How VoIP 911 differs from a traditional phone line
On a traditional landline, dialing 911 connects you to the local Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) and your physical address is automatically delivered to the dispatcher because it's tied to the copper pair. That's not how VoIP works. Your TimberSwitch number lives in the cloud and travels with you wherever your internet connection goes - so we have to tell the dispatcher where you are by other means.
What you must do
- Register your service address under 911 address in your workspace. This is where your phones physically are - not your billing address. It is the address a dispatcher will be sent to, so a PO box or an accountant's office would send help to the wrong place.
- Check that your workspace says "911 is active." Registering an address is not the same as 911 working: your carrier has to confirm the address and switch on emergency service, which takes time. The 911 address page tells you which state you are in.
- Verify by dialing 933 - a test line that reads your registered address back to you without contacting a dispatcher. If it reads the wrong address, fix it before you rely on it.
- Keep another phone for emergencies and tell everyone who uses your line (employees, family, guests) where to find it.
If you move, you must update the address
Your TimberSwitch number travels with your internet connection, but your registered address does not follow it. If you move offices or take a desk phone somewhere else, 911 will send help to the address on file - not where you actually are. Update it on the 911 address page before you rely on it from a new location. Include the floor, suite or room so responders can find you inside the building.
Laptops, browsers and the desktop app
A softphone sends the 911 address registered for it, wherever it is used: the address an admin set for that device, otherwise its extension's own 911 address, otherwise your business address. It does not ask where you are. If someone usually calls from somewhere else, like home, an admin gives their extension that address on the Extensions page; we check it with our carrier before saving. The softphone always shows the address it will use ("911 address: ..."). If that address has not been confirmed by the carrier yet, 911 from that softphone is refused with a message to use a mobile phone.
Extensions that only take calls
An extension can be set to take calls only. It cannot call out, and its softphones cannot call 911: dialing 911 from one plays "This line can only receive calls. To reach 911, hang up and dial from another phone." A desk phone on such an extension can still call 911, and that call sends your business address, so we never cut off a 911 call. Keep another phone nearby wherever such a line is used.
The mobile app
On a phone, dialing 911 in the TimberSwitch app opens your phone's own dialer with 911 filled in, so the call goes over the cellular network, which sends the dispatcher your phone's location and works even when the internet or TimberSwitch is down. 933 (the address test) stays in the app because it checks your TimberSwitch number's address. On a tablet with no cellular service, 911 goes over the internet with your workspace's 911 address and the app tells you to give the dispatcher your location.
When 911 may not work
- Power outage. If your phones, computer, modem or router lose power, you cannot call 911 through TimberSwitch.
- Internet or carrier outage. If your internet connection, our service or our carrier is down or congested, 911 calls may fail or be delayed.
- Wrong or old address. If you moved or are calling from somewhere else, the dispatcher gets the address on file, not your location.
Backup recommended
Always keep an alternate way to dial 911 - a cellphone, a corded landline, or a traditional analog phone - and make sure others on your line know where to find it.
Your acknowledgement
When you sign up for TimberSwitch you check a box confirming you have read and understood this notice. We record that acknowledgement for your workspace with who accepted it, when, from which IP address, and which version of this notice. Workspaces created before this was recorded are asked again the next time an owner or admin signs in. Outbound calling stays off until the notice is accepted; 911 is never blocked by this.
Warning labels
Put a 911 warning label on or next to every desk phone and on every computer or tablet used as a phone. Download the label text and print it on any sticker stock.
What we do on our side
When you register a service address we store it and send it to our carrier to be validated against the emergency database. Validation rejects an address that is not a real, dispatchable location, and your Settings page shows you the result rather than leaving you to assume it worked.
911 is active only when the carrier has confirmed your address and switched emergency service on for every number in your workspace. Until then:
- Browser softphone and desktop app: dialing 911 (or 933) is refused with a message telling you to hang up and dial 911 from a mobile phone or landline.
- Mobile app on a phone: 911 always opens your phone's own dialer, whether or not your workspace's 911 is active.
- Desk phones: 911 is dialed without a prefix and goes straight to our carrier. TimberSwitch does not block or reroute it, so do not count on a desk phone for 911 until your workspace shows 911 is active.
Once 911 is active, the softphones and desk phones place the call through our carrier, which sends the registered address (or the softphone's confirmed location) to the dispatcher. 988 (the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) is never blocked.
Administrator alerts (Kari's Law): whenever anyone dials 911 from your workspace, on any phone, TimberSwitch emails every owner and admin within seconds, plus any extra emergency contacts you add on the 911 address page (and texts them if texting is on). The alert says who called, from which phone and number, when, and the address sent to the dispatcher. A 911 attempt that could not be connected is reported too, and 933 tests are sent marked as tests. Sending the alert never delays the call.
Liability
911 through TimberSwitch depends on things outside our control: your internet connection, our carrier, and the accuracy of the address you registered. To the extent permitted by law, we are not liable for personal injury, property damage, or other consequences arising from an emergency call that fails, is delayed, or reaches the wrong dispatcher. That includes calls attempted before 911 is active on your number, and calls placed from somewhere other than the address on file. It is why the backup phone above is not optional advice. See our Terms of Service for the full liability terms.
Questions
Use our support form for anything unclear about this notice or your E911 registration status.