How CaptionMate Numbers work

New CaptionMate Number

After you register for CaptionMate, we will identify a new "CaptionMate Number" for you to use. You can give this number to your friends and family to call you. CaptionMate will do its best to find a localized number for you.

To place an outgoing call, use the application to say which number you wish to call. If you are using a cell phone app, the app will help you dial the number and return you to the application. If you are using a landline phone, then the app will direct you to call your new CaptionMate number from your landline; doing so will forward your call to the number you chose to call.

When someone calls your CaptionMate number, our servers will pick up the call and forward it to the phone on which you want to receive phone audio. This can be your cell phone or a landline. You can change your designated phone for answering calls at any time.

In the middle, we'll use the high audio quality to intercept the conversation, transcribe it using Speech to Text technology, and then send it to any device where you have registered the CaptionMate application. This could be the same cell phone that you receive the call on, or it could be a computer screen, tablet or other phone. The CaptionMate server does not keep any transcriptions after the call ends; the transcription is only on your local device.

Types of Accounts: Landline and Mobile

You can use multiple mobile phones on the same account. You must allow location services to be turned on for CaptionMate mobile apps in order to ensure that your location can be sent during emergency calls. If you wish to use one or more landline phones, each landline must have its own account (with its own CaptionMate number), and you will be required to register a physical location for each landline phone. This will help to ensure location information can be relayed to the appropriate emergency personnel during 911 calls. You can register for CaptionMate multiple times with multiple email addresses. For example, you could have two accounts for two different landline phones, plus a third account for all of your mobile phones. Each account will have its own CaptionMate number.

Emergency Calling

If you are using a landline phone, make sure you are familiar with CaptionMate's procedures for updating your registered physical location, and promptly update the information if it changes.

Know any limitations of your service, and have a plan for making emergency calls in the event of a power or Internet outage. You may want to keep a TTY and traditional phone line, or install a backup power supply. Dialing 911 from a TTY remains the most reliable and fastest method of reaching emergency personnel.

Complaints to the FCC

You have multiple options for filing a complaint with the FCC: