People with hearing or speech loss commonly use a TTY to make calls. A TTY looks much like a phone, except for a typewriter-style keyboard with letters and numbers and a text screen.
During Relay calls, TTY users type their side of the conversation and read the other party’s response on their TTY’s text screen.
To make a TTY call (a Relay Choice Profile is highly recommended for TTY users and will streamline the following steps):
- Dial 7-1-1 to reach Virginia Relay.
- Wait for “VRC NBR CALLING PLS GA” to appear on the text screen of your TTY. There will be no Communications Assistant (CA) on the line at this point.
- Type the phone number of the person you are calling, along with any calling instructions. Then type, “GA,” for “Go Ahead.”
- Your call will then be transferred to a CA whose identification number and gender (“M” for male and “F” for female) will appear on the text screen of your TTY.
- During the conversation, the CA will type the words spoken by the person you are calling. These words will appear on your TTY’s text screen. Your typed response will then be voiced by the CA to the person you are calling.
- Remember to type GA each time you finish your part of the conversation so that the person you are calling can respond to you.
- To let the CA know your conversation is finished, type “SK” for “Stop Keying.”
Note: All typed messages in parenthesis indicate that the CA is communicating to you directly, relaying a sound that was heard or letting you know the other party has hung up.