FreePBX parked call cannot be retrieved: prove the live lot and slot

Capture the failure before the call times out

Use one authorized non-emergency call and record the caller, parking phone, retrieving phone, announced slot, believed lot, digits or key used, timestamp and exact response. Preserve Call-ID, Uniqueid and Linkedid where available. Distinguish a call that never parked from a call that is parked but cannot be retrieved; a lamp or display label alone does not establish either state.

Keep the caller attended and define a safe fallback before reproducing. Do not repeatedly park a customer call while guessing feature codes, and do not change a shared lot during an active reception period.

Prove the active lot, slot and generated context

In FreePBX, record the lot extension, starting slot, number of slots, timeout and destination for the effective lot. The standard module documents one shared lot, while Park Pro can add multiple and private lots. In Asterisk, confirm the running res_parking lot and the generated parking context rather than editing FreePBX-managed output.

Asterisk selects a lot through explicit application options, a channel parking-lot value and then the channel's context. Match the affected channel to the lot that actually won. An announced number within one configured range does not prove that another phone is dialing into the same generated context.

Tie the retrieval attempt to the parked channel

Use bounded runtime evidence to list parked calls and match the affected call by parking lot, parking space, Uniqueid or Linkedid and remaining timeout. The Asterisk ParkedCalls AMI action and ParkedCall event expose these fields. Redact caller numbers before sharing evidence.

Then capture the retrieval attempt and determine which extension and context handled it. A BLF state change is only an indication. If direct dialing reaches no generated retrieval extension, inspect the lot mapping, dialplan context and provisioned key before changing subscription settings.

Separate a slot from the pickup-prefix workflow

Test the exact documented method separately. Direct slot dialing uses the generated retrieval extension when the lot configuration provides it. Sangoma also documents a global pickup prefix, default *85, followed by a lot or slot target; the configured feature code may differ on the installed PBX. Do not concatenate remembered defaults and call the result evidence.

Park Pro documents that the pickup-prefix workflow can retrieve from a private lot even when the extension is not a member. Treat that as a specific access path, not proof that direct slot dialing, BLF keys or every private-lot policy should behave identically.

Follow timeout and correct only the proven owner

Let an isolated test call follow the configured timeout and verify whether it returns to the origin or enters the alternate comeback destination and context. Record caller audio and the extension or destination that can answer. A retrieval failure followed by a correct timeout is useful evidence; it does not make the failed handoff acceptable.

Correct only the demonstrated owner: wrong written slot, wrong lot, missing generated retrieval extension, mismatched context, changed pickup prefix, incorrectly provisioned key or unsuitable timeout destination. Retest park, direct retrieval, the intended prefix or key, two-way audio and timeout independently. No PBX, lot, slot, endpoint, key, feature code or live call was tested for this guide.

core show version
module show like res_parking
parking show
parking show <lot-name>
dialplan show <announced-slot>@<generated-parking-context>
# Reproduce one authorized non-emergency park and retrieval attempt; retain IDs and timeout evidence.

Trace external AMI parking separately

When an external controller parks or inventories calls, use the AMI parking diagnostic to preserve action, snapshot framing, assigned space and retriever identity.