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).
*55 + ext	Transfer to Voicemail	Send a caller straight to an extension’s voicemail: transfer the call to *55 + ext (e.g. *551005) and the caller hears that mailbox’s greeting and leaves a message — the phone never rings. Dialled yourself, it leaves a message in that mailbox (wildcard code *55XXXX).
*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 the phone in paging group 4001 (a paging group pages one phone).
*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.
*86	Toggle On-Demand Recording	Turn the extension’s on-demand recording permission on or off. Plays “not available” when an administrator has recording turned off for the extension.
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).
*11	Hot Desking Log In	On a shared phone with hot desking turned on, log in as your extension: enter your extension then #, then your voicemail PIN then #. Nova Ultra. Not available by default — contact SIPSTACK Support to have hot desking enabled; until then the code plays “invalid” like an unknown code. See Hot Desking.
*12	Hot Desking Log Out	Log out of the shared phone you’re logged in to. Not available by default (see *11).
*45	Queue Agent Log In	Become available in every call queue your extension belongs to (also ends a pause).
*46	Queue Agent Log Out	Log out of your call queues; queue calls stop ringing your phone until you dial *45.
*47	Queue Agent Pause	Pause in your call queues without logging out; dial *45 to resume. Plays “not available” if your extension is not a queue agent.

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.

Codes followed by + ext, + group or + slot work with 3-, 4- and 5-digit numbers, e.g. *87101, *871005 and *8710005.

Why no code is the start of another

Desk phones send a number as soon as it matches a complete code. If *8 were a code, a phone would send it the moment you pressed *8, and *80, *81, *85, *86, *87 and *88 could never be dialled. So no default code is the beginning of another default code. The one exception is *98: on its own it asks which mailbox you want, and *98 + ext goes straight in. A bare *98 is sent after a short pause, or straight away if you press # or Send. Keep the same rule when you add your own codes.

In-call keys

These work during a connected call. They are not dialled from the keypad as a new call, so they never clash with the codes above.

Key	What it does
#1	Blind transfer: enter the extension or number and the call is handed over.
*2	Attended transfer: talk to the other person first, then complete the transfer.
*9	Start or stop recording this call, if on-demand recording is allowed for your extension.

Phones that SIPSTACK provisions are set up to match: directed pickup *87, group pickup *88, park-retrieve *85, and the voicemail key *97. To park a call, transfer it to your parking lot’s park extension (see Parking Lots).

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.