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Notification channels

Updated

Notification channels are the ways OnCall reaches you when an incident is triggered. OnCall supports phone calls (via Voice), push notifications (mobile app), and email-based contact preferences. Each user configures their own channel preferences. Escalation policy steps specify which channels to use when paging at each step.

Technicians configure their own channels. Team leads verify that all responders have working channels before relying on them for on-call coverage.

Setting Your Notification Preferences

  1. Go to OnCall and open Notifications (or your user profile settings within OnCall).
  2. You will see your registered phone number and your current preferences for each notification method.
  3. Update your phone number if phone paging is used. This is the number Voice will call.
  4. Choose which severity levels trigger which channels. For example, you might want a phone call for critical incidents but only a push notification for low severity.
  5. Save. Your preferences take effect immediately.

Phone Calls

When an escalation step includes phone paging, OnCall sends a request to Voice, which places an outbound call to your registered phone number. Voice reads the incident title and severity aloud using text-to-speech.

To receive phone calls:

  • Your phone number must be saved in your OnCall notification preferences.
  • The escalation policy step targeting you must have phone included in its notify methods.
  • Your carrier must not be blocking the outbound number. If calls are silently dropped, add Voice's caller ID number to your contacts.

Push Notifications

Push notifications are delivered through the OnCall mobile app using Expo-based push delivery.

To receive push notifications:

  1. Install the OnCall mobile app and sign in with your account.
  2. When prompted, grant notification permissions. The app registers your device token with OnCall automatically.
  3. In the web app, go to Push Tokens to confirm your device is listed.
  4. Click Send Test Push to verify a notification reaches your device.

If you replace your phone or reinstall the app, the new device registers a new token automatically on next sign-in.

Verifying Your Setup

Use the test tools to confirm your channels are working before you're on call:

  • Test push — Available under Push Tokens. Sends a test notification to all registered devices.
  • Test phone — Call your registered number from OnCall settings to confirm Voice can reach you.

If a test fails, see the troubleshooting steps in ./what-is-oncall.md or check do-not-disturb settings on your device.

Per-Step Notify Methods

When a team lead creates an escalation policy, each step has a notify methods setting. The options are phone, push, or both. This lets you configure higher-urgency steps (like a final escalation) to use phone even if the user's personal preference is push-only for lower severity.

The policy-level setting determines what channels are attempted at that step. The user's registered phone and push token must be in place for the channel to work.

FAQ

I'm getting push notifications but not phone calls. Why? Check that your phone number is saved under Notification Preferences. Also confirm that the escalation step targeting you has phone selected as a notify method — some steps are push-only.

Can I register more than one device for push notifications? Yes. Each device you sign into the mobile app with registers separately. All registered devices receive the push notification. You can view and remove old device tokens under Push Tokens.

What happens if my phone is on do-not-disturb? OnCall delivers push notifications at high priority, but device-level do-not-disturb settings may still suppress them. For after-hours on-call shifts, configure your phone to allow OnCall as a bypass app, or rely on phone calls instead.

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