The softphone
The softphone is the phone inside WhautoVoice. It rings in the bottom corner of whichever page you are on, and once you answer it turns into a small in-call bar with everything you need to run the call. There is nothing to install: sign in, allow the microphone, and you are on the floor.
Before you start
- Use a current version of Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari on a desktop or laptop. Chrome and Edge give the smoothest experience, including the ability to choose which speaker the call plays through.
- Plug in a headset. Laptop speakers and microphones work, but the caller will hear echo.
- Your workspace needs a connected telephony provider and at least one active number before anything can ring.
Allow the microphone
The first time the softphone needs your voice, the browser asks whether this site may use your microphone. Choose Allow. If you dismissed the prompt or clicked Block, calls connect but the caller hears silence. Click the padlock or camera icon in the address bar, set the microphone to allowed, and reload the page.
Until the page has held a microphone permission, the Audio settings panel cannot show the names of your devices. That is a browser rule, not a fault.
The incoming call toast
When a call is routed to you, a toast slides in with a green pulsing dot and the words Incoming call. It shows:
- The caller's name if they match a contact, otherwise Unknown caller. If the network passed no number at all you see No caller ID.
- Answer to take the call.
- Decline to send it on. In a queue the call moves to the next agent; if nobody else is free it follows the number's fallback, usually voicemail.
- A bell icon on the strip to Silence ringer for this call. Click it again to Turn ringer on.
Answering starts a timer on the bar. The caller hears you the moment the state changes to On call.
The in-call bar
Once a call is live the toast becomes the in-call bar. The status strip at the top shows the call state and the elapsed time, the identity block shows who you are speaking to with an Inbound or Outbound chip, and a row of round buttons holds the controls. A small device label beneath the name tells you which speaker the call is playing on. Click it to open Audio settings.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Mute / Unmute | Stops your microphone. The caller hears nothing until you unmute. The icon turns solid while muted. |
| Hold / Resume | Parks the caller. The strip reads On hold while hold music plays. If the provider cannot play music the strip reads On hold (silent) and the caller hears nothing until you resume. Vonage has no mid-call hold at all, so the button has no effect on a Vonage number. |
| Record / Stop recording | Starts or stops recording from this point. Only shown when the provider allows recording to be switched during a call. On Vonage the decision is made when the call is answered by the number's Record calls setting, so the button does not appear. |
| Keypad | Opens a 12-key pad for sending tones (DTMF), for example to reach an extension or answer an automated menu on an outbound call. Keys you press appear in the display above the pad. |
| Transfer | Opens a panel with two tabs. To an agent lists your teammates with their presence; only agents who are Available or in Wrap-up can be chosen, everyone else is greyed out. To a queue lists your call queues with their member count. Pick a target and the strip reads Transferring… until the call is handed on. If nobody in the target picks up you see Transfer failed and keep the caller. |
| Audio settings | Choose your Microphone and Speaker from the devices the browser can see, or leave System default. Click Test to play a tone through the chosen speaker. Some browsers cannot choose the speaker; the panel then says so and the call follows the system default. A ringer toggle at the bottom shows Ringer on or Ringer silenced. |
| Hang up | Ends the call. You move to Wrap-up and the timer starts. |
Telling callers that a conversation is being recorded is your responsibility under local law. Check the rules for every country you call before you press Record.
Call states
The status strip tells you what the call is doing.
| State | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Connecting | You clicked Call or Answer and the provider is setting the call up. |
| Ringing | An outbound call is ringing at the other end. |
| On call | Audio is flowing both ways and the timer is running. |
| Reconnecting | Your network dropped for a moment and the softphone is re-establishing audio. Stay on the page; the caller is still on the line. |
| On hold | You parked the caller and they are hearing hold music. |
| On hold (silent) | You parked the caller and the provider could not play music. |
The missed-call strip
If a call rings out or the caller hangs up before you answer, the toast changes to a grey Missed call strip showing who it was. It stays for about twelve seconds so you can see who you lost, then clears on its own. Click the cross to dismiss it sooner. The call is also in Call history with the status Missed, and a Missed call notification reaches the team if that event is switched on.
The floating dial button
When you are not on a call, a round purple keypad button sits in the bottom-right corner of every page. Click it to open the Dialer, a dial pad with a Name or number field and a From number selector. See Making outbound calls for the full walk-through. The button hides itself while a call is live or a toast is showing.
On mobile
The softphone is built for the desktop browser. On the move, use the agent app for iOS and Android, with a full-screen incoming call and the same in-call controls. Get it on the App Store or Google Play. At a desk, keep the WhautoVoice tab open on a laptop or desktop while you are on duty.
Minutes an agent spends on a connected call count as processed minutes against your plan, the same as AI agent time. Your carrier bills the call and WhautoVoice counts the minute. There is no AI charge for an agent's talk time.
Related
Email us at hello@whautovoice.com and we will get you sorted.