AT&T 1726 Digital Answering Machine

This answering machine was wonderful while it worked but it died after only 1 year! When I called their tech support, they told me it needed repair with a minimum $25 charge. I told them for $25 I could buy a new one. Then they told me I could buy one through them with free shipping. I told them if their products only last 1 year, I wouldn't buy them again! Since the machine only lasted a year (and I see I'm not the only one who had this problem), I feel it's pointless to share the features I loved. But I will just in case there's someone out there who doesn't mind replacing their answering machine every year.

I loved the caller ID announcement feature, where it calls out the number calling. This saves you from running to the phone to see who's calling; you can hear who's calling first. (You must subscribe to caller ID through your phone company in order for this feature to work.) I also loved the blocked-call rejection feature. The machine can be set to reject blocked calls (where the caller blocks their phone number). When a blocked call comes in, the machine answers and says, "I'm sorry, this number does not accept blocked calls" and disconnects. I enjoyed the 3 mailboxes, although sometimes in the middle of a message, it would click and put the remainder of the message in another mailbox (strange!) I also enjoyed the remote access feature so I could call home while I was away and check messages. The machine also allows you to give out a "priority code" to people you WANT to talk to. When they call, they enter a 3-digit code as soon as the machine answers, and the machine starts beeping so you know it's someone you want to talk to. This came in SO handy when my hubby's work # showed up as "unknown caller". I never answer "unknown" calls, so before I got this machine I'd have to sit and wait till he started leaving a message to know it was him and pick up.

It's really a shame this machine died after such a short time because the features are really wonderful.