Call Queues
A call queue holds callers on music until an available agent answers. Use queues for support, sales or other teams where calls must wait rather than fail when everyone is busy.
Create a queue
- Open the SessionPBX project.
- Select Call Routing.
- Open Queues and select Add queue.
- Enter a unique Number and a descriptive Name.
- Choose a Ring strategy.
- Set Agent ring time between 5 and 120 seconds.
- Set Maximum wait between 30 and 3,600 seconds.
- Choose what happens When the wait runs out.
- Select at least one agent.
- Select Create queue.
Ring strategies
| Strategy | Behaviour |
|---|---|
| Ring all at once | Rings every available agent together. |
| Ring one by one, in order | Tries agents in the configured order. |
| Ring one by one, rotating | Remembers the last attempt and rotates through agents. |
| Least recently answered first | Prefers the agent who has gone longest without answering a queue call. |
| Fewest calls answered first | Prefers the agent with the lowest answered-call count. |
| Random | Chooses agents randomly. |
Agent ring time controls each attempt or polling cycle. Maximum wait controls how long the caller can remain in the queue overall.
Configure overflow
When maximum wait expires, the queue can:
- Send the caller to voicemail
- Hang up
If you choose voicemail, enter a Team voicemail email for shared delivery. Queue members with access to the shared mailbox can also work with these messages in the member portal.
For more complex overflow—such as an announcement followed by another destination—place the queue inside a call flow and connect its timeout branch.
Pause or resume an agent
A paused agent remains a queue member but their phone does not ring for that queue.
- Edit the queue.
- Find the selected agent.
- Select Available to pause them, or Paused to make them available again.
- Save the queue.
The queue list shows the number of available agents out of the total assigned.
Route calls to a queue
Callers can reach a queue by:
- Dialling the queue’s internal number
- Assigning an inbound number directly to the queue
- Selecting the queue in a call flow’s Ring step
- Forwarding a member or ring group to the queue
Test the queue
- Make one agent available and pause the others.
- Call the queue and confirm music plays while waiting.
- Answer as the available agent.
- Call again with every agent paused and verify the maximum-wait overflow.
- Restore normal agent availability.
Choose a realistic maximum wait and a useful overflow destination. A long wait ending in a hang-up is rarely a good caller experience.