My answering machine was answering on four rings, all of a sudden it has started answering on 1 and a half rings.
It is still set up to answer on four rings. I thought maybe my machine had gone bad, so I bought another one. The same thing happens with the new one. Can any one tell me how to correct rhis?
Thanks,
Puzzlement
No voice mail box with your phone?
Did you buy another of the EXACT SAME MODEL?
If yes, then go buy one that's a different make & model and ask again! Or, walk over to your neighbor's and try it there.
There's no way to correct something if its inherent in the design of the device (hence the suggestion to try a different unit) *or* in the characteristics of the line to your home (hence the suggestion to try it at a neighbor's)
Without knowing the make and model of his TAD, or what other devices he may have on his line (nuisance call intercept, Caller ID device, etc) it's pretty hard to diagnose.
With it being set on 4 rings and answering on 1½-2, it had me thinking there was a problem with the Toll Saver feature (if it has one) on the device(s).
Possible. But, that would have to be documented as picking up on the second ring in some case (messages waiting) and fourth otherwise (no messages waiting).
The fact that the behavior allegedly *changed*: "all of a sudden it has started answering on 1 and a half rings" suggests something BROKE (but, his purchase of a replacement discounts that possibility -- replacement was broken, too??) *or* something in his environment has changed that "he" can't see -- but that his machine can! *Both* of the machines (the original and replacement)!
There are lots of different ways to "detect ring" that can be employed in an answering machine. A crude one looks for a "high" voltage that is associated with the ring signal (higher than "talk battery"). You can also look at the frequency ("tone") of the signal as it is much lower than any speech signal. Finally, you can look at the cadence (the "pattern" -- ring..... ring..... ring.....).
Ideally, you look at some combination of these so you don't get tricked. I.e., the high voltage AT the low frequency HAPPENING in the expected pattern.
But, some places have "distinctive ring" -- so, the pattern can change from one call to the next. E.g., if the ring pattern for this particular CALLER was ring,ring..... ring,ring..... etc. you could trick an algorithm that wasn't smart enough into thinking this was 4 rings instead of two.
Likewise, if there is a tiny break in the ring -- too short for a person to perceive -- a detector might conclude that the "first ring" is over and get ready to count the *next* ring; not clever enough to realize that two rings occurring so close together are really just ONE ring cycle with a glitch between.
[One could argue that a "bug" in the "distinctive ring" pattern generator could cause these gaps to occur in normal operation]Also, caller ID imposes tones on the line before you lift the handset (i.e., while the phone is still on-hook, ringing). It is conceivable that the machine is detecting these. Or, that these have become exaggerated in some way from the central office.
Without being able to look at the line (oscilloscope) it's hard to GUESS how the detector is designed or anticipate how it may be mistriggering.
Return the "new" machine -- cuz it hasn't fixed the problem! ASSUME the old one is working properly -- cuz the new one behaves identically. The next step is to swap out the telephone *line* -- by trying it at a neighbor's house!
[Of course, this could be a systemic problem that affects all lines served by that CO. Or, a problem related to the branch that feeds your neighborhood, etc. Or, "user error" for failing to understand all of the available settings in the machine]Or, learn to pick up the phone quicker. Or, apologize to callers that you were "slow getting to the phone".
I'd imagine the worse problem would be a machine waiting until the
*eighth* ring to pick up -- at which point, many may have abandoned the call (and you've no record of it).Isn't technology wonderful??! :>
No voice mail box?
No voice mail here nor on cell phone. Fuck'em leave on answering machine or go away. Answers on third ring so f*ck heads have to pay for the call.
my machine will answer on the 4th ring if it is empty and on the first ring if there is 1 or more unread messages on it.
This is so that if you want to retrive your messages when away from home, you can call your own number. If it picks up on the first ring, you know there are messagesto retrieve, so you enter the code and it will play them back
If it waits till four rings, then you know thee are no messages so you can hang up on the third ring before it answers and "save on the toll"
Mark
I would never phone home to see if I had messages.
If you had a home business you might!
Then I would have someone to answer the phone.,
If and butts were candy and nuts every day would be Christmas.
?If ifs and buts were candy and nuts, we?d all have a merry Christmas.? ¯\_(???)_/¯
My answering machine was answering on four rings, all of a sudden it has =
started answering on 1 and a half rings.
It is still set up to answer on four rings. I thought maybe my machine = had=20 gone bad, so I bought another one. The same thing happens with the new = one.=20 Can any one tell me how to correct rhis?
Thanks,
Puzzlement
OP's *replacement* machine answered on 1.5 rings. Was it telepathic and "sensed" the messages waiting on the other, old/disconnected machine? Or, did he plug it in, wander away so someone could call and leave a message, *then* noticed that it was ALSO answering on the second ring?
You forgot (i think) the most important question - what epse, if anything, changed at the same time? Did he start or stop using some feature of the answering machine or phone, add another phone, etc.???
If 2 machines behave the same, and one previously worked properly, it os almost obvious that something else changed. The questio is what? and where? and who or what was responsible. When that's figured out it should be easy to fix --- unless it was something outside the user's control.
If you are not home and whant to know if someone was trying to reach you, you have no other choice - other than going home. Lots of people use a phone and answering system for business purposes and don't give out their cell number to just anyone - they use the landline for business use, and the answereing system as an answering service -and call in from cell or elsewhere to check messages on a regular or semi-regular basis. VERY common - whether YOU would ever find a need to do so or not.
No ifs or buts about it. I bought my first "Code-a-Phone" answering machine back in the late seventies for exactly that reason - and it was not cheap - but cheaper than paying an answering service - and that was before cell phones, when mobile telephone service was also prohibitively expensive!!!.
I'd call in from a customer's phone, or a pay phone, to check messages. The "toll saver" saved a lot of change when using the pay phone (you DO remember those, right??)
You have the caller ID record.
I have my answering machine set to answer after 2 rings. Almost all the calls I get now on the home phone are junk calls (caller ID shows city, state like "AUSTIN TX" or "TOLL FREE CALL" in most cases). I won't answer unless I see a familiar caller ID, and in that case will be holding the phone and can answer quickly.
My home phone (cable) now allows forwarding calls to a cell phone. Most of the time, I wouldn't do that (since it would forward all the junk calls). I'll do it if I'm expecting an important call.
If the machine -- and the subscriber -- have CID! :>
Ours is set to 2 rings but the ringer is turned off. We try to look at the machine every day or two to see if anyone called AND waited through the outgoing message (if they hang up before then, the machine doesn't record the call -- so we see no notification).
Folks that want to get in touch with us use email or the front door. Cuts down on the "nuisance contacts" as very few junk callers are willing to come to the door *or* know any of our email addresses! :>
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