If your calls already live on a PBX or with a VoIP provider, you don't have to move them. A registration works the other way round from a phone number: polite.ai registers with your system as an endpoint, your provider sends calls to it, and the agent answers. Nothing changes at the carrier.
Registrations live on the Connections screen, which lists each one with its SIP user, label, and a live state badge — plus a running N of M registered count in the header.
Add a registration
From the dashboard sidebar, choose Connections, then Add registration.
Three fields are required: Registrar (your provider's signalling address as host:port — the port defaults to 5061 for tls, 5060 otherwise), Username, and Password. Add an optional Name to label the endpoint; Auth username defaults to the username if your provider doesn't use a separate one.
New registrations activate immediately and start registering — watch the badge turn registered. Then point the registration at a team so calls to that extension get answered.
Registration states
A pulsing registered badge means the endpoint is live with your provider right now. Disabled means you've switched it off. Opening a registration shows the same live state plus any error text your provider returned — the first place to look when something's wrong.
The options, explained
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| Transport | tls (default), tcp or udp. The default registrar port follows your choice. |
| Send REGISTER | Keeps the endpoint registered with your provider — on by default. Leave it on unless your provider tells you otherwise. |
| Bridged transfer | Keeps call media bridged through polite.ai for the final hop of a transfer. Turn it on if transfers drop or fail — some providers don't handle SIP REFER reliably. |
| Allow outbound calling | Lets agents place outbound calls through this registration. |
| Register proxy | Optional outbound proxy, as host:port. |
| Realm | Optional SIP authentication realm, if your provider needs one. |
| Keepalive ping | Seconds between keepalive pings (default 30). |
Export and import with Copy config
Copy config copies the whole registration as a flat, shareable JSON snippet — the password is never included. Paste it into the Advanced options (JSON) panel of a new registration to recreate it elsewhere. That panel shows any non-default options as editable JSON that syncs both ways with the form fields, and keys it doesn't recognise are kept rather than dropped.
Invalid JSON never breaks anything — the form shows Invalid JSON — fields above are unchanged until it parses and blocks saving until it's fixed.
Pause or remove a registration
Disable stops the endpoint registering (the badge switches to Disabled); Enable brings it back. Delete only appears while a registration is disabled — the two-step is deliberate, so you can't drop a live connection by accident.
If it won't register
- Read the error text in the registration's drawer — it comes straight from your provider and usually names the problem.
- Check the registrar host and port match your transport — tls providers usually listen on 5061, tcp/udp on 5060.
- Check the credentials. Some providers want a separate Auth username or a Realm — copy them exactly from your provider's settings.
- Changing the password? Leaving the field blank on edit keeps the existing password — re-enter it to change it. Passwords are never displayed.
- Send REGISTER must be on for the endpoint to register at all.
Still stuck? Contact support with your provider's name and the error text from the drawer.