How To Record Phone Calls With A Wireless Headset

When it comes to recording phone calls, it can get complicated in a hurry. Not so much from the perspective of how to record a call, but the legalities surrounding it. 

The purpose of this blog is to provide some information on how to record a phone call when using a wireless headset. But a parallel purpose is to make sure you understand that there are State and Federal laws that govern phone call recording. 

Hopefully this blog will give you some insights into these subjects and help to clear up any questions or confusion that you might have. 

Let’s crack the door open on this subject and get started. 

When the question is posed how to record a phone call with a wireless headset, you have to break it down further. 

Are you using a wireless headset with a desk phone? 

Are you using a wireless headset with a computer based Softphone? Are you using a wireless headset for your video conferencing meeting? 

Depending on what you’re using your wireless headset with helps determine that manner in which you can record your call. Let’s break this down. 

Desk Phone

Let’s assume for a moment that you’re using your wireless headset along with a desk phone. Desk phones come in a variety of types such as Analog, Digital and Voice Over iP (VOIP). Depending on the phone connection you’re using will partly dictate how you might go about recording your calls. 

With Analog, Digital or VOIP, you can incorporate industry software to record your calls. In some cases, your VOIP system may be the ability to record calls as part of their built in feature set. There are a variety of VOIP providers and they all vary in their offerings, but voice recording is a common feature that you’ll find on many of the brands.

There are a lot of companies that offer software for call recording. When exploring this, you’ll find a lot of available companies to choose from. As always, do your research and select a company that has a good track record. 

Another available option is plug in hardware to record your calls. These devices typically plug into a computer, record your calls and give a variety of use features such as date stamping, file naming etc. Here’s a short video of one company, Record gear, that offers hardware designed to record phone calls from desk phones.

Softphone

Maybe your company is like many that have migrated away from Desk Phones and over to computer based Softphones. A Softphone allows you to eliminate the need to have your phone on your desk, and instead, places it in your computer. Being computer based allows you to have more features and controls at your fingertips. One of these features at your fingertips is call recording. 

Call recording appears on most Softphone applications. One popular Softphone application is RingCentral. The RingCentral Softphone application is flexible, scalable and of course allows you to record your phone calls. Below is a screenshot of the RingCentral Softphone call recording feature. 

Video conferencing

Video conferencing has become a key go to product especially during the pandemic of 2020 when so many people were working from home. 

Video conferencing serves not only as a source for your voice communications, but adds the visual element as well. You can pick up more from the conversation when you’re able to see the other party.

You can observe body posture, body language, where the eyes are focused, and overall sense of engagement. For many, calls that are recorded are useful for purposes of training or for sharing content for others that weren’t able to attend a call. 

When on a video conferencing call, most applications have the ability to record the video call. Below is a screenshot example of this within RingCentral’s video app. 

If you’re wanting to record your video calls, check with your supplier, IT staff or the how to section of your user guide to learn how to record your calls. 

IMPORTANT

Before you record a call when using a desk phone, Softphone or while on a video call, be sure that your recording is compliant with State and Federal laws. 

Call recording laws can vary from state to state and can differ from Federal requirements. 

California, for example, requires “two-party consent” before a call can be recorded. Otherwise, it’s a crime to proceed without this consent according to California Penal Code 632. 

The Federal Government requires one party consent. This means you can record a phone call or conversation so long as you are a party to the conversation. ... The statute also prohibits recording conversations with criminal or tortious intent as per Federal law 18 U.S.C. 2511. 

The best advice here is to check with your State officials to know what you can and cannot do when it comes to recording calls. By doing the necessary research up front, you stand to avoid legal entanglements that can arise if this isn’t done within the scope of the law. 

Once you have a good understanding of what you can do, make sure to contact us here at Headset Advisor if we can answer any headset related questions. The advice is free and you don’t have to be a current customer.