What happened to call recording?

[user484605]

Hi,

This morning, when reviewing a call I made, I noticed that no recording was made of the call. Clicking on "Recording" on the dashboard, shows this:

"Feature available in 3CX Professional and Enterprise Editions."

I have a "Standard Annual" license, which according to the 3cx website allows recording (see attachment):

"https://www.3cx.com/ordering/pricing/"

When was this change announced? I see in one or two postings, here: https://www.3cx.com/community/threads/3cx-v16-reloaded-alpha-2-lands.62408/page-4#post-263210, that it was removed, but it's pretty sneaky to remove it in the manner and fashion that it has been - no prior warning or changelog.

I certainly don't require (nor can I afford) a PRO edition since it includes many many many things I don't need. I was very happy with the standard edition for my home office setup as it had recording enabled.

It's a pretty big breaking change for me, and unfortunately it looks like I'll be forced to move elsewhere to get that particular feature now (perhaps back to freepbx - I migrated from freepbx to 3cx, but now it looks like I'll have to go back).

It's a pity - I liked 3cx immensely.

 

[Saqqara]

Have you upgraded to ver 16 which is still in beta and should not be used in a live environment ?

It has been quoted by 3CX when version 16.0 is finally released end users will not lose any current functions associated with their license

 

[user484605]

Hi,

Yup, using version 16 - but not in a live environment, and I read the release notes for version 16 alpha 2 before upgrading.

However, releasing a version that breaks backwards functionality - without even a changelog saying so, is bad software release management.

In the announcement for Alpha 2, it says:

Known Issues & Requirements

• Preview for images “Chat” is not yet supported on Linux-based installs.
• The move from Microsoft Bing to Google Speech for the Voicemail Transcription Service requires a new Google Speech API Key to be generated to replace the previous API key.
• BLFs in Web Client are not properly displayed in Firefox due to recent browser updates, to be addressed in upcoming Beta releases.
• Queue Manager logs do not rotate, to be addressed in upcoming Beta releases.
• The “Instance Manager” function is not available if failover is configured or hosting mode is enabled."

Note, nothing about voice recording being disabled.

 

[Lee Cramman]

Isn't that kind of the point of an Alpha release? It's pre-testing and not everything will be working or, indeed, present?

"The alpha phase of the release life cycle is the first phase to begin software testing (alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet, used as the number 1). In this phase, developers generally test the software using white-box techniques. Additional validation is then performed using black-box or gray-box techniques, by another testing team. Moving to black-box testing inside the organization is known as alpha release.

Alpha software can be unstable and could cause crashes or data loss. Alpha software may not contain all of the features that are planned for the final version. In general, external availability of alpha software is uncommon in proprietary software, while open source software often has publicly available alpha versions. The alpha phase usually ends with a feature freeze, indicating that no more features will be added to the software. At this time, the software is said to be feature complete."

 

[user484605]

I do agree that the intention of alpha software is to break things (I'm a software developer myself). Wouldn't it have been much simplier if the Alpha 2 changelog included something like:

"Voice recording has been disabled in Alpha 2"

So that people, like myself, don't get concerned or raise a bug?

That is called good communication to end users (even alpha/beta testers) - be up front about what is changing/breaking during releases of alpha/beta/production software to aid in the debug/testing and reporting of said features.

 

[Lee Cramman]

I do agree that the intention of alpha software is to break things (I'm a software developer myself). Wouldn't it have been much simplier if the Alpha 2 changelog included something like:

"Voice recording has been disabled in Alpha 2"

So that people, like myself, don't get concerned or raise a bug?

That is called good communication to end users (even alpha/beta testers) - be up front about what is changing/breaking during releases of alpha/beta/production software to aid in the debug/testing and reporting of said features.

I assumed that it is a bug and needs to be raised / squashed. I would be very surprised to see 3CX purposefully removing features between licenses / versions (although it is possible, I suppose).

 

[YiannisH_3CX]

Please note that the free licence will undergo some changes although nothing is final yet. Currently for V16 recording is not included in the free standard licence. If you have a backup of V15.5 then i would recommend reverting for now so you can enable recordings.

 

[V..]

Hi user484605 if you make contact with your local 3CX partner they may be able to do something for you on this matter.

 

[user484605]

Hi,

That is unfortunate to hear, there is zero value add incentive to pay £188 just to have recording - I don't need any of the other features that PRO has (standard (with recording) was totally fine for my use case).

I'll keep an eye on the final release of v16 to see if that policy does get implemented (i.e., recording is not free) and make a decision then. Until that happens, unfortunately and with regret, I'll have to look towards another solution.

 

[user484605]

@V.. thank you for that tip, although I'm more inclined to run with a VoIP PBX that I can install, configure and maintain myself, at home.

 

[V..]

@user484605 There is no reason you would not be able to manage the install yourself, it was simply a suggestion that a partner may be able to do you a good deal on a key if there is an offer from 3CX in the wake of these changes.

 

[user484605]

Hi @V.. thank you for that. I'll keep it in mind ;-) I'll probably wait until v16 is out to see what is in/out of the license (I'm hoping recording will be kept).

 

[Lee Cramman]

That is very disappointing to hear.

I thought requiring an Enterprise license to use your own logos was a bit ridiculous but removing features between versions just so they become chargeable makes me wonder if I have invested in the right product (and we do already pay for a Pro license).

user484605 - assuming you are using SIP trunking, it may be worth looking into whether your provider offers call recording as a cheap option. Ours does, it was just simpler for us to have it on the 3CX side.

 

[Pierre Balochini]

The same issue! My support analyst did an update just in our specific phone model but it seems that the 3cx was updated from version 15.5 to version 16. (without call recording...) Is this possible ?

 

[Pierre Balochini]

To have call recording back I need to roll back the version 15.5 ( restoring the VM machine to version 15.5 ) and then restore a backup of version 16 (needed to include new extensions from another branch office)..... Am I not sure if it works.... Anybody knows ?

 

[Evolute IT]

Please note that the free licence will undergo some changes although nothing is final yet. Currently for V16 recording is not included in the free standard licence. If you have a backup of V15.5 then i would recommend reverting for now so you can enable recordings.

As long as it is only for the FREE STANDARD version. Those who pay want to have Qs and recordings.

I would need to upgrade 6 clients to Pro just to get recordings? I am sorry, I will just sell something else. Licenses keep changing.

 

[YiannisH_3CX]

To have call recording back I need to roll back the version 15.5 ( restoring the VM machine to version 15.5 ) and then restore a backup of version 16 (needed to include new extensions from another branch office)..... Am I not sure if it works.... Anybody knows ?

Please note that backups are not backwards compatible. I would not recommend restoring a V16 to V15.5 as there are many changes to V16 that do not apply for V15.5. You need to have a V15.5 backup to revert. Also updating the firmware of the phone will not upgrade the entire PBX.

 

[Pierre Balochini]

I agree with you but our 3CX was upgraded to version 16 after phone firmware update. Is this possible ?
On update page we have the following notice:
3CX "RELEASE" updates will also be downloaded and installed automatically.

It means that version 15.5 to 16 was done automatically by the system automatic update?

 

[N_G]

@user484605 - if you are going to read the thread or communications, then read the whole thread, not just parts of it. We have already said clearly to users that current commercial standard users will NOT loose any features. This has been said in the thread several times.

 

[YiannisH_3CX]

The PBX will not install Alpha or Beta releases automatically. It will only install "Released" versions which are the stable versions of the PBX after they are released. Firmware updates will not trigger the PBX upgrade unless someone presses the update button.