Night mode: switch your call flow with one button

Time frames switch your phones to after-hours mode on a schedule. But some days don’t follow the schedule: the office closes early for weather, everyone’s at a training, or the receptionist steps out for lunch. Night mode gives someone a button on their desk phone that flips calls to your after-hours handling instantly, and flips them back with a second press. The button lights up so everyone can see which mode you’re in.

How it works

Night mode uses a “routing user,” a user with no person behind it whose only job is to decide where calls go. Your main number points at the routing user, and the routing user has just two answering rules:

• Night — Used while night mode is on. Forwards calls to your after-hours destination, such as voicemail or an after-hours menu.
• Default — Used the rest of the time. Forwards calls to your normal destination, such as your main auto attendant.

The phone button turns the Night rule on and off.

Set it up

1. Create a time frame named Night. Go to Time Frames → Add Time Frame. Enter the name Night and set When to Always. Spell it exactly the same way every time you use it, including the capital N. See Time frames.

2. Create the routing user. Go to Users → Add User. Name it something like “Main Line Routing,” give it an extension in the 300s such as 300, set the role to No Portal, and leave voicemail off. Don’t add a phone. See Add a new user or extension.

3. Add the Night rule. Open the routing user’s Answering Rules, select Add Rule, choose the Night time frame, and set Call Forwarding: Always to your after-hours destination. Save it and make sure it’s at the top of the list.

4. Set the Default rule. Edit the Default rule so Call Forwarding: Always goes to your normal destination, such as your main auto attendant at 500.

5. Don’t add other rules to the routing user. Two states, Night and Default, are what make the button predictable.

6. Point your main number at the routing user. In Inventory → Phone Numbers, set the number’s Treatment to User and choose 300 in the User box. Test it before and after. See Phone numbers and devices in Inventory.

7. Add the button. Go to Inventory → Phone Hardware and open Button Builder for the receptionist’s phone. Select a free button and set it up:

   • Feature: Timeframe Toggle.
   • Time frame: Night (it must match exactly).
   • Custom label: something clear, like “Night On/Off.”
   • Target User: the routing user, 300.

   Save. The phone picks up the new button after it restarts.

Tip: To forward calls to a destination with a type, like the auto attendant at 500 rather than a person, pick both the extension and the type in the forwarding box. See Answering rules.

Use it

• Press once to turn night mode on. You’ll hear “Time frame is enabled,” and the button changes color. New calls now follow the Night rule.
• Press again to turn it off. You’ll hear “Time frame is disabled,” and calls go back to normal.

Night mode stays on until someone presses the button again, even overnight. If your regular after-hours schedule should take over automatically, keep that schedule in your auto attendant, and use night mode only for unplanned closures.

Without a button

Phones that can’t use a toggle button can switch night mode with star codes instead: *74 turns it on and *75 turns it off, dialed from a phone that has the routing user as one of its lines. Contact support if you’d like this set up, since adding the routing user’s line to a phone may add a phone to your bill.

Common questions

The button doesn’t change anything. Why?

Check that the time frame name in the button matches the time frame exactly, that the Night rule is at the top of the routing user’s list, and that your number points at the routing user, not straight at the auto attendant.

Can more than one person control night mode?

Yes. Add the same button to each person’s phone. Any of them can switch it, and every button shows the current state.

How is this different from holiday hours?

Holidays are planned, so they belong in a time frame with set dates. Night mode is for when you need to change things right now. See After-hours and holiday greetings.

Related articles

• Time frames: business hours, holidays and more
• After-hours and holiday greetings
• Answering rules: forwarding, simultaneous ring and do not disturb
• How a call travels through your phone system