FAQ Jabber

No, it is not necesary to be connected to a VPN to use Jabber from outside of EPFL campus.

The Jabber softphone works with the VPN except with the SAP VPN for security reasons.

The first time log in with “your username” @epfl.ch. For future connections, use only “your username”.

1. You must have a personal phone line. To find out if you have one, check your user profile in ATELA.
   If not, make a request for a new phone via ATELA.
2. You cannot connect to Jabber on the Wifi ssid “freewifi-epfl”.
3. Try to authenticate elsewhere. If you can’t, you have authentication or accreditation problems. Please report the problem to the Service Desk: [email protected]
4. If your password contains spaces, please change it.  Passwords are not handled well by the system and can cause authentication problems.
5. Under MAC OS, in the Server Settings, Configure must be set to automatic.

If, despite this information, the problem persists, please report the problem to the Service Desk: [email protected]

For the caller, it is as if you did not answer the call, so they will have the possibility to leave you a message on your VoiceMail.

If you have an EPFL mobile, you can use the “Single Number Reach” option. This option allows you to have your softphone and your mobile phone ring at the same time. So, if your computer is stopped or disconnected from the network, you will receive all your calls on your EPFL mobile.

1. Go to Preferences, then Events and uncheck “Contact signs on” and “Contact signs off”.
2. Alternatively, go to the View menu and check “Show disconnected contacts”.

• The Cisco Jabber client automatically proposes the latest updates to be installed to users when the Softphone is restarted.

• You must be on the EPFL network or mount the VPN.

• To check for the latest updates, click on the Jabber cogwheel, choose the Help menu, and click on “Check for updates”.

• If the automatic update or the search for updates does not work, you have to install it manually by following the download procedure described on the Install Jabber page.

1. Check in Settings – Audio that the devices for Speakers and Microphone are correctly configured.
   The microphone of your headset should be set as the first in the user preferences.

2. The headset should not be connected to a docking station but directly to the PC, otherwise it creates sound problems.

Please see the page Cisco Jabber Audio Settings.

If the problem persists despite these settings, please report the problem to the Service Desk: [email protected]

If you are not interested in this feature, please contact the Service Desk: [email protected].

The solution is to deactivate the USB devices standby.

1. Access the Windows power management : go to the control panel, then select Hardware and Sound, and again on “Power Options” and then, “Change Mode Settings” in the current mode (Select button).
2. Go to “Change Advanced Power Settings”.
3. Go to “USB Settings”, then to “USB Selective Suspend Settings” and select “Disabled” for “Battery” and “Mains”.

You must have an EPFL mobile subscription. See the Single Number Reach page.

1. Make sure you are using the latest version of Jabber. This is available on this page.
2. If the Jabber version is up to date then delete the contents of the following folder:

• For Windows :
  %LOCALAPPDATA%\\Cisco\\Unified Communications\\Jabber\\CSF\\Contacts
• For Mac OS :
  Users/<userid>/Library/Application Support/Cisco/Unified Communications/Jabber/CSF/Contacts/

If you need assistance, please contact your local support team who will help you delete the file.

To register a personal or external contact at EPFL, i.e. not available in the directory, you must create a contact in Outlook and fill in the following fields : 

• Instant messaging address
• Telephone number in E164 format (+41…)
• Full name

Then, search for it and add it in the Jabber softphone.

You have to modify your personal picture via people. The photo will be updated in Jabber the day after the modification.
After modifying or deleting a photo on people, the local Jabber cache must be deleted.
Adapt the procedure with the path of the “Photo Cache” folder: C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\Cisco\Unified Communications\Jabber\CSF\Photo Cache\

Change your presence status to Do Not Disturb or mute your computer

The following procedure allows you to delete the local call history on your device, the history of all your chat communications and your login details.

For confidentiality reasons, this procedure should be used by employees each time they change devices and if you encounter problems with the display of your Jabber history (e.g. empty history, doubled call history, etc).

1. Cogwheel >> Logout.
2. Cogwheel >> File >> Reset Jabber.
3. Reconnect with “your username”@epfl.ch. For future connections, use only “your username”.

1. Stop Jabber.
2. Delete the files with the .db extension in the following folder C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\Cisco\Unified Communications\Jabber\CSF\History .
3. Restart Jabber.

Be careful, this deletes all the chat history and not only for one contact !

Delete the Jabber configuration on a MAC OS 
See the documentation on the Cisco site available here.

A standard request for headset and/or webcam is available on the support.epfl.ch website, request for headset and webcam.

Only one model of accessory (headset and webcam) is offered when a softphone is activated.

If you would like a different model of headset or webcam than those proposed, please contact the responsible of your unit.

The Jabber application is based on the language of the regional settings of the machine’s operating system. Therefore, you need to adjust the language of your choice in the regional settings and restart the machine so that Jabber works with the desired language.