3CX Phone System · Getting Started

3CX Setup Guide: Set Up Your Phone In 5 Steps

Welcome to your new phone system. This 3CX setup guide walks you through everything you need on day one: creating your account, installing the 3CX app, making your first call, and transferring calls to a colleague. Work through it in order and you will be taking calls in about ten minutes. 3CX publishes its own user manual if you want more detail on any screen, but everything you need for 3CX setup on day one is here.

Start With Step 1
Get Help From UVS

3CX Setup Starts With Your Welcome Email

Your welcome email is how you get started. You do not need to sign up for anything yourself. Once we have built your extension, 3CX sends you an email titled Your 3CX account details.

That one email contains everything you need:

  • A Set your password link
  • Your extension number
  • Your link to the 3CX Web Client

Keep this email. You will use it in Step 1. If you cannot find it, check your junk or spam folder first, then contact us and we will resend it.

3CX setup step 1: the welcome email with the Set your password button
Your 3CX account details1Set your password (click this link first)2Your extension number, for example 1013Your link to the 3CX Web Client
What the welcome email contains. Start with the Set your password link.

Step 1. Create Your Account And Sign In

Everything starts in the 3CX Web Client. This is a website, so there is nothing to install yet.

  1. Open the email titled Your 3CX account details.
  2. Click the Set your password link in the email.
  3. Choose a password and confirm it.
  4. Log in using either your email address or your extension number, plus the password you just set.
  5. If we have turned on two factor authentication for your company, you will be asked to register your authenticator app the first time you log in. Follow the prompts on screen.

If your company uses Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace sign in: skip the password step and sign in with those credentials instead. We will tell you in advance if this applies to you.

You are now signed in to the 3CX Web Client. This is your phone. You can stop here and start taking calls, or carry on to Step 2 to put it on your desktop or phone.

3CX123TeamCallsChatPanelContactsVoicemailMeetSettingsAdminApps1 Dialer — click here to make a call2 QR code — open this on your computer,then scan it with your phone camera3 Your avatar — set your status hereThe left rail moves you around: Team shows colleagues,Apps has the softphone downloads, Voicemail your messages.
Where things sit in the web client. The dialer and QR code icons are in the top right.

Step 2. Install The 3CX App You Will Use Every Day

Pick whichever suits how you work. Most people use the 3CX Web Client on their computer and the 3CX app on their phone.

Option A: Pin the 3CX Web Client to your taskbar (easiest)

This turns the website into an app that opens like any other program. No download required.

In Google Chrome:

  1. With the Web Client open, click the install icon in your browser address bar.
  2. Click Install.
  3. When asked whether to pin 3CX to your taskbar, click Yes.

In Microsoft Edge:

  1. With the Web Client open, click the install icon in your address bar.
  2. Click Install.
  3. In the App Installed box, turn on Pin to taskbar and Auto-start on device login, then click Allow.

Option B: The Windows desktop app

  1. Download the 3CX app from the Microsoft Store.
  2. Go back to your 3CX Web Client and click Apps.
  3. Click the Windows App tile, then click Provision.
  4. Click Open 3CX in the pop-up your browser shows.
  5. The app opens with your extension already set up. Nothing to type in.

Option C: Your iPhone or Android phone

  1. Install the 3CX app from the App Store (iPhone) or Google Play Store (Android).
  2. Open the 3CX app, accept the license agreement, and allow access to your camera and microphone. It needs the camera to read the setup code in the next step.
  3. On your computer, open the 3CX Web Client and click the QR code icon in the top right corner.
  4. Open the camera on your phone and point it at the QR code on your screen.
  5. Your extension is set up and the 3CX app shows Ready for calls.

Android users: the 3CX app will ask you to allow it through battery optimization. Say yes. If you skip this, Android can shut the 3CX app down in the background and you will miss calls.

If your phone has been switched off or offline for more than 14 days, calls may stop ringing on it. Scan a fresh QR code from the 3CX Web Client and it will start working again.

3CX setup step 2: scanning the QR code in the Web Client with your phone

Step 3. Make Your First Call

3CX setup step 3: the 3CX app showing Ready for calls

From the 3CX Web Client or Windows app:

  1. Click the dialer icon in the top right corner.
  2. Type a phone number, or start typing a colleague’s name, extension number or email address to search for them.
  3. Click the handset icon to start the call.

Just above the number pad you will find your calling device list, your audio and video settings, and the ringer on and off switch. If your headset is not being used, check the calling device list first.

From your iPhone: type the number on the keypad and press call, or search your contacts by name, extension number or email and tap Call.

From your Android phone: type the number on the keypad and press the call button, or search Contacts by name, number or email and tap the phone icon next to the contact.

From a Yealink desk phone: dial the number on the keypad and press OK.

Step 4. Transfer A Call

There are two kinds of transfer, and knowing the difference is most of the battle.

  • Blind transfer sends the caller straight through without you speaking to the person first. Use it when you know the caller wants that person and nothing needs explaining.
  • Attended transfer puts the caller on hold so you can speak to your colleague first, check they can take it, and then connect them. Use it when the call needs a hand-off.

Web Client and Windows app

Blind transfer:

  1. While on the call, click Transfer.
  2. Type the name or extension number of the person you want.
  3. Confirm. The caller is sent through and you are off the call.

Attended transfer:

  1. While on the call, click Att. transfer.
  2. Type the name or extension number of the person you want. Your caller goes on hold.
  3. Speak to your colleague and check they will take the call.
  4. Complete the transfer to connect them.

iPhone

  1. While on the call, tap Transfer.
  2. Choose Blind Transfer to send the call straight through, or Att. Transfer to speak to the person first.
  3. Enter the extension or select the contact.

Android

  1. While on the call, tap Transfer.
  2. Choose Blind to send the call straight through, or Attended to speak to the person first.
  3. If you chose Attended, speak to your colleague, then press Join to connect them and drop yourself out.

Yealink desk phone (T46U and T54W)

Blind transfer:

  1. During the call, press Transfer.
  2. Dial the extension or number.
  3. Press B Transfer. The call goes through.

Attended transfer:

  1. During the call, press Transfer.
  2. Dial the extension or number, then press OK to call them.
  3. Once they answer and agree to take it, press Transfer again.

On the Yealink T33G and T33P the buttons are shortened: press Trans instead of Transfer, and B Trans instead of B Transfer. Everything else is the same.

If your colleague does not pick up, your original caller is still on hold. Hang up the second call and press Resume to go back to them.

Call in progress · 00:42Sales Team · 101TransferAtt. transferRecordNew callVideoTransfer = send straight through. Att. transfer = speak to them first.
The button bar while you are on a call. Transfer and Att. transfer are the two you need.
Blind transferCallerYouColleagueYou drop out immediatelyAttended transferCallerYouColleagueon holdyou speak first, then connect them
The difference between the two transfer types.
Blind transfer on a Yealink T46U or T54W1Press Transfer2Dial the extension3Press B TransferAttended transfer1Press Transfer2Dial, press OK3Press Transfer againOn the T33G and T33P the keys are shortened to Trans and B Trans.
The key sequence on a Yealink desk phone.

Step 5. Transfer To A Different Extension

Transferring to an extension works exactly the same way as transferring to a phone number. You just type the extension instead.

  1. Start the transfer as described in Step 4 for whichever device you are on.
  2. Instead of a full phone number, type the extension number, for example 101.
  3. You can also start typing the person’s name and pick them from the list. This is quicker and avoids dialing the wrong extension.

A faster way on your computer: click the side panel icon in the Web Client to open the shortcut panel, which shows your colleagues and lets you dial or transfer to them in one click. You can also star the people you transfer to most often in Team View so they sit at the top of your list.

Check before you transfer. Team View shows a colored dot next to each person: green means available, yellow means they are already on a call, and red means do not disturb. Transferring a caller to someone showing red usually means the caller ends up in voicemail.

Check before you transferAvailableTransfer awayOn a callThey are busyDo not disturbGoes to voicemail
The colored dot next to each colleague tells you whether a transfer will actually reach them.

Set Your Status So Calls Reach The Right Person

Your status tells the rest of the team whether you can take a call, and it controls where your own calls go when you cannot.

On your computer: click your avatar in the top right corner and pick your status. Use the pencil icon to add a custom message, or Set status temporarily if you are only stepping away for a while.

On your phone: tap the green box in the top right corner and choose from Available, Away, Do Not Disturb, Lunch, Business Trip, or Set Status Temporarily. On iPhone, tap the arrow next to a status to change its forwarding rules. On Android, tap the pencil icon.

Your status turns yellow on its own while you are on a call, so you do not need to set that manually.

Under Settings, then Call Forwarding you can set your office hours and have your status switch automatically at the start and end of your day.

Check Your Voicemail

From your Yealink desk phone: press the Message button and follow the voice prompts.

From any desk phone in the office:

  1. Pick up the handset and dial 999.
  2. Press #.
  3. Enter your extension number when prompted.
  4. Enter your voicemail PIN, then press #.
  5. Follow the voice prompts.

From outside the office: dial the number we provided you, enter your extension when prompted, then your voicemail PIN followed by #. If you do not have that number, contact us and we will send it.

Stuck On Your 3CX Setup? We Will Walk You Through It

You do not have to work it out alone. If your 3CX setup stalls because the welcome email has not arrived, a transfer is not behaving, or the app will not connect, get in touch and we will sort it.

Common things worth asking us about: resending your welcome email, resetting your voicemail PIN, adding a colleague to your speed dial panel, or programming a one press transfer key on your desk phone.