How to easily set up your VitalPBX Connect Softphone application for iOS and Android

Quickly Set Up Your VitalPBX Connect Application​

This article will show you how to configure the VitalPBX Connect Softphone application for iOS and Android.

Introduction​

VitalPBX Connect is our new mobile client for VitalPBX 4. This application is readily available on the App Store and Google Play.

The application supports audio and video calling, BLF, Centralized Phonebooks, SIP-based messaging, and many other features that you would expect from a softphone client.

Download VitalPBX Connect​

As mentioned earlier, VitalPBX Connect can be downloaded directly through the App Store for iOS or Google Play for Android. You can click the links below to download it on your respective device or search for VitalPBX Connect by VitalPBX LLC.

VitalPBX Setup​

You will need to make some configurations in your VitalPBX installation to register your VitalPBX Connect device.

First, go to Admin > Add-Ons > Add-Ons and install the Connect add-on. If you don’t see the add-on listed, click on the green Check Online button in the lower right-hand corner.

Once you have installed the add-on, refresh your browser. A new option will appear under the PBX menu.

Now, let’s go to PBX > VitalPBX Connect > Settings. Here, we will configure our Provisioning Domain. This is the FQDN (Fully Qualified Domain Name) or IP Address of your VitalPBX installation.

This will tell the VitalPBX Connect application where to get the provisioning information for the application. The data is provisioned directly by your VitalPBX installation to register your device.

You can use a different Registration Domain if you use a separate server for your registration. Usually, this server is the same one used for provisioning. So, you can leave it blank to use the same domain used before.

In this module, you can also see how many licenses you use for the VitalPBX Connect application and how many you have left.

Next, we can create the provisioning information for the devices in several ways. The first one is used mainly if you already have a device made for an extension, and you can easily create a new VitalPBX QR code.

For this option, go to PBX > VitalPBX Connect > Devices. Here you will see the list of devices tagged as Mobile Clients, and a provisioning QR code has been created for them.

You can click on + Add New Device to add a new device.

When adding a new device, you can choose a specific tenant. This will show you the list of available devices. Keep in mind that the devices listed are those in that tenant. So if an extension has multiple devices, all will be listed. You can also Enable/Disable the device.

When you have multiple devices created, you will see various options in the Actions column. These allow you to Edit a device, View the QR code, and Delete a device. When you click on the blue QR code button, the QR code is displayed, and you will have the option to send it via email for the user to scan using the Welcome Email template.

The other way you can create a VitalPBX Connect device is when making a new extension. This will be the most common way you will create the VitalPBX Connect provisioning devices.

When creating a new extension, turn on the Mobile Client option under the device section. When you save and apply changes, this will automatically generate the VitalPBX Connect device.

You can review the QR code by going back to the extension and seeing an icon next to the Device.

Click on that icon, and you will see the QR code with the option to send the Welcome Email to the user.

While making the extension, if you enter an email address, the Welcome email will be sent automatically. Make sure that you have configured the email client in your VitalPBX installation.

You will also need to change the Extension Welcome Email template under Admin > System Settings > Email Templates. Be sure to add the QR code variable from the variable’s dropdown menu in the email’s body. This way, the end-user will receive an email with the QR code ready to scan as soon as it is created.

Using the VitalPBX Connect Application

Now that you have set up your VitalPBX installation with the QR codes, we can move over to the VitalPBX Connect application.

The process is the same between iOS and Android. This article will use an iPhone as an example, but you can use an Android device.

First, open the VitalPBX Connect application on your device.

The first time you open the application, you will be greeted by the login screen. Here you will sign in with your provisioning information. For security purposes, VitalPBX generated a long random username and password. This is why using the QR code is much easier to provision your device.

Click on the Scan QR button. This will ask for Camera permissions. Once you scan the QR code, the application will be provisioned, and your extension will register.

Once the device is provisioned, you will see the following screen.

The main screen for the application is the Keypad screen. Here you can initiate calls and check your voicemail.

On the top side, you will see your extension’s name and the settings menu, represented by three dots.

If you tap on your extension’s name, you will see the Do Not Disturb option, which can be enabled or disabled. As well as information about your extension and voicemail.

You can tap the Close button at the bottom to close this screen.

If you tap on the Settings option, represented by the three dots, you will see various settings for the application. You will likely access the VitalPBX Phonebook and the Preferences options.

Under VitalPBX Phonebook, you can enter a phonebook URL generated by the Phonebooks add-on in your VitalPBX installation. This allows you to share a centralized phonebook with your end users, so they don’t have to enter a contact list manually.

You can tap on Done after you have added the Phonebook URL.

Back in the Settings page, if you click on Preferences, you will see various options you can configure to change the application’s behavior.

Here you can change Ringtones, Call Recording options, Call Forward, add Do Not Disturb rules, and much more. We encourage you to check out all available options to customize your VitalPBX Connect experience.

You can save any changes by tapping on Done.

Back on the application’s main screen, you can see other pages you can access at the bottom.

The first one from the right is the Quickdial page. 

Here, you can add contacts for quick access to call them. To add a quick-dial contact, tap on Edit and then the green plus sign.

When adding a new quick-dial contact, you can enable the BLF (Busy Lamp Field) option to monitor their presence. This has to be a local extension number to use the BLF feature. You can also add a profile picture for this quick-dial contact.

Next is the History page. Here you can see your complete call history.

You can edit the list, remove items, and export the list using the share button in the upper right-hand corner.

In the middle, we have our Keypad, as mentioned before. Here you can initiate calls. If you double-tap the green call button, you will recall the last number you dialed.

During a call, you will see the following screen.

While on a call, you can mute/unmute, turn on speaker mode, and initiate your video. You can also show a keypad to perform DTMF actions, place the call on hold, record the call locally on your device, do attended or direct transfer, and add calls to create a 3-way conference. At the bottom, you can End the Call.

Next, we have the Contacts page. Here you will see the contacts stored in your mobile device and another tab for the central phonebook we added through the application’s settings.

You can refresh the VitalPBX phonebook tab whenever you open this page or by sliding the contact list down.

This way, your phonebook is always up-to-date with the contacts added on VitalPBX’s Phonebook add-on.

Finally, there is the Messages page. Here you can send and receive SIP-based messages with other users in the server that have devices that support SIP-based messaging, such as other VitalPBX Connect devices, VitXi, or select desktop phones.

You can edit and remove conversations or start a new one with the button in the upper right-hand corner.

The messaging feature supports regular text and emojis.

Conclusion

We have gone over everything you need to start using VitalPBX Connect today. We hope this guide has helped you understand and see all of the benefits of the VitalPBX Connect application.

You head to our pricing page to purchase the licensing for the number of VitalPBX Connect devices you need. Click here.

VitalPBX Connect licensing is separate from any of our licensing plans. You can upgrade the number of user licenses you have at any time from your subscriptions under your VitalPBX user account here.