CapTel — The Captioned Telephone — A Plain-English Guide
Last verified: August 2026
For folks who've stopped answering the phone because they can't hear well anymore. The box is free, the captions are free, and the form is one page.
What's inside the 25-page PDF
- What CapTel actually is (closed captions for your phone calls)
- Why it's free — the FCC TRS Fund explained
- Who qualifies — the one-page eligibility form, line by line
- The four CapTel models compared (840, 880, 840i, 2400i)
- CapTel (Ultratec) vs. Hamilton CapTel — both providers, neutral
- Setup day — unboxing, line, Wi-Fi, first captions test
- Contacts, favorites, ringer, volume, 911 calibration
- The 2-second caption delay, and how to ask for a repeat
- Big-print quick-start card to leave on the counter
- Voicemail captioning + conference calls + telehealth
- Common problems and Bill's fixes
- Auto captions vs. a real person (CA) typing — when to switch
- For adult kids and family caregivers
- Honest accuracy + privacy (80–95% accurate, CAs are human)
- Alternatives — iPhone Live Caption, Pixel, InnoCaption, CaptionCall
- Cost transparency — what's free, what Bill charges to set it up
- Eligibility form checklist + provider phone numbers + glossary
The full guide is a 25-page printable PDF with form checklists, real phone numbers, and Bill's recommendations for Portage County customers. Download it above — it's free, no email required, no signup.
Why I made this guide
My mom Joanne is 90. For the last five or six years, she stopped answering the phone — not because she didn't want to talk to people, but because she couldn't make out what they were saying anymore. Then she'd miss the doctor's office. Then the pharmacy. Then her own grandkids.
Turns out the FCC pays for a free captioned phone that almost no senior knows about. The box is free, the captioning is free, and the eligibility form is one page signed by any doctor or audiologist. I leave a printed copy of this guide with every customer who mentions hearing loss — and with every adult kid asking about Mom or Dad.
No ads. No affiliate links. No fluff. Just what I'd want my own mother to know.
— Bill Davis
Need help with this?
Reading is one thing. Doing it is another. If you'd rather have me handle the form, the order, the unboxing, the network setup, and the training — first in-home visit is $99 flat. Most CapTel setups done in one trip.
Would you rather I just do this for you?
No shame in it — plenty of folks would rather hand it off, and that's what I'm here for. I'll come to your home, set it up right, and make sure it's working before I leave. Flat $99 per visit — no jargon, no upsell, and every visit is 30-day come-back-free.
Not a hardware job? I can often fix it remotely for $49 — a secure screen-share, up to 2 hours, that you watch the whole time and can end whenever (included free for $39/mo Support Plan members, and it counts toward the $99 if it turns out I need to come out).