How to Verify an Existing Phone Number

Overview

This article will show you how to verify your existing phone number to use as your outbound CallerID., without having to port your number to Spoke/Twilio.

It contains the following sections:

• How to verify your number(s)
• Typical issues and how to solve for them

You can verify your existing phone number to use as your outbound CallerID for Spoke Phone. This can be done before porting your number(s) over to Spoke Phone. This means when an outbound call is made you can always display your own company number (or any phone number you own) to the called party. To set this up, you will have to first verify your phone number on the Spoke Phone web portal.

Note: You cannot use a Twilio provided phone number for verification. You can only use phone numbers hosted by another carrrier.

How to verify your number(s)

1. Login to your Spoke Phone account online.
2. Go to Phone numbers > Use existing number
3. Enter the number you wish to verify.
4. If the number sits behind an IVR (interactive voice response) menu, enter the extension number so that the call gets past your IVR.
5. When you are ready to answer the automated call, select Place Call.
6. We will show you a six-digit verification code on the screen.
   
7. Answer the call and enter the verification code when prompted
8. It will take 60 seconds or so to complete.

Outcome

After completing the steps above, you will see the number listed on the phone numbers page, showing as "(Verified on Spoke)". The number is now eligible to be ported, and, ready for you to use as your outbound CallerID.  See also: How to create and assign Allowable CallerID (ANI) Lists for employees to use when making outbound calls.

Typical issues and how to solve for them

• Complex IVR/Cannot get to the phone that rings 

If you have a complex IVR or you are unable to answer the phone call, you may need to temporarily disable the IVR or divert the number so that our automated call gets to you.

• Adding wait time before dialing the extension 

Some IVRs may require a pause or wait before they accept extension keys to be pressed. If this is the case, you can add a wait time to the extension.

When entering the extension number in the Spoke Phone screen above, add a "w" before the extension number to add 0.5 seconds of delay.

See examples below if you were trying to dial the extension number '3'.