This article describes feature changes and issues resolved in Switchvox version 6.4 (85476). Version 6.4 requires version 6.3.6 (84996). See also:
Known Issues.
IMPORTANT: Version 6.3.6 is Required, along with Manual Confirmation of Completed Phone Registrations
Before updating to 6.4, make sure that your previous update to version 6.3.6 completed successfully. Make sure all Digium Phones are in a good state: the Phones Connection Status page, Server > Connection Status > SIP Phones, shows a green Registered icon and firmware 2_2_1_1 or newer (D80 firmware does not need to be updated). All phones without a green icon or with older firmware should be Restarted and confirmed fully functional before beginning the update to 6.4. To restart a phone, use the Menu options.
Please note that getting the current phone status and version number for a large number of phones may take up to 30 minutes after the update to the Switchvox server is complete.
After the update to 6.4, check the Phones Connection Status page again (allowing 30 minutes if you have a large number of phones). If there are any phones still without a green icon, or phones that indicate firmware prior to 2.2.1.3, or 1.3 for the D80, those phones must be Factory Reset and Reconfigured.
Additional Info: As of 6.3.6, Digium Phones no longer use port 5062 for configuration information, even when Direct Port Access is set to YES in Phone Networks. As the final part of the change to stop using port 5062 for Digium Phone configuration, Switchvox 6.4 no longer responds to requests on that port. The instructions detailed above are to facilitate a smooth transition for phones. You may also wish to review your network environment for references to 5062, including firewall and DHCP settings, such as Option 66, if applicable.
Password Changes
In 6.4, the login passwords for phone extensions and Switchvox administrators must be more complex: at least 8 characters with a mix of upper/lower case, digits, and special characters. Switchvox no longer allows weaker passwords.
Phone extensions: Login Passwords
Phone-users have a new Login Password, in addition to the older Voicemail PIN. When creating a phone extension, or changing the password for an extension, the login password must be complex (8-32 characters with a mix of upper/lower case, digits, and special characters).
The older voicemail numeric PIN will work as the login password after the update to 6.4. Therefore, all login passwords for phone-users will be considered "weak," because the passwords will only include numbers. But, the setting Require all extension-owners to change their password if it is not already strong was removed in 6.4, and Switchvox will not automatically require anyone to change a weak password. In other words, no one will notice the new password requirements until he or she specifically tries to change their password. You can use the Bulk Modify Extensions tool if you want to force all phone-users to change their passwords on next login, and they'll be required to use a complex password.
The older voicemail numeric PIN is still used when entering a password on a phone’s keypad.
Phone extensions: Set Password
A new tool lets phone-users set and reset their Login Password. So if a user needs a new password, they can handle that themselves.
From the login page, a phone-user can request a Set Password URL be mailed to the email address on his or her Switchvox profile. That URL lets the user set/reset the login password for that extension. That URL expires quickly, but a user can easily request a new one. To ensure this is a useful feature for phone-users, the email address on each profile must be accessible by the user.
Switchboard My Calls Widget
The Switchboard My Calls widget now has 3 possible tabs: Calls, Call Log, Voicemail. The widget can use 1, 2, or all 3 tabs. There is no longer a separate Voicemail widget, but you can put multiple My Calls widgets in your layout and use different tabs in each widget.
The new
Call Log tab in the My Calls widget offers a log of recent calls (dialed, missed, and received). This is a new feature in Switchboard, but it’s like the Call Log app already available on a phone.
Additional Changes
- The Switchboard navigation bar has a new help link, which opens a new browser window to Switchboard Training Videos.
- IAX VOIP Provider is deprecated for new installs. A system that had an IAX provider and is updated to 6.4 will still be able to create/modify IAX providers. Otherwise, only SIP Providers can be created.
- The Import Extensions tool for phone extensions (aka Bulk Import) is improved for efficiency. Hundreds of phone extensions with Digium Phone MAC addresses can be successfully imported much faster than in previous Switchvox versions.
- Digium Phone firmware is new for all phone models: 2.2.1.3 for most phones, 1.3 for D80.
Issues Resolved
- Queue calls are no longer incorrectly treated as internal calls for ring rules.
- Call logs are now being processed correctly where certain circumstances were causing logs to be empty.
NOTE: This article describes version 6.4 (85476). Previous version is
6.3.6, later version is
6.4.1.
