diff --git a/core/session.py b/core/session.py
index 4ad36e4..9115d3d 100644
--- a/core/session.py
+++ b/core/session.py
@@ -1969,11 +1969,17 @@ class CallSession:
     async def _start_live_stt_stream(self) -> None:
         await self._cancel_live_stt_stream()
         self._reset_semantic_endpointing()
+        if self._awaiting_customer_name:
+            LOGGER.info(
+                "realtime session %s live STT stream skipped for name capture; will use batch STT with keyterms",
+                self.session_id,
+            )
+            return
         try:
             LOGGER.info("realtime session %s live STT stream start requested", self.session_id)
             live_stt_stream = await self._stt.start_stream(
                 partial_callback=self._handle_partial_transcript,
-                keyterms=self._name_capture_keyterms() if self._awaiting_customer_name else None,
+                keyterms=None,
             )
         except Exception:
             LOGGER.exception("realtime session %s failed to start live STT stream", self.session_id)