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Need to change caller ID for Ringout workflow

Forum|Forum|1 year ago
May 9, 2025
9 replies
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We use an SMS prompted RingOut workflow for after hour emergencies. The RingOut works, but we need to change the incoming caller ID to our RingCentral phone number and not the recipients number.

Our after hours team has our RingCentral number saved as an approved number on their phones so these calls aren’t missed when snoozed after hours.

Just to clarify, I’m not referring to the ID the recipient (person initiating the workflow) sees, but rather the number that shows up when RingCentral calls our team. Is it possible to change this?

Best answer by ByrneReese

As mentioned before, they have their phones snoozed to only allow the business phone number to ring. While it would prevent answering unnecessary calls, each call would still to need to be screened in the middle of the night.

That is correct.

Alternative Approach: Use a Known Caller ID with an Announcement-Only Extension and SMS Follow-up

To ensure the on-call person can allow only a specific known number to ring through (e.g., by configuring Do Not Disturb or Focus settings), and still be alerted to an after-hours escalation, you can redesign the flow as follows:

Step-by-Step Process

Initiate RingOut to a Known “Announcement-Only” Extension
- Set up a dedicated RingCentral extension with a fixed direct number (DID).
- Configure it as an auto-receptionist or IVR with a simple announcement-only greeting. For example:
  
  "You have received an escalation. Please check your phone for a text message with callback details."
Ensure the Announcement Number is Known and Allowed
- The number used for this RingOut call will always be the same.
- The on-call person can configure their phone to allow calls from this number (e.g., bypass Do Not Disturb or Silence Unknown Callers).
Send an SMS with Full Callback Details
- Immediately after initiating the RingOut, send an SMS to the on-call person’s mobile number with the necessary information:
  - Caller’s name
  - Callback number
  - Context or message (if available)
  - Timestamp
User Flow
- The on-call person receives a call from a recognized number and hears the alert message.
- They then check the SMS to find the exact details and take appropriate action.

Benefits of This Approach

Reliable Caller ID: Always comes from a fixed, known number that can be white-listed.
No Need to Modify Directory Contacts: Avoids race conditions or directory permission issues.
Silent Escalations Are Avoided: The voice call guarantees an audible alert, even if SMS notifications are missed.
No Need to Answer the Call: The announcement-only nature means the person can listen without interacting.

This approach provides both reliability in ringing through and clarity in communication while working around the limitations of RingOut’s caller ID behavior.

ByrneReese

Product Manager

@Aaron Good question. I honestly don’t know. Let me investigate.

ByrneReese

Product Manager

@Aaron I don’t think this is currently possible. But I think I understand your problem: you want to make sure that the person who is about to receive a call doesn’t dismiss the call because they don’t recognize the number. If that is the case, here is something we could possibly do:

Send a text message prior to initiating the RingOut call. Alert the person - you are about to receive a phone call that is an escalation. Please answer the call. If you already missed the call, please call <person’s phone number>.”

Does that make sense?

A

AaronAuthor

The First Step

Thanks @ByrneReese. I appreciate the feedback. Unfortunately, our after hours team (2 people), rely on the calls to wake them up. They’re not actively on standby.

ByrneReese

Product Manager

@Aaron Thank you for that context. That makes sense. Let me investigate more about RingOut and see if there is a good solution here.

A

AaronAuthor

The First Step

@ByrneReese That would be great. Thanks!

ByrneReese

Product Manager

@Aaron I did a little research, and learned some things that might help. I have also re-summarize the issue to make sure I understand.

If you're using RingOut to escalate after-hours calls, it's understandable that the person on-call might ignore the incoming call if it shows an unfamiliar number. Unfortunately, the first leg of a RingOut always originates from the destination number (i.e., the person you're trying to reach), which means the number itself will likely be unrecognized.

However, there's a helpful workaround: the caller ID display for incoming calls is influenced by your address book or company directory. That means if the contact information for the destination number is temporarily updated, the caller ID shown during the RingOut will reflect that change.

Here’s a way to make the call look like an “After-hours Escalation”:

Lookup the on-call user’s contact in your company directory or personal address book.
Temporarily update their name to something like “Escalation Alert” or “After-hours Escalation.”
Initiate the RingOut to connect the escalation call.
Wait about 60 seconds (or however long the call typically takes to connect).
Restore the contact name to its original value.

This way, when the RingOut triggers and the first leg calls the on-call person, the caller ID will say “After-hours Escalation,” increasing the chances they’ll recognize the call’s purpose and pick up.

What do you think?

We have some features coming out later this quarter that should help with this, including:

a wait action
the ability to set variables to stash the contact’s original name

A

AaronAuthor

The First Step

Thanks for the suggestion @ByrneReese. I think I understand it. This would solve one problem (a recognizable number), but it would mean we would still need to allow all calls to come through, correct?

As mentioned before, they have their phones snoozed to only allow the business phone number to ring. While it would prevent answering unnecessary calls, each call would still to need to be screened in the middle of the night.

ByrneReeseAnswer

Product Manager

As mentioned before, they have their phones snoozed to only allow the business phone number to ring. While it would prevent answering unnecessary calls, each call would still to need to be screened in the middle of the night.

That is correct.

Alternative Approach: Use a Known Caller ID with an Announcement-Only Extension and SMS Follow-up

To ensure the on-call person can allow only a specific known number to ring through (e.g., by configuring Do Not Disturb or Focus settings), and still be alerted to an after-hours escalation, you can redesign the flow as follows:

Step-by-Step Process

Initiate RingOut to a Known “Announcement-Only” Extension
- Set up a dedicated RingCentral extension with a fixed direct number (DID).
- Configure it as an auto-receptionist or IVR with a simple announcement-only greeting. For example:
  
  "You have received an escalation. Please check your phone for a text message with callback details."
Ensure the Announcement Number is Known and Allowed
- The number used for this RingOut call will always be the same.
- The on-call person can configure their phone to allow calls from this number (e.g., bypass Do Not Disturb or Silence Unknown Callers).
Send an SMS with Full Callback Details
- Immediately after initiating the RingOut, send an SMS to the on-call person’s mobile number with the necessary information:
  - Caller’s name
  - Callback number
  - Context or message (if available)
  - Timestamp
User Flow
- The on-call person receives a call from a recognized number and hears the alert message.
- They then check the SMS to find the exact details and take appropriate action.

Benefits of This Approach

Reliable Caller ID: Always comes from a fixed, known number that can be white-listed.
No Need to Modify Directory Contacts: Avoids race conditions or directory permission issues.
Silent Escalations Are Avoided: The voice call guarantees an audible alert, even if SMS notifications are missed.
No Need to Answer the Call: The announcement-only nature means the person can listen without interacting.

This approach provides both reliability in ringing through and clarity in communication while working around the limitations of RingOut’s caller ID behavior.

A

AaronAuthor

The First Step

Thank you @ByrneReese. I’ll give this a go!

Step-by-Step Process

Benefits of This Approach

Step-by-Step Process

Benefits of This Approach

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