to add details to.

Adding Call Subject and comments

When you open the ‘Call details’ panel, you can view and edit the subject of a call and write out some important parts of a conversation in the ‘Comments’ section.

After you finish editing the Call Details, tap on the “Save” button to confirm.

You can also tap on anicon to mark a call as a ‘Favorite’ which will make it easier to find.

Finding a call by its subject

Specifying the subject of a call can help you easily find that call any time later.

To find a call by its subject, simply type a subject you want to find in the Chat Search field and press the ‘Search’ button.

Listening and sharing a call recording in Android app *

When you record a call using your mobile or desktop app, this call recording gets synchronized between all your devices. It means that you can listen to the recording of a call on your mobile device, even if it was recorded from your desktop application.

To access a call recording from your mobile app:

1. Open your conversation history with a contact.

2. Calls that have a voice recording will have an icon.

3. Tap on a ‘View details’ link of a call which recording you’d like to listen to.

4. On the Call Details panel, press the icon to playback a call recording.

To share a call recording with other applications on your device:

1. Open the details of a call with the recording you would like to share.

2. Tap on the menu icon.

3. Tap on the “Share recording”.

4. Choose an application on your device where you’d like to send a recording.

You can choose this same application from the list to share a recording with your colleagues who use this app.

* Please check the availability of this feature with your PBX Administrator.

Switching a call between desktop and mobile app

You can seamlessly transfer a live call from your desktop app to your mobile app, or from your mobile app to your desktop app, with no interruption. This is useful for taking your work on the go.

iOS

1. To switch an active call, open the iOS app while on an active call, then tap the notification at the top of the app:

2. Press Confirm to switch a call.

Android

1. To switch an active call, open the Android app while on an active call, then tap the notification at the top of the app:

2. Press Confirm to switch a call.

Desktop (Windows/macOS/Linux)

1. To switch an active call, open the desktop app while on an active call, then click on the notification at the top of the left side panel of the app:

Chats and Messages

Chats and messages in Android app

Using the mobile app, you can send a text message to a colleague directly via ‘Personal’ chat or to a group of colleagues using a ‘Group’ chat.

The ‘Chats’ tab displays all your chat conversations and all the messages you’ve sent and received.

It is also where you can create a new ‘Personal’, ‘Group’, or ‘SMS’ chat.

You can initiate a chat with a colleague using one of the following options:

• Open your colleague’s Profile. And pressing the chat icon.

• Select an existing chat in the ‘Chats’ tab.
• Create a new chat in the ‘Chats’ tab by pressing theicon at the bottom of the screen and then selecting the type of chat you want to create.

Sending messages in Android app

Sending a text message

To send a text message to another app user:

1. Open a chat with a colleague(s) you would like to send a message to.

2. Tap on the text area at the bottom of the screen.

3. After you’ve finished typing your message, press theicon to send it.

Sending an SMS message *

To send an SMS message to a contact or a phone number:

1. In the ‘Chats’ tab press on theicon at the bottom of the screen and then tap on theicon to create a new chat.

2. Select a contact you’d like to send an SMS message or type in a phone number at the top of the screen.

3. Tap on the text area at the bottom of the screen and type in your message.

4. After you’ve finished typing your message, press theicon to send it.

* Please check the availability of this feature with your PBX Administrator.

Sending files, photos, and locations

To send a file, photo, or your current location:

1. Open a chat with a colleague(s) you would like to send a file to.

2. Tap on theicon at the bottom of the screen.

3. Select the type of message that you would like to send.

Sending voice messages

To send a voice message to your colleagues who are using the app:

1. Open a chat with a colleague(s) you would like to send a file to.

2. Tap on theicon at the bottom of the screen.

3. The recording will start, and the appearance of the microphone icon will change.

4. After you’ve finished recording your message, tap again on the microphone icon to send you a message.

To cancel the recording press and hold the microphone icon and slide it to the left.

Working with messages on Android

Copying a text message

To copy to a specific message in a chat:

1. Long-tap on a message that you’d like to copy.

2. In the top icon bar, press theicon.

Replying to a message

To reply to a specific message in a chat:

1. Long-tap on a message that you’d like to reply to.

2. In the top icon bar, press theicon.

3. At the bottom of the screen, right above the Text Area where you type your messages, you’ll see the message that you’re replying to.

4. Type your reply in the text area at the bottom of the screen.

5. Press theicon to send your reply.

Forwarding a message

To transfer a message to another colleague(s):

1. Long-tap on a message that you’d like to transfer.

2. In the top icon bar, press theicon.

3. Select contacts or group chats to which you would like to forward a message.

Share messages with other applications on your device

To share a message with other applications:

1. Long-tap on a message that you’d like to share.

2. Tap on the menu icon at the top right corner of the screen and choose ‘Share’ from the dropdown menu.

3. Select an application on your device you’d like to share a message with.

You can choose this same application from the list to share a message with your colleagues who use this app.

Create a Group chat in Android app

To create a new chat:

1. Switch to the ‘Chats’ tab and press on theicon at the bottom of the screen.

2. Press on theicon to create a new ‘Group’ chat.

3. Enter the name of the group chat you would like to create.

4. Tap on theicon to add colleagues to the group.

5. Select participants for this group chat from the list and press ‘Done’.

6. Now you can select who, aside from you, will be this group’s Admin and will have the right to add or remove participants to this group.

Press the ‘Edit’ button to edit the list of admins or participants.

To set the avatar icon for this group, press the camera icon to the left of the group name.

7. After editing the lists of participants and admins, press ‘Done’ to create a group chat.

Settings

App Settings in Android app

In the App Settings, you can set Call Forwarding, Voicemail, and other features according to your needs.

To open the App Settings, switch to the Menu tab and select the Settings menu item.

Here you can set the following options:

Autoload photos/images. This feature lets the app preload all the images in your personal and group chats.

Make or receive calls with Android Auto. Enabling this feature will allow you to make and receive calls while in a car using Android Auto.

Ringtone. Here you can set the ringtone for all calls coming to the SmartPBX app.

Open web pages in an external browser. When enabled, all custom web pages that a user has in the menu tab will be opened in an external browser instead of the in-app one.

The call settings menu is where you can set up Call forwarding and your personal Voicemail.

Report an issue. While we are trying our best to make the perfect app, there may be times when you will encounter an issue or a ‘bug’. For those times, please use this feature and send us information about the issue you’ve experienced. Our support team will do our absolute best to find the resolution as soon as possible.

Version. Here is where you can find the version of the app you are using right now.

Call Settings in Android app

For various cases when you can’t pick up the call in the app, you can set the following Call Forwarding rules. Those rules will help automatically forward calls to the external phone numbers you specify.

Forward all calls. This feature will forward all your incoming calls to a phone number specified in the ‘forward to’ field below.

Forward when offline will forward your calls to a specified phone number only in case the app will lose a connection with your server.

Forward when busy. This rule will only apply during the time when you have an active call.

Forward when no answer. You can turn this feature on if you want to forward calls you do not answer during the time set in the ‘Waiting time’ parameter below.

A Voicemail checkbox turns your voicemail feature on/off. To record or change your voicemail greeting, tap on the ‘Prompt’ link.

Check the ‘Recording’ feature to enable total call recording for all your calls. *

The call waiting feature allows the user to suspend an existing phone call to answer a second call. This feature is required for putting a call on hold, transferring a call, and creating a conference call.

* Please check the availability of this feature with your PBX Administrator.

Do not disturb (DND) on Android devices

If you are experiencing issues with app notifications while in Do Not Disturb (DND) mode, follow these steps to configure your device for optimal notification delivery. Note that in silent mode, there is no ringtone or vibration for incoming calls or notifications.

For Android 10

By default calls and notifications trigger vibration, if it’s activated on the phone. While in the app:

1. For calls to come through:

• Navigate to Menu.
• Tap on Calls.
• Tap on Ringtone in DND mode.
• Enable the switch with your mobile App icon .

2. For notifications to come through:

• Navigate to Menu.
• Tap on Calls.
• Tap on Call notification settings and enable Allow interruptions.

For Android 13 and 14

While in the mobile app:

1. For vibration:

• Navigate to Menu.
• Tap on Call notification settings.
• Enable Vibrate.

2. For calls to come through:

• Navigate to Menu.
• Tap on Calls.
• Tap on Do not disturb and tap Ringtone in DND mode.
• Enable the switch with your mobile App icon .

3. For notifications to come through:

• Navigate to Menu.
• Tap on Calls.
• Tap on Do not disturb and tap Call notification settings.
• In App notifications add this mobile app.

For Android 15

1. For calls to come through:

• Navigate to Menu.
• Tap on Calls.
• Tap on Ringtone in DND mode.
• Enable the switch with your mobile App icon .

2. For notifications to come through:

• Navigate to Menu.
• Tap on Calls.
• Tap on Call notification settings and enable Override Do Not Disturb.
• Enable Vibration.