How to Transfer Calls in PBX

Call transfer is the process of relocating a call to another phone or system. There are two types of call transfer:

Blind — the initiating party is removed from the process right after initiating the transfer, and thus it becomes blind to what is happening. For the blind transfer, dial ## on your softphone.

Attended — the initiating party is attending the transfer process by contacting the destination before completing the transfer. For the attended transfer, dial *2 on your softphone.

Depending on the softphone you use, the way to transfer calls may differ. We will show how to do it in Zoiper as an example.

Blind transfer flow

1. Sam dials extension 111 to call Max.
2. Sam wants to transfer Max to extension 222, so he dials ## and 222 while on the call with Max.
3. The system immediately hangs up the channel between Sam and Max and creates a new channel for Max automatically dialing 222.

Attended transfer flow

1. Sam dials extension 111 to call Max. 
2. Max answers Sam.
3. Sam wants to transfer Max to extension 222, so he dials *2 and 222 while on the call with Max. 
4. The system places Max on hold and creates a new channel for Sam dialing Ann.
5. Ann answers, so now Sam and Ann can talk. 
6. Sam wants to complete the transfer and hangs up the phone.
7. The system immediately hangs up the channel between Sam and Max and bridges the channels for Max and Ann.