If you spend a lot of time calling business contacts and clients during your working day, then you know very well about the frustration that‘s caused when trying to have to remember extension numbers. For some people, they keep a book of them on their desk, just in case they forget. Others leave post-it notes scattered all over their desk with hundred of extensions number scribbled on them. This can become irritating and annoying, especially if you‘re working with dozens of different people. However, there is an Android feature which can help you deal with extension numbers. It‘s called the Pause Method and the Wait Method.
We‘re going to show you how to add extension numbers to your contacts information and also have it automatically dial the extension when you‘re making a call. There are two different methods and we‘re going to show you how to use both.
Method 1: The Pause Method
This method is used where the extension number can normally be entered as soon as the call has been answered.
1. Go to your contacts in your phone and select the contact you want to add an extension to.
2. Go to edit a contact by either touching or holding down on their name until a menu pops up. Then, select edit contact.
3. Where their phone number is, touch it and wait for the keyboard to appear.
4. On the keyboard, use a single comma at the end of the phone number, example, 555-5555,.
5. After the comma, without a space, type the extension number for that contact. If the extension is 123, it‘ll look like this 555-5555,123.
6. Now, save the contact. The next time you call this contact, it‘ll automatically dial the extension number the minute the call is answered.
Troubleshooting with the Pause Method
If you‘re having problems with the pause method, you may find that the automated phone system isn‘t detecting the extension number. If this is the case, try to add more than one comma between the phone number and extension. With each comma added, it‘ll add a two-second pause before the extension number is dialed. For example, 555-5555,,,123. The three commas will give three seconds before dialing the extension.
Method 2: The Wait Method
This method of adding an extension to a contact is used when the extension number cannot be normally entered until you‘ve listened to the entire automated voice message.
1. Just like the Pause Method, you need to open your contacts app on your Android device and find the contact which you‘d like to add an extension to. You can also open your contact list by the phone dialer instead.
2. Go to edit a contact by either touching or holding down on their name until a menu pops up. Then, select edit contact.
3. Touch the screen on the phone number field and make sure the cursor is at the end of the phone number, meaning, the right-hand end of the number. Wait for the keyboard to appear.
4. With the keyboard, insert a single semicolon at the end of the phone number.
5. After the semicolon, without a space, type the extension number for the contact. For example, if the number is 555-5555 with an extension 123, it‘ll look like 555-5555;123.
6. If you‘re using the Wait Method, a message will appear on the screen after the automated message is finished. It‘ll ask you if you want to dial the extension number, you‘ll either proceed or cancel the call.
All this time you‘ve been sitting on the phone, waiting for the message to finish or looking through your phonebook to find the extension number of this contact. When, at the end of the day, you just needed to know this little trick. Now that you know it, your life has just become that much easier and efficient. Use either the Pause or Wait method and save yourself the hassle of dealing with extension numbers.
