How to Find a VICIdial Agent Session ID

Before you can blind-monitor or barge in to a VICIdial agent's call by phone, you need their current session ID. A session ID Session ID is a number that VICIdial assigns to an agent at login when their phone registers with the Asterisk PBX. It typically looks like 8600051 — a seven-digit number in the 86xxxxx range. The ID changes each time the agent logs out and back in, which means you need to look it up in real time, not from memory.

The session ID is not stored anywhere on the agent's screen, and it is not visible in the campaign or in-group configuration. The only reliable place to find it is the Real-Time report, which is accessible to supervisors and administrators in the VICIdial manager interface.

Finding the session ID on the Real-Time report

Log in to the VICIdial manager interface and open the Real-Time report. This page is sometimes labeled "Time On VDAD" and it shows a live table of every agent currently logged into the system. The table includes each agent's name, their current status (available, on call, not ready, and so on), the campaign they are logged into Campaign, and their session ID Agent session. The session ID column is what you need for phone-based monitoring.

The Real-Time report refreshes automatically at a configurable interval. If you are looking for an agent who just logged in, wait a few seconds and reload if the page does not update on its own. Agents who are logged out do not appear in the list — you can only monitor agents who are currently active Real-time report.

flowchart TD
  A[Open VICIdial manager interface] --> B[Navigate to Real-Time report]
  B --> C[Find agent row in table]
  C --> D[Read session ID column]
  D --> E{Monitoring method}
  E --> F[Direct: dial 0 plus full session ID]
  E --> G[Roaming: dial 8162 then 8 plus last 3 digits]
  E --> H[Barge-in: dial full session ID]
  F --> I[Silent listen]
  G --> I
  H --> J[All parties hear entry tone]

What the session ID looks like and how it is used

Session IDs in VICIdial typically start with 86 and are seven digits long, for example 8600051 or 8600117. The first two digits (86) are fixed by the system. The remaining five digits vary per login session. Once you have the full ID from the Real-Time report, you have three options on a VICIdial-attached phone.

First, for blind monitoring via the direct method, dial 0 plus the full seven-digit session ID. For session 8600051, you dial 08600051. Second, for blind monitoring via the 8162 roaming extension, dial 8162, hear the "extension" prompt, then dial 8 plus the last three digits only — so 8051 for session 8600051. Third, for manager barge-in, dial the full session ID directly without a prefix — just 8600051. When you barge in this way, both the agent and the customer hear an entry tone (a droplet sound, or a double tone on older systems) and the manager becomes a full participant on the call.

Manager barge-in vs blind monitor: the session ID is the same

Both monitoring modes use the same session ID from the same Real-Time report. The difference is in what you dial and what the parties hear. Blind monitoring (0 + session ID, or 8162 then 8 + last 3) places you silently in the call — no tone, no notification. Barge-in (full session ID dialed directly) places you audibly in the call — an entry tone plays for all parties and the manager can speak to both the agent and the customer Barge-in.

If you are setting up a workflow where supervisors routinely monitor calls, consider keeping the Real-Time report open in a browser tab that auto-refreshes. Some teams also display it on a wall monitor so the floor supervisor can read session IDs without navigating away from whatever else they are working on.

For the step-by-step process of executing a blind monitor once you have the session ID, see How to Blind-Monitor a VICIdial Agent by Session ID. For a broader explanation of when blind monitoring is appropriate versus barge-in, see VICIdial Blind Monitoring Explained. The full phone-based functions reference is the VICIdial Phone-Based Functions Guide.

Every VICIfast plan ships a fully configured VICIdial server in under 40 seconds, with the Real-Time report and phone-based monitoring available from the moment your server is live.