Voicemail, Contacts and More – Your Guide to Using a Caption Phone

There it is–black finish, large touch screen display and easy-to-use functions. A flashing white light illuminates on your home caption phone and alerts you to an incoming call from your daughter. It’s even accompanied by a ringing sound loud enough for you to hear. It doesn’t stop there. You answer the call, and your phone conversation is then transcribed right there on your screen! Without worry, you’ll see every word your daughter is saying and know you’re getting the whole conversation. Does it get any better than that?  

How can my caption phone help me? 

Your caption phone is there for you when you need captioned calls at home. (For on-the-go caption needs, look no further than our ClearCaptions Mobile app!) Sure, hearing loss can make it difficult to communicate and use the phone in everyday situations, but as you may already know, this is where your caption phone shines!  

As one of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) certified telephone captioning providers, ClearCaptions provides captioned telephone service for you and others whose hearing loss makes it difficult to use the phone.  

Your caption phone provides text of phone conversations with increased speed and accuracy using Automatic Speech Recognition or ASR, and in some cases with the use of live caption agents. It’s even equipped with features that can help make using the caption phone much easier and more convenient.   

Four features you should know about   

Feel confident when you use your caption phone. ClearCaptions advanced call captioning service displays near real-time captions on an easy-to-use touchscreen display. It also features more, so you can do more! 

1. Save voicemails with the built-in answering machine.

Every voicemail your callers leave on your answering machine will be recorded and stored while you’re away. You can easily retrieve them and play them back with captions too! View our video guide on how to use and access your voicemails here. 

• The VOICEMAIL icon will display a red dot with how many messages you received 
• Tap the VOICEMAIL icon to view your messages 
• New messages you received will display a red dot in the list 
• Tap the message and press the play icon  
• You’ll be able to hear your message and read the captions too 
• After listening to your message, you can delete it by pressing the delete icon 
• If you choose not to delete your message, it will be saved to your phone

2. Create your own phone book and save contacts and favorites.

Have you filled in your phone book yet? Adding contacts and favorites is easy! They’re also conveniently stored in alphabetical order.  View our video guide on how to add contacts and save favorites here. 

• Tap the CONTACTS icon on the home screen 
• In the contacts screen, tap the add button 
• Enter your contact’s name and phone number then tap save 

 You can also easily tag your favorites for contacts you dial the most. 

• Just tap CONTACTS and tap on a contact you wish to save as a favorite 
• Now, tap the HEART icon on that appears on the contact line 
• Access your favorites with the FAVORITES icon on your home screen  

3. Get visual alerts for voicemails and calls with the light bar  

Your ClearCaptions Phone is equipped with a built-in light bar that will light up or flash as a visual alert to help you see incoming phone calls, new messages and updates that may need your attention. No more missed calls or lost messages because you didn’t hear it ring! 

The bar will light up when you are receiving a call as a visual cue in case you don’t hear the ringing of the phone. It will turn off when you answer the phone. 

The light on the top of the phone will flash and a small red dot will appear above the Voicemail icon when you have a new voicemail. Once you listen to the voicemail, the flashing will stop. 

•  If you notice your light does not turn off and you have checked for new voicemails, you can always contact our Customer Support Team to troubleshoot your phone. 

 You can also enable the light to flash if you have missed a phone call. While this is off by default, you can contact our team to help you turn this feature on.  

4. Use captions and customize them your way.

You’ll be able to toggle captions on and off and even adjust the font size and color. View our video guide on how to use captions here. 

When you’re on a call you can change the appearance of captions  

• Caption adjustment tools can be found on the bottom of the screen 
• If they are not visible, look for and tap on OPTIONS 

Change the font size of the captions if you find it easier to read larger text.

• To change the font size, tap on the FONT button 
• Use your finger to drag the font size slider left or right 
• They will appear larger or smaller 

Choose your background and font color: white font on a black background, or dark font on a white background.

• Tap the contrast setting icon to the right of the font size slider to choose between these font color options.
• The changes you make will be saved for your next calls

All calls have captions pre-enabled. 

• If your captions are turned off, you’ll see a blue button on your screen
• Tap TURN ON CAPTIONS to enable call captioning again

Learn more about the basics using ClearCaptions Easy Reference Guide. 

Four common reasons your phone may not work properly 

1. Your network provider recently changed. Did you or a family member recently change your internet provider or Wi-Fi password? This can cause your caption phone to disconnect. Don’t worry! There’s a simple fix. Simply reconnect the internet cable to your caption phone. If using Wi-Fi, update the password by going to SETTINGS, then choose NETWORK.  
2. Storm or power outages. Your caption phone may disconnect and lose connection during a storm or power outage. All you need to do is restart your phone AFTER your home network comes back online. This should resolve the issue. 
3. Place your handset firmly in the cradle. Please make sure your handset is firmly in the cradle or it will not hang up. This may cause your caption phone to not work or ring properly when you have new incoming calls. 
4. Update your software. To ensure you have the best captioning experience, check that your software is up to date. Simply tap SOFTWARE UPDATE in your SETTINGS. If there is no option to update your software, your phone is running on the current version and no further action is required.  

With a few customizations and a little practice, you will be making phone calls with confidence once again! If you need extra assistance, our team is happy to help. Connect with our Customer Support Team by dialing 866-868-8695, finding ClearCaptions in your Favorites, or emailing support@clearcaptions.com.  

Thank you for choosing ClearCaptions and our home caption phone. We look forward to serving you and keeping you connected, every day.