Can I Make My Softphone Ring Out Loud Through My Speakers While The Call Goes To My Headset?

Setting up your softphone calls to ring out loud may be possible depending on the program you use to make calls. Many softphones have this ability, so let's first try the softphone settings.

Changing the settings in your softphone

Certain softphones have different settings for ringer, microphone, and speaker. You can set the "ringer" to the computer speakers (usually called Realtek in Windows machines) and the headset can be set up for as "headphones" or "speaker" option. If you do this, make sure your Realtek speakers are enabled in your sound settings. Otherwise, you won't hear a ring when calls come in at all!

Softphones like RingCentral, Cisco IP Communicator, Microsoft Teams, and Zoom all have this option!

If checking your softphone settings doesn't work, we have another option to try.

Changing the Settings in Windows

Using the search bar, go to the Control Panel, select Hardware and Sound, then go to Sounds.

Under the Playback tab (shown above), set the built-in speakers (usually called "Realtek") as the Default Device and the headset as the Default Communications Device by right-clicking on them.

This doesn’t always work, but when it does, you’ll have your softphone calls ringing out through the speakers (so you don’t have to wear your headset 24/7) and your caller’s voice will be in your headset when you answer the call.

Note: This method will only work with a softphone app. If you log in through a browser, like Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge, then this will cause the calls will go through the speakers. For this set-up, you'll want your headset set up as the Default Device and all other speakers in the Playback tab disabled.

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