Wednesday, August 20, 2014

How to Record a Phone Call on Your Android Phone


00_lead_image_call_recorder
Ever wished you had recorded a call? Maybe you got bad customer service from a company over the phone and you want proof. Or, maybe you received training or help that you want to reference again in the future.

There are ways to record calls on your Android phone. We will show you an app that records both sides of a conversation on your Android phone with the ability to automatically start when you make or receive a phone call. We’ll also show you an app that allows you to record any sounds outside the phone, allowing you to record both sides of a call using your speakerphone.
NOTE: Recording a phone call without the knowledge of one or both of the parties is illegal in some countries. Some states in the United States require one party to be notified of the recording, some require both parties to be notified. For more information about laws regarding call recording, see Wikipedia and the Digital Media Law Project. Be sure to do your due diligence about the laws in your state before recording any calls.
Call Recorder by Boldbeast is an app that works on many phones with most carriers. To access the app in the Google Play store, search for “call recorder boldbeast.” The Call Recorder app should be the first item in the list of results.
Once you’ve installed Call Recorder, open the program. The main screen displays with one button and two options on the toolbar in the upper-right corner of the screen. Clicking the button (twice slowly, not double-click) on the screen manually begins the voice recorder allowing you to take a voice memo. Press the button again (twice slowly, not double-click) to stop recording. A dialog box displays asking if you want to save the memo. Press Yes or No. We’ll discuss voice memos again later in this article.
01_call_recorder_manual_record_land
We’re going to explore some of the options available in Call Recorder. Touch the settings button on your phone and select Settings from the popup menu.
02_selecting_settings_in_call_recorder_land
By default, Call Recorder saves the records to a hidden directory on the internal storage in your phone. However, you can change this in the settings. Touch App Settings on the Settings screen.
03a_selecting_app_settings
To make the folder hidden, a dot is added to the beginning of the folder name, as shown on the image below. Touch Clip Saving Folder to change the save location for records.
03b_app_settings
We chose to keep the default location for saved records, but we removed the dot from in front of “BBRec.” Once you have specified the directory to use, touch OK.
NOTE: You must enter the path manually. If you need to find the path to enter, you can use a program, such as ES File Explorer, to create a folder if needed and to copy the path of the desired folder.
03c_clip_saving_folder
Next, we’ll change options for the call records. Press the Back button on your phone to go back to the Settings screen, then touch Call Settings.
03_settings_screen_land
By default, Call Recorder automatically starts recording a call when you make a call or receive a call. If you want to turn this feature off, touch Auto Record Calls.
04_call_settings_screen_land
On the Auto Record Calls dialog box, select Disabled to turn off the automatic call recording feature. You can automatically record calls for specific contacts and not for anyone else using Include List or not record calls for specific contacts but do so for everyone else using the Exclude List.
NOTE: We tried this feature, but could not get contacts added to the list. It may work differently on various phones.
05_turning_off_auto_record_land
Once you make your selection on the Auto Record Calls dialog box, you are returned to the Call Settings screen. Another useful option is the Ask Before Save option. By default, Call Recorder automatically saves the record when a call ends. If you want the choice of whether to save the record or not, select the check box to the right of Ask Before Save.
Touch the Back button on your phone twice to return to the main Call Recorder screen.
06_ask_before_save_land
The next time you make a call, if you’ve turned on the Ask Before Save option, the following dialog box displays information about the record to be saved. Touch Yes to save the record.
07_save_call_recording_dialog_land
You can access and play the records directly in Call Recorder. To access a list of saved records, touch the phone handset icon on the title bar in Call Recorder.
08_accessing_recordings_list_land
On the Call List screen, you can play any record by touching it.
09_list_of_recordings_land
To access additional options for records, touch and hold on a record until the Boldbeast Recorder dialog box displays. You can delete, rename, or view details for a record. You can also add a note to a record.
09a_boldbeasst_recorder_dialog
At the beginning of this article, we mentioned that you can use Call Recorder to record voice memos. To access the list of memos you’ve recorded, touch the microphone icon on the title bar in Call Recorder.
10_accessing_memos_land
To play a memo, touch the desired memo in the list.
11_list_of_memos_land
To access additional options for memos, touch and hold on a memo until the Boldbeast Recorder dialog box displays. You can delete or view details for a memo. You can also add a note to a memo.
11a_selecting_note
If you selected to add a note to a memo, the Boldbeast Recorder dialog box displays. Enter your note in the Clip Note edit box and touch OK.
11b_entering_note_for_memo
You can also view details about a memo by selecting Details on the Boldbeast Recorder dialog box. Click OK to close the dialog box.
11c_clip_details
Boldbeast Call Recorder has a 7-day trial period, but you must pay for it at the end of the trial period. At the end of 7 days, records can only be 30 seconds long unless you pay $9.95 for the app. If you record a lot of phone calls and voice memos, it may be worth the price.
There is also a free app called Smart Voice Recorder that allows you to record sounds outside the phone. It can be used to record phone calls if you activate the speakerphone to be able to record the other end of the call. It can also be used to record lectures, training, and many other purposes.
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Remember, it’s important to check the applicable laws in your country or state before recording calls.

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