In a busy office, the Call Hold feature comes in very handy. Whether you need a moment to pull up customer information, confer with management, or are simply busy on another call, Call Hold allows you to prioritize your calls and consult with other parties accordingly.

The call hold feature makes it easy for users to work more efficiently. If you’re looking for a quality desk phone that offers Call Hold along with other convenient features and functions, choose the Avaya 9608 IP Phone.

With the Avaya 9608 IP phone, you can hold one or more calls.

• The held call will still occupy the appearance button on which it was made or answered. A fast flashing lamp is used to indicate held calls.
• The caller will hear music on hold. If your system does not have music on hold available, the caller will hear double beep tones every few seconds.
• If you have more than one held call, or one held call and a connected call, pressing the Conference soft key will start a conference between yourself and the calls.

Calls that you have held will return to your phone (when idle) if they remain on hold for too long. The default return delay is 15 seconds. Your hold recall can be changed by the System Administrator. Returning calls ignore any forwarding or do not disturb settings.

Holding A Call

1. To put your current call on hold, press the Hold soft key or the call’s appearance button.
2. The held call will be indicated by its call appearance button with a fast-flashing green lamp. The phone displays “On-Hold” before the call information on the call’s application line.
3. While held, the caller will hear music on hold. If your system does not have music on hold available, the caller will hear double beep tones every few seconds.
4. You can scroll the display using the up and down cursor keys. The held call will appear with a icon. The button next to the call label will flash green.

Important – Holding Conference Calls
You can hold a conference call in the same way as holding a normal call. Holding the conference call does not affect the other conference parties who can continue talking. You will also still be listed as a member of the conference call in the conference details.

Note: This only applies to the conference calls hosted by your own telephone system. Holding your call to a conference hosted on another telephone system may cause that conference to hear your system’s music on hold.

Taking A Call Off Hold
Either of the following methods can be used to retrieve a call from hold. If you have a currently connected call, that call will be automatically put on hold.

• Press the appearance button with the fast-flashing red lamp call appearance.
  OR
• Scroll the display using the up and down cursor keys, the held call will appear with a  icon. Press the Connect soft key to take the call off hold.

Switching Between Calls
With a call on hold (fast-flashing appearance button) and another call connected (red call appearance button), you can switch between calls by press the appearance button of the held call. The current call is automatically put on hold and the previously held call is connected.

When you place a call on hold in order to make a transfer, the call is considered ‘on hold pending transfer‘ and is indicated by fast-flashing red and green appearance buttons. On phones with only a single appearance button (or icon), the phone displays “On-Hold-Xfer” before the call information on the call’s application line.

Transferring A Held Call
There are various call transfer scenarios to consider:

1. Transfer to a Held Call:
If you have multiple calls on hold and you want to transfer a connected call to one of the held calls:

• Press the Transfer soft key and use the up and down cursor keys to select the desired call appearance. When you are satisfied, press Complete to transfer the call while the other held call(s) remain on hold.

2. Transfer to a New Call:
If you have calls on hold but you want to connect your current call with a new destination:

• Press the Transfer soft key and enter the destination manually using the numerical keypad and press Complete. Alternatively, press Dir to select a destination from the directory or use the Redial option, if applicable.

3. Consult the Caller Before Transferring:
If you have a destination call connected but you wish to refer back to the originating call before completing the transfer:

• Do NOT press Complete to transfer the destination call as in scenario #2. Select the originating call (‘on hold pending transfer’) by pressing its call appearance button. This will place the destination call ‘on hold pending transfer’ so that you can notify the originating caller. With the originating call connected, you can now press Complete to connect the two calls. Held calls that are not pending transfer will not be affected. Moreover, it is not possible to have more than one call ‘on hold pending transfer.’Note: It is also possible to transfer a held call by starting a conference and then dropping yourself from that conference. However, if you are the only internal user in the conference, depending on your telephone system’s configuration, dropping yourself might end the conference.

And that is how you use the Call Hold feature on your Avaya phone. If you have further questions, please see your System Administrator.

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Tags: Avaya 9608 IP phone, Hold Calls, Holding Calls, How to, Steps to call hold feature