Answering Machine: Message Cuts Off After A Few Seconds (connect, system, outlet)

[Calvert Hall '62]

AT&T 1740 for corded landline phone. Brochure says messages last up to three minutes but my messages last a few seconds only. It's not because the caller has gone silent. It cuts off while (s)he is still speaking. Please help: could find no solutions online.

[jaypee]

Well, it's a cheap Chinese-made product so it's probably easier and less time-consuming to just buy another ($11 online or at Walmart).

[Calvert Hall '62]

Originally Posted by jaypee

Well, it's a cheap Chinese-made product so it's probably easier and less time-consuming to just buy another ($11 online or at Walmart).

Instead, I bought a Panasonic KX-TS620B corded phone with built-in answering system, $55.

It's worse than the previous piece of junk. You can set messages to last 1, 2, or 3 minutes each, The default factory setting is 3 minutes.

In actuality, the messages lasts 8 seconds before cutting off.

Didn't have this kind of problem 20 years ago; nothing but junk today

[wit-nit]

You can pick up good working ones at garage sales, estate sales, resale stores, Goodwill stores etal for only 2-3 dollars. I've purchased 3 and they work great.

[macluffy]

I want to bump this into this year, as you'd be surprised at the number of "answering machine cuts off.." hits when searching online with that phrase.

Disclaimer: I am *not* 142 years old, and I am fascinated with all things telephone. I hated our phone co's exhorbitant rates for Voice Mail Messaging - almost 9 dollars per month?? Sounds small, but all of those "only xx dollars per month" add up to hundreds of dollars when you subscribe to them all.

I LIKE analog answering machines. They don't garble the words. They can't be snooped into (not that anyone would want to hear the one or two mesgs I might receive) I despise going all digital, and even worse I can't stand apps.

I want this answered. I was a phone tech at a VoIP reseller, and the OP might want to check out CPC:

]CPC (Calling Party Control) is a signal sent from most modern electronic COs to indicate that the "Calling Party" has hung up. It's usually called "Open Loop Disconnect" when you're programming telephone equipment. The CPC signal tells the phone equipment that the outside party has hung-up, so it can stop recording to an answering machine or voice mail, drop the call off hold, or just release a line that might be used for dictation or announcements


I have a funny feeling the POTS telco is sending out the voltage causing the ans. machine to believe the calling party has hung up. I performed a test using 4 different answering machines (different brands, models, years manufactured) using one telephone line with no other RENS attached, that is, if you have several phone lines and all being occupied with FAX machines- ps for you youngsters, a FAX machine was how we used to send messages, made out of PAPER! it lowers the voltage across the line network. So- I had my one phone line attached to the one phone wall outlet, still the same issue: cassette tape message machine cut off the callers messages almost every time.


If you call your telephone company's call center's Tech Support line, they will not be able to help you with this. You will get an agent making maybe 14$ hourly at most, who's given an intranet portal with a set of answers to callers common questions. Your call center agent is not an engineer, and will NOT TRANSFER the customer TO one. Engineers are not paid to answer telephone calls from bored housewives and weirdos, they are paid big bucks to do like, engineering stuff. A supervisor will not help you with this problem. Call center supervisors make up the call center agents work schedules, and sometimes take irate calls the agent can't deal with.


You will be instructed to set up an (at least) 90$ service call with a technician, who will bill you for that ninety dollars if he/she/ finds it is a "problem with the inside wiring". I suspect the technician will either A) NOT resolve the problem and leave scratching their heads or B) tell you "it's on your end" leaving you with a 90$ bill on your phone account.


142 year old geezer, please find the answer to this dilemma. I will gladly give you a big smile, because that's all I can afford to send over the internet. And good luck- and God help me if I DO find the answer to this, I will hopefully remember to post the answer here- but I can't guarantee it, as we must be super old and probably have alzheimers, using message machines and all....