TCL VoicePro Q&A
This page contains questions from customers and the answers we gave them.
Reviewing this page can be helpful since someone else may have questioned an issue that you haven't thought of yet.
If you don't find answers to your questions, please contact us and we'll be glad to answer in detail and include the discussion here so everyone can benefit from it.
Whenever anyone calls an extension that forwards to a cell phone, it asks if more time is needed. Is this a function I can stop?
This happens only when you use 3-way calling to transfer calls to your cell phone. You can stop the prompts by pressing the * key, then the system will not give you any more reminders and you can talk as long as you want. The reason for the reminder is that you are tying up a line while you are connected. That is one less line for other callers to come in on. If all the lines are in use transferring calls to remote locations, then no one else can call in and they will get busy signals.
When I am on the intercom and another call comes in which the VoicePro rings to my phone, it bumps me off the intercom.
This is because you are not using the VoicePro to do a conference. You are using the proprietary function of the phone to conference by using the intercom button. The VoicePro does not know that this is being done. Best method is to use the conference feature of the VoicePro.
This is one of many reasons why I recommend using standard single-line telephones for the VoicePro. There is no need to expensive phones with bells and whistles because these functions are all part of the VoicePro and should be used by the VoicePro, not by the phone,
We are a small business and have two incoming phone lines but would like to set up the auto attendant to answer basic questions and voicemail to answer calls that come in when the lines are busy.
The VoicePro will do that. You can record informational messages for the caller to select and listen to. For 2 lines you just need the smaller VP206. It has 6 extensions. If any extensions are busy then the caller drops into voice mail. Each extension has it's own voice mail greeting and mailbox.
How can I make all the extensions in a group ring at the same time when a call comes in?
There IS a way to make incoming calls ring to ALL extensions. You need to set the Auto Attendant to answer after more than zero rings. So set Function 30 to a higher number of rings. Then use Function 4 to specify all the extensions that should ring for an incoming call. You need to program that for each incoming line because each line can be programmed to ring to a different set of extensions.
Will the Voice Pro handle calls when the lines are busy?
When an extension is busy, the caller will hear the greeting for that extension and then they can leave a message in that extension's mailbox.
Just to be clear, if all your incoming lines are in use, then the next caller will get a busy signal. There is no way to pass the call through to the VoicePro. If this is the case, you need to consider adding more lines and then use the larger VoicePro that handles 4 incoming lines.
If volume is an issue and you don't want callers to get busy signals when more than four people call, then you need a bigger phone system PBX. Of course this runs into bigger expenses. But if your volume calls for it, then hopefully you have the income from your business to warrant such a purchase. If not, another solution would be to consider hosted PBX services where you pay only a small monthly service fee plus usage.
Can the system create departments like press 1 for sales, press 2 for accounts payable and so forth? And can a department ring on more than one phone?
Yes you can create a menu with single-key options for departments just like you said. You can make any menu option ring a single extension or ring several extensions that you specify.
When transferring a call to a cell phone, can the VoicePro be programmed to take a message after a delay if the cell phone is not picking up when switched?
Yes if you enable "remote call screening" with function 17 then the system will take the call back again if there is no answer or if you answer and do not accept the call after hearing the caller's name. When the system takes the call back it will play the greeting of the extension's voice mailbox and then take a message.
One other thing to keep in mind is that the above will only work if you let the system transfer the forwarded calls using the hook-flash transfer method. If you program it to use a second line to forward calls, it will not take unanswered calls back again. Hook-flash transfer works only if you have 3-way calling or Centrex on your phone line(s).
Where do messages go if I program it to ring multiple extensions and no one answers?
Each extension has it's own mailbox. But if you ring several extensions as in the last question, then the mailbox of the first in your list will be used to play it's greeting and take a message if none of the extensions in your list answer.
Do you recommend this product for a small company who currently has only one line in?
Many people use it with only one line. You still get the benefit of multiple extensions and departments to make a small company look big.
Does the VoicePro have a battery back up?
The Voice Pro has a battery that keeps its memory for a few hours during a power failure. But it does not provide enough power to ring the phones. Therefore, during a power failure, the VoicePro simply passes the calls through to the phones as follows...
Line 1 rings to extension 10, line 2 ring to extension 11, and so on.
When power comes back, it will use the automated attendant to handle the calls assuming you had created a custom menu.
For extra security, it is recommended that you put the VoicePro behind a UPS that also provides surge protection. The UPS will also allow the full functioning of the unit during a power outage.
How do I set up the different voice mailboxes and record messages for each mailbox?
First of all, not all mailboxes are associated with a valid extension number. Only the first 6, 8 or 12 are real extensions, depending on which VoicePro you have. All the rest are "greeting-only" mailboxes. Also known as "broadcast" mailboxes.
You can change the broadcast mailboxes to full-featured voice mail on any of the additional mailboxes up to mailbox 99 by changing its password to a 4-digit code that starts with a digit. Broadcast mailboxes have a password that starts with a * and defaults to "**99". All the mailboxes beyond the first several real extensions default to broadcast mailboxes.
Actual extensions have mailboxes that are set by default to be full-featured, not "Greeting-only." The passwords on these default to "4321" - note that they start with a digit (4).
Greeting only mailboxes differ from full-featured mailboxes in the following way. They do not allow a caller to leave a voicemail message. After the greeting the caller is returned to the system main greeting and they can select other menu options.
I have no need to connect any 'real' extensions (meaning phones) to the unit, I want to use it just as a voicemail/message center for callers and leave voicemail to employees. Can I do that?
Yes, you do not need to connect phones to the extensions ports in this case. Just have one phone on extensions 10 so you can program it through that phone and record the greetings for the mailboxes. Of course you can do that by calling in from the outside as well. Program all mailboxes that are associated with real extensions to privacy mode so that the calls don't ring through and go straight to voice mail.
I know that most PBXes have a privacy mode so I don't get disturbed. There are times when I just want my calls to go to voice mail. How do I do that with the VoicePro?
Each extension can be programmed to forward calls to another extension, to a remote phone number, or to a voice mailbox. Actually to any voice mailbox, which is a flexible nature of the VoicePro. Enter station programming by pressing * then #. Then follow the prompts to set up forwarding. Forward your calls to any extension by placing a "3" in from of the extension number. If you are programming extension 14 to go to its own voicemail, you would specify the mailbox as "314".
We need to see the Caller ID on all incoming calls. Does this work?
The Voice Pro passes Caller ID through to the phones connected to the extension ports. If you have a display on the phone it will show the Caller ID name and number, if available from your phone company.
We need to set lines 1 & 2 for Auto-Attendant and let the caller choose to leave a message if the extension doesn't answer. And we need to let lines 3 & 4 only go to a live person. Can this be done?
You can program individual lines to work differently. You can say, for example, that lines 1 and 2 should be answered immediately by the custom auto attendant menu. And Lines 3 and 4 should ring through to extensions. Then you can also specify what extension or extensions each line should ring through to. Yes you can make any CO lines ring multiple extensions simultaneously.
We need to be able to transfer a call from one extension to another and to conference both within the office and outside.
You can hook-flash on any extension to transfer a caller to another extension or to an outside number, or conference with all three of you.
Can a call ringing on a particular extension be intercepted by another?
Yes, you can pick up any extension and dial *50 to connect to the caller who is ringing to the other extension.
Can we set the Daytime Greeting by the day of the week as well as for the hours? Friday is a short day, for instance.
You can specify what the daytime hours are for weekdays and you can specify what those weekdays are. Anything else is considered a weekend. The only snag is that you can't make Friday a short day in this example.
What is the difference between the Voice Logic version I see elsewhere and the one you sell?
Voice Logic used to make the older units. Those units did not have a good battery, they did not detect incoming fax properly, and the manual that Voice Logic wrote was for the older version of the software. That older version had limited programming functions. For those reasons, Voice Logic terminated their business and sold all manufacturing rights to TCL Communication Int'l Ltd.
We sell the newer TCL version and we include an updated version of the programming manual that we wrote to conform with the newer software that is installed in the TCL VoicePro units.
In order to keep the cost down we continue to use the Voice Logic plastics on the VP206. The VP412 has the new TCL metal case. The electronics of both units are completely built by TCL.
If you're aware of ANY shortcomings or complaints about the product, what might they be?
The main shortcoming I wish the manufacturer (TCL Communication Int'l Ltd.) would address is that it does not use flash memory. For that reason, if you have a long power failure over several hours, the internal battery can't last that long. After long power failures it may lose voicemail messages, may have to be reprogrammed and greetings re-recorded. That is why we recommend using a UPS for extended service during power outages.
One other shortcoming is that it does not have a computer interface to program from a PC. The only way to program it is via a touch tone phone and greetings recorded via phone. WAV files cannot be uploaded from a PC.
Finally, the Voice Pro is not compatible with all VoIP adapters. If you plan to use it on VoIP lines, check that you have one of the modem/adapters that we have tested with the Voice Pro.
Of course the cost would increase quit a bit for a unit with these additional features.
I would like to know what your return policy is and if there is a warranty on the product. The system sounds great and it is just what we need
Our return policy is 30 days. The warrantee covers the unit if it does not do what we say it does. See our return policy guidelines.
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