App Calls in a Call Group: How a Visitor Call Reaches a Resident, and the Fallback

1) The call sequence: app first, then phone

When a visitor selects a resident at the gate, the call goes out in order. First, everyone listed on the call group is rung simultaneously for 30 seconds via a video or voice call to the CellGate app. If no one answers in that window and additional users are listed, the call rolls over to the next set of app users. If there is still no answer, CellGate falls back to a regular phone call from 972-231-1999; the resident presses 1 to connect to the visitor and presses star (*) to grant access. The fallback is automatic, because an app notification can be missed for many ordinary reasons and a visitor at the gate should not depend on the app being open at that moment.

1. CellGate places a video or voice call to the CellGate app on the resident’s phone.
2. If the app call is not answered, CellGate falls back to a regular phone call to the numbers on the call group.

The fallback is automatic. It exists because an app notification can be missed for a dozen ordinary reasons, and a visitor at the gate should not depend on the app being open at that moment.

2) Why phone numbers matter: no number, no fallback

The fallback only works if the call group has phone numbers on it. A resident set up with the app but no phone number has nothing to fall back to, so a missed app call is simply a missed visitor. This is the single most common reason a resident reports that a visitor “could not reach them” even though everything looked set up. Add a real phone number to every call group in editing the call group.