Getting started with 8x8 Geo Routing & Call Blocking

8x8 Geo Routing & Call Blocking lets you route incoming calls by area code and block specific phone numbers across 8x8 Work and 8x8 Contact Center. This article covers how to install the portal, configure geo routing for 8x8 Work and Contact Center, and set up call blocking.  

Applies to

• 8x8 Work (PBX): Admins

• 8x8 Contact Center: Admins

• 8x8 Geo Routing & Call Blocking portal

Before you begin

You must install Geo Routing & Call Blocking from the 8x8 App Store before you can use the portal. Installing the app enables access for your account and provisions your tenant automatically.

Note

Geo Routing & Call Blocking is currently in closed beta and is available only to selected customers and PBXs. If you do not see the app in the App Store, your account has not been enabled for the beta yet. Contact your 8x8 representative to request access.

1. Open the 8x8 App Store at https://appstore.8x8.vc/. You can also reach it from your 8x8 Admin Console.

2. Find Geo Routing & Call Blocking.

3. Click Install.

4. When prompted, authorize the app with your token. This connects the app to your account and provisions your tenant.

Once installation is complete, open the portal and continue with the steps in the next sections of this article.

Note

If the portal tells you that you do not have access, confirm the app is installed from the App Store. Access is granted as part of installation.

Navigate the portal

• Choose the feature you want from the navigation: 8x8 Work Geo Routing, 8x8 Contact Center Geo Routing, or Call Blocking.

• Use the list on the left to pick the PBX (8x8 Work) or Tenant (Contact Center) you want to configure.

• Each page includes a collapsible Help & How to use section with a quick reference.

Note

Depending on your plan, geo routing and call blocking may be limited (for example, 10 geo routing entries, five call blocking entries). When you reach the limit, a banner appears with an option to request an upgrade. Contact your 8x8 representative to unlock unlimited entries.

8x8 Work Geo Routing

Route calls to an extension or external number based on the caller’s area code.

Note

8x8 must enable your tenant and extension for this solution before you begin.

Step 1: Configure your geo-routing extension

Before you can add any area-code entries, you must set up a geo-routing extension. This extension is the entry point that triggers area-code-based routing.  

1. Select your PBX from the list on the left.

2. Click Configure geo-routing extension.

3. Fill in the following fields:    

   • Geo-Routing Extension: the extension that triggers geo routing when called (for example, 1000). Must be alphanumeric only.

   • Default Extension/Forward Number: the fallback destination used when no area code matches (for example, 2000 or +15551234567).

4. Click Enable Geo-Routing. The system deploys this configuration to your PBX.

Note

You cannot create or rename an entry with the area code DEFAULT. The default destination is managed in the configuration, not as a regular entry.

Step 2: Add area code entries

1. Click + Create Entry.

2. Enter the Area Code and the Forward Number / Extension the call should route to.

3. Click Save.

Edit or delete entries

• To edit an entry, click the pencil icon, change the values, and click Save. 

• To delete an entry, click the trash icon and confirm.

Bulk upload by CSV

1. To add many entries at once, click Bulk upload. Use the following CSV format:
   areaCode,extOrFwdNum
   415,2000
   212,3000

2. Drag and drop your file (or click to browse). A preview shows the number of valid and invalid rows before you confirm with import. 

3. Use the Export to download your current entries as a CSV.

8x8 Contact Center Geo Routing

Route calls to a contact center queue based on the caller’s area code and a routing option. A routing option maps to a specific routing scenario in your IVR.  

Step 1: Save your Action Request Token

1. Select your Tenant from the list on the left.

2. Enter your Action Request Token.

3. Click Save Token.

Note

Find your Action Request Token in the Contact Center Configuration Manager under Integration > API Token. Do not change the token after saving.

Step 2: Configure a default path for each option

Each option needs its own default path (the queue used when no area code matches for that option).  

1. Click Configure default path (or + Add default path if one already exists).

2. Enter the Option (for example, 1) and the Default Queue ID (for example, queue-123).

3. Click Save Default Path.

Step 3: Add area code entries

1. Click + Create Entry.

2. Enter the Area Code, the Queue ID to route matching callers to, and the Option.

3. Click Save.

Note

If you try to add an entry for an option that has no default path yet, you are prompted to create the default path for that option first.

Connect to your IVR

In your contact center IVR, set the routing value to AdvIvr8x8_v2-gRoute_OPTION, replacing OPTION with your option number (for example, AdvIvr8x8_v2-gRoute_1).  

Bulk upload by CSV

1. Click Bulk upload to add many entries at once. Use the following CSV format:
   option,areaCode,queueId
   1,415,queue-123
   1,212,queue-456

2. Use Export to download your current entries.

Call blocking

Call blocking lets you block specific phone numbers from reaching your PBX (8x8 Work) or your Contact Center tenant.

Note

Only entries with status APPROVED are enforced. Pending requests do not block calls until they are approved.

Step 1: Enable call blocking

• For a PBX (8x8 Work), select the PBX and click Enable Call Blocking, then confirm. The page shows Call blocking enabled when complete.

• For a Tenant (Contact Center), select the tenant, enter your Action Request Token, and click Save Token.

Note

If a PBX has custom configuration, the button reads Contact Support to Enable and call blocking cannot be turned on from the portal. Contact 8x8 support to proceed.

Step 2: Set up your Contact Center script (Contact Center tenants only)

For Contact Center tenants, call blocking only takes effect after you add a check to your VCC script in the Configuration Manager. This check asks the call blocking service whether the incoming caller should be blocked, and hangs up if so.

Note

This step applies to Contact Center (VCC) tenants only. 8x8 Work (PBX) call blocking does not require any script changes.

1. Add the _hangup variable.

2. Open your script in the Configuration Manager. 

3. In the View Variables tab (top-left of the script editor), add a new variable named exactly _hangup (case-sensitive).

4. Add a “Forward to External IVR” object at the very start of your script. 

5. Set its Phone Number field to exactly AdvIvr8x8_v2-callblocking (case-sensitive). The object's tag or name can be anything you like.

6. Add a “Test Variable” node to the resume path of that Forward to External IVR object.

7. Configure it to test whether _hangup = true (case-sensitive).

8. Configure the branches of the Test Variable node:    

   • True: hang up the call (add a Say node if you want to play a message first, then a Hang Up node).

   • False: continue with the rest of your normal call flow. If left blank, the script simply continues.

Warning

The values AdvIvr8x8_v2-callblocking, _hangup, and true are all case-sensitive. If any of them do not match exactly, call blocking will not work.

Step 3: Add a blocked number

1. Click + Create Entry.

2. Enter the Phone Number without the country code or special characters (for example, 5551234567).

3. Select a Direction: Both, Inbound, or Outbound. Contact Center tenant entries are always Inbound.

4. Optionally, add a Reason.

5. Click Save.

Tip

Your content goes hereA plain number like 5551234567 blocks that exact number. You can also use a pattern: for example, ^1\d*$ blocks any number starting with 1.

Block a number across all PBXs and tenants

To block one number across all of your PBXs and tenants at once:  

1. Click + Add to All Tenants & PBXs. 

2. Enter the phone number. 

3. Click Add to All. Contact Center tenant entries are created as Inbound only.

Review and approve requests

Pending requests appear at the top of the table highlighted, with a banner showing how many are awaiting review. For each one, click Approve to start enforcing the block, or Deny to remove the request.  

Bulk upload by CSV

1. Click Bulk upload to add many blocked numbers at once. 

2. Use the following CSV format:
   tenantOrPbx,phoneNumber,direction
   my-pbx,5551234567,Both
   my-tenant,5559876543,Inbound

3. The direction column is optional. Use Export to download your current entries.

8x8 Geo Routing & Call Blocking: frequently asked questions