How CaptionCall Installs a Captioned Telephone at Home

I’ve spent more than 30 years covering hearing healthcare and have tried just about every kind of hearing aid and assistive listening device imaginable. Over that time, I had seen captioned telephones demonstrated at trade shows and in hearing care clinics, but I had never really tested one where it matters most: in my own home.

That changed when CaptionCall sent Jennifer Carpenter to my house in Duluth, Minnesota, to install one through the company’s in-home “Red Carpet” service. Carpenter, who handles in-person installations across much of Minnesota, set up the phone, walked me through the registration process, explained the available connection options, and showed me how to tailor the system for everyday use. By the time she left, I was impressed not only by the phone, but by how much care went into making sure it was installed correctly and personalized for my own needs.

I also came away with the same thought several times during the visit: captioned telephones, in general, are one of those genuinely useful hearing-access tools that many more people should know about. At their most basic, captioned telephones—provided free to those who are eligible—are exactly what they sound like: phones with built-in screens that display near-real-time text of your conversations while also amplifying the other caller’s voice through the handset or speakerphone. For people who struggle to hear clearly on calls, that combination can make conversations much easier to follow—and life a lot easier, safer, and more connected.

However, what I wanted to understand was not just how the technology works in theory, but how it works—in real life, in a real home, with a real installer walking through the process step by step.

Setting Up the CaptionCall Phone and “Red Carpet” Experience

I mentioned above that captioned phones are “free.” Well, almost. One of the first things Jennifer did was clarify something that may sound minor, but is important: CaptionCall does not describe the phone or service as “free.” Instead, it is offered at no cost to eligible users through the federally supported Internet Protocol Captioned Telephone Service (IP CTS) program mandated by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The “free” service is available to people with hearing loss who need captions to use the phone effectively, and the FCC explains that IP CTS is designed for people who can speak but have difficulty hearing on calls, regardless of whether you wear a hearing device. In essence, we actually pay for IP CTS service via small fees on our phone bills.

That also sheds more light on who the phone is designed for. As Jennifer told me during the visit, this is not just a product for older adults. You do not have to be a senior citizen, and you do not necessarily need a formal audiological diagnosis in hand to begin the process. In practical terms, the target user is someone with hearing loss who has trouble understanding phone conversations and benefits from reading captions while listening.

That description fits far more people than many of us—including clinicians—probably realize. CaptionCall’s own eligibility language is similar: users must have hearing loss that necessitates captioned phone service, and registration includes a self-certification process. If you have a hearing care provider, they may also be able to help you enroll for a captioned telephone.

Connection Options for Almost Any Home or Living Situation

My installation used an internet-based setup, essentially a VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) configuration, and Jennifer explained that CaptionCall has several ways to get a phone working depending on your situation. If you already have high-speed internet like me, that’s probably the easiest and most common path. You can also use your cell phone’s wireless connection. If you have a landline, the phone can be connected that way, and Jennifer showed me the cords and splitter that would allow a regular home phone and the CaptionCall phone to share the same line. The company also says you can receive a new virtual/second phone number over an internet connection if you do not already have a landline (which is what I did) or use your current phone number in most situations.

What impressed me most, though, was not just that there were multiple installation options but that Jennifer seemed prepared for almost any obstacle. I grew up in rural Minnesota—not far from the Canadian border—so I was intrigued by how the system works across different living situations and regions. She talked me through scenarios involving weak Wi-Fi, unknown router passwords, DSL filters, hardwiring into a router, and installation challenges in assisted living settings where shared internet may be unreliable. In those cases, she explained, CaptionCall can use devices such as a CR3 to connect through the home network, or a CH1 connectivity device that can provide the phone with its own connection when ordinary home internet is weak or unavailable.

In all my years in the hearing industry, I’d never heard of these types of problem-solving peripherals. When asked, Jennifer described the CH1 as a kind of all-purpose “Swiss Army Knife” for difficult connectivity situations—especially in rural locations or facilities with poor shared internet. Essentially, it can give the phone (but nothing else at the location) its own internet connection.

This brings up something that hearing care providers and the hearing industry might not always consider: useful technology often fails or succeeds not on paper, but in the real world of messy kitchens, weak internet signals, crowded assisted-living networks, or people (like me) who do not know their Wi-Fi password because a son set it up or changed it three years ago.

Having done more than a few installs, Jennifer clearly understood this reality. She did an internet speed test, explained what would happen if the connection was unstable, and emphasized that the goal of Red Carpet service is not merely to drop off a phone, but to find workable solutions—and give you a captioned phone that suits your needs and your home setup. And, as she put it, there is “almost always a solution.” CaptionCall can also be installed in work settings.

In my case, the setup itself was pretty straightforward, though not perfectly frictionless. We had a brief detour while I tried to remember which of my Wi-Fi passwords was the right one—a moment that probably says as much about modern life as it does about captioned telephones. Jennifer handled it without any impatience. Once the correct password was entered, she walked me through what she called the three main stages of the appointment:

1. Getting the phone connected (as described above),
2. Completing the required registration and paperwork, and
3. Going over the phone’s functions before placing a test call.

This made the entire process feel organized and manageable rather than intimidating or technical.

Registration and Understanding 911 Limitations

The registration part was also more thorough than some people may expect, but for understandable reasons. Jennifer explained that CaptionCall must verify users and collect certain information to meet the FCC’s IP CTS requirements. This includes confirming hearing difficulty, showing identification, creating account credentials, and setting up a security question for customer support. She also confirmed my address so the phone’s emergency-location information would be correct.

Just as important, she clearly explained a safety caveat: because this setup depends on power from an electrical outlet, the phone should not be treated as your only emergency 911-calling option during a power outage. That practical detail could easily get lost if the installation is DIY or treated as a quick transaction rather than a more comprehensive service experience.

Personalization and Orientation

Once the administrative portion was done, Jennifer shifted gears into teacher mode, and this was where the appointment became especially valuable. She showed me how to keep captions turned on by default, how to save captions for later review, and how to adjust the display size, brightness, contact format, and language settings. She noted that the phone supports English and Spanish and pointed out amplification options that can be further tailored over time.

CaptionCall phones offer a customized amplification screen (which looks like a simple graphic equalizer) so users can boost frequencies where they have the greatest hearing loss, and there is a comprehensive User Guide (in print, not just online!) for the deeper fine-tuning.

Jennifer also spent time on what may be the most important day-to-day control of all: the volume knob. She demonstrated that the same control can govern different listening modes depending on what you are doing. It can adjust the ringer, the handset volume, or the speakerphone volume, each independently. This type of design detail can make a big difference when someone is struggling to hear on the telephone. During our conversation, I was especially struck by how loud the handset could get. For many users, that alone can be a major practical benefit—even before the captions come into play.

Jennifer also showed how to access customer support within the phone itself. Stepping into the role of my big sister—a person who unfortunately knows me all too well—she conscientiously hand-wrote all the key information (my new phone number, password, access-question response, and other pertinent information) directly on the User Guide so I could readily find it in the future. She pointed out where support information is printed on the phone and in the guides, and showed how to dial customer service directly from the Contacts menu. Finally, she explained that if anything goes wrong, support can often troubleshoot remotely and, if necessary, send someone back to my home.

I liked that the process didn’t assume the user would become a technician or “IT guy.” It assumed, instead, that support should remain accessible after the installer leaves.

The appointment culminated, as it should, in a test call. Jennifer stepped out onto our porch to avoid feedback and rang the new phone from there. I answered on the handset, watched the captions appear, and did what any annoying editor would do: I started poking at the edges of the experience. I did notice one captioning slip, which is inevitable in real-world speech recognition. However, overall, the call worked well, and the handset volume was excellent.

Jennifer explained that captioning is typically handled through AI-based transcription, although live-captioning assistance (i.e., a trained transcriber) may still be available, if needed. Similarly, CaptionCall’s support materials state that its service uses a combination of advanced voice recognition, fast transcription, and live captioning agents. In short, the demo served as a proof-of-concept and validation of the setup.

My Takeaway

Jennifer estimates she has completed more than 100 installs in the past year, and the company also offers the popular remote/DIY installation support option.

But beyond the logistics, she came across as someone who genuinely likes the work because she can see what it does for people. She described skeptical users hearing the phone for the first time, reading the captions, and then smiling. That may sound corny, but after spending part of an afternoon trying out the captioned telephone via a few random calls to friends and family, I can understand exactly what she meant. Telephone communication—even in the age of texting—remains an important communication bridge.

I have a mild-to-moderate hearing loss and don’t personally need a captioned telephone long-term, so I’ll soon be giving this one up. But after using it for a couple of months, I came away with a much clearer sense of how many people might consider it a lifeline for communication.

For example, we have a close family friend who has hearing loss, uses hearing aids, and recently had some cognitive and dexterity problems following a series of strokes. He is now mostly homebound and has trouble hearing and navigating on his smartphone. When I showed his wife how the CaptionCall phone works—the captions, amplification, and large, easy-to-use buttons—her eyes lit up and she immediately recognized how much easier it would make communication for her husband and their family. She was equally surprised to learn that it could be provided at no cost. They’re getting one.

The broader lesson for me is that CaptionCall—and captioned telephones in general—occupy an important niche in hearing healthcare that is often overshadowed by hearing aids. Hearing aids are enormously important, of course, but they are not always the complete solution for everyone. Phones, specialized alarm and alerting devices, TV streamers, remote microphones, and other devices can all play a role in communication access—and are vital for people with different needs. My Red Carpet installation experience reminded me that sometimes the most meaningful technology is not always the flashiest AI-driven hearing aid; sometimes it is a well-designed device, properly installed by a capable person, that can help someone hear and converse easily on a phone call again.