VoIP.infoThe independent guide to business communications.
VoIP.info Guide

FreePBX Call Flow Control: manual normal and override routing

Build a deliberate two-destination manual switch while keeping its saved mode, feature-code action, state indication and real call outcome independently verifiable.

Reviewed 2026-10-10Sangoma version-13 Call Flow Control and Feature Codes guidance, the official FreePBX daynight release/17.0 branch and FreePBX 17 download baseline reviewed October 10, 2026; no PBX, module, feature code, password, BLF, phone app, generated dialplan, route, destination or live call testedIntermediateDocumentation based · not lab tested

Use a manual switch for a manual decision

Sangoma describes Call Flow Control as a manual switch between a normal destination and an override destination. The selected mode persists until an authorized person changes it. Use that model for an unscheduled closure, emergency diversion or another named operator decision. Use a Time Condition when the branch should follow a clock or calendar.

The detailed Sangoma module and user-guide pages are explicitly labelled for PBX GUI version 13. The official daynight repository also has a release/17.0 branch, which establishes a maintained FreePBX 17 code line but does not make the older screen sequence an exact FreePBX 17 map. Record the installed FreePBX and Call Flow Control module versions before following field names or screenshots.

Name both destinations and the operational meaning

Give the control a name that tells an operator what normal and override mean, then select an explicit destination for each branch. Sangoma's guide describes two destinations and a displayed current mode. A saved object does not prove an inbound route, IVR or other upstream destination actually enters it; draw the complete call path from the public number to the final answer, announcement, queue or voicemail.

Avoid labels such as open and closed unless the business policy defines them. An override might send calls to an emergency recording, a backup site or an on-call queue. Record who may change the mode, why, the expected duration, the reset owner and the rollback destinations.

Derive the effective feature code instead of memorizing it

Sangoma documents 100 control indexes, 0 through 99, combined with a base feature code such as *28; its example makes index 0 available as *280. Treat that as documented version-13 behavior, not a universal production code. Inspect the installed object's index and Admin → Feature Codes to find the effective enabled code, then search extensions, prefixes, queues, parking, other controls and dial patterns for collisions.

An optional password can restrict the change action, but it does not replace extension authorization, inbound-context isolation or administrative audit. Test from a designated internal extension and confirm that no public IVR, inbound route or untrusted tenant can invoke the switch.

Separate mode, action and BLF evidence

The current mode, a successful feature-code action and a phone lamp are three different observations. Sangoma documents custom device-state support for BLF and directs administrators to the Feature Codes, Advanced Settings and Asterisk Info areas. A lamp can be stale or provisioned to the wrong subscription even when the call-flow state changed; an announcement can confirm an action without proving which final destination a caller reached.

Record the object's displayed mode, the exact digits sent by the phone, the selected dialplan action, the subscribed resource and its state, and a bounded call's final destination. Do not infer current compatibility for a phone model from an older support matrix.

Apply through FreePBX and prove both branches

Submit and Apply Config through FreePBX, keeping form submission, reload success, generated dialplan and loaded runtime state as separate evidence. Do not edit generated configuration. Test a call that enters the control in normal mode, change the mode through the authorized path, test the same call into the override destination, then restore the intended operating state.

Verify the feature-code action from a second authorized extension, any BLF or supported phone-app indication, restart or restore behavior, and one unrelated neighboring route. Preserve the original destinations, index, code, password policy and state for rollback. Use the focused diagnostic when the mode, lamp or destination disagrees. No PBX, module, feature code, password, BLF, phone app, generated dialplan, route, destination or live call was tested for this guide.

Sources & applicability

Primary references for the technical details above. Operational examples and planning checklists are VoIP.info editorial guidance.

Examples require adaptation to your topology. No live PBX or hardware testing is claimed.

Continue your research

Hub

FreePBX

Plan and administer a FreePBX 17 system on Debian 12 using the supported project installation path.

Explore topic →
Guide · Asterisk 22 GotoIfTime, ExecIfTime, IFTIME, TESTTIME and STRFTIME documentation plus current public Sangoma Time Conditions and Time Groups guidance and FreePBX release/17.0 Time Conditions metadata version 17.0.1.19 reviewed October 15, 2026; Sangoma interface guidance is explicitly labelled for PBX GUI version 13 and is used for object and override semantics rather than as an exact FreePBX 17 screen map; installed modules, generated dialplan, host and explicit timezones, clock state, schedule, overrides, targets and calls remain deployment specific; no PBX, module, clock, timezone, dialplan, condition, override, destination or live call was inspected or tested

FreePBX time conditions and time groups

Route open hours, holidays and authorized overrides by keeping the time group, condition, destination chain, scheduled state and override state independently observable.

Read guide →
Guide · FreePBX 17 / Debian 12; Sangoma Feature Codes, Misc Applications and Misc Destinations guidance, FreePBX Misc Applications 17.0.3 release/17.0 metadata and current Asterisk dialplan inspection documentation reviewed October 11, 2026; installed module UI, generated dialplan and endpoint digit handling require local confirmation

FreePBX feature codes

Avoid dialplan collisions and keep phone buttons aligned with the enabled feature codes.

Read guide →
Guide · Current Sangoma FreePBX Announcements and System Recordings documentation, FreePBX Announcements 17.0.2.1 release/17.0 metadata and generated-dialplan source, and Asterisk 23 BackGround documentation reviewed October 10, 2026; Sangoma screenshots and some field guidance may reflect older PBX GUI releases, and no PBX, module, route, Announcement, recording, generated dialplan, loaded channel, DTMF path, carrier media, destination or live call was inspected or tested

FreePBX announcements: recordings, DTMF and destination evidence

Keep the reusable recording, announcement controls, answer state and post-playback destination separate, then prove each entry path without creating a loop.

Read guide →
Guide · FreePBX 17 on Debian 12; Bulk Handler 17.0.7.1 release/17.0 metadata and Sangoma Bulk Handler workflow reviewed October 11, 2026; repository state does not prove the installed module or runtime, and no import or Apply Config operation was tested

FreePBX changes: submit, apply and verify

Keep GUI settings, generated configuration and runtime behavior aligned during routine administration.

Read guide →
Diagnostic · Sangoma Feature Codes, Misc Applications and Misc Destinations guidance, FreePBX Misc Applications 17.0.3 release/17.0 metadata and current dialplan source, current feature-code class guidance, and current Asterisk dialplan inspection documentation reviewed October 11, 2026; no phone, PBX, module, application, feature code, destination, generated or loaded dialplan, BLF, permission boundary or call was inspected or tested

FreePBX feature code does not work or reaches the wrong feature

Follow the exact digits from the phone through its local dial plan, FreePBX's enabled code, numbering collisions and the generated Asterisk dialplan.

Read guide →
Troubleshooting guide · Sangoma version-13 Call Flow Control and Feature Codes guidance plus the official FreePBX daynight release/17.0 branch reviewed October 10, 2026; no PBX, module, feature code, password, BLF, phone app, generated dialplan, route, destination or live call tested

FreePBX Call Flow Control shows the wrong state or routes to the wrong destination

Trace one call through the intended control while separating inbound selection, saved mode, feature-code action, BLF state and final destination.

Read guide →