Set up Line Keys (Power Keys)

8x8 Line Keys (also known as Power Keys) offers additional functionality to your phones. It provides powerful call handling and call monitoring abilities using any supported phone with four or more Line Keys. You can take full advantage of the spare Line Keys on your Polycom phones and additional Line Keys added via sidecars. With 8x8 Line Keys, a manager or a power user can handle multiple calls simultaneously and monitor the availability of other users on the same phone system. As a 8x8 Work phone system administrator, you can configure Line Keys from 8x8 Admin Console, and push these settings to the Line Keys-enabled extension phone.

To take advantage of 8x8 Line Keys, you must add and configure Line Keys for each user from the user profile. A device that supports Line Keys must be assigned to the user profile and activated. For details, see our 8x8 supported phones for Line Keys.

Note: LAKs, SLAs, and BLFs must be added from the 8x8 Admin Console and pushed to the phone device. Speed Dial keys, however, can be created on both 8x8 Admin Console and phone devices. The updates are communicated both ways.

By going to Line Key configuration in the User's profiles, you can configure and access the following features:

• Line Appearance Keys (LAK)
• Busy Lamp Fields (BLF)
• Shared Line Appearance keys (SLA)
• Speed Dial keys
• Sidecars

Features

With 8x8 Line Keys, you can configure and setup additional keys on a hardware endpoint or sidecar such as BLFs, SLAs, and speed dials.

See the feature list for 8x8 supported keys below:

Features	Description
Line Appearance Key (LAK)	Receive and handle multiple live calls at the same time. Support one to four default LAKs The number of LAKs depends on your phone. For example, Cisco devices support one LAK but four concurrent calls.
Busy Lamp Field Key (BLF)	Monitor three types of extension: users, group call pickup, and call park. Monitor the real-time call status of a user (whether or not a user is on a call), group call pickup, or call park extensions. Monitor 8x8 Work users on the same phone system, using 8x8 supported phones for Line Keys. Park and retrieve calls quickly using call park extensions. Pick up a ringing call on an extension you are monitoring. Automatically dial to an idle extension that you are monitoring. Instantly transfer a live call to an idle extension you are monitoring. Support most Polycom phones and more. For details, see our 8x8 supported phones for Line Keys. Visually alert the user on incoming calls to pick up a ringing call on a monitored extension; no need to be within earshot of the ringing line.
Shared Line Appearance Key (SLA)	Monitor the call status of team members. Make important calls on behalf of a manager. Answer calls for absent colleagues. Place calls on hold on one shared device, and pick up from another.
Speed Dial Key	Quickly dial out to the most frequently-used numbers. Set up quick forwarding rules for the monitored numbers or extensions. Dial to internal and external phone numbers at the touch of a button. Add an unlimited number of speed dials to your device. Use as shortcuts for barge, monitor, whisper, or even log in to a call queue. Configure speed dials to custom destinations such as star commands and custom numbers to fully exploit the power of your voice system.
Sidecars	Increase the number of keys on the physical phone. Handle additional BLFs and Speed Dial keys. Monitor large number of contacts and manage a high volume of concurrent calls. Use to accept, screen, dispatch, and monitor calls. Reduce the number of lost customer calls and shortens the transaction times. Increase the accuracy of call routing. Support 28, 30, and 40 keys sidecars.

Limitations

• Only activated and 8x8 supported phones can be configured with Line Keys.
• 8x8 supports Line Keys on multiple sites within the same phone system (PBX). The Line Keys associated with the service extensions or users must be within the same phone system.

Requirements

The 8x8 Line Keys service is supported on all Polycom phones with four or more Line Keys, some Cisco and Yealink devices. See the following lists for the supported phones and the number of line keys:

8x8 Supported Phones and Number of Line Keys

Phone	Number of Physical Line Keys on the Device
Polycom VVX 150	2
Polycom SoundPoint IP 550, 560	4
Polycom VVX 300, VVX 301, VVX 310, VVX 311, IP 670	6
Polycom VVX 400, VVX 401, VVX 410, VVX 411, VVX 500, VVX 501	12
Polycom VVX 600, VVX 601	16
Polycom Skyline VVX 250	4
Polycom Skyline VVX 350	6
Polycom Skyline VVX 450	12
Cisco
Cisco IP Phone 7821	2
Cisco IP Phone 7841	4
Cisco IP Phone 8811, 8841, 8851, 8861	10
Cisco IP Phone 7861	16

8x8 Supported Sidecars

Sidecar	Number of Keys Supported for Each Sidecar
Polycom VVX Sidecar 28-Key (Color)	Each physical sidecar allows three display pages with 28 keys on each; (3 x 28) = 84 keys per sidecar. Maximum three physical sidecars up to nine display pages; 252 keys total. Any unused button can be used for speed dial on the attached sidecars. Supports all VVX phone sets except VVX 1500.
Polycom VVX Sidecar 40-Key (Paper Label)	Each physical sidecar allows one display page with 40 line keys (1x 40) = 40 per sidecar. Maximum three physical sidecars up to 120 line keys on paper display. Supports all VVX phone sets except VVX 1500.
Polycom VVX EM50 Sidecar	Each physical sidecar allows three display pages with 30 line keys on each; (3 x 30) = 90 keys per sidecar. Maximum two physical sidecars up to six display pages; 180 keys total. Works with Polycom VVX 450 phones.
Cisco IP Phone 8800 Sidecar	Each physical sidecar allows two display pages with 18 keys each; (2 x 18) = 36 keys per sidecar. Works with Cisco IP 8851, and 8861 phones. Connect up to three sidecars with the 8861 and up to two with the 8851.

Use Cases

Line Keys can be used:

• By a receptionist who handles multiple concurrent incoming calls, rapidly processes and transfers calls to BLF-monitored users.
• By a group manager, a team leader, or a group admin who observes the presence of other team members during the day, speed dials them for consultation, or instantly transfers a live call to another team member.
• By a team member who actively collaborates with other teams or organizations in the company, and partners and suppliers outside the company. Having quick access to these frequently-used contacts via Line Keys helps users be more efficient.

Set up Line Keys Templates

Line key templates allow you to save time and effort by configuring the Line Keys once and copying it for more users or devices as needed. See how to Set up Line Key Templates.