Call Transfer Scenarios in the 8x8 Phone App for Microsoft Teams

Updated: 08/01/2024

Overview

The 8x8 Phone App supports various methods of call transfers in Microsoft Teams.

The results of your transfers using the Phone App are dependent on the Propagate Refer call transfer setting that is enabled in your 8x8 Voice for Microsoft Teams service.

Note: The Propagate Refer setting is located in your 8x8 Voice for Teams admin portal within the Services > PBX tab.

Changes to this setting require a Save and then a full Sync Now process to be initiated and completed.

Applies To

8x8 Phone App for Microsoft Teams
8x8 Voice for Microsoft Teams
Call Transfers
Propagate Refer

Phone App Transfer Scenarios

The table below defines the results of your transfers using the Phone App, based on the Propagate Refer setting you've selected:

Teams True Transfer (Most commonly used for Voice for Teams users)
Teams Handles Transfers
PBX Handles Transfers

The following transfer types are addressed:

Blind Transfer by Name

Search for and select the name of the Teams user you are transferring to.

Transfer Scenario	Call Handling A > B > C	Teams True Transfer	Teams Handles Transfers	PBX Handles Transfers
Transferring to non-PSTN Teams user	Any incoming call type except pure Teams (A) Call Received by Phone App user (B) Call Transferred to non-PSTN Teams user (C) (A) could be PSTN, Phone App, 8x8 Work or Direct Routing call	FAIL Transfer available by merge only. B has active call in the list during A-C call after leaving the merged call	SUCCESS B call is dropped when C answers incoming call Transfer is successful, but B has active call in the list during A-C call	SUCCESS B call is dropped when C answers incoming call Transfer is successful, but B has active call in the list during A-C call
Transferring to Phone App user or Direct Routing user	Any incoming call type except pure Teams (A) Call Received by Phone App user (B) Call Transferred to Phone App user (C) A could be PSTN, Phone App, 8x8 Work or Direct Routing call	SUCCESS B call is dropped when C gets an incoming call	SUCCESS B call is dropped when C answers an incoming call Transfer is successful, but B has active call in the list during A-C call	SUCCESS B call is dropped when C answers an incoming call Transfer is successful, but B has active call in the list during A-C call

Consultative Transfer by Name

Search for and select the name of the Teams user you are transferring to.

Transfer Scenario	Call Handling A > B > C	Teams True Transfer	Teams Handles Transfers	PBX Handles Transfers
Transferring to non-PSTN Teams user	Incoming PSTN Call (A) Call Received by Phone App user (B) Call Transferred to non-PSTN Teams user (C)	FAIL Transfer available by merge only.	SUCCESS Transfer is successful, but B has active call in the list during A-C call	SUCCESS Transfer is successful, but B has active call in the list during A-C call
Transferring to Phone App user or Direct Routing user	Any incoming call type except pure Teams (A) Call Received by Phone App user (B) Call Transferred to Phone App user (C) A could be PSTN, Phone App, 8x8 Work or Direct Routing call	SUCCESS B call is dropped when C gets an incoming call	SUCCESS B call is dropped when C answers an incoming call Transfer is successful, but B has active call in the list during A-C call	SUCCESS B call is dropped when C answers an incoming call Transfer is successful, but B has active call in the list during A-C call

Blind Transfer by DID or Extension

Search for and select the name of the Teams user you are transferring to.

Transfer Scenario	Call Handling A > B > C	Teams True Transfer	Teams Handles Transfers	PBX Handles Transfers
Transferring to any user with a DID or Extension	Any incoming call type except pure Teams (A) Call Received by Phone App user (B) Any user except non-PSTN Teams user (C) A could be PSTN, Phone App, 8x8 Work or Direct Routing call C could be PSTN, Phone App, 8x8 Work or Direct Routing user	SUCCESS B call is dropped immediately after clicking the 'Transfer' button	SUCCESS B call is dropped immediately after clicking the 'Transfer' button	SUCCESS B call is dropped immediately after clicking the 'Transfer' button

Consultative Transfer by DID or Extension

Consultative Transfer by DID (phone number) or Extension number is not possible with Phone App.

This is because Teams users are not allowed to dial a number from within this native Teams interface. The Consultative transfer window will allow you to select only a contact by name.

Teams True Transfer vs Teams handles transfers

The 8x8 Phone App for Microsoft Teams supports call transfers via the native Microsoft Teams active call window.

However, the experience and functionality depend on how the Propagate Refer setting is configured in the 8x8 Voice for Microsoft Teams admin portal.

Note: We haven’t included the PBX handles transfers option below, as it generally does not provide a significant benefit over the use of the Teams True Transfer setting.

In all of the transfer scenarios listed below, the Active Calls list of the original 8x8 Phone App user will continue to display the other participants’ calls (transferred and transferee) until they disconnect from each other.

Teams True Transfer

By default, Propagate Refer is set to Teams True Transfer.

The following known limitations apply to Teams users in your environment who are not enabled for PSTN calling, but who might need to receive transferred calls:

Active PSTN calls cannot be directly transferred to non-PSTN Teams users via the Teams native active call window Transfer or Consult then transfer functions.
- WORKAROUND: Transfer in this scenario is available through call merge:
  1. Receive a new call in the 8x8 Phone App.
  2. Initiate a new Teams audio call via the Teams Calls app (not the 8x8 Phone App).
  3. The existing active call will automatically be placed on hold.
  4. Merge the new call with the existing call.
  5. Leave the merged call without ending it so that the other participants remain connected.
Active PSTN calls cannot be transferred to DIDs or extension numbers via the Teams native active call window.
- WORKAROUND: Transfer in this scenario is available through call merge.
  1. Receive a new call in the 8x8 Phone App.
  2. Initiate a new DID or Extension call using the 8x8 Phone App (not the Teams Calls app) and accept the outgoing call.
  3. The existing active call will automatically be placed on hold.
  4. Merge the new call with the existing call.
  5. Leave the merged call without ending it so that the other participants remain connected.

Teams Handles Transfers

Setting Propagate Refer to Teams handles transfers allows Teams to manage call transfers. This configuration works best when there are Teams users in the Teams environment who are not enabled for PSTN calling.

Transfers made via the Teams native active call window’s Transfer or Consult then transfer functions will work as expected.

Call transfers in this configuration have the following known limitations:

Active PSTN calls cannot be transferred to DIDs or extension numbers via the Teams native active call window.
- WORKAROUND: Transfer in this scenario is available through call merge.
  1. Receive a new call in the 8x8 Phone App.
  2. Place a new DID or extension call using the 8x8 Phone App (not the Teams Calls app) and accept the outgoing call.
  3. The existing active call will automatically be placed on hold.
  4. Merge calls new call with the existing call.
  5. Leave the merged call without ending it so that the other participants remain connected.

Additional Information

Consult Transfer to Phone App Users with the 8x8 Phone App for Microsoft Teams