How to Record an After-Hours Message by Phone

An after-hours message After hours is the audio that plays when a caller reaches your inbound queue outside of your configured call-time window. Instead of dead air or a generic system prompt, the caller hears your message telling them your hours and how to reach you later. In VICIdial, this recording is assigned to an In-Group — the named inbound routing group that handles calls for a queue Ingroup. You record the audio file by dialing extension 8168 on any phone attached to your VICIdial server.

The after-hours message is separate from the In-Group's drop extension message, the agent alert message, and the answering-machine message used by outbound campaigns. Each of those fields accepts a separate filename from 8168. This post covers only the after-hours recording for In-Groups.

What a good after-hours message includes

Write a short script before you pick up the phone. The message should state the name of the business, the hours when agents are available, and at least one alternative way for the caller to reach you (a website, an email, or a direct line). If you offer scheduled callbacks, mention that too. Keep the total under 30 seconds. Callers who hear a long message at 9 p.m. will hang up before it finishes. A clear 15-second message that gives them the key information is far more useful.

flowchart TD
  A[Dial 8168] --> B[Enter ID 4321 then pound]
  B --> C[Record after-hours message]
  C --> D[Press pound to stop]
  D --> E{Choose option}
  E --> F[Press 1 to save]
  E --> G[Press 2 to listen]
  E --> H[Press 3 to re-record]
  F --> I[Hear filename played back]
  I --> J[Set filename in In-Group after-hours field]

Dialing 8168 and saving the recording

Pick up a phone registered to your VICIdial server and dial 8168. The system will ask for an ID. Enter 4321 followed by the pound (#) key. You will hear brief recording instructions. Wait for the beep, then read your prepared script. When you finish speaking, press the pound key to stop the recording.

The system then offers three options. Press 2 to listen to the playback before making a decision. After-hours messages often have to cover a lot of information in a short time — listening back is the only reliable way to catch a rushed delivery or an unclear phone number. If the take sounds good, press 1 to save. If not, press 3 to start over. When you save, the system reads back the filename it assigned to the file. The numbering starts at 85100001 on a fresh system and increments by one with each new recording Call recording.

Setting the filename on the In-Group

Log in to the VICIdial admin panel and navigate to the In-Groups screen. Click Modify on the In-Group you are configuring. Find the after-hours message field and enter the filename exactly as the system read it back to you — for example, 85100004. Save the In-Group record. From that point on, any caller who reaches this In-Group outside the configured call-time window will hear that recording.

The call-time window that triggers the after-hours message is controlled by the call-times settings attached to the In-Group. If those settings are not configured correctly, callers may hear the after-hours message during business hours, or not hear it at all when agents are unavailable. Confirm the call-time schedule matches your actual operating hours before testing.

The same 8168 filename can be reused across multiple In-Groups if they share identical after-hours messaging. There is no limit on how many In-Groups can reference the same file. You can also reuse it in other fields — the agent alert message, the Drop Exten field, and the outbound Answering Machine Message field on the Campaigns screen all accept the same filename format. For a full list of where these recordings can be applied, see How to Record a VICIdial Audio Prompt by Phone or the broader VICIdial Phone-Based Functions Guide.

After-hours messages are easy to update. When your hours change, dial 8168 again, record a new file, and swap in the new filename on the In-Group. The old file stays on disk and is simply no longer referenced — it does not interfere Ingroup.

Every VICIfast plan ships a dedicated VICIdial server in under 40 seconds, with the 8168 prompt recorder available from the moment the server is provisioned, so you can have your after-hours message recorded and set before your first call arrives.