About handling incoming calls with AOL Call Alert

When you are signed on to the AOL service, the Call Alert window that you receive on your computer screen to notify you of an incoming call shows you the name, number, city, and state of the calling party (where Caller ID is available). AOL Call Alert gives you several choices (explained below) of how to handle the calls.

• Answer: Allows you to answer an incoming call on your home phone. If you choose to answer the call on your home phone, your AOL session will be temporarily disconnected and the call will be routed to your home phone so that you can receive the call. Once your call is completed, you may sign back on to the AOL service.
• Take Call On: You can select to transfer the call to your computer, or a different phone number. When you receive the Call Alert notification and click Take Call On, you can select where you would like the call to be transferred from the three options (explained below) listed on the Call Alert window.
  • This Computer: If you choose to answer the call on your computer, your AOL session will stay connected and you can answer the call using either your computer's speakers and microphone or a USB phone. The callers will hear a message asking them to hold while the call is being transferred. You will see an AIM Talk window appear with an Establishing Connection message. Once your call is connected, you can speak with your caller at no additional cost. Your AIM Talk control options include:
    • Disconnect: ends your Talk session and the phone call.
    • Hold: mutes you so that your caller cannot hear your voice, but still allows you to hear your caller.
  • Transfer to a different phone number: If you choose to transfer the call to another number, your AOL session will stay connected and you can answer the call using another phone number (e.g., your cell phone). You can select one of the numbers you've added under Transfer Numbers on the AOL Call Alert dashboard that you want the call to be transferred to. The callers will hear a message asking them to hold while the call is being transferred. To learn how to transfer calls, read our online help article How do I transfer incoming calls to a different phone number on AOL Call Alert?
  • New Number: If you want to transfer the call to a number which is not on your list of preset phone numbers, select New Number. A box to add a new number will appear. Enter the phone number you want the call to be transferred to, and then click OK.

    Note: Callers may only be transferred to phone numbers within the United States (some territories excluded).

Note: If using https://dashboard.voice.aol.com/, you must sign on using your Username and password.

• Take Message: The caller is prompted to leave a voice message for you. If they leave a message, you are notified with a slide-out extension on your call alert, which gives you the option to listen to the message right away through your PC speakers. In addition, messages are sent to your AOL Mailbox, allowing you to listen, forward, and save them.
• Play Recording: You have several options for replying to your caller. You can play one of the four pre-recorded messages for the caller: "I'll call you back," "Please call later," "Try my cell," or "Don't know you." You can set a preference to decide which of these pre-recorded messages should be activated for calls that come in when you're away from the computer or you do not see the alert window in time to select an action.
  • The "Don't Know You" message plays a special tone before telling callers that their phone number is not recognized. If the caller happens to be a telemarketer using a computer controlled dialing system, this tone informs the computer that it has reached an invalid phone number. The result is that the telemarketer usually deletes your phone number from its records!
• Ignore Call: The caller will hear continuous ringing for approximately 90 seconds (from call start) after which the call will be terminated. This will allow you to stay online in privacy.

FAQs

• What happens to my incoming calls when I am away from the computer?
• Which of my Usernames will receive the call alert message?
• What happens if I do not choose a handling option within the allotted time?
• What happens if I chose a handling option, but do not answer within the allotted time?

What happens to my incoming calls when I am away from the computer?

If you are online, but away from the computer when a call comes in, the default action taken by the Call Alert feature is that the caller will be prompted to leave a voicemail. If they do, you can listen to it on your computer or from your email Inbox. The default action can be changed by going to the AOL Keyword: Call Alert or https://dashboard.voice.aol.com. In the Call Handling section, you can select how you would like to handle incoming calls.

Which of my Usernames will receive the call alert message?

The Username that is online and the Username which was used to originally sign up for the AOL Call Alert service, will receive the message. You can modify the settings to only include the Username that is online to receive the call alert message by going to the AOL Keyword: Call Alert or https://dashboard.voice.aol.com. In the Call Handling section, you can select how you would like to handle incoming calls.

What happens if I do not choose a call handling option within the allotted time?

If you do not choose a call handling option within the allotted time, the call will be transferred to voicemail. You will have the ability to select either Take Call OnAnswer feature until the voicemail has been delivered to your mailbox completely.

What happens if I choose a call handling option, but do not answer within the allotted time?

You will have four rings (approx. 20 seconds) to pick up a call on your home phone or one of your customized locations. If you do not pick up the call within the allotted time or if your phone is busy, the caller will be prompted to leave a message.

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