AT&T 438 Internet Call Alert

by AT&T

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 2 x 1.2 x 6 inches ; 1.4 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00023CJMM
• Item model number: ATT438
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
  • #41 in Electronics > Accessories & Supplies > Telephone Accessories > Caller ID Displays
• Date first available at Amazon.com: June 1, 2004

Product Description

Don't Miss Calls During Dial-up, Audible and Visual Call Alerting

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Works but has issues!, March 20, 2005

By 

J Costa (Michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: AT&T 438 Internet Call Alert (Office Product)

The unit has some nice features. When you are online the right side of the unit flashes bright light green and makes an alert tone to surely get your attention if you're out of the room. Works like any other callerid device. I.E. When you receive a call, you can redial by pressing a button.

When you're online and the alert tone goes off you simply lift your receiver that's connected to the unit and press the "call waiting" button. You can talk as long as your modem will allow (mine is roughly 10-15 seconds) then hang up and your still online.

On the back of the unit are 4 jack ports (line in, phone, computer and fax)

One thing that is annoying is that every once and awhile it will click and I lose internet connection for about 10 seconds. I enjoy playing poker online and this sometimes folds my hands because I time out in the game. It's a little annoying because it can happen every 5-10 minutes or not at all.

I called AT&T and asked them if this was normal operation and they said that I had a defective unit.

I brought it back to the store that I purchased it from and got a new one. I had the same issue with the new one. In my opinion, it's a glitch in the unit.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Gave it a second try!, September 28, 2004

By 

RobynW "RobynW" (Parrish, FL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: AT&T 438 Internet Call Alert (Office Product)

I purchased this item 2 weeks ago from Wal-Mart for $35, but have only been using it for a few days. When I first connected the box to my computer, I had an expandable cordless phone system connected to it. The box did what it claimed, however when I was using any one of my cordless phones for a voice call, no caller-id / call-waiting information was displayed. Instead it was displayed on the box, which was upstairs by my computer. With me being home during the day (high time for telemarketers), this was not going to work. I had a 2-line phone adapter laying around, so I thought that I would connect my cordless phone system directly into the wall, rather than into the back of the unit. That fixed my CID / CW problem, but when I was on-line and another call came in I had to manually sign off of the internet before I could pick up the call. By the time my connection signed off, most of the callers had hung up. So, in the box this thing went.

After some research, I downloaded computer software which was supposed to do the same thing but through my modem. This worked for a week, but then I noticed that I was being notified of only 50-60% of the calls coming in. On top of that, even if I chose to ignore the call I was quickly disconnected.

I pulled the Internet Call Alert box out again and decided to give it another try. Here is how I got it to work for me. I still use the 2-line adapter for my phone line. My expandable cordless phone system goes directly into the wall using one line. The Internet Call Alert box is plugged into the second line. Into that I have my modem/pc connected, a fax machine, and then I added a corded telephone which I only use to answer incoming calls while on the net. With that, I have also added voice mail to my telephone package to answer calls which I choose to ignore. In the end I have spent less than $45. Up front that's not so good, but in comparison with internet call alert programs charging a monthly fee I would have spent more than that in less than a year.

I have not noticed any type of page freezing, or false signals. I have been able to answer a few very short phone calls without being disconnected, and when I choose to ignore the calls it's happy surfing. I only use the internet for e-mail, research and chatting. I like that this box displays caller id information, and it seems to work like a normal caller id box even when not on the internet. The call waiting alert makes an audible sound and also 1/4 of the box flashes. It's not just a little LED light.

Overall, I gave this product 4 stars because I have been using it for less than a month.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Must have CID and Call Waiting package for it to work, July 14, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: AT&T 438 Internet Call Alert (Office Product)

It may work well. I don't really know since I only have Call Waiting and it seems to require both CID and Call Waiting to function. I'm taking it back and giving Catch-A-Call a try.