Push to Talk app

Push to Talk overview

If enabled by the administrator, your phone can operate in a group broadcast mode that is called Push to Talk (PTT). In PTT mode, the phones behave like walkie-talkies. Your phone transmits audio over a built-in speakerphone and recipients can respond to your message.

The administrator subscribes you and others to any of the 25 normal channels that are available. The administrator may give you permission to receive, and optionally send, PTT broadcasts in your subscribed channels. The administrator creates a label for channels to help you identify PTT channels. The default label for channel 1 is ALL. Examples of normal channels in a hospital setting may be: Channel 2: Maintenance, Channel 3: Hospital Admitting, and Channel 4: IT Helpdesk.

Your phone alerts you to PTT transmissions from normal channels, the priority channel, and the emergency channel. Your phone receives PTT transmissions differently depending on whether you are on an active call.

  • If you are not in a call, you automatically hear the PTT beep and the audio broadcast.

  • If you are in a phone call, you do not hear the PTT beep or audio broadcast.


Note

If you are on a call and see the PTT notification, you may join the broadcast, which would put your call on hold.

Access PTT app

When you open the PTT app, it displays the current channel and either the Transmit tab, Activity tab, or the Channels tab, depending on which tab you last viewed.


Note

A quick way to open the PTT app is to press and quickly release the programmed PTT button.


Note

If the administrator doesn’t enable PTT, when you access the PTT app you receive a notice that PTT is disabled and to contact your administrator.

Procedure

Step 1

Access the PTT app.

Step 2

Tap the desired tab: Transmit , Activity , or Channels .

PTT app tabs

The PTT app uses three tabs to manage available features.

Table 1. PTT tabs

Tab icons

Description
A Wi-Fi signal icon to represent the Transmit tab.

The Transmit icon displays the PTT soft button. Use either this soft button or the designated hardware button to transmit broadcasts.

A clock icon to represent the Activity tab.

The Activity icon opens the list of most recent broadcasts, any caller ID, and the current status of each listed channel.

A walkie-talkie icon to represent the Channels tab.

The Channels icon opens a list of all subscribed channels and indicates which is the default, which one is currently selected, any other active channels, inactive channels, and which channels you can use to transmit broadcasts.

Table 2. PTT app tab details

Icon or item

Description

Channel bar

Indicates active channel.

Star icon

Indicates the default channel.

Orange text

Indicates the currently selected channel. When you transmit through the Talk button, this is the channel that you transmit on.

Blue text

Indicates a channel other than your selected channel that has current PTT activity. You can't hear or contribute to this activity unless you switch to this channel.

Gray text

Indicates a channel other than your selected channel that no longer has current PTT activity (Activity tab) or is currently inactive (Channels tab).

Strikethrough microphone

Indicates transmit not allowed.

Microphone

Indicates transmit allowed.

Caller ID

Indicates caller ID.

Change the default PTT channel

Your default PTT channel is the one that you automatically transmit on when there are no ongoing conversations on another PTT channel. In the PTT app, the default channel has a star icon next to it and has orange text.

Before you begin

Ensure that you have transmission permissions on your desired default channel.

Procedure

Step 1

Access the PTT app.

Step 2

Click the Channels tab.

Step 3

Tap and hold the channel button that you want to be your default channel.

Step 4

Tap Set as Default Channel.

Change channel subscriptions

Only the channels that you’re subscribed to display in your PTT app. Only the administrator can change what channels display.


Note

Your administrator controls PTT channel subscriptions. You can see which channels you’re subscribed to and which you can transmit on, but you can’t change or add to the list.

Procedure

Contact your administrator to change your subscriptions and transmission permissions.

Send a PTT broadcast

You can send PTT broadcasts over your default PTT channel, or over a different channel. For example, you may want to send a broadcast over an active PTT session that is on a different channel than your default channel.

When you’re done speaking and release the PTT button, the phone enters a ten-second wait period. During this time, the channel is open to receive or send more broadcasts. If no activity occurs within the wait period, the PTT session closes. The wait period keeps the channel open and gives anyone subscribed to that channel time to join the conversation.

Before you begin

If your phone is password-protected, unlock your phone to send a PTT broadcast.


Note

For release 1.3(0) or later, your administrator may change the settings so that you can send a PTT broadcast without unlocking your password-protected phone. Check with your administrator for more details.

Procedure

Step 1

If you’re not on the desired channel, access the PTT app and tap the desired channel from the Channels tab or click a leg of a conversation from the Activity tab.

Step 2

Press and hold the programmed PTT button.

Step 3

After you hear a beep, hold the phone microphone approximately 2 inches (5 centimeters) from your mouth and speak.

Step 4

Release the programmed PTT button.

Change the PTT volume

If the PTT broadcast audio is too low or too high, you can raise or lower the volume on your phone.

Procedure

Press the programmed Volume up or Volume down buttons on the phone.

Ignore a PTT broadcast

If you receive a PTT broadcast that you don’t want to hear, you can prevent further PTT interruptions from that particular broadcast.


Note

You can also open the PTT app and tap Ignore.

Procedure

Step 1

Pull down the notification drawer.

Step 2

Tap the Ignore option.

Answer a phone call during a PTT broadcast

If a call comes in while a PTT broadcast is active, you can still answer the phone. When you answer the phone, the PTT broadcast automatically mutes.

Procedure

Follow the steps to answer a call.

Start a phone call during PTT broadcast

You can still call someone during a PTT broadcast. When you start a call, the PTT audio automatically mutes.

Procedure

Step 1

Access the Cisco Phone app.

Step 2

Follow the steps to make a call.