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Knowledge document #1510

Answering machine does not react

The FRITZ!Box's answering machine does not react to calls. Callers do not hear a greeting and cannot leave a message.

Note:All instructions on configuration and settings given in this guide refer to the latest FRITZ!OS for the FRITZ!Box.

Shortening answer delay or reconfiguring the answering machine

  1. Click "Telephony" in the FRITZ!Box user interface.
  2. Click "Telephony Devices" in the "Telephony" menu.
  3. Click the "Edit" button for the respective answering machine.
  4. Select "20 seconds" from the drop-down list "Accept call after".
  5. Click "OK" to save the settings.
  6. If the answering machine still does not react, it is not correctly configured:
    1. Click the (Delete) button for the respective answering machine in the "Telephony Devices" menu. Note that deleting it also deletes all existing messages.

      Note:You can save existing messages later by right-clicking the play icon for the relevant message under "Telephony > Answering Machine" and selecting "Save destination to" or "Save link to" from the context menu. The exact name of the option depends on the browser being used.

    2. Set up the answering machine again. 
    • If the answering machine reacts now, it means that your telephony provider does not signal calls continuously. These interruptions in signaling are usually not noticeable because telephones connected to the FRITZ!Box ring continuously. For the answering machine, however, the call appears to be terminated before the 20 seconds have passed. This is not a fault of the FRITZ!Box.

      Note:Now you can gradually increase the time. Our investigations have shown that a delay of 35 seconds is normally possible since the respective provider does not signal the call again until the 35 seconds have passed.
      The FRITZ!Box's call list shows you whether calls are signaled more than once. In this case, several entries are created for one call.

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