Phone Help

To set up your voicemail the first time, you must call from the phone number that is associated with your voicemail account. For example, your home phone.

1. To sign in, dial the access number 355-8813 or *98.
2. The first time, you will sign-in to voicemail using the PIN 000-000.
3. You will first be asked to change your PIN. Your new PIN must be between 5 and 20 digits. After you enter your PIN, you will be asked to confirm it by re-entering it.
4. Once you have successfully changed your PIN, you will be prompted to record your recorded name.
5. Your recorded name, such as your first and/or last name, The Smith Family, or your business name, must be shorter than 10 seconds.
6. When prompted, say your name and then press # to stop recording. Once you have recorded your recorded name, it is played back to you and you are provided with options to keep it or change it. To change your greeting, press 0.
7. Once you have accepted your recorded name, you are prompted to record your greeting.
8. Your greeting is what callers hear when they reach your mailbox. The greeting must be longer than 2 seconds and shorter than 30 seconds.
9. Press 1 to record a personal greeting. Press 2 if you would like to use a system generated greeting that uses your spoken name. Press 3 if you would like to use a system generated greeting that uses your phone number. Press 4 if you would like to use a system generated greeting that does not use your name or phone number.
10. Once you have completed recording your greeting, you are redirected to the Main Menu.

1. Dial *98.
2. Enter your PIN number followed by the # key.
3. Press 3 to go to the Greetings Menu.
4. Press 3 again to select a system generated greeting.
5. Press 1 to select the type of system generated greeting. Press 1 if you would like to use a system generated greeting that uses your spoken name. Press 2 if you would like to use a system generated greeting that uses your phone number. Press 3 if you would like to use a system generated greeting that does not use your name or phone number. Press 4 if you would like to review or re record your spoken name.
6. To exit out of voicemail, either hang up the phone or press * four times.

1. Dial *98.
2. Follow the voice prompts.
   1. Enter your telephone number.
   2. Enter your PIN number.
      1. See “First Time Setup” if you have not yet set a PIN number.
   3. To listen to messages, press 1. To send a message, press 2. To work with your greetings, press 3. To change your settings, press 4. To leave this mailbox and log on as another subscriber, press 7. To get more help, press 0. To exit your mailbox, press *.

1. Dial 641-355-8813.
2. Follow the voice prompts.
   1. Enter your telephone number.
   2. Enter your PIN number.
      1. See “First Time Setup” if you have not yet set a PIN number.
   3. To listen to messages, press 1. To send a message, press 2. To work with your greetings, press 3. To change your settings, press 4. To leave this mailbox and log on as another subscriber, press 7. To get more help, press 0. To exit your mailbox, press *.

If you subscribe to both Voicemail and CLtel TV, you can check your voicemails via your TV!

1. Turn on your TV.
2. Press the Menu button on your CLtel TV remote.
3. Arrow down and select Phone.
4. Arrow down and select Voicemail.
5. Arrow to the voicemail message you would like to listen to.
6. Press OK to play the voicemail. Press the red button to delete the voicemail. Press the green button to save the voicemail.

If you subscribe to both Voicemail and the MaX UC Mobile App, you can quickly and easily check your home voicemail from your smartphone.

1. Open the MaX UC Mobile app.
2. Select the Messages tab. If you have voicemails, they will appear in a list from newest to oldest.
3. Simply tap on a message to listen to it.

Phone Features User Guide

You can automatically reject calls if the caller’s number is marked “private.” The caller will hear an announcement that private calls are not accepted. You dial access codes to activate and deactivate this feature.

To activate Anonymous Call Rejection:

1. dial *77 (rotary dial 1177)

To deactivate Anonymous Call Rejection:

1. dial *87 (rotary dial 1187)

Keeps dialing busy or unanswered numbers, so you don’t have to. The network will automatically redial and then ring when the connection is made. You may also use it to redial the last number dialed from your phone.

To Activate Automatic Redial:

1. Upon reaching a busy number, hang up.
2. Immediately lift the receiver again and dial *66 (rotary dial 1166).
3. If the line is:
   1. Not busy, listen for normal ringing.
   2. Busy, listen for announcement, then hang up. When the line clears, your phone will give you a distinctive ring.
4. The telephone system will check the number you dialed for 30 minutes. When the line is free, your phone will ring.
5. If you answer it, it will then ring through to the number you called.

Make sure you’re not missing overflow calls when you’re on the phone. Use this service to forward calls to another line, or forward to an Internet service which will record who is calling and notify you. Simply let a CLtel Customer Service Representative know the desired phone number where you want your calls forwarded. There is a charge to change this number. If it is forwarded to a long distance number, you pay the cost of the long distance call.

Direct your missed phone calls to a pre-selected phone number including your home office, your mobile phone, or to a destination anywhere in the world. Simply let a CLtel Customer Service Representative know the desired phone number destination for your calls. There is a charge to change this number. If it is forwarded to a long distance number, you pay for the cost of the long distance call. If you also subscribe to Call Waiting, you can put the current call on hold and answer the call, or not answer the call and let Call Forward – No Answer forward the call to a preselected remote directory number (usually voicemail).

Never miss a call with this classic telephone service when you forward your calls to another number.

To activate Call Forwarding:

1. Lift the receiver and listen for the dial tone.
2. Dial *72 (rotary dial 1172).
3. Again, listen for the dial tone.
4. Now dial the number where you wish your calls forwarded, followed by a # sign (speed calling codes may be used if you also have this feature).
5. If someone answers at the number, call forwarding is established.
6. If the call is not answered, hang up and within 2 minutes repeat the process. Call forwarding will be activated and you will hear a confirmation tone.

Once you have activated call forwarding, the phone will ring one short time each time a call is forwarded. You can still make out-going calls from this phone without interfering with incoming calls.

To deactivate Call Forwarding:

1. Dial *73 (rotary dial 1173) and wait for the confirmation tone.

See also: Remote Call Forwarding and Selective Call Forwarding

Make sure that everyone has your new phone number if you have moved. Simply let a CLtel Customer Service Representative know that you would like this service added to your service. Callers will automatically hear your desired message.

You can automatically trace your last incoming call. This service is available to every customer at no charge.

To activate a Customer-Originated Call Trace:

1. Hang up and dial *57 (rotary dial 1157).
2. You will hear that you have activated the Customer Originated Trace Service.
3. To trace the call, dial 1.
4. If the call could be traced, you will hear a message that it has been traced. If it cannot be traced because the originating carrier does not have a Signaling System 7 intelligent network, it will state that the call cannot be traced.

It is essential that the Call Trace action, pressing *57 (rotary dial 1157), be done immediately after you hang up the phone following the offending call. If you delay taking action and receive a subsequent call, call trace will not trace the original number. Traced call information is provided upon subpoena to law enforcement officials, but not to the customer. To have all calls traced, please contact us.

You can have the flexibility of bringing others into an existing phone conversation. While talking on a line that is equipped with this feature, you may “hook flash” the line and receive a second dial tone. You then dial a second number, after which you will hear a busy or ringback tone. Note: if the number dialed is long distance, you will be billed for the call.

At this point you have three choices. They are:

1. Make a “supervised transfer,” which means you talk to the person on the second call, announcing the call, and then hang up. This then connects the original caller and the second number dialed together.
2. Make an “unsupervised transfer,” which means you simply dial the number and hang up. The original caller will hear ringback or busy.
3. Make a conference call. You “hook flash” again, and all three parties are connected together. Customers with this service automatically receive the Three-Way Calling feature at no additional charge.

Important or emergency calls can get through even when your phone is in use. Call Waiting allows you to receive a second call while you are using your phone. If someone dials your number while you are using your phone, you may do one of the following:

1. Hang up. This ends your first call. The phone will ring and when you pick it up you are connected to the second call.
2. Depress the receiver button for 1/2 second and release. Your first call is put “on hold,” and you are connected to the second caller. You can alternate between calls each time you depress and release the receiver button for 1/2 second. Each conversation is private.
3. Ignore the beep. Keep talking to your first call. The second caller will not interrupt you, but they may think you are not at home because they will hear normal ringing.

See also: Cancel Call Waiting

Know who is calling before you answer the phone. Caller ID even provides a log of callers, so you’ll know who called while you were gone. Just look at the special display device on or next to your phone. If you have CLtel TV and Voicemail service, incoming calls will appear on your television, and you can access your voicemail via your CLtel TV remote.

See also: Check Your Home Voicemail on Your TV

You can prevent your number from being shown to the person you are calling.

Per call blocking:

1. Dial *67 (rotary dial 1167) before dialing each call.

All call blocking:

1. You may subscribe to this service to always keep your number from appearing to the person you are calling.

Note: there is a one-time charge for this service. You may unblock this service on a per call basis by dialing *82 (rotary dial 1182) before making a call.

Know who is calling even while you’re on the phone. This feature allows the user to receive calling line identification information while on a call. It requires a special Caller ID/Call Waiting unit or phone. When combined with Call Forward, Don’t Answer on Call Waiting and Voicemail, the user receiving the call can check the Call Waiting on the Caller ID display and decide to answer the call or let it go to voicemail.

You can cancel Call Waiting for a specific call.

To Cancel Call Waiting:

1. Lift the receiver for dial tone.
2. Dial *70 (rotary dial 1170). You’ll hear a dial tone again. Simply dial your call as you normally would.
3. Your Call Waiting will be canceled for the remainder of that one call only. Callers will hear a busy signal. When you hang up, your Call Waiting feature will be automatically reactivated.
4. If you also have three-way calling you can cancel call waiting during an ongoing call. Just depress and release the receiver button for 1/2 second to put your first call “on hold”.
5. Then dial *70 (rotary dial 1170). You’ll hear two beeps and be automatically reconnected to your call.

Know that someone special is calling – without even getting up to look! This feature can be used to give a separate telephone number a distinctive ring at your home. This could be used to alert a member of the family (such as a teenager) that the call is for them, or it could route the call to a fax machine (requires a fax machine with the distinctive ring feature). When you subscribe to this feature, we will provide you with an additional telephone number that will provide a distinctive ring. One telephone number is provided per feature, and a maximum of three custom ring numbers can be added to each line.

Your phone can help you find that necessary quiet time. When Do Not Disturb is enabled, your callers will hear a message that you do not want to be disturbed.

To set up Do Not Disturb:

1. On a push button phone, dial *78. On a rotary phone, dial 78 and wait 4-5 seconds.
2. Wait for confirmation tones (two short tones).

To cancel Do Not Disturb:

1. On a push button phone, dial *79. On a rotary phone, dial 79 and wait 4-5 seconds.
2. Wait for confirmation tones (two short tones).

Just what you need to communicate with your family across the house. No additional equipment or lines are needed to get your teenager’s attention. The home intercom feature allows you to answer an incoming call, place it on hold, and dial a three digit code, hang up, and have the phone ring again in a distinctive pattern, alerting all users in the house that the call is for a particular person.

To call another extension using the Home Intercom service:

1. Pick up an extension and dial your own directory number.
2. When you hear the busy tone, hang up.
3. All the extensions will start ringing with a distinctive ring (2 shorts rings). Do not answer, but wait for the other extension to pick up.
4. When the other extension picks up, the extensions will stop ringing. Pick up your extension and you will be connected to the other party.
5. If no one answers on another extension, the extensions will stop ringing after a timeout period. If you then pick up your extension, you will hear the normal dial tone.

To transfer an incoming call to another extension using the Home Intercom service:

1. While you are in the call to be transferred, flash-hook and hang up.
2. All the extensions will start ringing. Do not answer, but wait for the other extension to pick up.
3. When the other extension picks up, the extensions stop ringing. The other party is connected to the transferred call.
4. If no one answers on another extension, the extensions will stop ringing after a timeout period. The caller will be cut off. If you then pick up your extension, you will hear the normal dial tone.

At your command, your phone will dial the last caller’s number.

To Activate Last Call Return:

1. Dial *69 (rotary dial 1169).
2. Announcement will tell who called, when they called and will ask you to press 1 at any time to dial.
3. If the line is:
   1. Not busy, listen for normal ringing.
   2. Busy, listen for announcement, then hang up.
4. When the line clears, your phone will give you a distinctive ring.
   When you pick up the receiver, the number will automatically be dialed.

To Deactivate Last Call Return:

1. Dial *89 (rotary dial 1189).

You can control who makes long distance telephone calls from your telephone. When a line is equipped with this feature, a four-digit Personal Identification Number (PIN) must be entered in order to make a long distance call. Local calls process as usual, but if a long distance call is made without entering the PIN first, the caller will hear a fast busy tone.

To use Long Distance Gatekeeper:

1. You will create a four-digit Personal Identification Number (PIN). Only those people allowed to make long distance calls should have access to this number.
2. CLtel central office staff will enter this PIN number into the switch.
3. To place long distance calls, dial the long distance number followed by the PIN number. A caller with the PIN can dial any number except 900 numbers.

With Long Distance Gatekeeper, a caller without access to the PIN number is restricted to calling only the following local numbers: 357-XXXX, 355-XXXX, 829-XXXX, 529-XXXX, emergency 911 and toll free numbers.

You can turn your call forwarding feature on or off and
forward calls from any touchtone telephone.

To Use:

1. Lift the receiver and listen for the dial tone.
2. Dial the Access Directory Number and wait for special tone. Access Directory Number: 641-355-RACF (7223)
3. Dial your own 10 digit telephone number followed by the # sign and your PIN number and wait for a special dial tone.
4. Follow the instructions for the feature you wish to activate or deactivate. (The announcement starts with the instruction “Please dial a feature code.” This refers to code *72 for Call Forwarding or *73 to deactivate Call Forwarding.)

You can specifically choose to accept up to 10 telephone numbers. You define a list of up to 10 calling numbers that will be accepted. All other incoming calls will be rejected and will receive an announcement that the called party is not presently accepting calls.

To use Selective Call Acceptance:

1. Dial *64 and follow the recorded instructions.

You can define up to 10 calling numbers which will be blocked. An incoming call from one of those 10 numbers is rerouted to a recorded message and your phone does not ring.

To use Selective Call Rejection:

1. Dial *60 and follow the recorded instructions.

You can define a list of up to 10 special calling telephone numbers that will provide a special incoming ring. Any incoming calls from numbers on this list will be indicated by a distinctive ringing pattern or a distinctive call waiting tone.

To use Selective Distinctive Alert:

1. Dial *61 and follow the recorded instructions.

With Speed Calling, you’ll no longer have to remember frequently called phone numbers. You have a choice of selecting either a short list of eight telephone numbers (speed calling 8) or a longer list of thirty telephone numbers (speed calling 30). If you have selected speed calling 8 but want to switch to speed calling 30, simply contact us to update your preferences.

To establish or change your Speed Calling list:

1. Lift the receiver and listen for the dial tone.
2. If you have speed calling 8, dial *74 on a touch tone phone (74 on a rotary phone).
3. If you have speed calling 30, dial *75 on a touch tone phone (75 on a rotary phone).
4. Listen for the second dial tone.
5. Dial one of the speed calling codes: •On speed calling 8, dial any number from 2 through 9.
6. On speed calling 30, dial any number from 20 through 49.
7. Immediately dial the phone number you wish to enter under that speed call number. For long distance entries, remember to include the “1” and area code.
8. Press the # button (on a rotary dial phone, omit this step and wait).
9. Listen for the confirmation tone which indicates that your number has been entered.

To use your Speed Calling Feature:

1. Lift the receiver and listen for the dial tone.
2. Dial the appropriate speed calling code:
   1. speed calling 8 (2 through 9)
   2. speed calling 30 (20 through 49).
3. Press the # button (on rotary dial phones, omit this step and wait).
4. Your call will now be automatically dialed.

To Set Up:

1. Establish your first call. Someone can call you or you can call them.
2. Depress the receiver/flash button for ½ second. You will hear three tones followed by dial tone.
3. Dial the third person’s telephone number.
4. When the third person answers, again depress the
   receiver/flash button for ½ second to complete the
   three-way call.
5. If you do not get an answer, depress the receiver/
   flash button twice, each time for ½ second to return to your first call.

To set up your voicemail the first time, you must call from the phone number that is associated with your voice mail account. For most, this means a call from your home.
To sign in, dial the access number 355-8808 or *98.
The first time, you will sign-in to voicemail using the PIN 000-000 followed by #.

Changing Your PIN

You will first be asked to change your PIN. Your new PIN must be between 5 and 20 digits. After you enter your PIN, you will be asked to confirm it by re-entering it.
Once you have successfully changed your PIN, you will be prompted to record your personal greeting.

Personal Greeting

Your personal greeting is what callers hear when they reach your mailbox. The greeting must be longer than 2 seconds and shorter than 30 seconds.
When prompted, say your greeting and then press # to stop recording. Once you have recorded your greeting, it is played back to you and you are provided with options to keep it or change it.

To keep your greeting, press #.

To change your greeting, press 0.

Recorded Name

Once you have accepted your greeting, you are prompted to record your recorded name.

Your recorded name, such as your first and/or last name, The Smith Family, or your business name, must be shorter than 10 seconds.

When prompted, say your name and then press # to stop recording. Once you have recorded your recorded name, it is played back to you and you are provided with options to keep it or change it.

To keep your greeting, press #.

To change your greeting, press 0.

Once you have completed recording your name, you will be redirected to the Main Menu.

Your telephone can wake you up!

To enable an individual wake up call:

1. Dial *310
2. An announcement will prompt the you to dial the desired time, in 24-hour clock format, followed by #
3. An announcement will confirm that the reminder has been set, with the option to cancel at this point if desired.

To enable a regular wake up call:

1. Dial *314
2. An announcement will prompt you to dial the desired time, in 24-hour clock format, followed by *
3. An announcement will prompt you to dial *314 followed by # The options are every Monday (1) to every Sunday (7), every weekday (8) and every day (9)
4. An announcement will confirm that the reminder has been set, with the option to cancel at this point if desired.

To disable wake up calls:

1. To disable all individual reminders, press *311
2. To disable one individual reminder, press *312
3. To check individual reminders, press *313
4. To disable all regular reminders, press *315
5. To disable one regular reminder, press *316
6. To check regular reminders, press *317

If your home phone service is provided with our fiber optic network, it requires electric power to operate. To avoid a disruption of home phone service during a power outage – and to maintain the ability to connect to 911 emergency services – we offer battery backup power.

Where to Obtain Your Battery Backup

We want to ensure that our customers have access to reliable backup batteries that allow you to continue to use your home phone services during a power outage. That is why you can purchase a replacement backup battery for $29.⁹⁵. Our 8-hour backup batteries last approximately 5 years, and they can be picked up at our business office. If you are interested in a 24-hour backup battery, please contact us for more details. If you do not feel comfortable installing your own battery, we would be happy to assist you. Please note, however, that there will be a charge for installation. Backup batteries can also be purchased at Interstate Battery located at 504 US-18, Clear Lake, IA 50428.

What Your Battery Backup Can – And Can’t – Do For You

The 8-hour battery offered by CLtel is approximately one pound and is roughly the size of a juice box. Our backup batteries are expected to last at least 8 hours on standby power. That means the backup battery should give you approximately 6 hours of talk time. Our backup battery does not provide power to any services other than voice. Home security systems, medical monitoring devices, routers and other equipment will not run on a home phone backup battery.

Instructions for Proper Care and Use of Your Battery

Environmental factors such as temperature can shorten your battery’s useful life. We recommend that you store your battery above 41°F and below 104°F. They will not last forever and should be replaced every 5 years or when your device starts to make a loud beeping sound. That sound means that the backup battery is depleted and must be replaced.

IMPORTANT – Consider Purchasing a Corded Phone

In addition to a backup battery, you will need to have a corded phone available, as most cordless phone models need an AC power source to operate. If you don’t have a corded phone, or if you prefer not to get one, consider buying a generator (i.e. UPS) that can maintain power to your home and provide power to a cordless phone.

CLtel Digital Voice Service (collectively “VoIP” or “Service”) is different from traditional voice service because the Service requires both electrical power and a broadband network to function. You are responsible for providing the electrical power necessary for the Service to function. Emergency 911 calling will not function if the Service is interrupted or not functioning for any reason, including, but not limited to, a power outage, Internet outage, your equipment is moved, or your service is suspended for non-payment or other reasons. If there is a power outage, you are responsible for maintaining a working backup battery, and you may be required to reset or reconfigure the equipment prior to being able to use your services, including use for 911 calling. The VoIP equipment is the property of CLtel and should not be removed from the service location. Moving the equipment to a new service location will cause Emergency 911 service not to work properly.

CLtel E911 Digital Voice Acknowledgement

CLtel telephone customers get to choose which long distance carrier(s) will automatically handle their 1+ dialed calls. Carriers have different rates and calling plans, so it’s helpful to determine your particular long distance calling pattern using some of the following information:

1. Where do you call most often?
2. At what times do you normally make the calls?
3. How many average minutes per month are you on the phone?
4. How many average calls do you make per month?
5. Is there a minimum monthly charge?
6. Are there other miscellaneous monthly charges?

Conduct Internet research or call the Customer Service Department of the long distance carriers and compare rates, using two of the same cities as examples. Then, simply contact us, and we will change your long distance carrier at your request.

Only you, the customer, has the right to decide when to change your long distance carrier. There is a simple way to protect yourself from a long distance company switching your carrier without your approval. Contact us or stop by the CLtel office to complete a long distance carrier “freeze” form. With your written authorization on this form, a long distance “freeze” is activated, and the only way for your carrier to change is for you to lift the freeze. This free service is easy to use and protects you from unwanted long distance carrier changes.

For directory assistance, simply dial 1-4-1-1

You’ll receive assistance on locat, state, or national calls with just this one call. Plus, you’ll have the added convenience of your directory assistance call charges benign on your local phone bill.

International Calling Codes

Yes, you can keep your current number. We work with many different providers to ensure you can keep your phone number when switching your telephone service from another provider to CLtel. When you order your services, make sure you tell your Customer Service Representative that you would like to keep your telephone number. This is also known as a “port request.”

Note that your current provider may have a “port freeze” on your telephone line. If this is the case, you will need to call your current provider and ask them to remove this port freeze before we can transfer your telephone number to our service.

Click here to access directory listings online. You can also stop into the CLtel office and pick up a physical directory.

MaX UC is a mobile application that allows you to answer your home phone, check voicemails, screen your cell phone number, and more – all from your smartphone. Improve your personal privacy, security and accessibility. No physical home phone is required – you can do it all from the app.

Simply contact us to let us know that you’d like to add MaX UC Mobile for $0.⁹⁵/mo. Once the service has been activated, simply download the MaX UC Mobile App from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, and follow the set up prompts.

Making Calls

To make a call, select the Dialer tab and enter the number you are calling into the MaX UC dialer, or simply tap on the contact and touch the number you would like to use to call the contact. If the person you are calling has caller ID, they will see your home phone number – not your cell phone number.

Receiving Calls

When someone calls your home phone number, the MaX UC app offers you the choice to accept or reject the call. If you have a physical telephone at your home, you will also hear the incoming call ring on that phone. You can answer the call on whichever device is most convenient for you.

Voicemail

If you have a voice message, the Messages tab indicates the number of messages received. Select the Messages tab and tap on a message to listen to it.