FAQ

Getting Started FAQ

Mail Access FAQ

Where can I access my emails on the Web Portal?

The Web Portal does NOT provide a way for you to access and manage your emails. You will continue using your email reader for that. Your new Evatel service enables you to access your emails hands-free using voice commands over the phone.

Will my mailbox become less secure?

No. The Virtual Assistant acts exactly as if you were using a computer to access your mailbox over the internet. If you use Google or Microsoft mail systems, the Virtual Assistant will use temporary access tokens that you grant and revoke anytime you want. For other mail systems, the Virtual Assistant only uses your encrypted credentials to access your emails. The Virtual Assistant service implements strict security procedures to protect your privacy. All personal data is encrypted before being saved or communicated over public networks. The Virtual Assistant service uses the most trusted SSL certificates and encryption algorithms.

Will the assistant help viruses get into my computer?

No. The Virtual Assistant never opens email attachments on your mail server. The Virtual Assistant can only download, forward, delete or archive emails. The emails are downloaded into the Virtual Assistant servers to be read to you using text-to-speech technology. In the case of voice messages, audio file attachments use the standard .WAV format and are opened only on the Virtual Assistant servers for rendering over the telephone network. All other attachments are only listed to you over the phone, but never opened.

Will the Virtual Assistant help intruders access my mail?

No. The only way for intruders to access your mailbox through the Virtual Assistant service is if they have your credentials (User ID and PIN). These credentials require a security level similar to that of online banking. You should change your PIN on a regular basis to increase your security.

How does the Virtual Assistant access my mailbox remotely?

The Virtual Assistant acts exactly as if you were using a computer to access your mailbox over the internet. It uses either an encrypted temporary access token provided by your mail server with your permission (without any access to your password) or your encrypted credentials to login to your mail account. At anytime, you can revoke the access permission or change the credentials that you provided. The Virtual Assistant retrieves messages from your mailbox and reads them to you over the telephone. It takes your speech or keypad commands and submits them as online commands to your mail server. Any feedback received from the mail server is spoken to you over the telephone using text-to-speech technology.

Does the assistant write data on my mail server?

It depends on what you request. The Virtual Assistant reads and processes your emails, contacts and calendar events remotely over the internet. It downloads and reads your emails, contacts and appointments; it replies, forwards, deletes and archives emails; it schedules meetings into your calendar, etc. The Virtual Assistant performs tasks on your behalf and always goes through your mail access protocol to perform these tasks. It does not write its own data on your mail server. The mail server may however keep a copy of messages or replies sent through the Virtual Assistant.

Web and Phone Access

What is my Web Portal address (URL)?

The Website URL of your Web Portal was sent to you by email together with your credentials when you created your account. Note that other subscribers may be using a different Web Portal to manage their account.

At anytime, you can get your Web Portal and account access information by email simply by clicking on the Forgot link shown on the login form.

How do I login for a Web session

To access the Web Portal:

Open a browser (Microsoft Explorer or Edge, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, etc.).
Enter the Web Portal URL in the address bar.
Enter your User ID or email address.
Enter your PIN.
- If you forgot your PIN, click the Forgot PIN? link. The system will automatically send you an email containing your account information and credentials.
To avoid entering your User ID the next time you open a session, check the Remember me box.
Click the Login button to open a session.

Once logged in, the system will automatically display the Home page dashboard.

How do I logout from my Web Portal session?

To end your Web Portal session:

Click the down arrow next to your name at the top right of the screen.
Click Logout in the dropdown list.

For security purposes, the Web Portal will automatically log you out after 10 minutes of inactivity.

How do I login by phone?

How do I logout from my phone session?

Say "GOODBYE" or "HANGUP" at anytime or just hang up the phone to end your phone session.

Faxes FAQ

What is the Smart Fax service?

Similar to a Smart Number, Smart Fax is a special number dedicated to receiving faxes. This may be useful if you receive a large number of faxes or if you want to provide local fax numbers to your customers in different countries and have all the faxes centralized in your Inbox.

How can people send me faxes on my Smart Fax or Smart Number?

You can receive faxes on your Smart Number or Smart Fax if you have a phone number with the fax option enabled. A Smart Number can handle both telephone calls and faxes, while the Smart Fax is dedicated to receiving faxes.

People can send you faxes simply by dialing your Smart Number or Smart Fax number from a fax machine as they would normally do. The Virtual Assistant automatically detects the type of incoming call (voice or fax) and handles it accordingly. You will receive an email with the fax attached as a PDF document but you can also receive a paper copy of the fax on a physical machine connected to an ATA (Analog Telephone Adapter) registered as an office extension.

What is Unified Messaging?

Unified messaging is the feature of integrating different messaging and communications media (email, SMS, fax, voicemail, video messaging, etc.) into a single mailbox (your Inbox), accessible from a variety of devices.

By default, the Virtual Assistant records faxes as PDF documents and voice messages as .WAV audio files and emails them to you. In doing so, the Inbox where you traditionally receive your emails becomes a one-stop-shop to access, save, delete and manage everything from your voice messages, faxes, text messages as well as your emails.

Where are my faxes stored?

Your received faxes are in two locations:

On your Virtual Assistant system: The Virtual Assistant stores your faxes received on its servers and enables you to access and manage them on your Web Portal, mobile app and by phone.
In your Inbox: By default, you receive all faxes as PDF files attached to emails. Your inbox becomes a one-stop-shop to access and manage copies of your faxes, voice messages as well as your emails.

How do I access my faxes?

You can access your faxes from many locations:

In your Inbox: By default, you receive all faxes as emails with PDF file attachments so you can access and manage them from your favorite email software.
On the Web Portal: You can access and manage your faxes on the Home page dashboard of your Web Portal. Click on the Voice Messages icon to access them.
On the mobile app: You can access and manage your voice messages on the Home page dashboard of your Mobile App. Tap on the Voice Messages icon to access them.
On the Virtual Assistant: Use touchtone or speech commands to hear the list of faxes, forward them to your contacts and colleagues or delete them.

See Faxes for details.

Phone Number FAQ

What happens when callers cannot reach me?

Callers who cannot reach you on your Smart Number will be offered the option to leave you a voice message just as they would leave it on a traditional voice mail or answering machine.

Where are my voice messages stored?

Your voice messages exist in two locations:

In your Inbox: By default, a copy of each voice message that you receive is emailed to you. This turns your inbox into a one-stop-shop to access and manage your voice messages, faxes together with your emails.
On the Virtual Assistant system: The Virtual Assistant records and stores your voice messages on its servers and enables you to access them and manage them on the Web Portal, mobile app or by phone using speech or touchtone commands.

How Do I Access my voice mail?

You can access your voice messages in different ways and on many devices:

On the Virtual Assistant system: The Virtual Assistant keeps copies of voice messages that you already received by email. It allows you to access and manage voice messages independently of your Inbox via the Web Portal or by phone.
In your Inbox: By default, you receive all your voice messages as emails so you can listen to them and manage them from your favorite email software.
On your Web Portal: You can access and manage your voice messages on the Home page dashboard of your Web Portal. Click on the Voice Messages icon to access them.
On your mobile app: You can access and manage your voice messages on the Home page dashboard of your Mobile App. Tap on the Voice Messages icon to access them.
Using your Virtual Assistant: Use touchtone or speech commands to hear your voice messages, forward them to your contacts and colleagues or delete them.

See Voice Messages for details.

Are there risks caused by voice messages?

No. But some companies still block .WAV file attachments because of their size and their suspected content. In fact, voice messages from your Virtual Assistant service are standard .WAV files recorded at a rate of 8K bytes (kilobytes) per second. Most voice messages take less than 90 seconds, which represents a maximum of 720K.

Call Forwarding FAQ

What happens if I have not specified phone numbers where I can be reached?

As a general rule, the Virtual Assistant automatically forwards your incoming calls to voice mail if it does not find any active call forwarding schedule or phone number where it can reach you.

What happens to calls I get when no call forwarding schedule is active?

As a general rule, the Virtual Assistant automatically forwards your incoming calls to voice mail if it does not find any active call forwarding schedule or phone number where it can reach you.

What happens if my cell phone is turned off?

The call will be forwarded to the next phone defined in your active call forwarding sequence or to voice mail if there is no other phone in your call forwarding sequence. If the cell phone is turned off, your Virtual Assistant interprets that situation as a ring-no-answer.

What happens to calls I get when my weekly and special events call forwarding schedules are both active?

Your calls will be forwarded based on the schedule priorities: direct forwarding, then special events, then your weekly call forwarding schedules.

What happens when I set to forward my calls to my cell phone?

All your calls will be forwarded to your cell phone. This direct call forwarding setting has precedence over any other weekly or special events call forwarding schedule that might be active at that time.

Calendar FAQ

Where can I access my calendar on the Web Portal?

You cannot view your Google or Microsoft calendar on the Web Portal. You need to go to your Google or Microsoft account to view and manage your calendar. Using your Virtual Assistant, you can use speech commands over the phone access your calendar remotely on Google and Microsoft mail servers. You can even schedule meetings with your contacts and colleagues using voice commands.

Contacts FAQ

What happens if I modify or delete contacts that are synchronized with my mail server account?

If your Personal Contacts on the Web Portal are connected for synchronization with your contacts on Google or Microsoft mail servers, then each change you make to your contacts on one store (Web Portal or Mail server) will be synchronized on the other store. However this works only for contacts in the synced groups. You can configure contact and group syncing to be manual or automatic each time you access your Web Portal.

What happens if I rename or delete a group synchronized with my mail server account?

Any changes you make to your synced groups on one store (Web Portal or Mail server) will be applied the same groups on the other store. You can configure contact and group syncing to be manual or automatic each time you access your Web Portal.