A method and device for maintaining environmental audio awareness in a simplex communications system includes the steps of determining if a minimum functionality necessary (10, 11, 12, 22, 30) for environmental sampling in a simplex communications unit (1) is already on (500) and, if the functionality is on, then beginning to sample audio of the environment (700) with the functionality for a sampling time period (800, 900), and, if the functionality is off, then turning on (600) only the functionality and beginning to sample environmental audio (700) with the functionality for the sampling time period (800, 900), and determining, throughout the sampling time period, if an interruption occurs (715) during the sampling time period and, if not, completing the audio sampling (800), turning off (1000) the functionality if communication is not being performed with the unit, and calculating environmental parameters (1100) for adapting communications with the unit, and, if so, turning off (745) the functionality when communication is not being performed with the unit.