Set Up a Conference Call on 3CX and Yealink

There are three ways to run a conference call on 3CX and Yealink phones, and the right one depends on how many people you need and whether they are already on the line. For a quick three-way call, use the Conference key on your Yealink desk phone. For a planned call that people dial into, use the 3CX conference bridge with a conference ID. For a meeting with video, screen sharing or calendar invites, schedule it from Meet in the 3CX web client.

Each method is covered below, step by step, with the limits worth knowing before you invite ten people.

Which method should you use?

How to make a 3-way conference call on a Yealink desk phone

This is the method most people mean when they ask how to conference someone in. 3CX documents these steps for the Yealink T54W and T46U, and Yealink’s own guide describes the same flow for its T5 series:

1. While you are on the first call, press Conference. The first caller is placed on hold.
2. Dial the person you want to add (or pick them from the directory or call history) and press OK or Send to call them.
3. When they answer and agree to join, press Conference again. All three of you are now on one call.
4. To add another person, press Conference again and repeat.

If both calls are already on your phone, one active and one on hold, you do not need to start over. Make sure the call you want is active, press Conference, highlight the held call and press Send. On a T57W, tap the held call in the left sidebar instead. The two calls are joined.

The same move turns a transfer into a three-way call. If you are in the middle of an attended transfer and realise everyone should talk together, press Conference after you have spoken to the person you were transferring to, and the caller and that person join you on one call. For the transfer itself, see how to transfer a call in 3CX.

Managing the call once it is running

Yealink’s user guide for its T5 series phones (T57W, T54W, T53W) describes these controls during a conference:

• Hold puts the whole conference on hold, and the others cannot hear each other until you resume it.
• Mute mutes your own microphone. Everyone else can still hear each other.
• Manage lets you pick one person and choose Far Mute (they hear everyone, nobody hears them), Far Hold (they hear nobody and nobody hears them) or Remove.
• Split ends the conference and leaves each person on hold as a separate call.
• End Call ends the conference for everyone, unless your administrator has set the phone so the other parties stay connected when you hang up.

How many people can join from a desk phone?

Fewer than most people expect. 3CX’s guides for the Yealink T54W and T46U say they support up to five conference participants, including you. Yealink’s own T5 series guide gives a higher figure, up to ten-way on its color-screen models and five-way on its black-and-white models, so the real number depends on the model and its firmware. Plan on five, and use the conference bridge for anything bigger.

The guide also notes that local conferencing has to be enabled on the phone. If the Conference key does nothing, ask your administrator.

A one-press conference key for regular calls

If you conference the same people regularly, a line key can do the dialing. On a T5 series phone, go to Menu > Features > Dsskey, choose a free line key, set Type to Key Event and Key Type to Conference, add a label and save. Press the key from the idle screen, enter or choose the numbers you want to add, and press Send. If someone else looks after your phones, check with them before changing line keys.

How to set up a 3CX audio conference with a conference ID and PIN

The 3CX conference bridge works from any phone, including a cell phone outside the office, and does not depend on your desk phone’s limit. 3CX’s procedure, which its current desk phone guide still points to, works like this:

1. Dial the conference extension, 700 by default. Your system may use a different number, so check with your administrator.
2. Enter a conference ID. It can be any number, such as 100, and it identifies this conference.
3. If your system requires a conference PIN, enter it after the ID with a star between them, for example 100*0000. Only the person creating the conference needs the PIN.
4. As the first person in, you are asked to confirm creating the conference: press * to confirm or # to cancel.
5. Say your name after the beep when prompted. You will hear music on hold until someone else joins, and each new caller’s name is announced.

Everyone else dials the same conference extension and enters the same conference ID. Callers from outside need a way in: either a phone number pointed at the conference extension, or the option to dial 700 from your auto attendant menu. Send people the number to dial and the conference ID before the call starts, not as it starts.

How to schedule a conference from 3CX Meet

For anything on a calendar, the 3CX web client is easier than the phone. 3CX’s user manual covers both a quick meeting and a scheduled one.

Start a meeting now

1. Open Meet in the left-hand menu of the web client. The quick meeting is ready to go.
2. Click Start Now.
3. In the Invite Participants window, send email invitations, copy the meeting link, share it by WhatsApp, or show the QR code for someone to join from a phone.

Guests join from the link in Chrome or Firefox with no login, signup or installation, or through the free 3CX video apps for Android and iOS. You can add more people during the meeting with the Add Participants icon.

Schedule an audio conference, video conference or webinar

1. In Meet, press the + sign.
2. Choose audio conference, video conference or webinar. For video and webinars, the gear icon opens extra meeting options.
3. Fill in the details and pick where the invitation goes: Google, Microsoft 365, Outlook Online or desktop Outlook (an .ics file).
4. Click Create Meeting. Your calendar opens a new event with the details filled in; add the invitees and send it.

3CX recommends against the “Email (Legacy, NO RSVP)” option, which sends a bare invitation without working RSVPs. If you are already on a phone call in the web client, you can also add another party straight into that call, or call them first while the original call is on hold and then decide whether to add them.

During a video meeting the organizer can mute people, spotlight a speaker, make someone a co-host or presenter, and remove someone if needed. If you record a meeting and the recording email never shows up, see how to retrieve a 3CX video conference recording.

Conference phones for the meeting room

A desk phone on speaker is fine for a three-way call at your desk. A room full of people needs a conference phone. We supply and support these Yealink models with 3CX, and each can host its own multi-party call or dial into your 3CX conference bridge like any other phone.

• Yealink CP925 for small to medium rooms: six microphones covering 360 degrees out to 20 feet, a 4-inch touchscreen, and 5-way conference calls. It powers over Ethernet and can bring a mobile phone into the call over Bluetooth or USB-C.
• Yealink CP965 for medium to large rooms: twelve pickup microphones plus one for noise cancellation, a 5-inch touchscreen and 10-way conference calls. For 3CX, buy the SIP edition, not the Teams edition. It takes up to two CPW65 wireless microphones for the far end of a long table, and up to four units can be linked for one large room.
• Yealink CP935W when you do not want cables on the table: a built-in battery rated for up to 20 hours of talk time, Wi-Fi or DECT connection, six microphones and 5-way conference calls.

Tips for a clean conference call

• Use the handset or a headset in an open office. A speakerphone at a desk picks up everyone around you.
• Mute when you are not talking, especially somewhere noisy, and keep paper and keyboards away from the microphone.
• Speak in your normal voice. There is no need to shout at a speakerphone.
• Run the Self Test before an important video meeting. In a 3CX Meet window it takes about two minutes and rates your connection Acceptable, Good or Poor.
• Use the bridge for anything over five people. Adding people one by one from a desk phone stops working once you reach the phone’s limit.

Want conferencing set up properly from the start, with the right phones and conference room hardware? See our 3CX phone system service. If your Conference key is not working or you want an outside dial-in number for your bridge, contact our support team.