AT&T 1726 Digital Answering System with 3 Mailboxes

I really can't find any cons about this device. It works as intended, is very easy to set up.The built-in male voice is very pleasant, all voice prompts are clear, easy to follow. Unlike a competing GE product, this one permits separate outgoing announcements on each of the three voicemail boxes. It's functional right out of the box. If you want to use the built-in announcement, it is ready to do the job as soon as you connect the phone line and plug in the power supply. Well, you can choose to spend abount 30 seconds to setup its clock, by pressing two buttons one after another. Recording your own announcements is also a snap. I also appreciate its very clear sound. It's an excellent little machine for a good price.

As other people have mentioned, sound quality is lacking on this device. I retired an older Lucent AS60 (also digital) in favor of the AT&T 1726's multiple mailboxes. However, I'm disappointed by the step backwards in terms of sound quality.The multiple mailboxes work well in terms of what I was looking for -- the ability to file messages for different people in my house. We use one mailbox as a common (default) inbox, and then save messages as needed in the remaining two mailboxes. Used this way, you really only have 2 personal mailboxes. However, you avoid an annoyingly long outgoing message "Press 1 for so-and-so, press 2 for who-and-who, press 3 for what-and-what..."A count of messages in each individual mailbox is not shown (which would be nice), but an individual light for each mailbox shows solid for any messages, and flashing for any new message. Messages transfered to a new mailbox come up as "new" regardless if they have been previously heard in the old mailbox -- a nice feature in my opinion.You can record multiple outgoing messages, but this is really only for quickly switching between outgoing messages, not for personalizing individual mailboxes. The device only ever presents one outgoing message per incoming call.Another feature I would have liked to see -- a battery to avoid having to reset the clock after a power failure.

I expected a 3-mailbox system to have three passwords for remote reterival of messages. Instead, there is only one, which means that everyone knows what each other's messages are.The directions are also a bit confusing, although I finally stumbled through the set up.Otherwise the unit works fine!

First, thank you to the reviewers who explained how to recordthe outgoing message! :)I bought this to replace a well-loved Phonemate 4200 that hadworked for almost 13 years before getting spotty. Let meadd that I agree with all who have said it: If only we couldstill get dual-full-size-cassette analog machines, withunlimited per-message length and long overall tape length!I would have bought one if I could have found it, but thereviews for this machine made it sound like it would do whatwe needed.So far, so good. The set-up was straighforward except forrecording the outgoing message (for which I used the amazon.compage as a reference). I liked that you can choose a 3-digitsecurity code, as well as a 3-digit code for people to dialin if they want to be announced as a "priority caller".We don't have caller-ID, so I didn't bother turning thosefeatures on.I tested the machine, and it works as promised with regard tobeing a "tollsaver" (fewer rings to answer if there are newmessages).The sound quality is ok, but not great, but that's ok forvoice-message-recording purposes.I liked that you can turn it so you either do or do not hearthe outgoing message as your caller hears.Hangups are not recorded as messages, which is good--butif your caller hangs up during the outgoing message, the outgoingmessage does finish playing to completion.The remote-access codes are convoluted, but there is anavailable wallet card (two copies for separate users).If you don't want to use the separate mailboxes, you can justignore that option and the default is to have all messages goto the first mailbox.

I had purchased this system many years ago, and then, after several years of heavy usage and trusty service, it putzed out on us. I searched high and low for something comparable and couldn't find anything. I decided to look on Amazon.com - and really lucked out!This is why I love this answering system:1) Audio Caller ID: the system verbally announces the number of incoming calls!2)Separate mailboxes: we are a busy family, and so we each have our own mailboxes.3) It's inexpensive (but NOT cheap!)4) It's SUPER easy to useNow that I think about it....I should have bought two....

DON'T BUY IT! MINE IS ON IT'S WAY BACK! NO CHIRPS, NO BEEPS, NO SOUND OF ANYKIND. INSTRUCTIONS DONE VERY CHEAPLY..SMALL RECTANGLE TO UNFOLD INTO TWO SIDED LARGE PIECE OF PAPER WITH NO ORDER OF HOW TO TO FINISH SET UP!!! MINE DID NOT WORK. I DID NOT READ THE REVIEWS "BEFORE" I BOUGHT...DON'T MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE.

Easy to use, effective, good price. Good, simple design. Why have they discontinued making answering machines?They are still very useful.

The instructions for recording your own message are unusable - once you select the greeting that you want to record (it allows pre-recording four) you have to wait twenty seconds or so for the system to reset. (The instructions don't mention this.) THEN, though the letter for the announcement you are recording is no longer displayed in the screen, you can hold down the button and it works as advertised. If you don't wait, holding down the button simply steps you to the next greeting slot.(I didn't diagnose this psychically - I called customer service after trying all the alternatives I thought of.) They don't tell you this on the ATT recorded voice mail help line either - you push *3 when the voice mail system starts offering options to talk to a real person.The help line's advice for this problem beyond "Make sure it's plugged in" is turn the power off for 60 seconds and then repower it so the software will reset, so that's probably also worth trying if you have trouble with the machine sometime.Though you have a choice about whether it plays your recorded announcement into the room when someone calls, the message someone is leaving always plays while they leave it. (There is a volume button right on the front, so I guess you could turn the sound on when you wanted to listen to a message and then turn it off again until the next time.)Otherwise, it seems respectable so far - the sound's adequate, and it's reducing my phone bill by $6.95 a month.