Getting Help with FreePBX

Whether you’ve hit a snag with your phone system or just want to learn your way around, this article covers the tools, resources, and support options available to FreePBXHosting customers.

Administrator Tools #

Your server includes out-of-band management tools that allow you to control and access it independently of the FreePBX application itself.

Power Controls #

Power controls let you start, stop, or reboot your server — similar to using the power and reset buttons on a physical machine. When possible, it’s always preferable to reboot through the Linux OS rather than using these controls, as a forced power cycle won’t give running processes a chance to shut down cleanly. That said, if your server is unresponsive, these controls are your fallback.

Where to find Power Controls:

• VPS & Dedicated Servers: CyberLynk Client Portal
• VPS only: VPS Control Panel (also provides VNC connection details and OS reinstallation)

How to log in:

• Your CyberLynk Client Portal credentials were included in your signup confirmation email. If you can’t locate them, use the password reset option on the login page.
• Your VPS Control Panel credentials are in the “VPS Account Information” welcome email sent at signup. You can also retrieve this from the Client Portal by clicking the user icon (upper right) → dropdown → Email History.
• If you have more than one VPS: all servers are added to the VPS Control Panel account created with your first server. You can disregard the login details sent with subsequent servers.

VNC Console (VPS – Self-Managed Customers Only) #

Note: VNC console access is available to Self-Managed customers only. If you are on a Managed Server or Full-Service plan, please open a support ticket for console-level assistance.

VNC provides direct console access to your VPS without requiring a working network connection to the server. This is useful in situations like resolving a firewall lockout.

To connect:

1. Locate your VNC IP, port, and password in the “VPS Account Information” email, or retrieve it from the VPS Control Panel by managing your server and clicking VNC Information.
2. Open a VNC client (RealVNC Viewer on Windows, or Finder on Mac).
3. Enter your VNC connection details and connect.
4. At the Linux console, log in as root and enter your root password when prompted. (Note: your password will not be displayed as you type — this is normal.)
5. When finished, type exit and press Enter to log out of the shell.

SSH Access to the Linux Shell (Self-Managed Customers Only) #

Note: SSH access is available to Self-Managed customers only. Managed Server customers do not have SSH access to their servers.

The Linux shell isn’t required for everyday PBX administration, but it’s useful for tasks like running OS updates, reviewing logs, or diagnosing issues that are faster to troubleshoot via the command line.

• SSH is installed and enabled by default on FreePBX and listens on TCP port 22. If the port has been changed, check /etc/ssh/sshd_config.
• On Windows, connect using PuTTY or WSL2. On Mac, use the Terminal app.
• Connect as root (or root@<your-server-ip>) using the root password from your “VPS Account Information” email.
• If you don’t know your root password, open a support ticket to have it reset. (A reboot is required.)

Reinstalling FreePBX #

If you need to start fresh, see: How to Reinstall FreePBX on a VPS

Documentation & Community Resources #

FreePBX is the world’s most popular open-source uCaaS platform, and there’s no shortage of documentation and community support available.

FreePBXHosting Resources #

• Getting Started Guide
• How-To Blog Articles
• FreePBX Wiki

Community Resources #

• Official FreePBX Community Forums
• Issues Tracker
• FreePBX Subreddit

Training #

CyberLynk Training Services #

CyberLynk offers focused training for FreePBX administrators. All training is conducted remotely. Pricing:

• $185/hour, 2-hour minimum, billed in 1-hour increments
• Custom curriculum development is billed as additional time

Custom 1:1 Training #

Need help learning a specific aspect of FreePBX configuration or administration? We’ll gather your requirements, put together a curriculum, and schedule a session. We bill two hours upfront at scheduling; the balance is invoiced upon completion. Note that we do not offer open-ended or free-form training sessions — sessions are structured and topic-specific. Group sessions are not available for custom training.

Basic Linux for FreePBX Administrators #

A structured 3-hour session designed for FreePBX admins who want to get more comfortable at the command line. Groups welcome.

Cost: $449 per attendee

Topics covered:

• Accessing and navigating the Linux shell
• Viewing system information in real time
• Viewing and searching log files
• Interacting with the FreePBX and Asterisk CLI
• Gathering and reviewing packet captures

Visit our Professional Services page to book.

Sangoma FreePBX Administrator Training #

Sangoma offers official FreePBX administrator training courses. You can purchase training through the Store in your Sangoma Portal or visit the Sangoma Training page for available courses and pricing.

Getting Technical Support #

Tips for Getting Help Faster #

Regardless of where you seek support — whether from us, the community forums, or elsewhere — the quality of help you receive is directly proportional to the detail you provide. Before reaching out, gather the following:

• Specific problem details: error messages, screenshots, call samples, packet captures, and which users or locations are affected
• Recent changes: any configuration changes made to the PBX or local network leading up to the issue
• Steps to reproduce: a clear, step-by-step description of how to observe or trigger the problem

The more of this you can provide upfront, the faster anyone helping you can get to the root of the issue.

Included Support #

All FreePBXHosting customers can open a support ticket at any time through the Customer Portal at no charge. We’re happy to review your questions and point you toward the right documentation, guides, or next steps.

Please note: For security reasons, support tickets must be submitted from the email address or portal account associated with your service. If you have multiple accounts with us, make sure you’re using the correct one.

Advanced Support & Professional Services #

For customers who need hands-on help, we offer Professional Services with the following rates:

See the FAQ below for definitions of each service type and billing minimums.

Granting Us Access to Your Server #

To assist with server-level issues, we need root SSH access to your FreePBX server. The easiest way to grant access is to run the following command from the Linux shell:

curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/CyberLynk/freepbxhosting_resources/main/cl-access | bash

Alternatively, you can whitelist our IP addresses through the FreePBX Firewall as described in our Firewall Guide and provide the root password in your support ticket.

Frequently Asked Questions #

What is “Advanced Support”? Advanced Support covers any situation that requires one of our technicians to log into your server and takes more than 5 minutes, or involves making changes to your system.

What is “Guided Support”? Guided Support is real-time assistance via screen sharing, video call, phone, or chat. It’s billed at a higher rate than Advanced Support, but it’s a good option for administrators who want to understand how things are being done so they can handle similar issues themselves in the future.

What qualifies as “Emergency” rates? Any Advanced or Guided Support that cannot be scheduled at least 3 business days in advance is subject to emergency rates — typically double the standard rate. We may extend standard rates at our discretion when our schedule permits.

What qualifies as “After Hours” rates? Any work performed outside our standard business hours (8:00 AM – 5:00 PM Central US Time) may be billed at after-hours rates — typically double the standard rate. Standard rates may be offered at our discretion.

What are your billing minimums and increments?

Can you manage my server for me? Yes. Our Server Management Add-on covers OS-level server administration, monitoring, and backups — while you retain full control of the FreePBX application (extensions, trunks, call routing, etc.). If you’d prefer to hand off the entire solution, check out a Full Service option.