Troubleshooting: when calls aren't coming through

Step 1 — Confirm the number is provisioned

Open Settings > Numbers. Your number should show a green Active badge. If it shows Provisioning, give it 5 minutes — newly bought numbers occasionally take a few minutes to propagate through the carrier network.

If it's been stuck more than 30 minutes:

• Refresh the page (the status badge sometimes lags)
• Click the number > Re-provision
• If still stuck, email contact@deskwise.co with the number — we'll check the Twilio side

Step 2 — Test directly

From a phone that's not your operator phone, call your Deskwise number. The agent should answer within 2 rings.

• It answers — number is fine. The issue is somewhere else (forwarding from your old number, see step 3).
• It rings forever / voicemail / disconnected — voice agent is probably disabled (step 4) or the number isn't actually live (back to step 1).
• Robotic error message — billing issue (check Settings > Billing) or number was suspended.

Step 3 — Check forwarding (if you forward from another number)

If clients call your old business number and expect it to reach the agent via forwarding:

1. Call your old number from a third phone
2. Does it ring on the Deskwise side? If yes, you're done — agent will pick up.
3. If it doesn't reach Deskwise, log into your old carrier's portal (Google Voice, RingCentral, etc.) and check call forwarding is on and pointed to the right Deskwise number
4. Some carriers turn forwarding off after a failed payment, a settings change, or a software update — re-enable

If forwarding is the recurring issue, consider a full port or the white-glove SIP setup — details in Adding phone numbers.

Step 4 — Voice agent enabled?

Settings > Voice > Enable voice agent must be on. If it's off, calls hit the number but nothing answers them. Easy to leave off if you toggled it during testing.

[screenshot: voice toggle on /settings/voice]

Step 5 — Assistant silent (call connects, agent doesn't speak)

Rare, but happens. Symptoms: call connects, you hear breathing-quiet silence, no greeting. Causes:

• Voice provider hiccup (Vapi or ElevenLabs) — check our status page; if there's an active incident, wait it out
• Empty greeting — Settings > Voice > Greeting must have text. If blank, the agent waits for the client to speak first (which sounds like a hung call)
• Audio routing on your end — if you're testing from a phone with a bad mic / muted speaker, the call really did connect but you can't hear

Fix: set a greeting, refresh, re-test.

Step 6 — Transcripts missing

If calls are getting through but you don't see transcripts in your inbox:

• Check the filter at the top of the inbox — "All" should be selected, not "Bookings only" or "Escalated"
• Transcripts have a ~30-second lag after the call ends while we transcribe — wait a minute
• If a call was 3 seconds and the client hung up, we don't generate a transcript (nothing to transcribe)
• If still missing after 5 minutes, the transcription provider may be delayed — check our status page or email support

Step 7 — Texts not delivering

Outbound texts are the #1 silent issue. The usual culprit:

• A2P 10DLC not registered — unregistered numbers see ~30% delivery drop. Settings > Numbers > A2P 10DLC. If status is anything other than Approved, register or wait for approval. Details in Connecting Twilio phone numbers.
• Client texted STOP previously — they're opted out. Check the client's profile; if they're opted out, you can't text them again until they opt back in (text START).
• Quiet hours — outbound proactive texts respect quiet hours (default 9pm-7am local). Inbound replies happen 24/7.

Step 8 — Still stuck

Email contact@deskwise.co with:

• Your Deskwise account email or business name
• The phone number affected
• When the issue started
• What you've tried from this list
• If it's a specific call, the time / caller's number so we can pull logs

We reply within 24 hours, Monday through Friday (4 hours on Practice). For production-down issues, reply "URGENT" in the subject and we'll prioritize.

Related

• Adding phone numbers
• A2P 10DLC registration
• Using the Vapi voice agent
• Business hours and after-hours behavior