VOIP Tech Chat → Anveo 'Block Unwanted Callers' How To Set

 
Each provider has a name for it.

On CallCentric, it's called 'Call Treatments'.

On Anveo, it's called 'Block Unwanted Callers'.

I have managed to test this function on Anveo by putting the number of one of my other lines into my Contacts on Anveo, and temporarily making it part of their default group called 'Blacklist'.

The desired and chosen effect does happen - This is good.

MY QUESTION :

Is there an easier way than entering it manually for each number by using a copy and paste from the CDR report ?

I seem to recall that in CallCentric, I can access the incoming call log and a pulldown next to each line in the log will let me add that number to any desired group in my Contacts there.

Am I missing something obvious, or can Anveo not do it similarly ?

Look in your dashboard for calls received (or your inbox). There are a number of icons beside the phone numbers you have received calls from. If the number is not in your phone book then one of the icons will be "blacklist". Click such an icon to add the number to your blacklist.

 
Thanks.

OK, I see the tab for 'Calls Received'.

Click and it shows the most recent incoming 5 calls, which all are from the test number which I had manually put into the Blacklist. - So the icons you mentioned are not there.

If I click 'More Calls', I get the INBOX, which I had also just tonight found can be reached thru the same menu dropdown as Dashboard itself.

In there, I see more calls, but the icons you mentioned are not there for that recent test number.

Ah, but there ARE icons for some OTHER incoming calls from earlier on.

All right - I just now removed the recent test number from the phone book, repeated all of the above, and NOW there are the icons !

Voila, Eureka, Ta-DA, and all that !

Thank You !

 
Didn't you recently port in a number to Anveo on their 'Free-Port' deal ?

Was it originally a Bell number and did it go well ?

Am I right that there was also a promo where we pay Anveo ahead for 12 months and get a 13th month for nothing ?

[Chutzpah]
If yes, then do we get to do both deals with the same 12 month prepay ?
[/Chutzpah]

I did recently port my number in on the 'free port' deal. It was originally a Bell number, then Vonage and then VOIP.MS.

The port went smoothly, it took 6 or 7 days.

I did get the 13th month free with the 12 months prepay 'free port' deal.

The reason for porting my number was because the WAF (wife acceptance factor) with our previous provider was low and falling. It's going to be a while before that perception improves, but it's looking good so far. We did have one hiccup a couple of days back, my wife dialled a number and received an unfamiliar tone. I thought uh oh, here we go again, but it was a busy tone. I must admit it's been a while since I heard one too in this age of voicemail.

I nearly ported to Callcentric instead of Anveo. I'm glad I didn't because the current Callcentric difficulties would have had my wife insisting we move back to Bell.

Yeah, you dodged a bullet on that one. The WAF for CC here at my house definitely took a hit over the weekend, will need a week or so to get back to where it was.

Does anyone have a best practice for blocking toll free / annon callers with Anveo?

I can route calls to VM, then put a bypass to ring the phones for numbers in my contact list.

Does blacklist allow generic? 800, 855, etc..

Better options?

Just noticed Iroute in the advanced call flow controls. This might be what I was looking for.

Still interested in what others are doing.

 
By that, you would mean using a sort of a 'WILD CARD' character for a catch-all of an area code, much like we can use in file selection syntax - Something like 800******* or similar.

I would like to know that too, for Anveo and for other providers.

Anyone ?

VoIP.MS uses call filters such as 8XXXXXXXXX.

Anveo appears to use Iroute.

Still would like to know what other Anveo users use for their call filtering treatments for unknown contacts.

It looks like Iroute is it. Thanks for drawing my attention to it.

I do see a small problem with it. It accepts a string that the caller IDs you are seeking to filter starts with and advises setting up strings with and without country codes. Fair enough, but I want to filter out toll free callers (to VM). So if I set up filters for 855 (and eventually 844) then calls from Cambodia and Vietnam will be filtered as well as toll free calls. That probably won't matter much to me, but for some folks it might.

More serious is if I want to filter out calls from area code 441 (Bermuda) say I will also filter some calls from the UK.

I'll have to experiment with it and see if will accept wildcard characters. A little bit of documentation on the website wouldn't hurt.

I use Iroute for the opposite verification. I list valid area codes that I expect calls from then everything else goes to VM.

For Toronto and subs I set 416, 647, 905, 289.

This would cover the Annon (Thanks Arnie for pointing out the 0 in the Contact list), Toll free and other misc callers. I could add Bermuda if I needed it.

If this is a residential line, you may wish to consider whitelisting those numbers that usually call you, and directing the others to an IVR (i.e. 'if friend or acquaintance please press 1, otherwise press 2') 1 rings the phone, 2 goes directly to VM. I've used this setup at voip.ms for more than 2 years now and have not had a single telemarketer call. And only once did I have a VM from one. It seems telemarketers use auto-dialers and they think they have reached an answering machine so they hang up. I see them in the CDR. Some are quite persistent but eventually they stop calling.

The problem with a blacklist is that you are constantly maintaining it. Eventually it gets quite lengthy. I guess I don't have many friends because the whitelist system works well for me.

I was playing with call flow at Anveo the other day and I believe you can use it to do the same thing.