AT&T (1740WH) Digital AnsweSystem with Time and Day Stamp, White

Purchased for an elderly person that had issues with other models that had a lot of buttons. This one worked great for them. Pretty basic, easy to use and understand. Seems nice quality, good value for the money!

Worried how it was packaged for shipping, but all in one piece. Been only 2 days, but works fine

This AT&T answering machine replaced a decade old Panasonic unit that met its demise after a fall to the tile floor. The AT&T machine has similar basic functionality, but the display only provides the number of recorded calls. Set-up was quick and easy with adequate instructions given in a lengthy foldout sheet and verbal instructions from the unit. From removal from the box to operation took 10 minutes including connecting the phone wire, setting the time and day of the week, number of rings and recording the outgoing answering message. It answers incoming calls acceptably and is simple to operate. I have caller ID service so it announces that info verbally. However, the voice for caller ID is totally unintelligible. The numbers are spoken so fast and are truncated so it's impossible to understand the caller ID number. The time and day info is a bit easier to interpret, but could be improved. If we need the number we look at the display of a nearby wall phone with a display. Our broken Panasonic machine displayed the number and call time on the display. This in an inexpensive, simple, but functional device made in China for AT&T. The message sound quality is minimally acceptable, and the recorded outgoing answering message sounds tinny and lacks fidelity. However, it's understandable. Sound quality is it's weakest feature, especially the verbal caller ID info for recorded calls.

This machine checks almost all the boxes of an old answering machine--no cassette tape. But, hey, it's serving the purpose adequately. Easy to set up and use. No super tech knowledge needed.

Very good answering machine. Easy to set up.

Great Product

Have had this same machine but older version for many years. Bought this newer one for phone system trouble shooting reasons not because my old one died. Button layout is better on new one but unfortunately, they changed the programing on how to set the time/date and is now confusing. Turns out, nothing wrong with old machine but keeping new one just in case these become unavailable. Using old one though because the programing / set-up is more user friendly than the new one.

The AT&T 1740 I purchased was an Amazon store return, which saved me $4 (total cost under $11, Oct 2022). The unit I received looks new, but clearly had been out of the box. Apparently the previous purchaser was not happy with it, but I found that this answering machine works great.The machine is tiny, so fits just about anywhere that has a nearby phone jack and power outlet. Audio quality is good, installation/setup wasn't difficult, and daily operation is a breeze. But I'm a techie person, so devices like this do not freak me out. It comes with instructions and my best advice is to carefully read them.It has all the features a typical home or small business landline user may need. It can record up to 60 minutes of incoming messages (variable length, recordings end when caller hangs up). While on the road remote control operation is possible using any touch tone phone (landline, cell phone, etc.). You can record a personal announcement (greeting) or use the built-in default announcement provided by AT&T. You can set the number of rings before answering and can listen to the caller live, in case you want to pick up the phone. You can even silence the outgoing message when it answers so you do not have to hear it with each incoming call (but caller still hears it).There's more this machine can do and I think the available features are well thought out. Best of all, you can can change the various features either locally (front panel buttons) or remotely (touch tone commands).The best way to record announcements and memos is to speak directly into the little recessed hole that is on the front left corner; See photo. This hole is the microphone and audio quality will improve if your mouth is close to it (about six inches distance).And here's a tip. I found that my personalized outgoing announcement was too quiet. So I used the remote control feature and recorded the announcement from my cell phone. It was much louder and audio quality was good.Another tip is to use the Toll Saver feature if you will be listening to messages while on the road. This feature will cause the machine to answer on the second ring if callers have recorded a message, otherwise it will answer on the forth ring. So call the machine and if it doesn't answer by the second or third ring you can hang up since there are no messages. Otherwise let it answer, enter your two digit pass code, and press 1 to hear the messages. This feature saves time and money.Pros: Low cost, small size, decent audio quality and features.Cons: Nothing to report, I like the machine.