FAQs - Frequently Asked Questions

What is a dial-in conference?
How much is the dial-in to a dial-in conference?
What is a dial-out conference?
I cannot log into my conference as an admin via telephone
I cannot make the activation call successfully - telephone number is already in use
Can I switch off the greeting announcement for the person I am calling?
Can the entry and exit notifications be turned off?
What is meant by Plenum Mode?
How much is a dial-out call?
Can I mix dial-in and dial-out conferences?
How do I activate my conference room?
How do I verify a telephone number?
Where do I find my conference dial-in numbers?
What do Username, Password and the different PINs mean?
Automatic Admin authentication
I forgot my password
I forgot my username
I forgot my username and my password
I cannot access my e-mail address anymore
How can I change my password, my Admin PIN or my User PIN?
Can I change my Conference-ID?
How can I change my telephone number in the Phonesty system?
Which button has which function?
How does billing work at Phonesty?
I have transferred too much money to my Phonesty customer account and would like to transfer some of it back
Termination of a conference
How can I disconnect single users from my conference?
How can I cancel
How can I record my conferences?
How can I use the quick-dial feature during conferences?
How can I schedule and automate conferences?
Do I need an agreement with Phonesty regarding Commissioned Data Processing?

What is a dial-in conference?

In a dial-in conference, all participants call a designated number at a predetermined time decided by the admin of the conference call, the host. The participants enter a Conference-ID and 'User PIN' when prompted. Participants will then be granted access and meet in the Phonesty conference.

How much is the dial-in to a dial-in conference?

Phonesty does not charge you for dial-in conferences. You only have to pay your telephone provider for a call to the normal Phonesty fixed-line number. In order to make it cheaper for you to call Phonesty from abroad, we offer you several international dial-in numbers.

What is a dial-out conference?

In a dial-out conference, the so called 'admin' simultaneously makes one or more calls using the Phonesty system to one or more participants, literally calling them into the virtual conference room. The admin can do this using an automated voice menu (only if you log in with your Admin PIN) or via the web-interface. Once the participants answer to the call they will be greeted with an announcement and are connected with the admin and other participants.

I cannot log into my conference as an admin via telephone

If you use Phonesty Free you can only use the telephone number you registered with for dialing into your Phonesty conference as an admin. As a customer of Phonesty Premium you have the possibility to choose in Change conference settings, whether you would like to be able to login as an admin at Phonesty only via this number or via all telephone numbers.

If your Phonesty Service is enabled to add more than only one telephone number to a conference room you have the possibility to choose in Change conference settings, whether you would like to be able to login as an admin at Phonesty via all numbers you have added to a conference room.

Before logging into your Phonesty conference the first time, you need to confirm your registration with Phonesty (see confirmation link in welcome e-mail) and then call the German Phonesty dial-in number once from the telephone number you registered with at Phonesty. You will be asked to enter your Conference-ID and Admin PIN. Then you can use your Phonesty conference.

I cannot make the activation call successfully - telephone number is already in use

If you get this announcement making your activation call, the telephone number you entered has already been used to activate another Phonesty conference room. One telephone number can only be associated with one Phonesty conference room.

Check to see if the phone number is already in use with another Phonesty account e.g., if a family member already has a registered account with the same number.

If you now want to use a different telephone number for your Phonesty account, please go to 'My telephone numbers', delete the old telephone number and add a new one to your conference room.

Then call the German Phonesty dial-in number (to be found under 'My Phonesty') again and activate your Phonesty account by entering your Conference-ID and Admin PIN when requested.

Can I switch off the greeting announcement for the person I am calling?

Yes. Users of Phonesty’s Premium Service can switch off the announcement by dialing '*' before the phone number they want to dial out to. For example, dial '3' for making a dial-out call and then dial '*001941.....' to call a number in Sarasota, FL, USA. Also the greeting announcement can be turned off permanently in the 'Change conference settings' menu on the Phonesty website.

Can the entry and exit notifications be turned off?

Yes, in the Phonesty Premium Service this is possible. You can find the configuration options at 'Change conference settings'.

What is meant by Plenum Mode?

In Plenum Mode participants are muted at entry and can only be unmuted by the admin. Participants can submit or withdraw requests-to-speak by dialing '*1'. This is indicated on the web-interface. Plenum Mode is especially useful for seminars and lectures when the majority of participants are listeners.

You can also choose whether all participants are unmuted when the plenum mode is deactivated. Otherwise the participants stay muted but can unmute themselves by dialing '*1'.

You can find the configuration options at 'Change conference settings'.

In an ongoing conference the plenum mode can also on demand be enabled and disabled on the 'Conference' page or by pressing '*7' on the telephone.

How much is a dial-out call?

Rates may vary depending on which country and network you want to call and witch Phonesty service you use. Any dial-out call you initiate to call in a participant to your conference will be charged separately. Try us: price list

Can I mix dial-in and dial-out conferences?

Yes. You may use both dial-in and dial-out during the same conference.

How do I activate my conference room?

Please call the German dial-in number once from the telephone number you registered with at Phonesty and follow the announcements. After having successfully entered your conference room number and the Admin PIN, your conference room is activated and you can immediately start using Phonesty.

How do I verify a telephone number?

Please call your German conference dial-in number once from the telephone number you want to verify and follow the announcements for entering your Conference Id and Admin-PIN. After having successfully entered these codes, your telephone number is verified and you can benefit from the 'Automatic Admin authentication'.

Where do I find my conference dial-in numbers?

Log into the Phonesty system on the Phonesty website and click on 'My Phonesty'. There you will find all international Phonesty dial-in numbers.

What do Username, Password and the different PINs mean?

The following usernames, passwords and PINs exist:

Admin PIN and User PIN can be changed anytime at 'Conference settings'.

Automatic Admin authentication

As soon as you have logged into the Phonesty system, it can automatically identify and authorize you by caller ID on request. This option gives you the opportunity to be automatically recognized by the Phonesty system anytime you call Phonesty. This means you are no longer required to enter your Conference-ID and PIN when calling Phonesty. Go to 'Change conference settings' to change these settings.

If you would like to participate in a conference of another Phonesty member, you can easily join your room with another conference room. To do this just press '*5' and enter the Conference-ID and PIN of the room you want to join.

I forgot my password

In the LogIn-area on the Phonesty website you can have a link being sent to you via e-mail, which you can follow to reset your password.

I forgot my username

You can find your username in the confirmation e-mail you received from Phonesty during the registration process. Should you have deleted this e-mail, simply send an e-mail to support@phonesty.com. Please enter the full name and address you initially entered into the registration form and we will send an e-mail that includes your username as quickly as possible.

I forgot my username and my password

Please send an e-mail to support@phonesty.com with the full name and address you initially submitted on the registration form and we will send your username via e-mail to you. With your username you can thus reset your password here.

I cannot access my e-mail address anymore

Please send a fax, signed by you, with your username, full name, address and a copy of your ID or passport to Phonesty. Please do not forget to add your new e-mail address. We will then change the e-mail address on your Phonesty account for you. Fax form (english)

How can I change my password, my Admin PIN or my User PIN?

At Conference settings you can change your password or PINs any time.

Can I change my Conference-ID?

No, your Conference-ID is exclusively assigned to you.

How can I change my telephone number in the Phonesty system?

At My telephone numbers you can change your telephone number. To change your telephone number the old telephone number must first be deleted. Afterwards, you may add a new one. If your Phonesty service is enabled to include more telephone numbers per conference, you may add additional telephone numbers simply by clicking on the 'Add telephone numbers'-button.

Please note that you have to reactivate your conference room if you change your telephone number or you have deleted all telephone numbers belonging to a single conference room. To do this you need to call the German Phonesty dial-in number and follow the announcements for entering your Conference-ID and Admin PIN.

Which button has which function?

How does billing work at Phonesty?

There are no costs to you from Phonesty for dial-in conferences. Each participant only pays normal charges for a fixed-line call. These charges will depend on the telephone provider. Phonesty does not use costly premium numbers unlike several competitors.

Dial-out conferences are charged per second. Please review our price list. On the pricelist you will see the rates in cents per minute, for calls to countries supported by Phonesty.

At Call Log any dial-out calls you have made via Phonesty are listed. The cost(s) of these calls is displayed in net prices (without value added tax (VAT)) with an accuracy of cents. They are calculated with an accuracy of 1/100 cents. The truncation is done following commercial practice.

The VAT will be added to the sum of net-prices at the end of the month. In this manner, Phonesty is able to avoid rounding errors to create a more accurate and honest billing method.

Your monthly call detail record (CDR) also contains gross prices per call, which are calculated based on the single calls and are supposed to give you an overview. The gross price in your monthly CDR is calculated directly using the sum of the net prices of the single calls.

At My Account on the Phonesty website you can observe the balance of your Phonesty customer account. The balance displayed is rounded to 1 cent and is calculated in the same way single dial-out calls are, as accurate as 1/100 cents.

A dial-out call is charged from your account once the participant called answers their call. This also applies to calls being answered by answering machines or calls being forwarded to another number which then maybe directed to an answering machine. The Phonesty system cannot tell answering machines from real persons.

Please note that if you use call forwarding, cost can occur if someone calls you on the forwarded number. Please check back with your fixed-line- or cellular provider. Phonesty has no bearing on this.

The charging of a dial-out call ends when one of the participants hang up. In a conference, charging stops when the conference initiator hangs up (not applicable if certain options have been chosen. These options will be accurately explained).

We only charge you for active connections.

To make a dial-out call via Phonesty you need a Phonesty customer account with a positive balance. The Phonesty customer account will automatically be opened when you register with Phonesty. From this account we will charge all costs related with the Phonesty services. You have the possibility to make transfers to your Phonesty customer account using your VISA or Mastercard or using a bank transfer to our German bank account. To do so, please go to 'Transfer balance now'.

You can use the balance as soon as the amount you have transferred has been credited to our bank account. Using credit cards, this usually takes a few seconds. Making a bank transfer, it takes about 2-3 business days.

I have transferred too much money to my Phonesty customer account and would like to transfer some of it back

If this happened, we will of course transfer your positive balance back to you on your German bank account. This can be a part of your balance or all of it.

Please never make a chargeback of a credit card transaction! This is quite expensive for us and we will charge you 50.00 for a credit card chargeback. Please use the possibility to get a free bank transfer to your German current account!

Please understand that we do not pay back the part of your balance, that we have granted to you for free (Bonus balance).

Please note that as a user of the Phonesty Premium Service you always shall make sure you have enough balance on your Phonesty customer account so the monthly fee can be charged.

Termination of a conference

There are two ways:

1. You have chosen the 'end conference when admin hangs up' option at Change conference settings. In this case the conference will be terminated when the admin, meaning the person who initiated the conference, hangs up.

2. You have not chosen the 'end conference when admin hangs up' option at Change conference settings. If you initiate a conference with more than two (including yourself) participants, the conference will go on until all participants hang up.

   This also applies when only you hang up. So it is possible that you get charged even though you have hung up. Please be aware of this when you chose the option 'do not end conference when I hang up'.

   Anyway, you have the possibility to determinate the participation of all other participants before you leave the conference yourself. You can do this via your phone or via the web interface.

Please note that after registration option 1 is active by default.

How can I disconnect single users from my conference?

In a conference you are logged into as administrator using your Admin PIN, you have the possibility to disconnect single users. Dial '*4' and then '2' on your telephone keyboard to use this option. Now you can disconnect single users in order of appearance. For example dial '3#' for the person who entered the conference as third. Be sure to include yourself.

Dialing '4' and then '1' you can disconnect all other participants at once.

Note: Please always give your user PIN to the persons you invite to join your dial-in conference. Never give out your Admin PIN! The Admin PIN is for your personal use only.

How can I cancel

Phonesty accounts and conference rooms can be canceled to the end of the following month. Within the first 14 days the cancelation is immediate.

To cancel a phoensty account please go to here and then click on 'Cancel account'.

Conference rooms can be canceled here.

Even if you canceled all Phonesty accounts and conference rooms your Phonesty membership will still persist at no cost. You can then add new accounts and conference rooms any time if you want. To permanently delete your Phonesty membership, please send us an e-mail, fax or letter with your request to cancel your memebership and attach a copy of your valid ID or passport.

How can I record my conferences?

Recording of conferences is available in the Phonesty Premium Service.

You can start and stop the recording of your conference anytime either by pressing '*6' on the dial pad of your phone or by clicking the recording icon on the 'Conference' page. The recording will then be saved as MP3 file and is available to download for the following 7 days at 'Recordings'.

All participants of your conference are informed about the recording. This is required by German law. No recordings of phone calls may be made without informing all participants of the conversation.

How can I use the quick-dial feature during conferences?

To make dial-out conferencing more convenient, Phonesty Premium customers can store telephone numbers of frequently used contacts as quick-dial entries. On the 'Quick-dial' page you can store one or more contacts and up to 99 quick-dial entries. You can then initiate a speed-dial anytime in one of the following ways:

1. On the 'Conference' page you enter the quick-dial position (e.g. 4 or 04) instead of the telephone number.
2. On your phone after dialing '*3' you enter the quick-dial position instead of the telephone number.
3. Instead of 00 you are dialing the quick-dial position at the end of the German dial-in number (e.g. 089121405904)*

All numbers of the quick-dial position are then dialed at once.

* This is possible only from the telephone number you registered with at Phonesty and only if 'Authorize by caller ID' is enabled. See Automatic Admin authentication.

How can I schedule and automate conferences?

Phonesty Premium customers can define automatic dial-in and dial-out conferences on the 'Schedule' page. Both one-time and reoccurring conferences can be planned.

For a planned dial-out conference a defined list of telephone numbers is dialed automatically by the Phonesty system at the scheduled time. Predefined Quick-dial entries can also be used.

There is also the option to schedule one or more reminder calls for each planned conference. The Phonesty system will then call all participants e.g. one hour beforehand to inform them about the upcoming conference.

For the reminder calls the same Call Charges apply as for dial-out calls. Billed by the second as always at Phonesty.

Do I need an agreement with Phonesty regarding Commissioned Data Processing?

All data collected by Phonesty is used to provide services as a telecommunications provider and is protected by the 'Telekommunikationsgesetz' (telecommunications act) and the 'Fernmeldegeheimnis' (telecommunications secrecy). A separate agreement for Commissioned Data Processing is not necessary.