3CX Call Recording Stops When Call Is Handled by Microsoft Teams (Direct Routing)

[Aravae]

Hi everyone,


I’m experiencing an issue with call recording in a 3CX + Microsoft Teams (Direct Routing) environment, specifically when calls are transferred from the Teams client, and I’d like to know if this is a known limitation or if anyone has found a workaround.

Environment:

• 3CX as PBX and SIP trunk provider
• Microsoft Teams integrated via Direct Routing
• Call recording enabled in 3CX (extension-based recording)

Call flow:

1. A call is handled by 3CX and is recorded correctly.
2. The user answers the call in Microsoft Teams.
3. When the user transfers the call from the Teams client (blind or attended transfer),
   the call continues normally, but:
   • The call remains active in 3CX
   • The SIP trunk stays up
   • Call recording in 3CX stops at the moment the transfer is performed

Observed behavior:

• 3CX still shows the call as active.
• The call is not dropped or re-established.
• From that point on, no audio is recorded, as if the media stream is no longer controlled by 3CX.

Assumption:
It appears that once the call is transferred from Teams, the call ownership or media flow changes, and although the SIP trunk remains anchored to 3CX, the media is no longer available for 3CX to record.
Questions:

• Has anyone seen the same behavior when transferring calls from Teams?
• Is this a known limitation of 3CX + Teams Direct Routing?
• Is there any way to force call recording at SIP trunk level in 3CX?
• Are there any recommended workarounds (SIPREC, external recorders, Teams-side recording)?

Any feedback or real-world experience would be very helpful.

P.S.:
To clarify, the issue does not occur when answering the call in Microsoft Teams, but at the moment the user performs a transfer from the Teams client. From that point on, it appears that the call changes media ownership and 3CX stops recording the call, even though it remains active and visible in the system.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Charles_3CX]

Regarding your question, when a 3CX user transfers a call to a destination without an associated 3CX extension, the call cannot be recorded because call recordings only occur with a 3CX extension. Recordings are set at the 3CX extension level only; even if the call is still visible in 3CX (where it originates), it is no longer being processed by a 3CX extension.

 

[Aravae]

Thanks for the clarification Charles, that explanation makes sense and aligns with what we are observing.

In our case, the recording stops specifically when the transfer is initiated from the Microsoft Teams client, because from that point the call is no longer associated with a 3CX extension, even though it remains visible and anchored to the 3CX active calls. This confirms that the behavior is by design rather than a misconfiguration.

That said, I would like to ask a couple of follow-up questions:

1) Is there any roadmap or future plan, either from 3CX or in collaboration with Microsoft Teams, to improve this behavior?
For example, better handling of call transfers initiated from Teams so that media ownership does not fully move away from 3CX, or at least clearer support for recording continuity in Direct Routing scenarios.

2) From a practical standpoint, do you recommend any Teams-side solution for this use case?
For instance:
- Microsoft Teams compliance recording
- Native Teams call recording policies
- Any officially supported integration that could complement 3CX recording when Teams becomes the final endpoint

Additionally, I would like to make a feature suggestion:

In environments where 3CX is used as a SIP trunk and SBC for Teams, it would be extremely useful to have the option to enable call recording not only at the extension level, but also at the SIP trunk level (or globally), even if the call is no longer actively processed by a 3CX extension.

I understand this may have architectural and legal implications, but in hybrid PBX + Teams deployments, this kind of recording option would solve many real-world compliance and operational requirements.

Thanks again for the clarification! and any insight regarding future plans or recommended approaches on the Teams side would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Charles_3CX]

I understand your requirement, but we have no information on the recording structure being changed.

Regarding the team's side options, we are unable to provide any details. We only support direct routing when no specific team's calling plans or other call features are enabled on their side. We do not test in environments where other teams' calling features are implemented.

For any features requests, you can ask a partner who has access to the ideas section within the forum whether they would be willing to post this on your behalf.