Start a Microphone Recording

Last updated: September 30, 2026

What this does

Start a Microphone Recording when you're meeting a client in person — on a showroom floor, at a desk, or anywhere else. Call-E records the conversation, prepares Call Guidance, and produces a transcript and Call Notes when the appointment ends.

For device-specific recording tips, see Record an in-person appointment.

Before you start

Works on iPhone, Android phones, tablets, and desktop browsers. Turn on Do Not Disturb, and keep your screen unlocked and your browser tab open for the whole call — locking the screen or switching apps can pause the recording. Some on-screen recovery messages may mention Safari even on other browsers — follow the same steps in your browser.

Start recording with a walk-in client

Use this when a client is in front of you and you don't have an appointment booked yet.

Click Quick Recording — at the top of any page on a computer or tablet, or under Go To → Actions on a phone.
On Appointment details, choose a Client name — search for one, or select + New client, just beneath the search box, to add one on the spot — and pick a Call type. Both are optional.
Click Start recording to continue.
On Before you start recording, review the tips — turn on Do Not Disturb, keep this screen open, and place your device nearby — then check I've informed my client that this appointment will be recorded.
Click Start recording.

Call-E creates the appointment and starts recording right away, then opens the live call view.

You can close the popup at any step with the ✕ — nothing is created until you confirm consent and click Start recording on Before you start recording.

Want to jot something about the client? Click + Add a description on the appointment page — starting this way doesn't ask for a note.

Start recording for a scheduled appointment

Use this for an appointment you already booked — whether or not it has a Zoom meeting.

If it's the next appointment on your dashboard, the fastest way is the Start recording button on the Up next card — it opens the same recording steps below.

Open the appointment and click Start recording — it sits next to Create Zoom meeting if the appointment has no Zoom meeting yet, or next to Join Zoom call if it does.
If the appointment doesn't have a call type yet, pick one (optional). Otherwise you'll just see the recording tips — Call-E already has the client, call type, and note from the appointment.
On Before you start recording, check I've informed my client that this appointment will be recorded, then click Start recording.

More than 24 hours before the appointment's scheduled start, Start recording is greyed out with the tooltip "Available within 24 hours of the meeting." — the same rule Join follows. Come back closer to the start time.

On a phone, if the appointment already has a Zoom meeting, the appointment page shows only one button, and it won't be Start recording. Use the Up next card on your dashboard, or your dashboard calendar's quick view, to reach it instead.

If more than 3 hours have passed since the appointment's scheduled time, and Call-E hasn't recorded anything on it recently, you'll see This appointment is too far past to start a new recording. Create a new appointment for the conversation instead.

What you'll see during the call

The live call view has no video. Instead, on desktop and tablet you'll see two panels side by side — Call Guidance on the left, and Client Memory above the Timeline on the right — plus your recording controls in a bar across the bottom. If your organization has real-time call insights, you'll also see a panel with a live summary of the conversation.

To browse other Call-E pages while the recording continues, click the back arrow at the top left of the screen, next to the call's status. Recording keeps going, and a small card showing the call and a live timer stays on screen whichever page you go to — click it to come back to the live call, where Pause recording, Resume recording, and Stop are.

The moving microphone bars show that your device is picking up sound locally. They do not show that Call-E has finished saving the recording.

Call Guidance shows AI talking points for the call. It keeps generating in the background while your recording continues.
Client Memory shows what Call-E already knows about this client, above the Timeline.
Timeline shows an activity grid — days as colored squares by call type; hover a square for that day's breakdown — and a list of your past calls with this client. Select a call to open its notes, then click Back to return.
Timeline is always available. Its past-call list appears once a client is linked to the call.
Your recording controls show a red dot and Recording, sound-level bars, the elapsed time, and a Stop button. Call-E stops recording after two hours.
Choose Pause to pause the recording. The dot turns gray, the label changes to Paused, and the button changes to Resume.
While Call-E is starting the recording, you'll briefly see Starting… with no buttons yet.
On a phone, the panes show as tabs: Call Guidance, Real-time Insights when your organization has real-time call insights, and Timeline (with Client Memory above it). Real-time Insights shows Call-E's running summary, suggestions, and call plan. Call Guidance opens first, and your recording controls stay visible no matter which tab you're on.

You'll find the finished transcript on the appointment page once the call ends.

If no client is linked

If the call isn't linked to a client, you'll see a Link a client chip at the top of the call screen, next to the call type and timer. Click it to search for an existing client, or select + New client to add one on the spot.

There's no dismiss button — if you don't link anyone, the call already continues without a client.

If the call ends with no client linked, the same Link a client chip appears on the appointment page afterward, so you can still fix it there.

If you pause too long

While the recording is paused, the Stop button counts down how long you have left — for example, Stopping in 4 min — and switches to counting seconds during the last minute.

If you don't tap Resume within 10 minutes, Call-E stops the recording for you and starts preparing your transcript and Call Notes as usual. Open the appointment and you'll see Recording stopped — for example, "Call-E stops recordings paused for 10 min. Tap Resume recording to keep going."

This is rolling out gradually. If you don't see the countdown, pausing has no time limit yet — resume whenever you're ready.

If recording is interrupted

If your screen locks, you switch apps, or your connection drops, Call-E may show Recording needs your attention. Tap Resume recording to continue — some audio may be missing from the interruption — or tap Stop if you're ready to finish instead.

If Call-E knows exactly when it last recorded audio, it shows Recording was interrupted instead (this is rolling out gradually), naming the time — for example, "Call-E hasn't recorded audio since 9:16 PM." The Stop button counts down how long you have before Call-E stops the recording on its own; tap Resume recording before it reaches zero to keep going.

If Call-E already finished saving this recording automatically, or a newer recording for the appointment has already started, you'll see a message explaining that — follow the action it offers. If Call-E is still receiving the recording somewhere else, you won't see anything: Call-E waits for it to settle and picks the recording back up on its own.

If you don't get back to it — your phone stays locked, the tab stays closed, the app gets killed, or your connection doesn't come back — Call-E waits about 5 minutes, then automatically saves everything it received and starts preparing your transcript and Call Notes. You don't have to do anything. See Resume a finished recording below to keep talking and add it to the same call.

Open the appointment afterward and, as this rolls out, you'll see Recording stopped, explaining why — for example, "Call-E hadn't recorded audio since 9:16 PM, so it stopped the recording. Tap Resume recording to keep going."

If the appointment gets cancelled while this is happening — from another tab, another device, or a calendar sync — you won't see Recording needs your attention. Call-E ends the recording and takes you straight to Recording saved with a possible gap. Because the appointment is cancelled, Call-E doesn't generate Call Notes or Call Scorecard for it.

If a recording is open on another device

If a Microphone Recording for this appointment is running elsewhere and has gone quiet for a few minutes — for example, your phone lost its connection — Call-E may show Join Microphone Recording instead of Start recording. Click it to keep the same recording going, using this device's microphone instead.

If Call-E can't use your microphone

If Call-E can't access your microphone, check your browser's microphone permission for this site, then try again from the message on screen.

If Call-E says billing needs to be set up

Your organization needs billing set up before anyone can record. Only your organization's Owner can restore access under Settings → Billing:

If you have never subscribed, click Start free trial and complete checkout.
If your plan was canceled, click Resubscribe instead.

If you are not the Owner, ask them to finish the right step, then try recording again. Your existing recordings and notes stay readable while you wait. See Manage your billing and plan.

After the call

Click Stop when you're done. Open the appointment's Call recording tab to find the recording, transcript, and Call Notes once they're ready.

If you stop before 15 seconds

Tap Stop, and if you're under 15 seconds in, Call-E asks before saving — for example, "Only 9 seconds. Delete this recording?" Recording keeps running while you decide, so nothing is lost yet. If Call-E didn't detect any voices, the question opens with "No voices detected. Delete this recording?" instead.

Delete to discard the recording.
Continue recording to keep going on the same call.
Save to keep the short recording anyway.

If nobody answers the question, Call-E saves the recording for you once it reaches about a minute of recording. That never happens while the recording is paused.

This check is rolling out gradually. If you don't see it, tapping Stop saves your recording right away, the same as before.

If you delete a short recording

Call-E stops the microphone immediately and shows "Recording deleted" with an Undo link that counts down from 5 seconds. Tap Undo before it reaches 0 to save the recording after all.

Recording with a walk-in client? You'll also see Quick Recording to begin a new one, and a Return to dashboard link. Once the delete is final, Call-E removes the appointment it created for that walk-in — there's no recording left to keep.
Recording for a scheduled appointment? You'll see Start Recording to record again on the same appointment, and a Return to appointment link. The appointment itself stays either way.

If Call-E can't delete the recording, you'll see "Call-E couldn't delete the recording. Try again." Tap Delete to retry, or tap Save to keep the recording instead.

Resume a finished recording

Call-E saves a Microphone Recording three ways: you tap Stop yourself, Call-E saves it for you after 10 minutes paused (this is rolling out gradually), or Call-E saves it for you if it stops receiving audio for about 5 minutes — for example your phone locked, or your connection dropped and didn't come back.

Whichever way it happened, if the conversation continues — the client comes back with one more question, or you weren't done — click Resume recording. Call-E adds the new conversation to the same recording, and the transcript and Call Notes update to cover everything. You won't be asked to confirm recording consent again — you already gave it when the call started.

If you resume but don't end up saying anything, Call-E goes right back to showing your finished call — it won't sit on a "Processing" screen for a recording that has nothing new in it.

You have 30 minutes after Call-E saves the recording to do this — or longer if the appointment's scheduled start was less than 3 hours ago, whichever gives you more time. For example, a 10-minute call that started at 2:00 PM can still be resumed until 5:00 PM. You'll see the button on the appointment page, on the call's processing screen right after it ends, and on your dashboard calendar — wherever you're looking at the appointment. A banner also appears near the top of any Call-E page, even if you're not looking at that appointment — for example, "Microphone Recording for Sarah stopped 5 min ago" — with its own Resume button, so you can jump back in without finding the appointment first. Once the window closes, it's gone, and you'll start a new recording instead.

If your own recording is still running and just minimized rather than finished, this button won't be there — click the small floating card showing the call to bring it back to full screen instead.