How to Use Call Parking and Retrieve Call in 3CX

In day-to-day business operations, a call often needs to be moved somewhere else temporarily without being hung up. For example, a receptionist takes a call meant for a sales team that’s currently busy. With the Call Parking feature in 3CX, a call can be “parked” so it can be picked back up (Retrieve Call) from another extension or device. This feature is a big help for improving communication efficiency, especially in offices with lots of IP Phone or 3CX app users.

What Is Call Parking? #

Call Parking is a feature that lets a user place an active call into a temporary parking slot, such as Shared Parking or a Parking Orbit. While the call is parked, the caller stays connected and usually hears Music on Hold until another user picks the call back up from the appropriate extension or device.

How to Park a Call #

Before using Call Parking, make sure the user’s extension has permission to transfer calls, and that a Shared Parking or Parking Orbit slot has been configured by the 3CX administrator. If you’re using a BLF button, make sure a Shared Parking button has been added to the device or app you’re using.

Example flow: a receptionist takes a customer call, then parks it to SP1. An available member of the sales team then presses SP1 from the 3CX Client or an IP Phone to pick up the call, without the customer needing to call back.

There are a few ways to park a call in 3CX:

Through the 3CX Client #

1. While a call is active in the 3CX Client, select Transfer.
2. Select Park or route the call to an available Shared Parking slot, e.g. SP1.
3. Once the transfer completes, the call stays in that slot until another user retrieves it.

Through an IP Phone #

On most IP Phones, do a Blind Transfer and then enter the park code, for example:

• *01 → Park to Orbit 1

• *02 → Park to Orbit 2

The call will then go into the selected parking orbit.

How to Retrieve a Call #

A parked call can be picked up from another extension or device.

Shared Parking #

• Press the Shared Parking BLF button showing an active status.

• Or dial the Shared Parking slot directly, e.g. SP1, to pick up the call. On 3CX Version 20, calls are retrieved directly through the Shared Parking (SP) extension, rather than a dummy extension as before.

Parking Orbit #

If you’re using a standard Parking Orbit, use the following codes:

• *11 → Retrieve the call from Orbit 1

• *12 → Retrieve the call from Orbit 2

If there are multiple calls in the same orbit, you can also add the originating extension number to retrieve the correct one.

Benefits of Call Parking #

Using the Call Parking feature brings several benefits, including:

• Makes it easier to move calls between users.

• Reduces customer wait time.

• Lets calls be picked up from a different device or location.

• Helps receptionists and customer service teams manage calls more efficiently.

• Improves collaboration between teams without dropping the customer’s connection.

Conclusion #

Call Parking and Retrieve Call are important 3CX features that make call management much more flexible. Whether through the 3CX Client or an IP Phone, users can park a call temporarily and pick it back up from another extension without making the customer call again. By taking advantage of this feature, a company’s communication becomes faster, more efficient, and more professional.