Setting Up PLAR on Microsoft Teams Common Area Phones

Configuring Private Line Auto Ringdown (PLAR) on Microsoft Teams common area phones can significantly enhance communication efficiency in shared spaces. Here’s a comprehensive guide to help you set it up:

Amazing feature, However a bit of delay from Microsoft end even though Teams certified phones were in the market. Cisco call manager or Cisco DI had it for a longest time according to what i learn! Having said that this feature must be there with other legacy PABX for sure. 

What is PLAR/Hotline? 

PLAR, or Private Line Auto Ringdown, is a feature that allows a phone to automatically dial a pre-configured number when the handset is picked up. This is particularly useful in common areas where quick access to specific contacts or services is essential.

Why Use PLAR on Common Area Phones? 

Mostly following features: Good for emergency, safety &  compliance, convenience

Steps to Set Up PLAR on Microsoft Teams Common Area Phones

1. Assign license - Microsoft Teams Shared Device License 

2. Set up the PLAR Number & Turn on TAC and Teams Phone Device

    -     Sign into the Teams admin center with a Microsoft 365 admin account. 

    -     From the left navigation, select Teams devices, select Phones and then select the Configuration profiles tab.

    -    From the list, select the configuration profile assigned to your common area phone. 

    -    Under the Call settings section, turn on the Enable hotline toggle and then select Save.

Note: Verify the Advanced Calling setting is disabled when you are enabling the hotline setting in Teams admin center. Also verify the Team app version on the Android phone is version 1449/1.0.94.2023082303 or later.

    -     Sign into your Teams phone device and select Settings > Device settings > Admin only > Calling > Hotline.

    - Enter a contact or phone number to be autodialed.

    - Enter the display name you want to show on the phone's home screen and Save. 

3. [Optional] Create a policy and assign. to disable Advanced Calling settings and push all the site available phones bulk. 

Reference from Microsoft - Set up the common area phones for Microsoft Teams - Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Learn

Teams calling user cannot assign a phone number due to licensing and usage

Overview 

Admin experience when he/she try to assign a number to an user, "No results were found" 

1. Replication delay &  License status 

To address the delay in license assignment and replication from Microsoft, connecting to PowerShell is indeed a practical approach. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you figure out the status of the license assignment:

• Check License Status,

• Open PowerShell: Start by opening PowerShell with administrative privileges,

• Connect to Microsoft Teams: Use the Connect-MicrosoftTeams cmdlet to establish a connection to your Teams environment

   and try following,

• Wait for Replication: Keep in mind that after assigning a Microsoft Calling Plan to a user, it can take up to 24 hours before they’ll see the dial pad in their Teams client,

Get-csOnlineUser -Identity "madushkadias@deployskypeforbusiness.com" | fl 

Output shows following and Provisioned plan missing, and so, my assumption become valid.  

PreferredDataLocation                  :

PreferredLanguage                      :

ProvisionedPlan                        : 

UsageLocation                          : US

UserDirSyncEnabled                     : True

after few hours following reflected,

ProvisionedPlan                        : {MCOMEETADD, MCOPSTN2, MCOEV}

2. Usage Location 

Since we are using Teams calling, it is required to have the correct usage location matching the emergency address assigned. Try to assign the number again, assuming all is done with the license, but still, the Teams calling number cannot be assigned to the user. The next step was to try again via PowerShell command and the following was found: 

Unfortunately above error doesn't show in the GUI, Modified this field on Azure AD and use PowerShell to assign the number and it was success. 

 

3. After everything failed for you then only option will be opening a ticket with Microsoft.

Enjoy!