by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.
One of the common complaints CapTel phone users have is garbled captions and missing words. Here are some “tricks” to improve your CapTel experience, and information on how to report problems by Pamela Holmes the Director, Consumer & Regulatory Affairs/CapTel Customer Service at Ultratec, Inc. She has the inside information on what you can (and should) do if you have problems with the captions on your CapTel phone. She explains:
First, users should be aware that the captionist can only hear the person’s voice they are captioning. The captionist cannot hear you if you try to give him/her any instructions or ask him to repeat something. Thus, if you are having any problems, here are some alternate ideas.
1. If you have 2-line CapTel, simply press the caption button off (to release the connection to the current captionist) and then press the caption button back on again. In 12-15 seconds a new captionist will be connected to your existing call. The hearing party will remain connected on Line 1 and you can speak to and “listen” (if you wish to use your residual hearing during this time) to the other party the whole time. To make this transition transparent to the other party, press off and on the caption button while you are doing the taking. The other party will have no idea anything has changed, yet a new captionist will be brought onto the call.
2. If you only have single line CapTel, and the call is not going well, it is best to hang up and get a new connection, or ask the other party to repeat what was said. After the call, jot down the time and date of the call and the CA number and send an email to CapTel describing briefly the experience on the call. CapTel Customer Service will follow up with the Captioning Service management and the CA and their supervisor to be sure the CA has the quality monitoring and skill set to caption the call at the standards we expect.
You can also call 1-888-269-7477 to speak to a CapTel Customer Service representative. They answer calls between 8 am and 5 PM Central Time, and are dedicated to assisting you.
3. If a call is garbled, shows dropped characters or the captions are nonsensical, then the cause may be due to interference on the phone line, or using a line that does not support the data connection required to carry the captions with accuracy. With voice recognition transcription there should be whole words. CapTel Customer Service can also help troubleshoot and identify the causes of such problems.
There you have it. If you are having troubles with your CapTel captioning, follow these tips. You don’t have to suffer in silence. The more you report captioning problems, the sooner the system will be improved.
Joe King says
Why do callers I do not know (9 out of 10) usually hang up after I start the captions? It’s just “Hello, Hello, is this Mr./Mrs. King…hangup. They don’t seem to hear me talking to them. Why is that?
Neil says
Hi Joe:
Are you using a CapTel phone or a CaptionCall phone? Also, has it always been this way, or just in the past couple of months where calls come in uncaptioned and you have to hit the captioning button before you see the captions?
Not knowing the specifics in your case at this point, one reason people hang up is they are impatient and they can’t even wait 5 seconds so you can get the captions before they hang up.
Hopefully, those that hang up on you are just crank calls, sales calls or wrong numbers.
Regards
Neil
Joe King says
Hi Neil,
Thank you for your response. I’m using the CapTel 800i. It’s my second CapTel phone so I’ve had a lot of experience with CapTel. It has pretty much always been this way with the phone. Sometimes even people I call hang up on me. Very frustrating to say the least. Most of the calls are telemarketers. Sometimes I try to talk to them just to see if I can keep them from hanging up. They usually hang up after several “Hellos”. My sister is aware of the problems with this phone, and is the only person I can carry on a conversation of any length. But even these calls are sometimes dropped. If it’s important she calls back otherwise we let it go. BTW, I’m deaf, formerly hard of hearing. I’m kinda trapped between two worlds; the Deaf and the hearing. I am learning ASL which tends to be more SEE. I need to be more fluent to use the VP, or even an interpreter. Hope this give you some insight into my plight.
marvin ryerr says
Captions stopped working.Message on phone=caption dns service failed and then m19.
Neil Bauman, Ph.D. says
Hi Marvin:
There are two things I’d do.
First, reboot your phone by unplugging it from the power adapter. Let it sit for 10 or 15 seconds and then plug it in again and see if it works.
Second, if the above doesn’t work, call the phone’s customer service number and get them working on it.
Cordially,
Neil
Shiela Kaufman says
Cannot connect. When dialing out it rings four times , then disconnects. Incoming calls disconnect when picked up.
Neil Bauman, Ph.D. says
Hi Shiela:
Does your blue customer service button work? If so talk to them.
If that doesn’t work, call the CapTel customer service from another phone, or get someone else to do it for you if you can’t hear and have them troubleshoot the problem.
Cordially,
Neil
Bruce Sizemore says
hey my captioning is not working.
Call them to report problem. That is a joke ,right?
Howz about an email address .
Paul Milkes says
I have been using Hamilton CapTel service for years, the service has gotten progressively worse, and, when I bring it to their attention, they do not correct the problems. They seem to be the only game in town for cell phone captioning!?
What can be done to cause them to address these same ongoing problems? Would contacting the FCC have any effect?
Thanks
John Hymes says
2/3 of my calls using my Hamilton CapTel for Business end up with he captions being cut off or really slow. We have very high speed connections so this shouldn’t be an issue. Does anyone else have this problem using a Cisco 8851 VoIP phone?
Norma Wright says
The CaptionCall phone has been acting up, not showing the words of the other party calling in. I rebooted the by unplugging, which caused it to reinitialize. It worked at first, but stopped showing all the words. After a while, the dial tone could not be heard.
What needs to be done?
Neil Bauman, Ph.D. says
Hi Norma:
What I’d do is reboot it again, and assuming it starts working then immediately phoned CaptionCall and tell them what your problems are before it quits working. You’ll find the CaptionCall phone number in your phone’s phone book.
Cordially,
Neil
robert bloom says
ALL of my phone calls are important!! Just to simply push the ‘Caption Button’ and delay the conversation is not the answer. Technical support at CapTel should investigate these issues. My conversations are sometimes cut off or garbled. , Captionists are slow and words are not accurate or complete. There have been times that the Captionists are lazy and not doing their job.. Occasionally, my phone has this horrible static. I have rebooted the phone phone 2-3 times a day. I called sales support and requested a new phone (8-3-2018).
I checked with my carrier ‘Sprint’, replaced my modem and bought a new router and still have these issues. Customer representatives do not have the technical expertise to figure out how to address my issues.
Jean Odegaard #186 says
I am unable to call out…number comes up, but does not dial…line is working as it rings sometimes…but whoever is calling cannot hear me and says thanks good bye….I am so lost without being able to use this phone.
Neil Bauman, Ph.D. says
Hi Jean:
Which model of CapTel phone do you have? I’ve had somewhat similar problems with the Model 840i. If its not working, see if they will replace it with the Model 2400i. It has always worked for me.
But before you do this, try pulling out the power plug on the back and wait for 15 seconds, then plug it in again and let it reboot. Sometimes that will fix the problem.
Cordially,
Neil
jack bray says
why is my caption call phone been updating for three days.
Neil Bauman, Ph.D. says
Hi Jack:
Since it only takes 5 or 10 minutes at the most to update your phone, it’s obvious that it’s locked up. What I’d do is unplug the 3 cords going into the base of the phone, wait 15 seconds then plug them back in and once it’s booted up, then choose update again. Bet it works this time.
Cordially,
Neil
Larry R Robinson says
why is my phone continually up dating and always ends up back on 7/15/2020 with voice messages on that date. have rebooted but it still continues doing the same thing over and over?
Neil Bauman, Ph.D. says
Hi Larry:
I don’t know why your phone is doing that. Mine sure doesn’t. I’d call customer service and see what they say. Maybe your phone has gone “bad”. Just press the blue customer service button to get them.
Cordially,
Neil
Nancy Villa says
We have a CAPTEL phone in our house. Recently it started acting up. The display brightens then dims, shuts off then repeats continuously. Additionally, a message saying, “Lost connection” will appear during the aforementioned light episodes. We have unplugged the unit and reprogrammed it to no avail. Thanks for your help.
Neil Bauman, Ph.D. says
Hi Nancy:
Have you contacted customer service. Just press the blue button on your phone to connect to them.
Cordially,
Neil
Vickie says
I used to work for one of these companies. And I can’t explain why some of the captions are off. Since those complaining are people who have a hearing impairment , You may not realize how poorly the speaker is speaking. As a captioner it is very frustrating when people talk too fast, or they garble their words, or they walk around and are banging on dishes and running water and doing things while they are talking to you. Not only is this very distracting for the captioner it makes it hard for us to capture the words the people are saying. So one thing you could do if you’re running into a lot of captioning issues, or a lot of goofy words. Tell your callers to please speak clearly enough so that the captions can come through better. Also it’s important to understand that your captioners are working an eight hour shift. As soon as your call hangs up within five seconds they are picking up another call. Most of us go nonstop for 2 1/2 to 3 hours before stopping for a break. It’s very tiring, and it’s challenging when we have to strain to hear an accent or garbled words or worse when someone starts swearing and screaming at the person that they are calling. So have a little simple Sympathy for your helpers. I know how many of us are frustrated when we don’t feel we have given you all of the words correctly. Some days I would drive home so exhausted and upset with myself because I didn’t caption some call that I thought was really important properly. We are just people like you. And some of your captioners have hearing impairments and are using cochlear implant’s. We do care. I’ve never met a captioner they didn’t. So we do our best and I’m sorry for any times that you may have gotten a brand new caption Or someone having a bad day. I do realize that it does take several months to become a good captioner so you do sometimes get someone who is new and doing their absolute best. It’s an interesting job I am very grateful for the opportunities that I had to help people with hearing impairments and very frustrated that it isn’t easier to do.
Neil Bauman, Ph.D. says
Hi Vickie:
I sure understand your problems with speakers that are not clear. That is why I think the prime requirement for the job is that you have perfect hearing. If your hearing isn’t perfect–especially in the higher frequencies that tend to go first, then you shouldn’t be doing the job. After all, we are relying on your ears so it is not fair to us to have captioners with less than perfect hearing.
I also know that you can’t control people that are yelling or swearing or mumbling, etc. and that can be very hard on the ears. In fact, you can end up with acoustic shock disorder from it. When that happens, there goes your job as your ears can no longer tolerate such sounds.
I also have known a good number of live captioners and can see how stressed they become when listening conditions are not ideal for them. It is a hard job and requires enormous concentration–but its just like the enormous concentration I have to put out every day as I strain to understand people talking with my poor ears.
So kudos for all the hard work you do to help us.
Cordially,
Neil
Joe King says
Vicki’s comment explains a lot if there are more captionists like her. I empathize with the pitfalls, but she is obviously not suited for the job. I would think captionists need to be articulate and have good command of English grammar and punctuation, not to mention typing skills. Putting people with hearing impairments is only adding to the problem.
Neil Bauman, Ph.D. says
Hi Joe:
I agree with you that captionists should have “perfect” hearing. After all they are acting as our ears and getting paid well for it–so they need to be able to hear well.
I think most of them have a good command of English and are excellent typists. But you can’t expect them to know all the specialized jargon for every specialty there is–so they do make spelling mistakes, and they don’t have every jargon word in their dictionaries, but they do an amazing job nevertheless.
When I am presenting, ahead of time I give the captionist a list of unusual words that they may not have in their dictionaries so they can set them up before my presentation. And since they type basically phonetically, I sometimes give them the pronunciation I use for some of the words because some words are pronounced differently although they have the same spelling–for example, take the word tinnitus. You might pronounce it TIN-ih-tus or you might pronounce it tih-NIE-tus. The keys they type depend on how you say it, so they may need help with jargon before they have to use it.
Cordially,
Neil
Tracey Passmore says
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and suggestions Vickie, and thank you for your compassion in your work. I will certainly try to implement your suggestions when calling my mother… 💕
Donna Harris says
Callers voice is garbled. calls are not clear due to noise, like its breaking up. I have unplug the power but doesn’t seem to help.
Neil Bauman, Ph.D. says
Hi Donna:
Is every caller’s voice garbled, or just one specific person’s voice.
Does the phone caption the caller’s voice properly or does it say “caller unclear” or something similar?
The first step is to find out where the problem occurs. It may be the phone, the phone line, the exchange, the person at the other end, etc.
Cordially,
Neil
TurbineDood says
I’ve been in contact with Brett at Hamilton Captel numerous times via e-mail over the past year or more regarding issues: slow to get a captel operator, operator never picks up, garbled onscreen text, entire sentences missing onscreen, and overall poor quality onscreen text. His e-mail replies are more ‘salesmanship’, not addressing the issues, evasive answers, and include tips from a ‘hearing person’ that simply do not apply to someone who cannot hear.
What agency oversees captel at the Federal level that I can complain to so as to get some actual corrective action?
Neil Bauman, Ph.D. says
Hi Turbine:
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) oversees telephone captioning services. To make your case, they like to see examples of your correspondence to the captioning company and their replies, and shots of your telephone captions if you can take some.
Cordially,
Neil
George Decker says
After waiting to have my new phone installed I found out that people on the other end could hardly hear me plus there was static. Tech support tried different things, but after three calls to them and them trying different things it was no better. Even they could hear how bad it was. Now I have to wait all over again to get someone to come out. I’ve had the phone one day, you would think I could get someone out a lot sooner then being put at the end of the list again…. Always keep a backup phone because you are going to have to wait weeks for service to come out if you have a problem.
Richard Davison says
I try talking with my mom , who has a Cap Tel 840i traditional telephone.
She has extremely bad hearing so relies mostly on the captions. The captions work pretty good, but, my mom is 91 and has some difficulty using the phone., trying to scroll the captions, etc. The biggest issue right now is that her voice cuts out frequently and I can’t hear her talking. We have talked with customer service who recommended that my mom talk directly into the phone mouthpiece. She says that is what she is doing, but, her voice still cuts out frequently for a minute or two and then she can suddenly be heard again. This can be very annoying. Please advise why is is happening. Thanks.
Neil Bauman, Ph.D. says
Hi Richard:
The first thing I’d suggest is that you get CapTel to replace your mom’s phone with another one to see if her voice still cuts in and out. The phone itself may be defective or a wire in the handset cord may be intermittent.
Also, make sure the cord from the phone to the wall makes good connections at each end. A plug pin could be dirty and not make a good connection. I’d unplug and plug in the cord at both ends a couple of times to dislodge any dirt/oxidation and see if that cures the problem.
If that doesn’t work, then contact me again and I’ll see what else comes to mind.
Cordially,
Neil
chi ho says
I own a CAPTEL phone. It works well until recently there is static while i am talking.
What is wrong with that static interference and how can I fix ?
Thank you
Neil Bauman, Ph.D. says
Hi Chi:
Contact CapTel and see what they say. Maybe they need to replace the phone and see if that solves the problem.
Cordially,
Neil
Ella D Furlough says
My CAP phone rings and I receive calls from outside. The problem is it will not let me call out. I reset everything and it still does not let me call out. I have my contact list entered as directed with only 1 before 800 calls. The rest just the area code and number. Any suggestions.
Neil Bauman, Ph.D. says
Hi Ella:
I’d talk to customer service at CapTel–its the blue button on your phone. Just press it and it will call customer service directly.
Cordially,
Neil
MARY ARGO says
I just got this phone yesterday and never got to use it.I looked mayby 10 minutes later and it was silent I touched like you say but nothing ooo
Neil Bauman, Ph.D. says
Hi Mary:
I don’t understand your comment. If you want help, you need to explain what is wrong clearly and in more detail.
Cordially,
Neil
Donna Fagan says
My elderly mother has CapTel and for the past two weeks whenever she gest a phone call, she hears someone else on the line. I do not hear the other person but I do hear some static. Any suggestions?
Neil Bauman, Ph.D. says
Hi Donna:
You haven’t told me the information I need to figure out what is going on. Answer my questions and I should be able to help you/her.
Are you listening on her CapTel phone or another phone in her place, or your own phone?
You need to be at her place and when she answers her phone and hears the “other person” as well as the person phoning, have her give the receiver to you and talk to the person phoning, then tell me what you hear besides the person who phoned talking to you.
If you also hear another person on the line, then that is a crossed connection and the phone company’s problem. However, if you only can hear the person who phoned and not another voice on the line, then your mom is probably experiencing Musical Ear Syndrome (MES).
If that is so, then I’d be surprised if she doesn’t hear other phantom sounds, like the TV on in another room when it is turned off–things like that.
MES is quite common in elderly people that have hearing losses, and once understood, nothing to be worried about.
Cordially,
Neil
Cindy Spurgeon says
Hello,
I bought this phone for my very hard of hearing father and when I call, he can hear and see the words but the line has so much static on my end that I cannot hear him. It’s only been 2 days but all the callers report the same issue with not being able to hear him.
Neil Bauman, Ph.D. says
Hi Cindy:
Talk to the CapTel service people about this. Perhaps the phone is defective or something else is not quite right. My CapTel phone has a blue “Customer Service” button you can press to automatically dial them for help.
I take it that when using his phone, everything sounds right and there is no static–is that correct? Just incoming calls are staticky?
See what customer service says.
Cordially,
Neil
Joan L Krause says
Tahe caller ID is still appearing at the top of my TV. BUT the phone no dial tone No information in screen. Something may wrong with the connections. I can’t find my original installation directions. Please help me. I can only read messages on my cell phone. Thank you for any advise you can give. Joan L. Krause
Neil Bauman, Ph.D. says
Hi Joan:
The first thing I’d do is check all connections–unplug them and plug them in again. This means your power adapter, phone line and internet line.
If you phone face is blank and nothing appears, it is probably a power problem. The power adapter could have gone bad. I had this happen to me recently. CapTel sent me a new adapter and all was well again.
Once you know you have power, then if you don’t have a dial tone, the problem is likely one end of your telephone (gray) cable is not plugged in correctly so unplug it and plug it in again. (Do this for both ends of the cable.)
If captions are the problem then unplug the Ethernet cable (black) at both the phone end and the modem/router end. If that doesn’t fix it, then reboot your router.
The above is assuming you are using an Ethernet cable. If you are using the wireless see the Manual.
You don’t say which model of phone you have. If you have the CapTel Model 2400i phone, here is where you can download a copy of the manual. https://www.captel.com/knowledgebase/captel-2400i-user-manual-includes-directions-for-bluetooth/ .
And remember, you can always call CapTel service and they will help you. Just phone them on your cell phone.
Cordially,
Neil
betty a cohen says
the number on my screen does not match the right person who is calling
Neil Bauman, Ph.D. says
Hi Betty:
This has nothing to do with a CapTel or other captioned phone. This is done by scammers and suchlike that try to make you think the call is from a friend, etc., but it is from someone who doesn’t want you to know who they really are. Just hang up on such calls. If there is a (V) (verified) in front of the number, these are supposed to be real calls and it is generally safe to take such calls.
Cordially,
Neil
Leroy Boddy says
i have heard that my sisters ClearCaption phone does not ring when someone is calling it. what could that be?
Neil Bauman, Ph.D. says
Hi Leroy:
Two obvious things to check is first whether the ringer volume is turned off, and second, reboot the phone–unplug both cables to the phone–wait 10 seconds and then plug them in again and see if that solves the problem when it boots up.
Hopefully, one of those two things will get it working properly again.
Cordially,
Neil
Avis Grant says
Can phone numbers be blocked? I get dozens of calls from same Medicare phone sales each day…..ANGRY
Neil Bauman, Ph.D. says
Hi Avis:
As far as I know, you’d have to take this up with your phone carrier, not the CapTel people.
Cordially,
Neil
shirlyn A hardin says
My receiver fell off my phone and broke, and the phone no longer works, who do I get in with to get another one?
Neil Bauman, Ph.D. says
Hi Shirlyn:
Contact CapTel customer service and they can help you.
Cordially,
Neil