Configure silence and call limits
Wirevox tracks conversation activity independently from normal turn taking. Three controls protect callers from dead air and protect the workspace from calls that remain connected indefinitely.
Silence Timeout
Silence Timeout controls when the agent briefly asks whether the caller is still there.
- Allowed range: 5–60 seconds
- Default: 15 seconds
The prompt is one-shot for a period of inactivity. New caller activity resets it, allowing a later silence prompt if the conversation resumes and becomes silent again.
OpenAI Realtime and Grok Realtime receive this timeout through provider-native idle behavior. Gemini Live and Modular calls use the Wirevox lifecycle controller to request the prompt.
Hangup Timeout
Hangup Timeout ends the call after continued inactivity.
- Allowed range: 10–300 seconds
- Default: 30 seconds
The inactivity clock is refreshed by meaningful caller or agent activity. The lifecycle controller does not request inactivity hang-up while the pipeline reports that the caller or agent is actively speaking.
Set this value greater than the Silence Timeout so the caller has time to hear and answer the check-in. A practical starting relationship is:
Silence Timeout: 15 seconds
Hangup Timeout: 30 seconds
Do not use a very short hang-up timeout for workflows where a caller may search for an account number, speak with another person, or complete an external verification step.
Limit Call Duration
When enabled, Limit Call Duration can be set from 1–30 minutes in the editor. Enabling it starts at 5 minutes.
When the control is disabled, calls still have a 40-minute system safety cap. At the configured limit or safety cap, Wirevox requests a hang-up even if ordinary inactivity has not occurred.
The maximum-duration timer measures the call session, not the number of minutes the agent speaks. Knowledge searches, function execution, silence, and hold time still consume elapsed time.
Choose limits by workflow
| Workflow | Starting consideration |
|---|---|
| Routing or simple FAQ | Shorter limit; the normal outcome should occur quickly |
| Appointment scheduling | Leave room for lookup, confirmation, and correction |
| Detailed intake | Use a longer tested limit and provide a fallback before expiry |
| Emergency escalation | Prioritize immediate transfer; duration should not be the safety mechanism |
| Outbound qualification | Keep the interaction focused and respect consent or stop requests immediately |
Prompt guidance
Timers are runtime configuration. The prompt should provide conversational recovery:
If the caller needs time to find information, acknowledge it briefly and wait.
If the conversation is complete, summarize the confirmed next step and close
without repeatedly asking whether they need anything else.
The model does not receive a guaranteed countdown warning before the hard duration limit. Set a limit that allows the tested workflow to finish; do not depend on the prompt to negotiate extra time.
Important distinction
- Response Speed decides when a speaking turn is complete.
- Silence Timeout prompts after no activity.
- Hangup Timeout ends continued inactivity.
- Limit Call Duration caps total session time.
Increasing Silence Timeout will not prevent the recognizer from cutting off a mid-sentence pause. That problem belongs to turn-taking configuration.