Feature Codes

Feature Codes

Feature codes are short dial-pad shortcuts (usually * + digits) that trigger PBX features from any phone — no portal needed. The platform ships a standard set; you only edit this page to resolve a code conflict or add a custom shortcut. Navigate via the sidebar: Nova PBX → System → Feature Codes.

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Related pages: Extensions · Queues · Paging Groups · Parking Lots

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Default codes

These are the platform defaults (restored by Reset defaults):

Code	Action	What it does
*97	Check Voicemail	Open your own mailbox to listen to messages and record greetings (PIN may be required).
*98	Dial / Access Voicemail	Access another mailbox — *98 prompts you for the mailbox number, then its PIN, and drops you into that mailbox.
*98 + ext	Access Voicemail (direct)	Go straight into a specific mailbox, e.g. *981005 accesses extension 1005’s mailbox (wildcard code *98XXXX).
*43	Echo Test	Audio loopback — speak and hear yourself back to test audio quality and latency.
*72	Toggle Call Forward All	Turn forward-all on/off for your extension.
*73	Set Call Forward All	Set the number that forward-all sends calls to.
*78 / *79	Toggle Do Not Disturb	DND on / off.
*90 / *91	Toggle Call Forward Busy	Forward-when-busy on / off.
*92 / *93	Toggle Call Forward No Answer	Forward-when-unanswered on / off.
*88	Pick Up Ringing Call	Answer a call ringing on another phone in your pickup group.
*87 + ext	Pick Up Specific Extension	e.g. *871005 answers the call ringing at extension 1005.
*80 + group	Page a Group	e.g. *804001 opens one-way audio to every phone in paging group 4001.
*81 + ext	Intercom an Extension	Two-way intercom that auto-answers on the target phone.
*85 + slot	Retrieve Parked Call	e.g. *85701 picks up the call parked in slot 701.
9 + queue	Dial a Call Queue	e.g. 9100 drops you into queue 100 (wildcard code 9XXX).
8 + room	Join a Conference	e.g. 8500 joins conference room 500 (wildcard code 8XXX).

Voicemail: *97 vs *98

*97 and *98 do different things. *97 opens your own mailbox — dial it from your own phone to hear messages, set your PIN, and record greetings. *98 lets you access another mailbox: dial *98 and it prompts for the mailbox number (then that mailbox’s PIN), or go straight in by dialling the extension as *98 + ext. Both are seeded for every tenant as part of the standard set. Changing these codes only re-routes the dial pattern — it never moves or renames a mailbox, so existing greetings and saved messages are unaffected.

Note

Tenants provisioned with earlier releases may show slightly different codes or action names (e.g. separate on/off entries, or a *98 that behaved like *97) — the list above is the current standard set. Reset defaults replaces whatever is configured with this set.

The codes table

Column	Meaning
Code	The dial pattern. X is a single-digit wildcard — *80XXXX matches *80 followed by any four digits.
Action	What the platform does when the code is dialed.
Description	Free-form note shown to administrators.
Priority	Lower = checked first when multiple patterns could match. Default 100.
Status	Active (works) or Disabled (silently ignored).

The search box filters by code, action, and description. Click a row to edit.

Adding or editing a code

1. Click Add code (or click an existing row).
2. Enter the code — use X per wildcard digit for parameterized codes.
3. Pick the action from the catalogue (voicemail, DND, pickup, paging, intercom, parking retrieve, queue, conference, day/night toggle, recording, and more).
4. Optionally set a description, priority, and enabled state.
5. Save, then Apply Changes to push the dial plan to your PBX.

Codes carrying an action value from an older release show it as “(legacy)” in the action picker — you can keep it or move the code to a current action.

Reset to defaults

Reset defaults deletes every configured code (including custom ones) and restores the standard set above. This cannot be undone — note your custom codes before resetting.

Troubleshooting

• A code returns “invalid” or busy — confirm it’s Active, the dialed digits match the pattern exactly, and the action is one your platform implements. A code pointing at an action with no dialplan support (from a hand-edited or legacy row) will fail; pick a current action from the catalogue or remove the code.
• Phone waits after dialing — most SIP phones need a Send/Dial press after a star code, or wait out the inter-digit timeout.
• Two patterns overlap — the more specific pattern wins; use Priority to override.