> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.rootly.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Live Call Routing

> Turn a phone call into a page. Route inbound calls to the on-call responder, or drop them to voicemail with an automatic alert.

## Overview

Live Call Routing gives your team a phone number that pages the right person. A caller dials the number, Rootly figures out who's on call, and either connects the two live or takes a message and pages the on-call responder. It's designed for the calls that shouldn't wait — a customer reporting an outage, an on-site engineer needing help, a vendor calling in — where email or a form is too slow.

Every routing number lives on the **On-Call → Live Call Routing** tab and combines four pieces:

* A **routing mode** — either connect the caller to a responder or drop to voicemail.
* A **number** — the phone number callers actually dial.
* **Routing rules** — who gets paged, at what urgency, optionally through an IVR menu.
* A **greeting** — what the caller hears when Rootly picks up.

***

## Choose a Routing Mode

Both modes result in a page — the difference is whether the caller waits on the line.

| Mode | What happens | Use when |
| - | - | - |
| **Connect Live** | Rootly answers, pages the responder, and connects the call once they answer. The caller waits on the line (with hold music if configured) until the responder picks up. | Live production issues where the caller needs someone on the line right now. |
| **Route to Voicemail** | Rootly answers, records a message, and pages the responder. | Lower-severity intake or when the responder needs context before calling back. |

***

## Create a Routing Number

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open Live Call Routing">
    Go to **On-Call → Live Call Routing** and choose **+ New Routing Number**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Pick the Mode">
    Choose **Connect Live** or **Route to Voicemail** — see the table above.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set Up the Number">
    Give it a name, pick a country, and choose a number type (local, mobile, or toll-free). Rootly provisions a number once you save; it appears under **Your Number** on the setup screen.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add Routing Rules">
    Choose **who to page**. Set an **alert urgency** on the routing number — or, if you add multiple targets and turn it into a [Calling Tree](#ivr-calling-trees), set urgency per mapping instead.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Write the Greeting">
    Add the message Rootly reads to callers. Keep it short — most callers hang up on long menus.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Create the Number">
    Save. The number appears in the Live Call Routing tab.
  </Step>
</Steps>

### Number Fields

<ParamField path="Name" type="string" required>
  Name for your new routing number.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="Country" type="string" required>
  See [Supported Countries](#supported-countries).
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="Number Type" type="enum" required>
  Availability varies by country.
</ParamField>

Once saved, **Your Number** appears on the setup screen.

***

## Routing Rules

Routing rules decide who Rootly pages when a call comes in.

<ParamField path="Who do you want to page?" required />

<ParamField path="Alert Urgency" required>
  Required on the routing number **unless** you configure a Calling Tree. With a Calling Tree, urgency is set per mapping instead — see [IVR Calling Trees](#ivr-calling-trees) below and [Alert Urgency](/alerts/alert-urgency).
</ParamField>

### IVR Calling Trees

Adding more than one paging target turns the number into an IVR menu. Rootly asks the caller to press a digit for their destination and pages the matching target.

* Each target has a digit shown in the first column of the target list. Digits must be unique across the list.
* With a Calling Tree, urgency is set per mapping rather than once at the routing-number level — see [Alert Urgency](/alerts/alert-urgency) for how to configure per-mapping urgency.
* Rootly reserves `*` for "repeat the menu."
* Your greeting must tell callers which digits map to which teams. *"Press 1 for Security, 2 for the Database team, or 3 for the On-Call Engineer."*

<Tip>
  A single company-wide routing number with a calling tree usually beats one number per team. Callers only have to remember one phone number, and adding a new team is one row in the IVR, not a new number to publish.
</Tip>

### Advanced Settings (Connect Live Only)

Connect Live exposes three extra settings under **Advanced Settings** in the routing rules tab.

<ParamField path="Redirect the caller to voicemail" type="duration">
  Send the caller to voicemail if no one answers after the configured amount of time.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="Escalate to the next Escalation Policy" type="duration">
  How long to wait between escalation-policy levels when a caller is on the line.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="Auto-resolve the alert when the call ends" type="boolean" />

***

## Greetings

The greeting is the first thing your caller hears. Keep it short and load-bearing — a name, a menu (if there is one), and nothing else.

<ParamField path="Greeting message" required>
  The initial message Rootly reads to your callers.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="Waiting music">
  What the caller hears while waiting on hold. Applies to Connect Live.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="Voicemail prompt">
  The message played when the caller is sent to voicemail.
</ParamField>

***

## Supported Countries

| Country | Code |
| - | - |
| Australia | AU |
| Canada | CA |
| Germany | DE |
| Netherlands | NL |
| New Zealand | NZ |
| United Kingdom | GB |
| United States | US |

If your country isn't listed, contact your Rootly representative to discuss availability in your region.

***

## Best Practices

* **Use Connect Live for production issues.** A hold with music beats a callback for anything actively burning.
* **Use Voicemail for intake queues.** Vendor calls, internal help lines, and anything the responder should hear before calling back.
* **Publish one number, not one per team.** A single company-wide number with an IVR routes to any team and only needs updating once.
* **Keep the greeting short.** Long menus lose callers before they finish listening.
* **Assign meaningful digits and match them in the greeting.** For example, `1 = Security, 2 = Database, 3 = On-Call Engineer` — memorable digits reduce misdials.
* **Shorten escalation delays for live calls.** A caller on hold notices seconds — set the Connect Live escalation override low.

***

## Troubleshooting

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Number allocation failed" icon="ban">
    Rootly couldn't provision a number matching your selections.

    * The requested number type may be out of stock in that country. Try another type (local, mobile, toll-free).
    * Try another country if the caller can dial internationally.
    * Contact Rootly support if all combinations fail — regional inventory changes over time.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Caller unable to route via digits" icon="phone-xmark">
    The IVR isn't accepting or acting on caller input.

    * The greeting isn't telling the caller what to press. Add a menu prompt.
    * Two targets have the same digit. IVR mappings must be unique — adjust the list so every target has a different digit.
    * The number has only one target. IVR menus only appear when there are two or more.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Paging not triggered" icon="bell-slash">
    The call connected but no one got paged.

    * Alert urgency isn't set on the routing number or on the specific IVR mapping.
    * The paging target has been removed or is no longer valid.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Waiting music not playing" icon="music-slash">
    Callers hear silence while waiting on Connect Live.

    * Waiting music must be selected from the approved Rootly list.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

***

## Related Pages

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card title="Escalation Policies" icon="stairs" href="/on-call/escalation-policies">
    Who gets paged when a caller comes in — and what happens if they don't answer.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Alert Muting" icon="bell-slash" href="/on-call/alert-muting">
    Why live call routing rings responders even while their automated alerts are muted.
  </Card>

  <Card title="On-Call Notifications" icon="bell" href="/on-call/on-call-notifications">
    The channels a paged responder receives calls on.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>


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