DID isn't routing calls: first things to check

The call hits your system but goes nowhere, or lands on a not-in-service tone. The entry that controls all of this is the DID (direct inward dialing) (Direct Inward Dialing, the inbound number your customers dial). When a DID is not routing, the cause is almost always one of a handful of settings on the DID record itself.

Does the DID match at all?

VICIdial matches the incoming call against the DID Extension you entered, and that value cannot be changed after creation; to fix a typo you delete and recreate it. Confirm the digits exactly match what your Carrier delivers. There is also a reserved DID named -default- that catches any call not matching an existing pattern, so if your specific DID is wrong, calls may be quietly falling through to that default instead.

Is it active, and where is it pointed?

Check the Active flag first; it defaults to Y, but an inactive DID routes nothing. Then look at DID Route, the single most important field. EXTEN sends calls to a dialplan extension, AGENT to a logged-in agent, IN_GROUP to an inbound group queue, CALLMENU to a Call menu (a phone menu, also called an IVR), VOICEMAIL to a mailbox, and PHONE to a specific phone. The default is EXTEN, which on a fresh DID points at the no-service extension 9998811112. That is the tone many people mistake for a broken line; it just means the route was never set.

flowchart TD
  A[Carrier sends call] --> B{Matches a DID extension}
  B -->|No| C[Falls to default DID]
  B -->|Yes| D{DID Active is Y}
  D -->|No| E[Nothing happens]
  D -->|Yes| F{DID Route}
  F -->|IN_GROUP| G[Inbound group queue]
  F -->|AGENT| H[Logged-in agent]
  F -->|EXTEN default| I[No-service tone]

Route-specific gotchas

Each route type has its own required field. IN_GROUP needs a valid In-Group ID selected, or the call has nowhere to land. The AGENT route only works if that agent is logged in and has selected an AGENTDIRECT Ingroup (an inbound group); when they are not available, the call follows the User Unavailable Action instead. CALLMENU needs a real Call Menu chosen. A route pointed at a destination that does not exist behaves just like no route at all.

One more signal setting

Route Answer, which defaults to Y, decides whether the call receives an answer signal when routed to an in-group or agent. If your carrier or billing depends on answer supervision and this is off, the call can connect yet behave oddly. Leave it at the default unless you have a deliberate reason to change it. It is also worth confirming the DID is in the right admin user group, since a DID restricted to a group you cannot see may look missing when it is simply hidden from your view.

If the DID routes correctly but calls still never reach a person, the problem is downstream in the queue, covered in inbound calls not reaching agents. The inbound call handling guide walks the path from carrier to agent.

Skip the setup hassle entirely. Our managed VICIdial hosting gets you a working dialer in under 40 seconds so you can go straight to wiring DIDs.