Innovators in VoIP have created different tools and features to make VoIP products more accessible and user-friendly for people with disabilities. This guide will explore the different options you can consider implementing to make using your SpectrumVoIP services more accessible for all users. 

Use Our Softphone App on a Mobile Device, Tablet, or PC

If you use a screen reader or magnifier program on a mobile device or PC, you can use a SpectrumVoIP softphone app on your preferred device so that you can still use these important programs with your SpectrumVoIP services. 

These devices have a more robust selection of accessibility settings to fine-tune your device's display, such as color filters (e.g., color inversion, grayscale, color blindness mode, etc.), high contrast display themes, and size adjustment settings for font and icons. 

To learn more about the SpectrumVoIP mobile app that you can use, please contact our technical support team.

Large Button Phones

Some users prefer to use desk phones with larger buttons to make dialing easier. 

If you own a desk phone that you would like to use alongside your SpectrumVoIP services, contact our support team to see if it is possible to use that model of phone with our services. 

If your preferred desk phone is an analog phone, connecting an Analog Telephone Adapter may be a viable solution. If the phone is a VoIP model, then our team can check if that particular phone is compatible with our platform. 

The 5 Button on Dial Pads

Most modern phones will include bumps to indicate the position of numbers on the phone's dial pad. The number key that most commonly includes a bump is the button for the number 5. It is standard for many keyboards and phone dial pads to have the 5-button located in the center of their number pads. 

Braille Stickers

If you own a desk phone that lacks bumps for locating numbers on its dial pad, then using braille stickers may be a great alternative. Some users order braille stickers or create their own using a braille label maker. 

These stickers can be placed on the buttons of a phone's dial pad. Creating custom stickers for speed dial buttons can be useful as well.

Invest in an Expansion Module

Expansion modules, also known as sidecars, can be connected to a desk phone to allow more speed dial buttons to be stored and used. Many operators will have the sidecar of their phone only store speed dials for their contacts so that they can avoid having to switch pages on the phone itself to locate speed dials. 

Using speed dials can help make calling contacts efficient and more accessible. If you have multiple speed dials you frequently use, consider buying and connecting an expansion module to your phone for storing them. Some users with low vision place braille stickers next to the speed dial buttons on their sidecars to make locating specific speed dials easier. 

Adjust a Phone's Display Settings

Modern desk phones thave a backlit screen to make screens brighter and easier to see. If you have a sensitivity to light or low vision, the backlight's brightness/level can be adjusted.

If you are using a desk phone with a graphical LCD, you can adjust the contrast of the screen to make the text on the screen clearer to read. Screens that use a color LCD screen may not have a setting for adjusting the Contrast of the screen; however, these phones will include a setting for adjusting the screen's brightness.

Most models of desk phones do not include settings for color filters. If you use color inversion, color blindness, or grayscale mode on your personal and work devices, using a softphone on your preferred device may be a better solution. 

Update a Phone's Delay for Automatically Dialing

Some phones have a setting that will automatically dial the numbers that have been typed in after a brief delay. This delay may be too short, which can be frustrating for users in the process of dialing. 

If you would like to have the automatic dial delay for your phone adjusted, contact our support team to have one of our support specialists assist you. 

Ringback for Parked Calls

Most modern phones have lights on the buttons on the side of their screens that can be viewed to check the status of functions like held calls, parked calls, and the status of users contacted by BLF keys. To make it easier to tell when a call is parked, park ringback can be enabled. 

Park Ringback is a feature that allows the system to place a call to the user that parked a call to attempt to reconnect the parked call to that user. This ringback call is dispatched after a certain amount of time has passed.

To learn more about the park ringback feature, read the guide linked below:
Park Ringback

Submit a Request to Set Up the Park Ringback Feature

Park Ringback will need to be set up for your account by our Technical Support team. Our Technical Support team would adjust how your park queues handle calls within your dial plan. 

To submit a request to have park ringback set up, an authorized POC (point of contact) would contact our technical support team by doing one of the following:

• Calling (469) 429-2500.
• Emailing support@spectrumvoip.com.
• Sending in a ticket using our support website:
  https://www.spectrumvoip.com/support/.

Within your request, it is recommended to include the following:

• If all or specific park queues should have this change. 
  If only specific parks will use Park Ringback, provide a list of the extension numbers of the park queues that should be updated.
• The amount of time (in seconds) that the system should wait before dispatching ringback calls. 
  Many companies go with 180 seconds so that ringback calls are not dispatched too early and frequently. 
• A good name and contact number of someone to contact for testing the change. 
• A preferred day and time to test the change and make any noticed changes.
• If you are not the POC for the account, written consent (i.e., a confirmation email) from a POC on your account will be needed.

Set Voicemailboxes to Announce Caller Information

Some users may find it useful to have their mailboxes set to announce information about a voicemail message left. 
The pieces of information that can be announced include the following:

• The caller's caller ID information. 
• The time and date the message was left. 
• The duration of the message. 

To learn more about how you can enable email notifications for your voicemailbox, review the guide below:
Manage Your Voicemail in the Stratus Web Portal

If you would prefer that a member of our Technical Support team adjust these voicemail settings for you, you can contact our Support team for further assistance. 

Enable Email Notifications for Voicemails

If you would want to check your voicemails through a PC, tablet, or mobile device that you prefer to use, you can have an email sent to you when a new message is stored in your voicemailbox. Once you receive an email notification, you can check your email on your device to review the voicemail. 

To learn more about how you can enable email notifications for your voicemailbox, review the guide below:
Stratus Voicemail Notifications

If you would prefer that a member of our Technical Support team enable these notifications for you, you can contact our Support team for further assistance.