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How to Record Wired or Cordless Telephone Calls

This article is intended for Windows and Mac users wishing to record their telephone calls through their home or office wired or cordless telephones.

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Record Through a Single Wired or Cordless Telephone (Recording to a PC or Mac Computer)

  • A Direct-Line Call Recording Adapter must be used if you own a cordless telephone.
  • If you are after automation with your telephone recording, the VRS Professional Software is the recommended choice. For a simple product requiring manual starting and stopping of telephone recordings, the TRx Software is the better option.

  1. Using the instructions supplied with the adapter, connect it between either the handset and based of the phone, or directly to the phone line wall socket (depending on which adapter you purchased). Connect the audio (3.5mm or USB) plug to your computer.

  2. Download and install either the TRx Single-Line Phone Recorder Software or the VRS Professional Telephone Recording Software. The software will automatically open after installing.

  3. TRx: Once the opens, the Connection Settings wizard will appear. Select the option "Using a call recording adapter that connects to your computer'. On the next page, ensure that the selected recording device is correct (note that if using a USB device, it will appear as its own sound device). After you finish the wizard, you can commence recording. To do so, click the 'Start Recording' button in the main screen.

  4. VRS: By default a single recording channel will be enabled in the software, as seen in the main screen. Click on it (click the 'Channel 1' link), then in the menu that appears, click on 'Channel Properties'. In the window that opens, ensure in the 'Device Properties' tab that you have the correct recording device selected (note that if using a USB device, it will appear as its own sound device). In the Start/Stop Properties, select the Recording Mode that you prefer. After you are done, you can commence your recordings.


Record Through a Single Wired or Cordless Telephone (No Computer Available)

  1. Connect the recording adapter 3.5mm plug to the 3.5mm microphone socket on the portable recording device.

  2. Using the instructions provided with the recording device, you can start/stop the recording as appropriate (the controls are located on either the front or side of the device).


Record Up To 16 Wired or Cordless Telephones (Behind or Not Behind a PBX)

  • If you are behind a PBX, the lines on the telephone board are normally connected to the PBX and behave as extensions on your phone network. The alternative is to bypass the PBX and connect directly to the external phone lines, placing the telephony board outside of your phone network.
  • Beware of PBX units creating different call tones compared to the external phone lines they are connected to. This can sometimes cause issues with the telephone board not recognizing the tones. It is always preferred if the PBX tones can be as similar as possible to the tones on the external phone lines. Please consult your PBX manual or seek assistance from the vendor if you are having issues.

  1. Using the instructions provided with the telephony board, install the board and then install the supplied drivers for the board.

  2. Connect RJ-11 telephone cables from the board into the phone wall line socket. If using a telephone on the same line, plug a double-adapter into the wall socket first, then deploy one cable into the board, and the other into a telephone.

  3. Download and install the VRS Professional Telephone Recording Software. The software will automatically open after installing.

  4. By default a single recording channel will be enabled in the software, as seen in the main screen. Click on the 'Channels' button. then in the window that appears, double-click the channel listed there ('Channel 1'). In the window that opens, ensure in the 'Device Properties' tab that you have a channel on the telephony device selected (it will appear in the recording device list as a sound device). In the Start/Stop Properties, select the Recording Mode that you prefer. Go back to the 'Channels' tab, and click on 'Add' to add a new channel. Configure the settings the same way for this new channel. Repeat this process for all the lines on the board. After you are done, you can commence your recordings.


Record More Than 16 Wired Telephones

  • A single-line version of the VRS software should be installed on every computer, and that copy will record all calls through the phone connected to the computer via the Handset-Based Recording Adapter.
  • VRS supports sending all recordings to a single location on a network, email account, or FTP server, allowing you to keep a single archive of all recordings for your business.
  • You can deploy this solution across as many offices as required - if doing so, we recommend setting up an FTP server and configuring each VRS to upload its recordings to that server.

  1. Using the instructions supplied, connect the adapter between the handset and base of every phone you wish to record from. Connect the audio (3.5mm) plug to your computer.

  2. Download and install the VRS Professional Telephone Recording Software on every computer located near each phone.

  3. By default a single recording channel will be enabled in the software, as seen in the main screen. Click on it (click the 'Channel 1' link), then in the menu that appears, click on 'Channel Properties'. In the window that opens, ensure in the 'Device Properties' tab that you have the correct recording device selected. In the Start/Stop Properties, select the Recording Mode that you prefer.

  4. Repeat this process for all computers VRS is installed on. After you are done, you can commence your recordings.

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