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Instant Second Line Question:
I have Telo unit and 2 Ooma handsets with Premier service. I cannot dial out from the second handset (using the primary line number) while the first handset is in use--that is when all 3 devices are "shared". When I assign a personal number (using the secondary line number) to one of the handsets, I no longer receive messages on that handset which were received on the primary line number. This appears to limit the usefulness of the "instant second line." Am I missing something in the big picture?

Instant Second Line Question:
I have Telo unit and 2 Ooma handsets with Premier service. I cannot dial out from the second handset (using the primary line number) while the first handset is in use--that is when all 3 devices are "shared". When I assign a personal number (using the secondary line number) to one of the handsets, I no longer receive messages on that handset which were received on the primary line number. This appears to limit the usefulness of the "instant second line." Am I missing something in the big picture?

Instant second line has nothing to do with assigning a number to a personal device.
Place a call using the phone connected to the Telo. It will use line 1.
Place a second call using a shared handset. It will use line 2.
Both calls are using your primary phone number. That is the instant second line.
You do not have to have two numbers for it to work.
It works the same for two incoming calls or one incoming and one outgoing call.

Thanks Murphy. Seems like I get more accurate info from the support forum than from the Ooma customer service rep who advised to set it up as a personal device as I was not able to call out on the second line previously from handset # 2 while handset #1 was being used. I'll give it a try once I remove the personal number assignment from handset #2 and revert the Telo and the 2 handsets to shared status. The customer service rep has stated that it will now be set up so that the "main device and the two handsets should use the primary AND secondary number--they are now shared"

Like murphy says, Instant Second Line and assigning a Personal Number to a Personal Device are different things.

How do I place a call with the Instant Second Line with my Ooma Telo?

If somebody else is already on the phone

You can make a call with the Instant Second Line when the phone is occupied just by picking up another phone that's connected to your Ooma system. If someone is talking on the phone connected to the Ooma Telo, simply pick up an Ooma Telo Handset that is not being used. If someone is using an Ooma Telo Handset, pick up any other Ooma Telo Handset or a phone connected to the Ooma Telo.

Important: If you have a multi-handset cordless phone system plugged into the Ooma Telo, keep in mind that all of the phones are treated like one phone system. So if someone is using one of the handsets connected to the phone system and you pick up another handset connected to the same phone system, you will join the same call. There is no way to access the Instant Second Line unless you use an Ooma Telo Handset.