FreePBX Call Parking and Pickup: Setup, Codes and BLF Keys

What is the difference between call parking and call pickup?

Parking holds a connected call in a numbered slot with music on hold, so any phone can retrieve it by dialing the slot number. Pickup is different: it answers a call that is still ringing at another extension, with no slot involved.

Use parking when a call is answered and the person needed is elsewhere: park it, page the colleague, they dial the slot. Use pickup when a colleague's phone is ringing and they are away from the desk.

Both are built on feature codes in the dialplan, but they use different Asterisk machinery (res_parking versus the Pickup application), so they fail for different reasons and are configured in different places.

How do I set up a parking lot in FreePBX?

In FreePBX 15 and later the module is Applications > Parking Lot (older releases call it Parking). Create or edit the default lot and set the values below, then Submit and Apply Config.

The timeout behavior matters most. Asterisk's comebacktoorigin makes an unanswered parked call ring back to the extension that parked it, so staff hear it return instead of the caller sitting forever.

1. Open Applications > Parking Lot and edit the default lot.
2. Set the parking extension to 70 and slots to 8.
3. Choose a timeout of 45 to 90 seconds and a fallback destination such as reception.
4. Set a CID prefix like PARK: so staff know the returning call was parked.
5. Submit, click Apply Config, then test from two phones.

How do I park a call and retrieve it?

Parking in FreePBX is transfer based. While on the call, blind transfer to 70. The system announces the slot number (for example 71) to the parker and the caller hears music on hold. An attended transfer to 70 also works, and the parker hears the slot before hanging up.

To retrieve, anyone dials the slot, 71 in this example, from any extension that can reach the parkedcalls context. If nobody retrieves it within the timeout, it rings back to the parker.

On a desk phone, the sequence staff learn is: press Transfer, dial 70, press Transfer again (or send), read the slot number from the screen, then tell the colleague 'call is on 71'.

How do pickup groups and the pickup feature codes work?

FreePBX exposes two pickup codes. Directed pickup is ** followed by the extension, for example **104 answers the call ringing at 104, and it works regardless of groups. Group pickup is *8, which answers any ringing call within your own pickup group. Both live under Settings > Feature Codes.

Group pickup is why 'no matching call' appears so often. *8 only grabs calls ringing at extensions whose Call Group matches your Pickup Group. Set these on each extension under Applications > Extensions > Advanced. For a small office, put every extension in group 1 for both fields.

The raw Asterisk equivalents are shown below. Older chan_sip used callgroup and pickupgroup; PJSIP uses call_group and pickup_group, or the singular named_call_group and named_pickup_group for non-numeric names.

; features.conf  [general]
pickupexten = *8        ; group pickup code

; pjsip.conf  endpoint section
[104]
type=endpoint
call_group=1
pickup_group=1
; or, for named groups:
; named_call_group=office
; named_pickup_group=office

; extensions.conf  directed pickup, FreePBX style
exten => _**X.,1,Pickup(${EXTEN:2}@PICKUPMARK)

How do I program BLF keys so they light up and pick up?

A BLF key is a SUBSCRIBE to the extension's presence. Asterisk answers using a hint, then sends NOTIFY dialog events. Lamp convention: idle is green or off, ringing is flashing red, busy is solid red. If the key is pressed while the monitored extension is ringing, the phone sends the pickup code plus extension (for example **104), which is how one-touch pickup works. When idle, the key just dials the extension.

The phone needs a pickup code configured next to the BLF key. Field names vary by model and firmware, so confirm on your version's key page.

Parking slot lamps use hints like the ones FreePBX generates for you. Monitoring the slot on a key lights it when a call is parked there, and pressing it retrieves the call.

; hints (FreePBX generates these; shown for raw Asterisk)
exten => 104,hint,PJSIP/104
[parkedcalls]
exten => 71,hint,park:71@parkedcalls
exten => 72,hint,park:72@parkedcalls

Why does it fail? Troubleshooting by symptom

Start with the CLI before touching phones. These commands answer most questions:

asterisk -rvvv
core show hints
pjsip show endpoint 104
parkedcalls show
pjsip set logger on
rtp set debug on

What is a good small-office setup and test checklist?

For reception plus 5 to 8 staff, use one lot, 8 slots, and one shared pickup group. Keep it simple: staff remember one parking code and one pickup code.

Reception gets the slot BLFs because that desk parks the most calls. Give each staff phone BLFs for the colleagues they cover most.

Choose the timeout from real behavior: 45 seconds suits a small office where people are nearby; extend it to 90 seconds or more if staff work on several floors. Music on hold for parked calls is set with the Parked Music Class (parkedmusicclass in res_parking.conf), so verify the class exists or callers hear silence.

1. Set all extensions to Call Group 1 and Pickup Group 1.
2. Create the parking lot with extension 70 and 8 slots.
3. From extension A, call extension B; before B answers, press the BLF key on C and confirm the call moves to C.
4. Answer a call on A, blind transfer to 70, note the slot, and retrieve from B by dialing it.
5. Park another call and leave it; confirm it rings back to the parker after the timeout.
6. Run core show hints and confirm each BLF key matches a hint entry.