This contains general information about Podium Phones and some frequently asked questions you may have while getting started or managing your calls. 

Frequently Asked Questions

After plugging in my Podium desk phone, it asks me for HTTPS credentials. What do I do?

While setting up your desk phones, after you've connected them to power and the internet, you may see a window on the devices asking for HTTPS credentials. This is normal, and you can ignore it by pressing Cancel. Please proceed with adding the device to your Podium account by following these pairing instructions.

I’m having trouble connecting my desk phone to the internet.

• Try unplugging the phone from power and ethernet for 1 minute, and plug it back in. 
• Do a speed test with your computer to ensure the network is up to the minimum requirements. If the speed test is slow in the area where you tested, try moving the phone to a different part of your office, and try connecting it again.
• If you’re still having trouble, try connecting via ethernet instead.
• If you don’t have enough ethernet ports, you can have the computer and phone share a single ethernet port through daisy chaining.
• To daisy chain, plug the ethernet cable into the wall port and then connect it to the back of the phone in the LAN port (image below). 
• Next, connect another ethernet cable to the PC port, which you can then connect to an ethernet port on your computer that was originally using the ethernet port.

What are the network requirements for Podium Phones to work sufficiently?

• Upload speed - at least 0.2 Mbps per device
• Download speed - at least 1 Mbps per device
• Jitter - less than 40ms
• Packet loss - less than 2%

How can I test my network speed?

You can visit https://www.speedtest.net on a computer connected to the same network as the phones and compare it to the above minimum requirements.

Can I set up the call to route differently depending on if the call comes during or outside business hours? 

Yes! You can set up after-hours forwarding to send calls to an external number or voicemail. This is a location-specific setting only, so any call after-hours to that particular location will route to a specific call group or number. To turn it on, go to Settings > Business Hours > After-hours Response > Call Forwarding.

Is there hold music? Can I upload the hold music? 

No, we don’t currently offer ways to include or upload hold music, but the team will be working on it in the near future.

Can I adjust how many times the phones ring? 

Phones in your call groups will ring four times by default before they’re sent to voicemail or routed to another call group. You can set up another call group with the same phones and route missed calls to that secondary group in order to increase to 8 rings; however, we don’t recommend doing this more than once because callers may drop calls that have a long ring time. Right now, you can’t customize individual ring amounts by just 1, 2, or 3 rings in Podium.

Can extensions have their own voicemails? Or does every phone have the same voicemail?

No, extensions cannot have their own voicemail. Voicemails are set at the location level. All desk phones and external numbers associated with a location will be sent to the same voicemail. 

Are phone calls recorded? Can I record my calls?

No, phone calls are not recorded and cannot be manually recorded in Podium. The team will be working on manual/automatic call recording and transcripts in the near future, where you’ll be able to customize how or if you’d like to record your calls.

Can I use my existing phones or hardware with Podium?

This feature can only be used with the two phone models that Podium provides, the Grandstream GRP2615 and GXV3350.

Does Podium offer phone trees? What about phone extensions or group extensions?

Right now, we do not offer phone trees. However, there is a way to work around it: you can set up call groups, assign extensions to those call groups, and mention how to reach those call groups in a customized call greeting. 

Currently, there are two kinds of extensions in Podium, a desk phone extension and a call group extension.

• A desk phone will automatically have an extension assigned to it. For example, the first phone will have extension *100. If a caller knows the extension to the desk phone (you can notify them of it during the call greeting), they can dial it during the call and will be transferred to that phone. 
• Callers can also dial an extension for a call group. For example, you could create a call group for sales representatives that has the extension *2 and mention that during the call greeting, so callers can press *2, be routed to the sales call group, and speak directly with a sales representative. 
• To dial an extension, callers will press the asterisk [*], then the extension number they’d like to call. Pressing any other key will transfer the conversation to a text conversation and end the call. Therefore, you should customize the greeting message to clearly instruct callers on which extensions to call and to press *[“star”] before the extension number.

Can I set up an external number as an extension?

Yes, but external numbers cannot have their own extensions. To work around it, you can add an external number and create a call group with only that number in it.  To add an external number,  go to Phone Settings > Desk Phones, and at the bottom, under Other Devices, select Add Device to set up an external number. To set up an extension for the number, you’ll need to make a call group and add that external phone number to the call group. 

Does Podium offer cordless phones? 

Currently, there are no cordless options compatible with Podium Phones. However, both existing desk phones are Bluetooth compatible, so you can connect any headsets or headphones with a microphone.

Do Podium’s desk phones work over WiFi?

Technically any desk phone will work over WiFi, but for reliability reasons, we strongly recommend that the phones be hardwired via an Ethernet cable. Podium cannot guarantee and is not responsible for issues stemming from wifi network connections, like dropped calls or trouble initiating new calls. 

Can I use my existing number for Podium Phones?

When signing up for this feature, you can bring over an existing phone number for your business to be used with Podium Phones. Our team will help you port your phone number over to your Podium account. 

Can I get a new phone number for Podium Phones?

Please contact Podium support for assistance with getting a new phone number or adding a new location.

Can I transfer calls to an external number?

Yes, Podium Phones customers can transfer calls to an external number. Transferring is only available for desk phones right now. 

If I have remote employees, will Podium Phones work for them?

We recommend using our desk phones only at the address associated with the business, though they will technically work anywhere. In our Terms and Conditions, customers agree to not “use the Hardphone Product in any location other than the registered location or move the Hardphone Products to a new location without registering the device to its new location.” This is to ensure that emergency responders are dispatched to the correct location if someone places an emergency call (i.e. dials 911).  

What happens to calls if the power goes out and my internet goes out? 

Desk phones need to be connected to the Internet and power in order to initiate, receive, and maintain active calls. If a desk phone disconnects due to a power outage and a second call group exists, any incoming calls will be routed to the next call group or voicemail, depending on how the primary call group is configured to route. If you have desk phones that are still connected to power and the Internet in the primary call group, then they will work as expected and ring for incoming calls.