Troubleshoot missing recordings and voicemail
Separate a call that was never recorded from audio that will not play, and find a voicemail that has not appeared.
“There is no recording” usually means one of three different things: the call was never recorded, the audio exists but is still being prepared, or the audio is ready and playback failed. Each has a different fix, and the messages in the dashboard tell them apart. Work out which one you have before changing a compliance setting.
Prerequisites
- The intended phone system selected in the header.
- Access to Call Log or Voicemails for that phone system, and to Compliance if a setting needs checking.
- Treat recordings, transcripts, and playback links as sensitive customer information. Do not paste them into feedback, chat, or tickets.
Decide which problem you have
- Open Records > Call Log, find the call, and open its detail drawer.
- Look at the audio player at the top of the drawer.
| What the drawer shows | What it means |
|---|---|
| Recording unavailable under the player | No recording is attached to this call at all. |
| The player is enabled but shows Failed to load audio | The recording exists; loading it failed. |
| Download reports Recording not ready — try again in a moment | The recording is attached but the audio is not yet available. |
| The player works | The recording is fine; the problem is elsewhere. |
The call was never recorded
Recording unavailable means the call has no recording. Check, in this order:
- Settings > Compliance — the Call recording tile shows whether system recording is On and whether extension-to-extension recording is On. An internal extension-to-extension call is not recorded when that second switch is off.
- Settings > Recording Exemptions — numbers on this list are never recorded, even while call recording is enabled. Adding a number takes effect for new calls only, and removing one does not retroactively create a recording for calls that already happened.
- The call’s own outcome. A call that was blocked, abandoned before connecting, or ended at a menu without connecting may never have reached a point where recording begins.
Changing a recording setting affects future calls. It cannot produce a recording for a call that has already ended.
The audio exists but will not play
The drawer fetches a fresh, short-lived playback link each time you press play, and retries once with a new link if the first attempt fails. So a single Failed to load audio after a retry is a real failure, not an expired link — but a drawer left open for a long time is worth closing and reopening before you conclude anything.
- Recording not ready — try again in a moment on download means the audio is still being prepared. Wait and retry rather than repeatedly pressing download.
- Failed to download recording means the download itself failed. Retry; downloads also stop themselves if they stall, so a slow connection can produce this.
- Audio playback failed as a notification means both playback attempts failed. Reload the page and try once more before escalating.
Every playback and download request is recorded in the audit trail, so repeated attempts are visible to your administrators.
A voicemail has not appeared
- Open Records > Voicemails and check the Archived tab as well as Inbox.
- Clear the search box. A search that is too short is ignored, and a search that is long enough filters the whole history, not just the current page.
- Confirm the destination. A message left for an extension, a call group, or the company mailbox appears against that destination, and the detail drawer names it.
- Confirm the route. A message only exists if the call actually reached a mailbox — check the call’s own record for a Voicemail timeline event.
- If the page is titled Your Voicemails, your access is scoped to your own extension and other mailboxes are not shown to you.
Processing… under a voicemail’s player means the recording has not finished being prepared. Wait and reopen the message; do not change its read or archived state to try to force it.
A transcript is missing
Transcript panels report their own state, and an empty panel is not evidence that the call had no audio.
| Where | What you see | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Call detail | No transcript available. with Transcription is queued. or Transcription is in-progress. | Transcription has not finished. |
| Call detail | No transcript available. with no state line | No transcription exists for this call. |
| Voicemail detail | Transcribing… | Transcription is running. |
| Voicemail detail | Transcription failed | Transcription ran and did not produce text. |
| Voicemail detail | No transcript available | No transcription exists for this message. |
Audio can still be reviewed while a transcript is unavailable, as long as the recording itself is ready.
Expected result
You can say which of the three cases applies, and either the setting you changed for future calls, the state you are waiting on, or the exact message you are escalating.
Troubleshooting
- Some calls have recordings and others do not: Compare the calls’ directions and external numbers against the recording settings and the exemption list.
- The recording appeared later: Media is attached after the call ends. A record can exist before its audio does.
- Playback works but download does not: Retry the download. If it keeps failing while playback works, capture the message and the Call SID for support.
- A voicemail exists but the matching call shows no voicemail outcome: Check whether you are looking at the right leg of the call; a transferred call has more than one record.
- You cannot open Recording Exemptions: Managing the exemption list requires an administrator role. Ask an administrator to review the list for you.
When you escalate, give support the phone-system name, the Call SID or the voicemail’s caller and time, and the exact message shown. Do not include the audio, the transcript, or any playback link.