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This is the first thing you do when setting up Hiveku Communications: buy a phone number, verify your E911 address, route inbound calls, and place a test call to confirm the line works. Plan for 5-15 minutes — most of the time is waiting for E911 verification.

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Before you start

Have ready:
  • A physical address where the phone (or extension) will be used — required for E911
  • A decision on number type: local (geographic), toll-free, or international
  • An idea of where calls should route — extension, ring group, IVR, queue, or AI agent

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Step 1: Search for a number

1

Open the Numbers tab

/dashboard/communications/ > Numbers > Buy a number.
2

Pick country and type

United States is the default. Pick local, toll-free, or international.
3

Search

Filter by area code (415, 212, 312), digit pattern (*555*), or vanity word (FLOWERS). Toll-free defaults to any prefix; you can narrow to 1-800 only.
4

Pick a number

Each result shows the number, monthly cost, and capabilities (Voice, SMS, MMS, Fax). Click Buy on the one you want.
For a sales team, pick a local number in the area code where most of your prospects live. Local caller ID has roughly 2x the answer rate of toll-free or out-of-area numbers.

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Step 2: Verify your E911 address

E911 is required by law before activation. The address tells emergency responders where to dispatch if anyone dials 911 from this number.
1

Add an address

Either pick an existing E911 address from the dropdown, or click New address.
2

Enter the physical address

Street, city, state, postal code. Use the actual location where the phone will be used — your office, the user’s home if remote, etc.
3

Submit

Hiveku validates against the carrier’s MSAG. Most addresses verify in seconds; ambiguous ones may need manual review (1-2 business days).
4

Address is now bound to the DID

Future changes (move office, remote employee relocates) require updating the address.
E911 is not optional. Hiveku will not let outbound calls happen on a DID without a verified E911 address. This is for legal and safety reasons.

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Step 3: Decide where calls go

Each DID points at one inbound destination. Pick from:
Routes inbound to a single user’s phone. Best for personal direct numbers, small teams, or your own line.Configure: pick the extension, set ring time (default 20 sec), set voicemail fallback.

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Step 4: Configure routing

For this guide, let’s route to a single extension as the simplest case.
1

Open the number's detail page

From the Numbers tab, click your new DID.
2

Set the inbound route

Pick Extension as the destination, then choose your extension from the list. If you don’t have one yet, create it on the Extensions tab — see Extensions and Devices.
3

Set ring time

Default 20 seconds.
4

Set the failover

What happens if the extension doesn’t answer — voicemail (default), another extension, an external forward, or a queue.
5

Save

Routing is live within ~30 seconds.

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Step 5: Test inbound

1

Call from a different phone

Use your cell phone or a friend’s phone — anything but the extension you just configured.
2

Confirm the right phone rings

Your desk phone, mobile softphone, or browser softphone should ring within a few seconds.
3

Pick up and check audio

Two-way audio, no echo, no choppiness. If audio is one-way, see troubleshooting.
4

Hang up and don't pick up next time

Confirm the call goes to voicemail (or your configured failover) after ring timeout.

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Step 6: Test outbound

1

From your registered extension

Place a call to your cell phone.
2

Confirm the right caller ID

Your cell should display the new DID (or whatever you configured as the outbound caller ID for that extension).
3

Pick up and check audio

Two-way audio, clean.

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Step 7: Optional — set up SMS

If your DID has SMS capability, send a test text:
1

Open the SMS tab

/dashboard/communications/ > SMS > Compose.
2

Send to your cell

Pick the new DID as the sender, send a test message.
3

Reply

Reply from your cell. Confirm it lands in the SMS inbox threaded with the original.
US local numbers may take 1-3 business days to fully approve for high-throughput SMS via 10DLC. Until then, sending is rate-limited and some carriers may filter messages.

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Common configurations

1 local number → your single extension → voicemail fallback. Done in 5 minutes.

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Troubleshooting

Address may not be in the carrier’s MSAG, especially for new buildings or rural addresses. Submit a manual verification request from the address detail page; Hiveku ops will work with the carrier (1-2 business days).
Check the extension is registered (devices online — see Extensions tab). Also check the failover route — if “no answer” is set to voicemail too aggressively (e.g., 3-second ring), increase ring time.
Carrier-level STIR/SHAKEN can reject outbound from numbers not yet fully verified. New DIDs typically take 24-48 hours for full attestation. Check back in a day if you’re seeing this on a fresh number.

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Next steps

Set up an IVR

Add a “press 1 for sales” menu in front of your number.

Set up the AI receptionist

Let the AI answer 24/7.

Compliance

E911, recording, and toll-fraud guard.