Use this guide when someone calls a Hot Prospector phone number and the call:
- does not ring an agent;
- rings the wrong person or group;
- goes directly to voicemail;
- rings once, beeps, or disconnects;
- stays on hold too long;
- follows the wrong working-hours or after-hours route; or
- appears in the call log but cannot be answered.
This article is for inbound calls: a customer or test phone calls your Hot Prospector number. If Hot Prospector called a lead, that is an outbound dialer issue. If the problem is the SMS sender, Local Presence caller ID, buying a number, or a missing number in a dropdown, use the phone-number and Local Presence guide instead.
First: capture one exact failed call
Before changing settings, collect one recent example:
- the Hot Prospector number that was called;
- the caller's number;
- the exact date and time, including time zone;
- what the caller heard: ringing, hold music, silence, beeps, a message, voicemail, or a disconnect;
- which user or group should have received it;
- whether the call appears in Hot Prospector's Call Report; and
- whether one number is affected or several numbers are affected.
Use Reports → Call Report, select Inbound Calls, and search around the test time. This one example prevents support from guessing across several unrelated phone settings.
Step 1: confirm that this is actually an inbound-call issue
Ask one question: Did a person call your Hot Prospector number, or did the dialer call a lead?
- A person called your HP number: continue here.
- The dialer called a lead: check the outbound campaign, lead assignment, agent group, and dialer status instead.
Do not change inbound ring groups to fix an outbound campaign-assignment problem.
Step 2: identify the number's inbound job
An HP number can receive calls through different routes.
Personal direct number
A personal direct number rings its assigned user and does not require an inbound call flow. Confirm that:
- it is assigned to the intended active user;
- the user's selected inbound-call mode is correct; and
- the destination required by that mode is valid.
Do not build a call flow merely because another number in the account uses one.
Call-flow or inbound-campaign number
If the number uses a call flow, confirm that:
- the number is assigned to the intended flow;
- the flow contains the intended ring group, user, transfer, voicemail, and hang-up steps in the correct order;
- the correct working-hours, non-working-hours, and holiday flows are assigned; and
- every intended recipient still belongs to the correct ring group.
In Settings → Phones → My Numbers, the gear menu may show Phone Settings or Call Flow Settings. If the option is missing, do not keep refreshing or repeat the same navigation. The number may already be committed to a different direct, campaign, call-flow, or Local Presence role. Check its current assignment before unlinking anything.
Do not unlink a live number until you know which calls depend on it.
Step 3: prove that at least one agent is eligible to ring
Being logged in is only one requirement. For a browser, forwarded-phone, combined, or SIP route, verify the intended agent is:
1. an active user in the correct account;
2. a member of the correct ring group;
3. not set to Do Not Disturb;
4. using the correct inbound-call mode;
5. configured with a valid forwarding number or SIP destination when that mode requires one;
6. signed in and available when browser ringing is required; and
7. not already locked in another active call.
For browser ringing, also allow microphone and notification permissions and keep Hot Prospector open during the test. If the route forwards to a cell phone or landline, call that destination directly once to prove the destination itself can receive calls.
If one known-available agent receives the test but another does not, compare those agents' group membership, mode, destination, login state, and busy state. Do not rebuild the number's entire flow first.
Step 4: check working hours, after hours, and holidays
Verify all of the following:
- every intended weekday is enabled;
- the start and end times are correct;
- the account time zone matches the schedule being tested;
- the working-hours flow is assigned;
- the non-working-hours flow is assigned; and
- the holiday flow is assigned when holiday routing is used.
Repeat the schedule back in plain language before testing. For example: “Calls should use the working-hours flow from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Central, Monday through Thursday, and 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Central on Saturday.” This catches missing days and time-zone misunderstandings before anyone treats them as a defect.
Run one test clearly inside the schedule and one clearly outside it. A test made near the exact opening or closing minute is harder to interpret.
After-hours calls and text messages are separate
In the current call-flow editor, an after-hours route can contain steps such as a message or greeting, SMS, Voicemail, and Hang Up. If the desired outcome is a voice-call-triggered text followed by voicemail, place and test those steps in the intended order.
The classic inbound-campaign After Hours screen works differently. It allows one voice-call action—transfer, reject and send SMS, reject with a spoken or uploaded message, voicemail, or forward to another inbound campaign—and also has a separate Incoming SMS Response setting.
These are not the same behavior:
- Reject with SMS responds to an after-hours voice call.
- Incoming SMS Response replies to a text someone sent to the number.
First identify which outcome the customer wants and which interface the account uses. Do not say that voicemail and “automatic SMS” are incompatible until those two meanings have been separated.
Step 5: test hold time and the next step
Some call flows place the caller on hold while agents are being tried. The saved hold time has a supported range of 60 to 600 seconds; a blank or zero value uses 60 seconds.
Run two controlled tests:
1. Answer test: keep one known-eligible agent available and confirm the call connects.
2. No-answer test: make every intended agent unavailable, stay on the call, and time what happens. At the configured limit, the caller should move to the next flow step. If no next step exists, the route should fall back to voicemail rather than restart another full hold period.
If hold music continues past the saved limit, capture the actual elapsed time and escalate. Do not tell the customer to wait longer or simply increase the timeout.
Read the symptom before changing settings
What the controlled test shows — What it tells you — Next action
No inbound call appears in the HP Call Report — The call may not have reached the HP inbound route, or the number may be routed outside this account — Confirm the full HP number and carrier record; escalate with both sides if the carrier shows delivery
The call appears under the wrong number, flow, user, or schedule — The call reached HP but followed a different saved route — Correct the number assignment or schedule, then retest
The correct call appears, but zero intended agents ring — Eligibility or notification delivery needs investigation — Prove one agent's complete state, then escalate with the exact test if that agent is eligible
The call rings once, gives beeps, or lasts 0–1 seconds — The call reached part of the route but ended before a usable connection — Capture the Call Report row and exact caller experience; escalate rather than guessing at browser settings
Only one forwarding destination fails — The number's general route may be healthy; the destination or transfer leg is the boundary — Call the destination directly, then provide the source, destination, time, and result
The call reaches hold music but exceeds the configured timeout — The hold timer or next-step redirect may have failed — Record the configured and actual times and escalate
The wrong agents ring — Ring-group membership, account/location selection, or route assignment is wrong — Compare the saved group and number route with the agents who actually rang
Several numbers or users fail at the same time — This may be a shared service problem rather than one user's setup — Collect two representative examples and escalate immediately
These are diagnostic clues, not automatic root-cause declarations. A fresh call and its matching Call Report row are the evidence.
Run the final three-test proof
After making a change, use a new call for each applicable route:
1. Working hours: the intended available agent or group rings and can answer.
2. No answer: the call leaves hold at the saved limit and reaches the intended next step or voicemail.
3. After hours: the non-working-hours flow, voicemail, and any requested SMS behavior work exactly as configured.
Record the new caller number and exact time for each test. Do not use the original failed call as proof of the change.
When the issue needs technical support
Send one complete package:
- HP account and affected location, if applicable;
- HP number called and caller number;
- exact time and time zone;
- inbound number role: personal direct, call flow, or inbound campaign;
- expected user, ring group, or next step;
- saved schedule and account time zone;
- intended agent's group, call mode, availability, and destination state;
- what the caller heard and how long each stage lasted;
- matching Call Report row or confirmation that no row exists;
- whether one or several numbers are affected; and
- the result of the answer, no-answer, and after-hours tests already completed.
Once this information is present, support should not ask the customer to repeat the same navigation or basic test. The next step is route and delivery analysis.
What counts as resolved
An inbound-call issue is resolved only when a fresh call proves the requested behavior. A correct-looking setting, a call appearing in the log, “we made a change,” or a customer saying “thanks” is not enough.
At minimum, the affected route must ring and connect to the correct available recipient. If the complaint involved timeout or after-hours behavior, that exact route must also complete successfully before the issue is closed.