COX Business Voicemail FAQ

Cox Business Voice Mail FAQ

Product FAQ

How do I know if I use Cox Business Voice Mail?

If you use Cox Business phone lines, VoiceManager lines, or similar Cox Business Voice services, you likely retrieve voice mail through Cox Business.

You can review your latest bill statement from Cox Business. If you notice the phrases, “Standard Voice Mail,” “Group Voice Mail,” “Extension Voice Mail,” or “Related Services,” you use Cox Business voice mail.

Can I use Cox Business Voice Mail without other Cox Business Voice services? You must have a Cox Business voice line, trunk, or VNS service to subscribe to Cox Business Voice Mail.

From a desk telephone, what is the best way to access a voice mailbox?

From a desk phone, VoiceManager or IP Centrex users can access their voice mailbox by dialing “*298” or “*86”. Depending on how their line and caller ID is configured, the user may just be prompted for their PIN, or they may be prompted for the 10-digit telephone number (TN) and the PIN. (Click here for more details.) This provides access to the voice mail main menu.

For additional details on the voice mail menu and associated options, see the Quick Reference Guide and User Guide.

What features are available with Cox Business Voice Mail?

Cox Business Voice Mail includes high-value features to make leaving and retrieving messages efficient for you and your employees. Here is a summary of Voice Mail features:

• Three main voice mail options: Basic, Extension, and Group Voice Mail
• Speedy access when you dial “*298” from your desk phone
• Optional services for Unified Messaging and Readable Voice Mail
• Other Voice Mail Specifications

We need to update the greeting in a voice mailbox, but prevent callers from leaving a message. Can we configure this with standard voice mail?

Cox Business Voice mail offers multiple greetings options for you. The Extended Absence Greeting allows you to customize a greeting and select whether or not you want to prevent callers from leaving a message after the greeting plays. Press 5 from the Greetings menu to activate this feature.

I am leaving a message and hearing the response, “Your message is too short.” Is there a minimum length for a message left in a voice mailbox?

Yes. The minimum message length is four (4) seconds.

Some Cox Voice customers have caller id masking which displays a different phone number for caller ID than the connected phone line. One example might be when a CEO makes a call from his private line, the caller ID number displays as the main office number rather than the number on his desk. If we have caller id masking on our lines, how does it impact our ability to use Cox Voice Mail?

Cox Business only masks caller id upon your request, and there is no upfront or recurring charge for this service. If you are unsure about whether or not your caller id is masked, contact a Cox representative. If your caller id is masked on your phone lines, you will need to follow this process to initialize and check your voice mailboxes:

Do I have to mask caller id on my phone lines? How can I adjust this setting?

Caller ID masking is common for many businesses who want their main phone number to appear in caller ID receivers, regardless of which line places a call. In these instances, Cox Business will set up masking to use the main number as the caller ID.Cox Business only masks Caller ID upon request and does not include additional charge(s).

If we use a Cox Business virtual telephone number, how do we set up and use voice mail?

Most voice mail users have a desk phone line, which rolls calls to a voice mailbox. Customers with virtual telephone numbers (TNs) do not have a physical desk phone for this number. If you use voice mail with a Cox virtual TN, refer to the tips listed below.

• If you have a virtual TN, the related voice mailbox should be pre-set by Cox voice mail teams. If you cannot access the box from a valid access number, contact a Cox representative to make sure that the mailbox is initialized.
• When you log in to the mailbox, you need to update the PIN, record a new greeting, and record your name.
• Use voice mail and features as necessary.

Paging Notification

Can I receive voice mail notification to my alphanumeric pager?

Cox Business offers a pager notification option when you receive voice mail. All pager notifications are routed to a pager email address, not a telephone number.Once you have identified the email address for sending messages to your pager, typically in format, contact a Cox Representative to add pager notification preferences to your voice mailbox.

What does the message look like in my pager?

When a voice message is deposited, you receive:—–Original Message—–

From: Cox Communications [mailto:]Sent: Sunday, January 27, 2013 8:47 PMTo: Carter, Angelise (CCI-Atlanta)Subject: New Voice Msg | 01/27/2013 | 08:46PM (EST) | Caller: (732)111-0000 | 2 new | 0saved | 1 fax |

When a fax message is deposited, you receive:—–Original Message—–From: Cox Communications [mailto:]Sent: Sunday, January 27, 2013 9:23 PMTo: Carter, Angelise (CCI-Atlanta)Subject: New Fax Msg | 01/27/2013 | 09:22PM (EST) | Caller: (732)555-2468 | 3 new | 0saved | 2 fax |

Why do I have to perform initial set up for voice mailbox from my desk phone?

Cox Business requires initial setup of each voice mailbox from a desk phone as it is set up in our network.

Can I record and upload a professionally-recorded greeting for our voice mailbox?

Contact your Cox Business representative for information about uploading pre-recorded files for your voice mailbox.

How much storage space is provided with Cox Business Voice Mail? What happens when the storage space is consumed?

Each voice mailbox offers 50 minutes of message storage. When 50 minutes are consumed, callers cannot leave messages. Cox Business suggests that you delete older messages, especially large messages, to preserve available storage space. You will receive a warning once the mailbox capacity reaches 70%. The platform will delete any messages after 31 days.

What is an extension mailbox, how do I set it up, and how many mailboxes can be attached?

Extension mailboxes enable businesses to share a group of mailboxes, but route incoming calls to one main voicemail number. They include a primary mailbox and up to nine (9) additional boxes. Each has characteristics of standard voice mailboxes and must be activated by an authorized user before they can be used. Once activated, log in to the mailbox, change the PIN, record your greeting and your name.

Other employees can set up extension mailboxes individually; however, an office administrator can set up two or more mailboxes and navigate between them.

From the standard group mailbox menu, press “6-2-2” on your keypad to access the next activated extension mailbox.

What is a member mailbox?

 A member mailbox is another name for an extension mailbox.

Can I access Cox Business Voice Mail through MyAccount? Can I receive voice mails as an email attachment?

Cox Business Voice Mail is accessed through a Cox Business Voice Service or through another phone line. Review the Voice Mail User Guide for complete voice mail access instructions. Cox Business Voice Mail subscribers can add Unified Messaging to forward voice mails to any email account.

Can I receive fax messages in my voice mailbox with Cox Business?Currently, Cox Business does not offer fax features in voice mailboxes; however, our development roadmap includes creation of special services that support faxing.

Migration FAQ

Why is my voice mail service moving to a new platform?

The new platform will enhance performance and reliability.

Why does Cox need to migrate the voice mailboxes?

Cox Business is launching a new platform for voice mail in 2014 and existing customers must set up their voice mailboxes during migration.

How will I know when Cox Business is moving my voice mailboxes to the new platform?

You will receive a direct mail letter, voice mail reminders, and an email. You can also check for the latest platform migration updates at www.coxbusiness.com/voice mail.

How can I be sure that I am receiving my customer’s messages throughout the migration?

You may test your messaging service by calling your desk phone from another location or phone and leaving a test message.

How can I verify my mailbox settings prior to the migration?

Cox is providing access to the new voice mail platform seven (7) days before the migration to pre-initialize your new mailbox. This allows you to log in and change your PIN, record your name, implement preferred settings, familiar yourself with the new key presses, verify distribution lists and record other greetings. See the Quick Reference Guide for instructions.

How will I know if I need to take any action and what will I need to do?

To maintain a seamless voice mail experience, follow instructions in the voice mail reminders and the direct mail letter. (Note: You will need to renew and document existing voice mail messages.)

You can set up new voice mailboxes before or after the migration, and after the migration, you can set up mailboxes by dialing “*298” from your desk phone, entering the default PIN “COXCOM” (269266), and following the prompts.

Instructions can also be found at www.coxbusiness.com/voice mail. The Voice Mail Quick Reference Guide will walk you through frequently used prompts and commands.

After the migration of voice mail, will I be able to retrieve messages from my original voice mailbox?

Cox Business has implemented a feature temporarily that allows you to log into your new voice mailbox and listen to saved messages. This feature is available 30 days after migration during which time you can access your voice mailbox. Press “5” from the main menu to access old voice messages. After a user presses “5”, the system will pause for 3-5 seconds and connect you to your previous mailbox. A user can enter the older PIN to listen to the older messages. After 30 days, Cox Business will remove this temporary access feature.

What other improvements can I expect?

Improvements include enhanced performance and reliability, as well as some new features like Readable Voice Mail.

Will Cox Business offer the same voice mail features?

Yes and a few minor changes.

What feature(s) will change in my voice mailbox with Cox Business?

One feature of Voice Mail Message Notification Preferences will change in the updated platform—there will no longer be options for the disposition of voice messages related directly to message notification. Instead, messages will be kept as new even though the message may be delivered to an email address.

In addition, Cox Business is retiring the “fax feature” in voice mailboxes and is planning new services to address faxing needs.

Readable Voice Mail FAQ

What does Readable Voice Mail cost?

Readable Voice Mail is a free service for Cox Business Unified Messaging subscribers.

Can I send Readable Voice Mail to any email address?

Yes. The email address can be your Cox.net address or any other valid email address.

Can I send Readable Voice Mail to several email addresses at once?

No. You can only send Readable Voice Mail to one address at a time.

Can a Customer Service Representative add this service for me?

No, Readable Voice Mail requires you to submit a new service order.

How accurate is the voice mail-to-text transcription?

The transcribed text is expected to be approximately 85% accurate, which means eight (8) words out of every ten (10) should be translated correctly. Since the voice mail transcription is done by an automated program, accuracy depends on several factors, including the caller’s accent and noise levels during the message recording. Names and nouns may not translate accurately. To ensure the receipt of a message, a copy of the .wav file “audio” is sent along with the text transcription.

What languages are translated by Readable Voice Mail?

English and Spanish. Other languages will result in an error message, but voice mail will be attached in the email notification.

Will all words from the voice mail translate, and if not, how can I tell?

In the email version, you will see ellipses (three periods) after the last successfully translated word if the next word or words cannot be translated successfully. You may also see question marks next to words that the transcription did not understand. To ensure receipt of a message, a copy of the .wav file “audio” will be sent along with the text transcription.

How do I know who called if the system incorrectly transcribes the caller’s name?

You can still listen to the audio version attached to the email message, or just listen to voice mail over the phone.

How do I listen to the audio version from my email?

Double-click the .wav file attached to the email message.

If I delete the email containing the audio file, will that delete the voice mail on my phone?

No, the voice mail on your phone can only be deleted through your Cox Business voice service or a cell phone. We recommend that you delete all audio files after listening to them since these files are large and will decrease your email storage capacity. (Note: Voice Mail older than 31 days will automatically be deleted from the mailbox.)

Does Readable Voice Mail have a character limit?

The voice mail message can be transcribed up to 90 seconds. You can call your voice mail number or play the .wav file to listen to the entire message.

 I checked the box to receive Text (or audio) but did not get the email. What happened?

Check your spam folder to see if the email is there. Add the donotreply-voice address to your white list to prevent it from going to your spam folder.

Will automated voice mail messages be transcribed?

No. Automated recordings sent to voice mail will not be transcribed.

Can I receive the transcribed text as a SMS?

No. The transcribed version of the audio file is converted into a written word format and sent as an email.

COX Business Voicemail FAQ – COX Business Voicemail FAQ –