# CrazyPhone - team setup, ring groups, and shared SMS

> Category: Getting Started
> Canonical URL: https://crazytel.com.au/knowledgebase/article/crazyphone-team-setup-ring-groups-shared-sms

Best-practice CrazyPhone setup when more than one person needs calls or SMS on a Crazytel number. Use a separate SIP trunk or CrazyPBX extension per person, route the number through a Premium Ring Group for shared inbound calls, and share SMS across CrazyPhone apps by using the same SMS Caller ID with SMS history sync enabled.

# CrazyPhone - team setup, ring groups, and shared SMS

CrazyPhone is Crazytel's official softphone app. It registers to **one SIP trunk** or **one CrazyPBX extension** at a time. That registration is a single endpoint: one person, one trunk or extension.

If two people scan the same CrazyPhone QR code or share one trunk password, they are not two separate users. They share one registration. Inbound calls and outbound caller ID behave as one line, not a team phone system.

This guide explains the recommended setup when a practice, office, or team needs more than one person on the same Virtual Mobile Number (VMN) or business number.

## Best practice: one person per SIP trunk or extension

**Always give each person their own SIP trunk or CrazyPBX extension.**

| Person | Recommended setup |
| --- | --- |
| Person 1 | Their own standard or Hybrid SIP trunk, or their own CrazyPBX extension |
| Person 2 | A second SIP trunk or a second CrazyPBX extension |
| Person 3+ | Add another trunk or extension for each additional person |

Each person scans **their own** CrazyPhone QR code from MyAccount. Do not reuse one trunk QR across multiple staff members.

**CrazyPBX** is the right product when you want a hosted phone system with multiple staff extensions, extension-to-extension calling, and desktop CrazyPhone. See [CrazyPBX - How to make a CrazyPBX Extension](https://crazytel.com.au/knowledgebase/article/crazypbx-extension).

**Standard or Hybrid SIP trunks** suit simpler setups where each person has their own line. See [Creating a Register Based SIP Trunk](https://crazytel.com.au/knowledgebase/article/qr-code-sip-trunks).

## Route your VMN or number to a Ring Group

A Virtual Mobile Number or any inbound DID is just a phone number. It does not include users. To let **multiple people answer the same number**, point the number at a **Premium Ring Group**, not directly at one CrazyPhone device.

1. Create a separate SIP trunk or CrazyPBX extension for each person who should answer.
2. Register each person's CrazyPhone app to **their own** trunk or extension.
3. Create a [Premium Ring Group](https://crazytel.com.au/knowledgebase/article/premium-ringgroups) and add each trunk or extension as a destination.
4. In **Number Management**, set the VMN or DID to ring the Ring Group.

When someone calls the shared number, every destination in the Ring Group can ring according to the group type (ring all, ring in order, or pick randomly).

For step-by-step Ring Group creation on SIP trunks, see [How to: Make a SIP Trunk Ring Group](https://crazytel.com.au/knowledgebase/article/how-to-make-a-sip-trunk-ring-group).

**Do not** point one VMN directly at one CrazyPhone trunk and expect two people to use that same trunk as two simultaneous users. That is one registered endpoint only.

## Share SMS between CrazyPhone apps

Calls need separate trunks or extensions plus a Ring Group. **SMS can be shared** across multiple CrazyPhone installations when each trunk or extension uses the **same SMS Caller ID** (your Virtual Mobile Number) and SMS history sync is turned on.

### Standard SIP trunks

1. Sign in to MyAccount and open **Products > SIP Trunks**.
2. For **each** trunk used with CrazyPhone, set **SMS Caller ID** to the same Virtual Mobile Number (for example the same `04` number).
3. Enable **Sync SMS to CrazyPhone** (`softphone_sync_sms`) on each trunk.
4. Each person scans their **own** trunk QR into CrazyPhone.

Incoming and outgoing SMS for that VMN then appear in every CrazyPhone app that shares the same SMS Caller ID with sync enabled.

### Hybrid SIP trunks

1. Sign in to MyAccount and open **Products > SIP Trunks (Hybrid) > Manage Trunks**.
2. For each Hybrid trunk, set **SMS Caller ID** to the same Virtual Mobile Number.
3. Enable **Sync SMS history** (`sync_sms_history`) on each trunk. This is on by default when no setting exists.
4. Each person scans their **own** Hybrid trunk CrazyPhone QR.

### CrazyPBX extensions

Set the same SMS Caller ID on each extension that should share the VMN inbox, then register each extension separately in CrazyPhone.

### Important SMS notes

- SMS on a Virtual Mobile Number is billed at **5 cents per SMS** unless the account has the CrazyPhone unlimited SMS add-on. See [Common Virtual Mobile Number questions](https://crazytel.com.au/knowledgebase/article/common-virtual-mobile-number-questions).
- Sharing SMS history does **not** turn two trunks into one phone line for **calls**. Calls still need the Ring Group setup above.
- Desktop CrazyPhone only works with **CrazyPBX extensions**, not with standard or Hybrid SIP trunk QR codes. Mobile CrazyPhone works with trunks and extensions.

## Quick comparison

| Need | Recommended approach |
| --- | --- |
| Two people answer the same number | Premium Ring Group + one trunk or extension per person |
| Two people send and receive SMS on the same `04` | Same SMS Caller ID on each trunk or extension + SMS sync enabled |
| Full office phone system with many staff | CrazyPBX with one extension per person |
| Website SMS inbox with separate team logins | Messaging Hub (separate from CrazyPhone) |

## Related guides

- [CrazyPhone setup guide](https://crazytel.com.au/knowledgebase/article/crazyphone-crazytels-official-softphone-application-setup-guide)
- [Common Virtual Mobile Number questions](https://crazytel.com.au/knowledgebase/article/common-virtual-mobile-number-questions)
- [Premium Ring Groups](https://crazytel.com.au/knowledgebase/article/premium-ringgroups)
- [How to: Make a SIP Trunk Ring Group](https://crazytel.com.au/knowledgebase/article/how-to-make-a-sip-trunk-ring-group)
- [CrazyPBX - Sign in to the Crazyphone App](https://crazytel.com.au/knowledgebase/article/crazypbx-crazyphone)