Customer Reviews

AT&T 436 Caller ID Box (Dove Gray)

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I like the features of this unit and would like it even better if it had all of features some other reviewers listed, like call sorting and adjustable LCD. Mine has neither of these features. But my real complaint is that when my DSL modem is plugged into the wall, my Caller Display 436 will not work. It works fine as long as the DSL is not plugged in. My phones with caller ID display work at all times. I like the fact that this unit came with a power supply rather than batteries. It would be nice to have a back up battery in case of power failute and a larger display would also be nice. Is anyone aware of other units which have no problem with the DSL line?

I recently purchased the AT&T 436 and it displays call made from land lines as it should. But calls made from AT&T wireless phones don't register, instead it displays "error present" or "line error". Strange, my other caller ID devices, including an AT&T wall phone, Bell South caller ID box and a Panasonic wireless phone all display both cell and land line numbers. What's even more interesting is this AT&T caller ID box is specifically rejecting calls from it's own AT&T family. Go figure! I returned it for a full refund.

This is supposed to display the caller information, and store up to 100 calls in memory. The display of the current call works, but after getting several calls in memory the characters change to display complete gibberish when looking back at the history. If you have a use for the call history, don't buy it because it doesn't work.

I had this for not even a month, and then it just totally stopped working. I couldn't get it to turn on.
And, when it was working
a) it was really hard to see the numbers on the screen and
b) the voicemail light would often blink even when there was no message and no new phone call.
Total waste of money.

I am on my second unit and the caller ID/call waiting feature doesn't work.

I bought two of their earlier models 6 years ago and it held up forever and worked well. Unfortunately we lost them in the last move and had to bite it and get new ones. We'll I was not surprised to see they where pretty much the same and works great just like the other ones did. We have phones all over the house and I really like to see whose calling before I answer. These are easy to hook up and work. They are small and in obtrusive. Hey and who can beat the price?

The AT&T 436 had a short-circuit after 3 months of use. It brought our phone line to its knees. It took a Verizon technician an hour to trace our phone trouble to one little caller-ID box gone bad. Our phone line was out for two days.

Original Review: April 19, 2004---
What a disappointment! After 5 years using a Pacific Bell caller ID box (CIDCO Model DB99), I had no idea that a caller ID box would come with no back lighting. We had to use a flashlight to see the display on our wall! (A lamp washes out the display.) The display is adjustable but, out of 5 settings, 1 is so light you can hardly see it and 4 and 5 have filled in black boxes around the numbers making them mostly unreadable. Only setting 3 is acceptable.

I ordered this from Advanced American Telecom (although the operator said it was "Telephone"). This number was given to me after I called SBC to get a replacement for our current box (fading display).

Make sure your model says it has adjustable backlighting or something to that effect. We returned this to the seller for a full refund as we really could not use it. Our cordless phone has caller ID but you have to pick up the phone to see it.

Update 7-18-05: My original PacBell Caller ID (see above) is still OK!! I found the directions and was able to darken the display -- it had accidentally gotten light because if you push the Delete and the Right or Left Arrows, it becomes darker or lighter. So it is still working and the back light is still there! Thank goodness because I still have never seen a anothr caller ID box with a backlight.

I wish I had saved all the packing stuff for this piece of junk. It seemed to work, for a while. After a time, it just punked out, and I just threw it away. Since then, I have replaced all my phones with ones that display caller id, and I am (reasonably) happy with them.

You'd think an old name like AT&T would think before they put their logo on junk like this. Time was, everything from the phone company (remember? THE phone company) was made to last.

After reading the previous 8 reviews I am beginning to understand why I am experiencing problems. These reviews have helped me to become aware of many features available or needed to make this type of unit a more user friendly device.

The information re; being incompatible with DSL is true in my case also. I have requested support from atttelephoneproducts@aatphones.com.