If you need to limit your phone time to only specific callers but Caller ID does not provide the information you need, Call Screening is the feature for you.

Call Screening![pro plus](/assets/images/icons/pro-plus-badge-sm.png is a secondary step beyond checking Caller ID that asks external callers to record their name. This can help you determine whether you’d like to accept or reject the call. It also provides an additional layer of protection against phone spam.

When a screened call comes in, the caller will be asked to record their name. The recipient’s phone will then ring and they’ll hear an automated message with the name that has been recorded. The recipient can press 1 to accept the call, or they can hang up to reject the call.

Call Screening works on all Ooma Office phones, including IP phones, analog phones, the Ooma Office desktop app, and the Ooma Mobile app.

You can turn Call Screening on for incoming calls to your extension by following these instructions:

  1. Log in to office.ooma.com or the Desktop app and go to your Settings page.
  2. Open the Call Handling tab.
  3. In the Call Screening section, check the Enable Call Screening box.
  4. Choose what types of calls you’d like to screen:
    • Anonymous callers will screen calls that don’t have an associated Caller ID.
    • Callers not in directories (default) will screen calls from the callers who are not in any of your directories (Company, Shared, or Personal).
    • All callers will screen calls from all callers. Note that extension to extension calls are never screened.
  5. Save your changes.

If you are the account admin, you can also turn on call screening for calls to a Ring Group by following these instructions:

  1. Log in to office.ooma.com as an administrator and navigate to the Settings page.
  2. Find the Ring Group you’d like to edit.
  3. Open the Call Handling tab.
  4. In the Call Screening section, check the Enable Call Screening box.
  5. Choose what types of calls you’d like to screen:
    • Anonymous callers will screen calls that don’t have an associated Caller ID.
    • Callers not in directories (default) will screen calls from the callers who are not in Company or Shared directories.
    • All callers will screen calls from all callers. Note that extension to extension calls are never screened.
  6. Save your changes.