Issue: Squad handoff - destination assistants remain silent after transfer Squad ID: 539f5730-eb6b-4d02-888e-4cb774d37364 Problem: When receptionist transfers calls to territory specialists, the handoff executes successfully but the destination assistant doesn't speak first. It stays silent and waits for the caller to speak. What I've configured: - All 6 specialists have firstMessageMode: "assistant-speaks-first-with-model-generated-message" - firstMessage is set for each specialist - Squad members include assistantOverrides with these settings via API - Start Speaking Plan: wait_seconds=0, smart_endpointing=OFF, number_seconds=0 - Handoff tool message is set to empty string "" The transfer works (I can see "New turn started" in logs), but no voice output from destination assistant. This matches the exact issue reported here: https://support.vapi.ai/t/22982095/ Can you help debug why the destination assistants won't speak first after handoff?

Hi Guy hanson, To set up a silent handoff in your call system, you need to ensure that the transfer between assistants happens without informing the caller. Here's a summary of the steps based on the [Silent Handoffs document](https://docs.vapi.ai/squads/silent-handoffs): 1. **Destination Assistant Configuration**: - Set the

firstMessage

property of the destination assistant to an empty string. - Set

firstMessageMode

to

assistant-speaks-first-with-model-generated-message

. 2. **Squad Handoff Messages**: - Remove any messages for

members[*].model.tools/toolIds

. 3. **Trigger the Transfer**: - In the source assistant’s prompt, include the handoff instruction like:

json
     trigger the 'handoff' tool with 'assistantName' Assistant.

4. **Destination Assistant's Behavior**: - Include instructions in its prompt to proceed directly to the task without greetings. For more details, refer to [this guide](https://docs.vapi.ai/squads/silent-handoffs). Let me know if you need more help with setting it up.

Thanks Kyle, but the UI method doesn't work - the destinations section is completely missing when I try to add handoff tools. That's why I requested API configuration in my original message. Can someone on the Vapi team please configure the 6 handoff tools via API using the assistant IDs I provided? The receptionist needs these 6 handoff destinations configured: 1. Missoula Territory Specialist (ID: 6e4f32fc-667e-4fcc-9783-c73b00f6aafb) 2. Dillon Territory Specialist (ID: d86fd068-15ca-4192-af6e-ec943855f163) 3. Columbus Territory Specialist (ID: d53bf4fc-a939-45cb-ac6c-9709d74c4d03) 4. Miles City Territory Specialist (ID: 61541776-b8d4-4eac-b1ca-8516a29b6433) 5. Lewistown Territory Specialist (ID: bbc6c4b8-c17b-4f2a-827a-60cbe232452a) 6. Riverton Territory Specialist (ID: 97ca58c0-577e-44f4-b161-a3d1b41a0c05) Business line is down. Need this configured ASAP. Thank you!

Closing this ticket because we are replying to you on discord