How Do I...?
Settings on the Bridge
Log in to the Host Control Panel, and click the Settings tab. Go to Conference Start and choose When Host Joins from the drop down menu. Be sure to click the Save button at the bottom. With this setting, all participants hear hold music (if enabled) until someone arrives as a Host. To dial in as a Host, remember to enter your conference ID followed by the star key (*) instead of the pound key (#), which will then prompt you for the Host PIN. Or, if you forget to press the star key (*), you can promote yourself to Host by pressing *3 after you hear the welcome greeting.
Log in to the Host Control Panel, and click the Settings tab. The Conference Mode controls the speaking privileges of Hosts and Participants. In the drop down box, choose Presentation mode or Question & Answer mode, both will automatically mute participants but leave the Host line(s) open. In Presentation mode, the Host has total control, and the participant cannot un-mute herself – she can only press *5 to “raise her hand” and indicate she wants to speak. The Host would use the Host Control Panel to manage un-muting and re-muting callers. In Question & Answer mode, participants may press *6 to un-mute themselves.
Log in to the Host Control Panel, and click the Settings tab. There are two settings to adjust to record then play the name upon entry into the conference. For Entry Notice, choose Name in the drop down box so that each caller's name is played when being connected to the call. Change the Prompt Callers for Name setting to Yes, which prompts each caller to record his or her name before being connected to the conference. The recorded names are available to the Host while the participant remains in the conference, either via the *# Roll Call keypad command or by clicking on the icon displayed in the Live Conference tab in the Host Control Panel. The name recordings are accessible for 30 days following the conference, via the Call Details page associated with that conference call listed in the History & Recordings tab.
On a live conference call, the Host can press *78 to turn off entry and exit chimes. If you want to make this change before a conference starts, log in to the Host Control Panel, and click the Settings tab. Choose None for Entry Notice and Exit Notice. Remember to click the Save button at the bottom of the screen.
Log in to the Host Control Panel, and click the Settings tab. Change the Record Calls setting to Yes. Remember to save your change by clicking the Save button at the bottom.
Log in to the Host Control Panel, and click the Settings tab. Change the Recording Playback setting to All Recordings. For information on optional configuration settings, see Recording Playback.
Upon request, we can suppress some announcements for particular conference bridges, such as the “this command is not valid” or “this call is being recorded”. Additional customization is possible with the Custom Number option. Please email Support@TurboBridge.com to ask about the announcements you would like to suppress.
Optional Add-ons
With the Custom Number option, TurboBridge provides you with a dedicated dial-in number so that when callers dial in to your conference, they hear a personalized greeting. Our professional voice talent can record your customized welcome, or you can record your own greeting and send us the audio file to upload to your dial-in number. Dedicated numbers are manually assigned, so please call 1-888-666-3620 to activate.
You can record your own announcement that will play to all participants before they join your conference call, which you can modify or remove whenever necessary. See Recording a Conference Announcement for instructions. The announcement will play after the caller enters your Conference ID.
Standard TurboBridge service plans limit the capacity to a maximum of 1,000 callers at one time. Special arrangements (which may require different dial-in numbers and/or additional costs) can be made to accommodate more than 1,000 simultaneous callers, although very few audio conference calls require this level of capacity. To upgrade your conference capacity, please call us at 1-888-666-3620.
Login as administrator to the Account Portal and select the Manage Bridges tab, and then click on the Create New Bridge link. The number of allowable bridges (indicated by "Active Bridges: # of #" at the top of that page) depends on the selected Service Plan. If you need to increase the number of allowable bridges, select the Billing tab, and click on the Change Plan link displayed in the Service Plan section. The applicable monthly fee (if any) for active bridges depends on the Service Plan.
For more information, see Setting up a Conference Bridge
This feature must be enabled on your account. (The TurboBridge Account Administrator needs to contact TurboBridge to activate this feature.) As a Host, you can launch a dial out invitation for a participant to join your live conference from the telephone keypad or from the Host Control Panel. If you are dialed in to the conference as a Host, press *95 to initiate a dial out phone call to a potential participant. If you are using the Host Control Panel, click on the Dial-Out icon 
("Dial-out to Participant" displays when you mouse over the icon). When prompted, enter 1 plus area code and phone number of the desired participant, (12025551212) and click OK. (If placing a dial-out call to a foreign number, enter 011 followed by the country code and phone number.) The TurboBridge system will dial the phone number you entered and play a recorded message that says, “You have been invited to join a conference call. To join the conference, press 1.” If an automated attendant is reached and no response is received, or the recipient does not press 1, the call will disconnect without the called party being added to your conference. There is no status information provided to the Host, so you will not be notified if the party rejects the invitation or if the call isn't answered. Click here for more information on Dial-Out Access.
Troubleshoot a Problem
When you are prompted to the enter Conference ID, enter the star key (*) instead of the pound key (#) after you enter the Conference ID. (The prompt does not disclose this information. The prompt says "Please enter your Conference ID, and press the pound key.") You will then be prompted to enter your 4-digit Host PIN. If you don't initially join the conference as a Host, you can still promote yourself to a Host anytime during the conference, by pressing star-three (*3). If you are using the Host Control Panel, you can designate any caller as a Host by clicking on the corresponding Host checkbox in the Live Conference tab.
Echo is produced by one or more of the parties on the conference call. It is supposed be filtered out by the caller's phone company. Echo is produced because the caller's microphone is picking up the audio from the speaker, and re-transmitting it back into the conference call. Because of the normal latency in conference calls, the echo is very noticeable. Often this comes from speakerphones with poor echo cancellation. The first challenge is to identify the source of the echo or noise on the line. You can ask participants to mute their lines by pressing *6, and to un-mute by pressing *6 again when they need to speak. (You may be able to identify the source of the echo or noise from this process.) Or, if you are logged in as a Host, you can press *43 on your keypad to mute all the participants. Once you identify the source of the echo, you can ask that caller to hang up and dial back in. (Sometimes the problem is a bad echo canceller in the network or simply a bad connection, and redialing may get around that.)
If the problem persists, you can press *99 on your keypad (do not have to be in Host mode) to activate our diagnostic recording feature. That allows us to individual record the incoming audio from each participant, allowing our engineers to identify the source of the echo or audio problem. If you do use the *99 command, please send an email to support@turbobridge.com to alert us for investigation and follow-up.
TurboBridge relies on the audible tones (called DTMF tones) produced when you press keys on your phone handset to enter the Conference ID associated with your conference call. The caller's phone company detects these tones and generates a corresponding "signaling digit" which is transmitted through the phone network to the TurboBridge system. Occasionally, the DTMF tones are not detected or transmitted properly to our system, so our system doesn't receive the same digits entered by the caller (and occasionally doesn't receive any digits at all). If we receive an invalid Conference ID, an announcement is played back to the caller, stating the digits we've received. If those digits don't match the caller's input (e.g., duplicated or skipped digits), this indicates a problem in the detection or transmission. If the caller doesn't immediately receive a system announcement after entering the Conference ID, but after a few seconds hears a re-prompt to enter the Conference ID, that is an indication that no keypad digits were transmitted to TurboBridge.
Often, re-entering the Conference ID when re-prompted will "fix" the problem, or hanging up and re-dialing. If the problem persists, the caller should try a different dial-in number (see the list of alternative dial in numbers) – the same Conference ID can be used with any dial-in number. Different dial-in numbers are routed through a different path in the phone network, often bypassing the problem that caused the original incorrect digit transmission. If the problem persists with different dial-in numbers, that is an indication that the caller's phone company is not properly detecting the digits, so the quickest remedy is to use a different phone.
In very rare circumstances, congestion or temporary defects in the phone network can result in busy signals, "ring-no-answer", or network "not in service" announcements. In nearly all cases, these calls never reach our conferencing system and result from congestion or defects somewhere in the path from the caller's phone company to the phone network who supplies TurboBridge with our dial-in numbers. Often, the caller can re-dial and connect without an issue, but if the problem persists, the quickest remedy is to try one of TurboBridge's many alternative dial-in numbers. If the caller can't get through to any of the alternative dial-in numbers, that is an indication that there may be an issue with the caller's phone network.
If other participants report that they can't hear you, or if your line is too loud, press *86 to increase the volume of your speaking voice or *87 to decrease your speaking volume. (This affects the volume of your voice that other people will hear in the conference). You can repeat the action for further incremental adjustments until you achieve the desired volume. If you are logged into the Host Control Panel, you can click on the Caller ID of any participant and choose "Increase Volume" or "Decrease Volume" to adjust that caller's volume.
Press *88 to increase the volume you hear or *89 to decrease the volume. (This will not affect other parties in the conference.) You can repeat the action for further incremental adjustments until you achieve the desired volume.
TurboBridge uses a third party for Caller Name information associated with a Caller ID phone number. You may update name by clicking on the underlined name displayed in Host Control Panel, which is stored in the Caller List associated with your conference bridge. (This does not affect how the name is displayed for other TurboBridge subscribers or conference bridges. Each conference bridge has its own independent Caller List.) If there is no conference in progress, you may also add or edit names by selecting the Caller List tab in the Host Control Panel. Note that in some instances, different callers share the same Caller ID number. (For example, parties calling from the same office building share the same Caller ID listing the business name, and there is no individual Caller ID associated with a particular employee. Also, callers who use Internet-enabled phone services like Skype or Google Voice all share the same Caller ID number.) Editing the Caller Name associated with a shared Caller ID number can lead to inaccurate caller identification on future conference calls.
Log into the Host Control Panel, and select the Caller List tab. If the caller you wish to block is already listed, click the Edit icon 
and check the box that says Block. (You can add an entry to Caller List if it's not listed.) Alternatively, you can select the History & Recordings tab, and select the Show Calls Details icon
and find the caller you wish to block. Click on the underlined name, check the Block box, and click the Save button.
You can use the same procedure during a live conference, by clicking on the underlined name in the participant list on the Live Conference tab. After adding the Block status to that caller, you may then click on that person's Caller ID and choose the Drop Caller option to remove that caller from the active conference call and prevent the caller from re-joining from the same phone. Please note that some Caller IDs are shared among multiple parties (for example, all employees in an office building), so you may inadvertently prevent others from joining future conference calls.
Administrative
Log in to the Host Control Panel, and select the History & Recordings tab. Find the date of the conference call you recorded, and click on the icon display in the column on the right. This sends you to the Recording Details page that includes a download link, along with other options.
A TurboBridge Account Administrator can log into the Account Portal and select the Billing tab, which displays the Invoice History list at the bottom. You can click on the corresponding invoice number to view or download a printable invoice (in .pdf format). Click on CSV link at the right to download a spreadsheet (.csv format) that includes a list of all calls included in that invoice, with the cost associated with each call.
Log in as an administrator to the Account Portal and select the Billing tab. Click on the credit card number displayed in the Payment Info section to edit information on a particular credit card. To add a new credit card, click on the Add New Payment Method link. You can list multiple credit cards on your account, designating one card as the Primary Payment Method. You must retain at least one valid credit card on the account, so to switch to a different credit card you must add the new card before you delete the old card. (You may wish to keep an alternate valid credit card on file. In the event that a payment transaction fails with the Primary credit card, the charge will be processed to a secondary payment method, avoiding account suspension.)
Log into the Host Control Panel, and select the Bridge Info tab. Click the Email My Info button and enter the email address of the intended recipient.
The distribution of email reports is controlled by the TurboBridge Account Administrator, who is referenced at the bottom of the email report. To stop an individual from receiving email reports, the administrator can log into the Account Portal and select the Manage Bridges. Click on the corresponding Conference ID to access the settings for a particular conference bridge. To stop sending the reports, either remove the individual's email address from the box labeled Notification List or uncheck the box labeled Send Conference Reports to Notification List. Remember to click the Modify Bridge button to save the change.
Any existing administrator for an account can add or delete another administrator. To add an administrator to the account, log into the Account Portal and select the Account Info tab. Click on the Add Administrator link in the Account Administrators section. You will then be asked to provide an email address, who will be sent an email invitation with a confirmation link to become an administrator for the account. (Note that the link expires in 72 hours if the invitee does not respond.) Before deleting an administrator, make sure that the person is not designated as either the Primary Support Contact (in the Account Administrators section on the Account Info tab) or Primary Billing Contact (in the Payment Info section on the Billing tab). You may not delete an administrator who is presently designated as either the Primary Support Contact or Primary Billing Contact.
Log in as an administrator to the Account Portal and select the Billing tab. Click the Change Plan link in the Service Plan section. Please note that the quantity of allowable conference bridges is defined by the service plan, so you may need to go to the Manage Bridges tab to delete bridges, if your desired new service plan allows fewer conference bridges than are presently enabled on your account.
Log in as an administrator to the Account Portal and select the My Info tab. Enter your new email address or password as well as your existing password and click the Update button. If you forget your password, click the Forgot Password? link on the log in screen.
Log in as an administrator to the Account Portal. On the Summary tab, there is a Cancel Account link. If there are outstanding usage charges on your account, those charges will be processed when you close account. There are no cancellation fees. Alternatively, you may send a cancellation request to support@turbobridge.com, making sure to reference your Account Number or Conference ID.
Accounts remain accessible for one year after the cancellation date, allowing you to retrieve call history, past invoices, and conference recordings. During this period, you may re-activate your account by logging in as an administrator, and selecting on the Billing tab. Click on the re-activation link displayed in the box at the top of the page. After this period, you will need to create a new account to use the service – all settings and history is permanently deleted from our system, and cannot be recovered.
For More Assistance
For additional information on the TurboBridge, please refer to Help, FAQs, How It Works, or the footer links on the bottom of this page. If you can't find the information you need, please contact us and we'll be happy to assist you.