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I received this note recently…

“My sister died two months ago and her husband is looking into the various tasks which relate to her estate and closing her accounts. He is considering closing down her mobile phone account, something that I’ve been reluctant to entertain because we spent a lot of time talking on the phone (we used to speak daily). I miss her voice so much and I like to phone and listen to her voice mail message which will disappear when the account is cancelled. Any suggestions on how I can record and keep this message? Is this something that the mobile operator can do for me? I’m not particularly tech savvy.” S.A., NSW.

It’s very tough to close down accounts in this type of situation because the act itself is so final. Another reminder that someone’s time with us is over. My heart goes out to anyone going through this process.

When it comes to voice mail, there are many options for recording a message, ranging from ‘do-it-yourself’ options through to outsourcing the task to companies who will do the job for you.

Speaking to various businesses, I asked what they did when they needed to capture high quality recordings in a relatively straightforward way.

Simon Crunden, Director of TravelProcure, a company providing travel management consultancy to government, academia and corporates suggested using Pamela Skype (www.pamela.biz).

To use it, you simply download the app on your mobile or desktop, and make a call using your Skype account. When the call connects, you have the option to start to record the conversation using Pamela. When you finish the conversation, the call is automatically saved as an MP3 file into a folder on your computer.

He offers a word of caution for users planning or thinking of recording a conversation. Users need to be aware that before they record a conversation, they should seek the persons consent, as it may be illegal to do it in some jurisdictions.

Mark Rennie, Sales Director for Phonenomena, a company that service large mobile customers of Telstra in Australia told me that he experienced this type of request a number of years ago. At the time, the company had to use a sensitive microphone to make the recording from the phone’s speaker phone. Today though, it is much easier using other technologies.

Mark suggests using a Skype service such as Skype Call Recorder or if you have a mac, you can use the audio recording tools contained in Garage Band. He also recommends looking at solutions that are available via an apps search, for instance this call recorder app on iTunes. This example is a pay-per-call solution that calls over the internet to capture the message.

Finally, if you’d like to get someone else to do this for you, there are companies that will do this for a fee. Voicemailsforever.com is one such example, helping people to save their voice mails in an mp3 format.

Here’s wishing you the best of luck in capturing that voice mail message.

Got a question about managing a digital afterlife or estate issue? Drop a line to emily@awayforabit.com.