Why anyone callbacks never reach the hopper

An ANYONE Scheduled callback is supposed to drop back into the campaign Hopper once its date and time are reached, where the next available agent can call it. When the trigger time passes and the callback just sits there, something is blocking the hand-off. There are a handful of usual suspects, and you can rule them out one at a time.

Decision tree for a stuck anyone callback

flowchart TD
  A[ANYONE callback not in hopper] --> B{Trigger time reached?}
  B -->|No| C[Wait for callback time]
  B -->|Yes| D{Inside campaign calltime?}
  D -->|No| E[Calltime block holds it]
  D -->|Yes| F{List active?}
  F -->|No| G[Activate the list]
  F -->|Yes| H{Campaign loads anyone callbacks?}
  H -->|No| I[Enable callback loading]
  H -->|Yes| J{DNC filter blocking?}
  J -->|Yes| K[Number filtered out]
  J -->|No| L[Callback enters hopper]

1. The callback time has not actually arrived

The most common one. A callback only goes live when its scheduled date and time are reached — until then it is ACTIVE, not LIVE, and the dialer will not touch it. Open the callback listing and check the scheduled date against the current time, and watch for time zone confusion: a callback set for the customer's local time can look overdue on your clock when it is not.

2. A calltime block is holding it

Even a live callback will not be dialed if it falls outside the campaign's allowed calling hours when the calltime block is in effect. If your callback triggered at 6pm but the campaign stops dialing at 5pm, it waits. Check the campaign call times before assuming the callback is broken.

3. The list is not active

Callbacks ride along with their Lead list. If the list the lead belongs to is set inactive, nothing from that list — callbacks included — enters the hopper. Confirm the list is active in admin.php.

4. The campaign is not loading anyone callbacks

There is a campaign-level setting that controls whether anyone callbacks are loaded into the hopper at all. If it is off, your ANYONE callbacks have nowhere to go no matter how correct everything else is. The mechanics of that hand-off are covered in how anyone callbacks go back to the hopper — worth a read if you are not sure the loading is enabled.

5. The DNC filter is removing it

If the campaign has the anyone-callbacks DNC (do not call) filter enabled, every ANYONE callback's phone number is checked against the campaign's DNC options before it enters the hopper. A number that matches gets filtered out and never loads. That is the filter doing its job, not a bug — but it explains a callback that vanishes silently. Note this filter does not affect USERONLY callbacks.

If you have walked all five and the callback still will not load, double-check the callback is genuinely ANYONE and not USERONLY — a USERONLY callback never enters the hopper by design. The difference is laid out in anyone vs useronly callbacks, and the wider behaviour in the scheduled callbacks overview.

Fewer mystery settings to chase

Most stuck callbacks come down to one of these five settings, all visible in standard VICIdial admin. A managed box ships with a sane default config and a working dialer in under 40 seconds, so you spend less time hunting for the one toggle that is off. See VICIfast pricing to get started.