Skip to content
Thirdlane

Hunt Groups

A Hunt Group rings a set of destinations one step at a time until someone answers, so a single call can reach a whole team without the caller needing to know who is available. Each step can ring one or more phones (and external numbers), and if no one answers, the call moves to the next step and finally to a fallback destination. Use Hunt Groups when you want simple “ring the sales team, then the manager, then voicemail” behavior without the reporting, agent login, and hold-music treatment of a full Queue.

Calls can be routed to Hunt Groups from anywhere in the dial plan, including Inbound Routes, Voice Menus, Feature Codes, and other routing destinations.

Hunt Group or Queue? Choose a Hunt Group for small teams and straightforward sequential/parallel ringing. Choose a Queue when you need callers to wait on hold with announcements, agents to log in and out, or contact-center metrics and reporting.

Hunt Groups vs. Queues

Hunt Groups and Queues solve the same basic problem - let one number reach several people so a caller is answered without knowing who is free - and they are often alternatives for the same situation. They differ in how a waiting caller is treated and in how much operational machinery comes with them.

What they have in common

  • Both let multiple destinations answer calls to a single number.
  • Both can play a Voice Prompt announcement and music-on-hold to the caller.
  • Both are reachable from anywhere in the dial plan - Inbound Routes, Voice Menus, Feature Codes, and other Hunt Groups.

How they differ

Hunt GroupQueue
Caller handlingRings destinations step by step, then a fallbackHolds the caller in line until an agent is free
Waiting experienceRingback (or MoH) while each step ringsHold music, position/hold-time announcements, periodic messages
MembershipFixed devices/extensions per stepStatic members and dynamic agents who log in/out (611)
Distribution controlStep order (sequential); parallel within a stepRing strategies + penalties/tiers, ring-busy control
OverflowFalls through steps to a no-answer destinationMax callers, callback option, join/leave conditions
ReportingNone (simple ring logic)Full contact-center metrics, live monitor, disposition/ACW

Rule of thumb: use a Hunt Group for a small team that just needs “ring these phones, then those, then voicemail.” Move to a Queue when callers should wait on hold, when agents log in and out across shifts, or when you need reporting.

You can combine them. A Hunt Group can include a Queue as a step (with its own wait timeout) - typically as the final step, since a Queue holds the call rather than passing it on. This lets you ring desk phones directly first and then, if no one answers, drop the caller into a queue with hold music, agents, and metrics. See Queues below for the step settings. Conversely, on the Queues page a queue is usually reached directly from a route or IVR, or as that last hunt step.

Create/Edit Hunt Group

Hunt Group Name. Unique alphanumeric name for the Hunt Group, no spaces allowed.

Description. Hunt Group description, optional.

Tag. Optional tag for organizing Hunt Groups.

Department. Optionally assign the Hunt Group to a Department. Defaults to “Not assigned”.

Up to 10 steps can be added to a Hunt Group. Each step can be a Device Group, Extension Group, Queue, or PBX Command.

Device Groups

Device Groups call SIP Endpoints directly and bypass any logic contained in Action Scripts associated with User Extensions. This is the recommended group type for most use cases.

To add a Device Group, click the “Add Device Group” button.

Each Device Group allows you to specify the following:

Announcement to caller. An announcement (Voice Prompt) played to callers before calling the SIP Endpoints in this group.

Phones to ring. A list of SIP endpoints in this group. Hold the Control key down while selecting each endpoint. At least one of either the “Phones to ring” or “Other phone numbers to dial” has to be selected.

Other phone numbers to dial. Other phone numbers to dial as part of this group. Separate phone numbers by spaces or commas.

Be aware that adding “Other phone numbers” to a group could result in the calls being routed to the dialed number’s voicemail mailbox and be effectively “lost”.

How long to ring (sec). The time Thirdlane will continue to ring this group.

Dial command options. Additional options for the Dial command.

Play music on hold. Optionally play a music-on-hold class to the caller instead of ringback while this group rings. Leave empty for normal ringing.

Extension Groups

Extension Groups must be enabled by an administrator before they appear as an option. They allow you to dial User Extensions and therefore execute dialplan logic contained in Action Scripts associated with each User Extension.

The default Thirdlane action script tl-stdexten used for dialing User Extensions disables Voicemail and all the Call Forwarding and Call Screening options for each User Extension when dialing in a group, and leaves Call Recording options as configured.

To add an Extension Group, click the “Add Extension Group” button.

Each Extension Group allows you to specify the following:

Announcement to caller. An announcement (Voice Prompt) played to callers before calling the User Extensions in this group.

User extensions to ring. A list of User Extensions in this group. Hold the Control key down while selecting each User Extension. At least one of either the “User Extensions” to ring or “Other phone numbers to dial” has to be selected.

Other phone numbers to dial. Other phone numbers to dial as part of this group. Separate phone numbers by spaces or commas.

Be aware that adding “Other phone numbers” to a group could result in the calls being routed to the dialed number’s voicemail mailbox and be effectively “lost”.

How long to ring (sec). The time Thirdlane will continue to ring this group.

Dial command options. Additional options for the Dial command.

Play music on hold. Optionally play a music-on-hold class to the caller instead of ringback while this group rings. Leave empty for normal ringing.

Queues

Typically, a Queue would be the last step within a Hunt Group.

To add a Queue to the list, click the “Add Queue” button.

Queue step allows you to specify the following:

Announcement to caller. An announcement (Voice Prompt) played to callers before routing the call to the Queue.

Queue to go to. Name of the Queue the call will be routed to.

How long to ring (sec). The time Thirdlane will continue to stay within this Queue waiting for the call to be answered.

Queue command options. Additional options for the Queue command.

PBX Command

Root level administrators have an option to add any PBX dialplan command as a step to the Hunt Group.

Destination on no-answer

Destination on no-answer. This is used to specify an action taken if none of the Hunt Group steps answers. You can select an Action Script to be executed from a list of available Action Scripts and fill the parameters as per this Action Script’s definition.

Worked example: ring sales, then the manager, then voicemail

A small sales team should be reachable on one number: ring the three reps together, escalate to the manager if none pick up, and fall back to the sales mailbox - no queue, hold music, or agent logins needed.

  1. Create the Hunt Group. Add a group sales-hunt, Description “Sales team ring”.
  2. Step 1 - ring the reps. Click Add Device Group. In Phones to ring, Ctrl-select the three reps’ SIP endpoints (101, 102, 103). Set How long to ring to 20 (about 4 rings). Leave music-on-hold empty so callers hear normal ringback. Device Groups ring the phones directly, so a rep’s personal call-forward/follow-me does not hijack the call.
  3. Step 2 - escalate to the manager. Click Add Device Group again. Add the manager’s endpoint (104), How long to ring 15, and set an Announcement to caller like “Connecting you to the sales manager.” This step only runs if step 1 went unanswered.
  4. Fallback. Set Destination on no-answer to the tl-voicemail action script targeting the sales mailbox, so an unanswered call lands somewhere instead of dropping.
  5. Route calls in. Point the sales DID (or a Voice Menu key) at sales-hunt via Inbound Call Routes, then test: with all reps idle all three ring; with them busy/declined the manager rings; ignore that too and you reach voicemail.

If this team later needs hold music, agent login, or reporting, convert the flow to a Queue - and if you keep the hunt but want a queue as the final catch-all, make the Queue the last step (a queue holds the call rather than passing it on).

Best practices

  • Prefer Device Groups over Extension Groups. Device Groups ring the phones directly and avoid triggering each user’s call forwarding, follow-me, and screening, which is almost never what you want inside a hunt step.
  • Always set a Destination on no-answer (voicemail, a mailbox, or a Queue) so unanswered calls land somewhere instead of being dropped.
  • Keep How long to ring per step short enough that callers are not left waiting through several unanswered steps - a few rings per step is usually right.
  • Be cautious with Other phone numbers to dial: a call answered by an external number’s voicemail counts as “answered”, so the hunt stops there and the caller can be silently lost.
  • If a Queue is part of the flow, make it the last step, since a Queue holds the call rather than passing it on.