Prime Line Support

Prime Line Support Overview

You can configure the Prime Line Support in Cisco Unified CM Administration so that when the phone is off-hook and receives a call on any line, the system always chooses the primary line for the call.

Prime Line Support Prerequisites

The following devices are compatible with the Prime Line Support feature:

Cisco Unified IP Phone 7900 Series, 8900 Series, and 9900 Series

For more information on the supported devices, see the latest version of Cisco Unified IP Phone Guide and Cisco Unified IP Phone Administration Guide.

Prime Line Support Configuration Task Flow

To configure the Prime Line Support feature for either the Cisco CallManager service or devices and device profiles, perform one of the following procedures.

Before you begin

Procedure

  Command or Action Purpose

Step 1

Configure Clusterwide Prime Line Support

(Optional). Configure the Prime Line Support feature for the Cisco CallManager service, which applies to the entire cluster.

Step 2

Configure Prime Line Support for Devices

(Optional). Configure the Prime Line Support feature for specific devices within the cluster, if you do not want to enable the feature clusterwide.

Note

 

When you configure this parameter, going off-hook makes only the first line active on the phone, even when a call rings on another line on the phone. So the call does not get answered on the other line.

Configure Clusterwide Prime Line Support

Procedure

Step 1

From Cisco Unified CM Administration, choose System > Service Parameters.

Step 2

From the Server drop-down list, choose the server that is running the Cisco CallManager service.

Step 3

From the Service drop-down list, choose Cisco CallManager.

Step 4

From the Always Use Prime Line clusterwide service parameter, choose one of the following options from the drop-down list:

  • True- When a phone goes off-hook, the primary line gets chosen and becomes the active line.

  • False- When a phone goes off-hook, the IP phone automatically chooses an available line as the active line.

The default value for this service parameter is False.

Step 5

For this change to take effect on the SIP phones, click the ApplyConfig button in Cisco Unified CM Administration (for example, on the Device Configuration window, the Device Pool Configuration window, or any other window on which ApplyConfig is an option).

Note

 
If the new configuration is not applied on the SIP phones, the SIP Prime Line Support feature changes will not be implemented until the next reset of the Cisco CallManager service or reset of each affected device.

Configure Prime Line Support for Devices

Procedure

Step 1

From Cisco Unified CM Administration, choose Device > Common Phone Profile.

Step 2

From the Find and List window, choose the phone for which you want to change the Always Use Prime Line setting.

The Phone Configuration window appears.

Step 3

From the Always Use Prime Line drop-down list, choose one of the following options:

  • Off- When the phone is idle and receives a call on any line, the phone user answers the call from the line on which the call is received.
  • On- When the phone is idle (off hook) and receives a call on any line, the primary line is chosen for the call. Calls on other lines continue to ring, and the phone user must select those other lines to answer these calls.
  • Default- Unified Communications Manager uses the configuration from the Always Use Prime Line service parameter, which supports the Cisco CallManager service.

Step 4

Click Save.

Prime Line Support Interactions

Feature Interaction

Always Use Prime Line

If you select On for the Always Use Prime Line parameter in the Device Profile or Default Device Profile Configuration window, a Cisco Extension Mobility user can use this feature after logging in to the device that supports Cisco Extension Mobility.

Maximum Number of Calls and Busy Trigger Settings

When the phone already has a call on a line, Unified Communications Manager uses the configuration for the Maximum Number of Calls and Busy Trigger settings to determine how to route the call.

Auto Answer

If you choose the Auto Answer with Headset option or Auto Answer with Speakerphone option from the Auto Answer drop-down list in Cisco Unified CM Administration, the Auto Answer configuration overrides the configuration for the Always Use Prime Line parameter.

Prime Line Support Troubleshooting

Prime Line Support Does Not Work When Set To True

Problem  When the cluster-wide service parameter Always use Prime Line is set to True and the IP phone goes off-hook, the primary line becomes the active line. Even if a call rings on the second line, when the user goes off-hook, it activates only the first line. The phone does not answer the call on the second line. However, when IP phones with multiple line appearances are used with the 7.1.2 phone load, the phone does not use the primary line when a second line rings. If the user picks up the handset, the phone answers the call on the second line.

Solution  Press the line button for the primary line so that the secondary line is not engaged when a call is initiated.

Unable To Answer Inbound Calls

Problem  The users are unable to automatically answer inbound calls after they go off-hook on IP phones, and must press the Answer softkey to answer the calls.

Solution To resolve the problem, perform the following procedure:

  1. From Cisco Unified CM Administration, choose System > Service Parameters.

  2. From the Server drop-down list, choose the server that is running the Cisco CallManager service.

  3. From the Service drop-down list, choose Cisco CallManager.

  4. In Cluster wide parameters (Device - phone), set Always Use Prime Line to False.

Inbound Calls Are Answered Automatically

Problem When an inbound call is received on a shared line of an IP phone, the call is answered immediately as the handset is lifted, without the option to either answer the call or make an outbound call. This behavior does not change even though Auto Line Select is set to disabled.

Solution To resolve the problem, perform the following procedure:

  1. From Cisco Unified CM Administration, choose System > Service Parameters.

  2. From the Server drop-down list, choose the server that is running the Cisco CallManager service.

  3. From the Service drop-down list, choose Cisco CallManager.

  4. In Cluster wide parameters (Device - phone), set Always Use Prime Line to False.