Rating: 
Summary: Good Machine For The Money
Review: I'm not sure why there is so much bad press on this phone! I searched and searched for a corded phone with an answering machine that had an audible alert that wasn't too complicated to operate. This phone fits the bill! I hesitated purchasing this model as all the feedback was so negative. But it had all the features I was looking for so I decided to give it a try.The features are great as well. The audio caller ID is really nice! And while it doesn't give you the name of the caller, it does let you set the machine to record the number of the caller with the message. It has on/offs for just about everything. And volume controls for handset, speakerphone, message playback. And not just one or two levels like most phones. As for message quality, I suppose it could be better, but I've tried several digital machines and most all leave a little to be desired. The digital voice commands may have been a little difficult to understand the first time through, but if you follow in the book, it's a snap. The audio alert could be a little louder as well. Can't attest to the longevity as I just purchased. Everything works flawlessly at this point.
Rating: 
Summary: Its an answering machine..not an MP3 player!
Review: I've had this unit for 5 months and have had no complaints. Its a good little basic machine that gives you your messages when you are away. The battery backup feature is great. This unit was one of the few machines that were working for me in the aftermath of Hurricane Isabel. Yes, the sound quality is not top notch; but who needs concert clarity on an answering machine? I guess if your friends mumble... I also like being able to set the rings at a reasonable 5 or 6 before the answering machine kicks in--plenty of time to race to the phone if you are anywhere in the vicinity. Color me satisfied.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't buy this machine
Review: Just adding my voice to the others here. I've had much the same problems: - As others have already noted, the sound quality of the recording is terrible. I often have to replay a message 4 or 5 times to understand it. - Just a few months after I bought it, when I picked up the receiver to answer a call, I sometimes had to jiggle the switch hook to get it to answer. Then it started cutting people off right in the middle of a conversation. Now it's so bad that when you pick it up you can jiggle all you want and it doesn't answer at all. I've given up using this piece of junk as a phone - I just use it as an answering machine. - Now the last straw is that I can't retrieve my messages remotely. I dial my number, it answers on the 2nd ring like it's supposed to, I key in my code, and it just sits there and does nothing, and then hangs up! I've gone through the setup several times, and I'm sure it's set up correctly. But I can't retrieve my messages! Don't waste your money on this piece of junk! If anyone knows of a better machine... please post it here.
Rating:
Summary: Don't Buy! Horrible!
Review: The answering machine part of the phone stopped working after two days. The warranty repair service required me to try to fix the problem myself by resetting the internal software. I did this several times, and each time, the answering machine worked for two days. After repeatedly phoning AT&T, they agreed to send me a replacement which is warranted for 90 days, not one year as the original phone is warranted. I will never buy another AT&T branded product. Update: Replacement arrived, and it has the same problem. I'm done.
Rating: 
Summary: I wish it would have worked!
Review: The first 1818 I brought home seemed to "miss" messages when I tested it myself. Because I liked the audible number announce if you have caller ID (a feature not mentioned in the product info) I returned #1 and purchased #2. It seemed not to miss messages (who really knows?), but when I finally got around to recording my own OGM, it was scratchy, muffled and of low quality. In addition, the design of the receiver is such that it is sometimes tricky to hang up, which is very annoying. As I was perusing Amazon's selection of just answering machines, under reviews of AT&T answering machines, it was interesting to see the problem with the missed messages mentioned as well as the problem with the low quality outgoing message that I encountered. So, I'm still in search of a corded telephone and answering machine w/caller ID. The only reason I would recommend this phone is the audible number announce, a great feature for someone who is sight impaired. It will also announce the number as it goes through the messages, another feature that might be appreciated by someone with vision problems. I believe that some of the AT&T answering machines also have that feature. If you do decide to give this machine a try, KEEP YOUR RECEIPT!
Rating:
Summary: Don't buy this machine
Review: We've had this phone for six months, it has acted strangely the whole time. Recently it started refusing to connect when the receiver is picked up, so you have to jiggle the button to get it to answer. I'm looking for a new phone now....
Rating:
Summary: Unreliable
Review: We've had this phone for six months, it has acted strangely the whole time. Recently it started refusing to connect when the receiver is picked up, so you have to jiggle the button to get it to answer. I'm looking for a new phone now....
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing and short-lived
Review: When we purchased the phone in March, 2003, we read a very positive review of it. It did not live up to the review, but others have expressed some problems quite clearly. Other problems with ours were:
It lost the time and had to be reset regularly; it lost the recorded voice message on the answering device, even with a battery back-up. The ring could be made shriekingly loud, but the caller's volume increased very little.
It also worked for only a year and a half.
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