Jabber and Phone Connectivity

Owned by John P
Last updated: Mar 16, 2020
3 min read

Duke's phone system can seamlessly route your office phone calls to your Duke computer, to a personal cell phone, to another Duke phone number, and more.  Note that Jabber has a built-in text-based chat system – we won't cover that here.

Computer Connectivity:

For those with a Duke-issued computer (laptop or desktop), you can use the Cisco Jabber application to send and receive phone calls directly from your computer.  By default, this will use any built-in speakers and microphones, but you can also configure it to use external headphones (still using the internal microphone) or an external headset (with both speakers and microphone).

For DUL-issued computers:

  • Cisco Jabber should already be installed on your computer.  For Windows PCs, click on the Start-Menu and search for "Cisco Jabber"; for Macs, go to the Applications folder and it should be there.
  • The Jabber application should automatically start when your computer starts.  That is, once your computer boots up, it should connect to the Duke phone system and begin receiving phone calls.  
    • Note that it will run in the "background" and may not show an active window on the screen – but it is running.
  • The app should automatically connect to YOUR phone number.  
    • If you find that it is connecting to the wrong phone number, or not connecting to any phone at all, please contact the OIT Helpdesk and they should be able to fix that (https://oit.duke.edu/help or 919-684-2200).

For personally-owned computers:

  • The Cisco Jabber app may be freely downloaded from the OIT Software downloads – https://software.duke.edu/node/95  (requires NetID to download the software, but can be installed on non-Duke computer)
  • Follow the instructions to install the software.
    • You may need to identify if you want the software to run automatically when the computer starts.
  • The first time you run it, you'll need to login with your NetID to connect to the system.  From then on, the software should remember you and automatically connect to your phone number.
  • Again, if the app does not connect to YOUR phone number, please contact OIT.

Mobile Phone Connectivity:

Cisco also provides mobile phone clients for Android and IOS (Apple) devices.  Once installed, these apps allow you to send and receive calls from your personal cell phone while making the phone call appear as though it came from your Duke phone number.  I.e. the person you're calling will see your Duke number, not your personal phone number.

  • Download the app from your app store (Google Play Store or iTunes) – search for "Cisco Jabber" to be sure to get the correct version
  • Open the app and click through any EULA/license screens
  • You may need to allow or approve the app for phone calls, record audio, access the network, etc.
    • You may also be asked to allow the app to run in "background" – if you want to receive calls on your cell phone, you MUST enable this feature (otherwise, you will have to have the app running to accept an incoming call)
  • Use your netid@duke.edu as your login name along with your NetID password
  • The app should connect to the Duke phone system automatically

Phone Forwarding:

As a final option, you can also have your Duke phone number forwarded to another phone, inside or outside the Duke phone system.  Note that when using this approach, incoming phone calls will be sent to your home phone, e.g., but any outbound calls you make will show your home phone number (not your Duke number).

  • Go to https://myphone.duke.edu/ and login with your NetID and password  (you do not need the '@duke.edu', just your NetID)
  • On the left panel of the web-UI, you should see "Call Forwarding"; clicking that will open a new panel on the right
  • Click the checkbox next to "Forward all calls to"
  • In the drop-down menu, select "Add a new number" – the menu should now accept a phone number input
  • Click the "Save" button at the bottom of the panel

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