Consult this step-by-step guide when you set up your CapTel captioned telephone.
If you or someone you know has difficulty talking on the phone because of hearing loss, captioned telephones for hearing loss can make understanding the person on the other end of the line easier. CapTel phones allow users to converse just as they would on a standard telephone, with one significant difference – the phone displays written captions of everything the other person says.
If you’re a new CapTel phone user or simply want to brush up on your knowledge, review these steps on using captions on our captioned telephones for hearing loss:
- Making a phone call with captions
- Answering a phone call with captions
- Reviewing saved captions
- Playing answering machine messages
Read more to learn how to use captions on our CapTel captioned telephones for hearing loss.
Making a phone call with captions
Ensure that the light around or near the “captions” button is on before you make your phone call. Then, dial the phone number of the person you are calling as you typically would. If you are calling long distance, dial 1 before the area code. If you’re using your CapTel phone in an office environment, you may need to dial 9 to call out of the building.
After you dial, you will see a message on the screen indicating that the call is in the process of connecting to the caption service. Captions will appear when the other party answers the phone, and your conversation begins. From there, you can enjoy your conversation while reading along with everything the other person says!
Answering a phone call with captions
If you want to have captions for an incoming phone call, check to see if the caption button’s light is on. Ensure that it is and answer the incoming call as you usually would. If the button is not lit, press the captions button to turn captions on. You will then have captions available on the screen for the rest of the conversation. You can press the captions button again at any time during the call to turn captions off.
How people call your CapTel phone depends on which model you have. People calling you may be able to dial your number directly, or they may need to call the captioning service first and then enter your phone number – review your phone’s instruction booklet or our helpful guides on the CapTel 840i, 2400i, 880i, and 840 models for more information.
Reviewing saved conversations
You can see captions of previous phone conversations on your CapTel phone by selecting the review captions feature. See your CapTel phone’s how-to video instructions or the instruction booklet for specific information on finding your model’s review captions feature. You can scroll through the conversation with the arrow keys or by touching the screen, if your phone has a touch screen.
The CapTel phone also allows you to review captions during the conversation, as well as after your conversation is finished. Depending on your model, you may be able to save up to 100 lines of captions to review later.
Playing answering machine messages
Similar to reviewing saved captions, you can check captioned messages on the answering machine of CapTel captioned telephones for hearing loss. If you see you have a new answering machine message, your phone will provide prompts on reviewing and listening to your answering machine messages with captions. Depending on your phone’s model, you may also be able to request new captions for an answering machine message.
Captioned telephones for hearing loss can help users talk over the phone comfortably and never miss a word of their conversations, whether they’re at work or home. To learn more, explore our different CapTel telephone models to see which one is right for you, and check out our comprehensive FAQs guide to captioned phones for hearing loss.
