How do I use the Cogeco Managed Telephony Unified Desktop?

Updated 25 June 2024 12:31

You can use your Cogeco Managed Telephony phone service to make or receive calls from your desk phone, your PC or Mac, and your mobile devices.

For this to work on your desktop, you need to install the Cogeco Managed Telephony Unified Desktop software on your PC or Mac. This guide will help you to do that.

Ensuring your computer is compatible

Cogeco Managed Telephony Unified Desktop works on PCs running Windows 10 or Windows 11. It also runs on Macs that have OS X 10.14 (Mojave) or later versions.

You can use your computer’s built-in microphone and speakers, but you'll have much better audio quality if you use a headset. Managed Telephony Unified Desktop works with most common headsets, including Bluetooth. It'll even work with the answer/reject call button on some headsets.

Finding your password

You’ll need your Cogeco Managed Telephony Customer Portal user number and password to start using Hosted PBX Unified Desktop. If you don’t have this information, call us at 1-855-494-5853.

Downloading and installing the software

Download Managed Telephony Unified Desktop.

Once you've logged in, click on the Download link under Support (bottom right of the Portal interface) to download and install the Managed Telephony Unified Desktop app.

When prompted, save the file. Find the file in your downloads folder, open it, and follow the on-screen instructions to install the software.

Exploring Managed Telephony Unified Desktop

Managed Telephony Unified Desktop is like having your desk phone on your computer.

You can make and receive calls, hold calls, transfer calls, and make three-way calls.

You can also use Managed Telephony Unified Desktop to send instant messages, transfer files, and send Presence information to other people in your corporate directory who are using Managed Telephony Unified Desktop (on any device).

Managed Telephony Unified Desktop uses the Wi-Fi, broadband, or mobile data services available and connected to your computer.

Managed Telephony Unified Desktop won't work well if there are firewall restrictions within a network, or if poor quality network conditions are present.

Making calls

Making a call is as easy as entering the number on the keypad or clicking on a contact’s call button.

If your contact has more than one number, you can choose which number to call from the dropdown list.

If the person you are calling has a caller ID, they will see your individual phone number.

Note: VoIP 9-1-1 Service features may differ from traditional landline 9-1-1 services.

Receiving calls

When someone calls your number, you will see a pop-up window appear on your computer screen and hear a ringing tone through your speakers or headset. The pop-up shows the number of the person calling you. If that person’s details are already in your contacts list, the pop-up displays the caller’s name.

Depending on the other services you have from Cogeco, you may see the incoming call on your desk phone, on your mobile phone, or on a tablet device. You can answer the call on whichever device is most convenient for you.

During the Call

While a call is in progress you can use the call window to:

Add a participant
Transfer the call to another contact, number or device that has the Max UC Client installed
Send a chat message
Uplift the call to Meeting
Put the call on hold
Turn your video on or off
Turn your audio on or off
Adjust the volume
Access the keypad
Switch to another call
Record the call
Merge calls
End the call

You may receive a call while you are already on another call. If you answer the new call, the current call is automatically placed on hold and the new call appears in a new call progress window. Switch between the two calls using the window for each one, or click on the Merge Calls icon to merge other callers into a single call.

Video Calling

If the person you are talking to is also using a Managed Telephony Unified app on the same network, you can upgrade your call to video at any time. Click on the Video icon to send your video. The other person will receive a prompt inviting them to switch on their video too. Click on the Video icon at any time to turn off your video feed.

Sending the call to someone else

Use the Call Transfer icon to send any call to another number. A menu will pop-up allowing you to select a contact, or you can type in a completely new number to transfer the call to. You can also transfer the call to another of your devices that has a Managed Telephony Unified app installed, without having to hang up.

Instant Messaging

If you have Managed Telephony Unified with Instant Messaging, click on a contact’s Chat icon to send them an instant message.

From within the chat window, you can send files, view your chat history with the contact, call the contact, and add one or more participants to the conversation.

Reject a call with IM

If the caller is in your Contacts list, you can reject a call and send the caller an instant message explaining why you can’t take the call. Click on the drop-down list next to Reject and select one of the system messages, or click Custom Message to type your own message.

Presence

Let others know whether you are available or busy by setting your presence to Online or Busy .
Your Presence information automatically shows when you are Away , On the Phone , or In a Meeting (this references the information in your Outlook calendar).

Call Manager

You can tell Managed Telephony Unified Desktop how to handle your incoming calls. Click on the Presence selector, expand the Available option and choose between:

Available
Do Not Disturb

If Do Not Disturb is selected, callers hear a recorded voice announcement saying that you are unavailable and are then connected to your voicemail. None of your devices will ring until you turn off Do Not Disturb, so be sure to use it carefully!

Note that when you change your Presence or Call Manager settings, the change applies on all of your Managed Telephony Unified devices. So if you step away from your computer and forget to update your status, you can change your status using the Managed Telephony Unified app on your mobile phone instead.

Choosing which calls to receive

You can specify how calls should be handled if they are from anonymous numbers, from VIPs, or from numbers on your Unwanted Callers list.

To do this, click on the Presence selector, expand the Available option, and select the Open call manager option at the end of the menu. This will open the Call Manager Status window, where you can set your call handling preferences.

Your contacts list

Cogeco Managed Telephony Unified Desktop assembles a contact list for you to use. Depending on how your service is set up, the contact list may include:

Contacts that you type directly into Managed Telephony Unified Desktop
Contacts in the Outlook or Mac local address book stored locally on your computer
Contacts in Managed Telephony Customer Portal contacts
Contacts in your corporate directory

Visual voicemail

If you have a voice or video message, the Message button changes color and indicates the number of messages received. Click this button to see a list of messages received, to see transcriptions of the messages into text (where available), or to listen to the messages.

Emergency calls

Cogeco Managed Telephony Unified Desktop lets you make calls from anywhere on the most convenient device. Therefore, if you place a 9-1-1 call from Managed Telephony Unified Desktop, the 9-1-1 operator may not be able to identify where you are calling from. Learn more about 9-1-1 Emergency Service Limitations.

Favorites

For quick access to frequently called people, add the contact to your Favorites list. Use the right-hand mouse button to click on any contact and choose Add to Favorites from the drop-down list. Favorites appear in the Favorites list and in the Contacts list.

Privacy and protection

If Cogeco Managed Telephony Unified Desktop is configured to automatically sync with your email client, such as Outlook, you can view and edit your email contacts using Managed Telephony Unified Desktop.