Technology
RNID has developed TalkByText Home Edition for people who are deaf or speech-impaired who want to make or receive textphone calls from a home computer running Microsoft Windows with a broadband Internet connection.
See What can you do with TalkByText Home Edition?.
Back to top of pageYou can Buy TalkByText Home Edition online on this website. You will need a credit or debit card to buy a licence for the program. There is a download only version, or for a small extra charge you can buy a boxed version.
If you buy the download version, the cost is £34.95, payable by credit or debit card. The boxed version costs £39.95+£1.95p&p. Once you make payment, we will send you a licence number for the program by email. Please make sure that you type your email address correctly.
Calls to other Home Edition users are connected free over the public Internet.
It is also free to receive calls.
Calls to telephones and textphones on the traditional telephone network are connected through an RNID gateway service. See Call charges for TalkByText breakout calls.
No further discounts are available for call charges, which help defray RNID's costs in developing and running the service.
You pre-pay for calls using any major credit or debit card. The program startup wizard will prompt you to set up an account. But we will give you some free credit so that you can immediately begin making chargeable calls.
When you make a TalkByText call, the cost for that call will be deducted from your account balance. If your balance reaches zero, you will not be able to make any more chargeable calls until you top-up your account. Your TalkByText account is entirely separate from your telephone bill and your broadband bill.
You can view your call history and account balance from the program's Account menu.
RNID does not keep a record of your card details, which are automatically encrypted before transit to keep them safe. See also TalkByText Secure Payments
At first run, the program startup wizard will prompt you to set up an account. You will be given your unique 6 digit account number and password at that time.
Back to top of pageBuying a licence number will enable you to use TalkByText Home Edition on one computer. If you install TalkByText as an administrator, you can allow every user of that PC to use the program.
RNID TalkByText Home Edition enables you to make text calls:
Traditional textphone users should dial 180015 020 7253 8175.
When prompted, they should type your six-digit TalkByText Home Edition account number - for example 889900.
Voice callers should dial 18002 020 7253 8175.
A Text Relay operator will be automatically brought into the call to relay between voice and text. The voice caller should speak to the operator, giving your TalkByText Home Edition account number - for example 889900.
Currently TalkByText Home Edition cannot be used to contact the emergency services (999, 112 or 18000) as they would not have assured knowledge of your location. In the event of an emergency you are advised to use alternative means (even a silent 999 call from an ordinary telephone will summon assistance).
You cannot forward calls or make voice-carry-over (VCO) or hearing-carry-over (HCO) calls using the service.
RNID will provide updates to licensed users free-of-charge for the first year. These updates can be automatically downloaded to your PC. If in future we add significant new features to the program, we may make a modest additional charge if you wish to upgrade to the new version.
The Home Edition has been specifically designed for home users with a broadband connection. One of our other products, TalkByText Business Edition, is more suited for multiple users and business networks.
We recommend you install the latest service packs and security fixes from Microsoft. See Windows Update.
We recommend using an always-on broadband connection, which will enable you to receive calls as long as your home computer is switched on.
In order to make or receive text calls:
But you do not need to leave the TalkByText Home Edition program window open. By default, the program's icon appears in the notification area (tray) at the bottom right corner of your screen. Just click on the icon when you want to make a call.
Yes. Provided you have an Internet connection, this is a technical question that you almost certainly will not need to worry about.
TalkByText Home Edition will work regardless of whether your computer or the one you are calling is on a home network that uses Network Address Translation (NAT).
Many firewalls automatically permit the connections to the Internet that Home Edition needs to make. If your firewall does prompt you, you may need to give permission for TalkByText to make connections to the Internet.
TalkByText Home Edition needs to be able to make outgoing HTTP, HTTPS and TCP connections to servers on ictrnid.org.uk and its subdomains.
No. Although RNID recognises that Microsoft Windows is not everyone's preferred operating system, by focussing our development efforts on the most prevalent operating system, Windows, we can make the program available to the most people. Users of alternative operating systems may be interested in TalkByText Web Edition.
If you have other questions that are not answered here or if you have problems using the service, please email technology@rnid.org.uk.