Customer Reviews

TeleZapper TZ 900

5 star:		(58)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(37)

 

 

I used to get marketing calls almost every day with calls in the months leading up to the holidays hitting my phone both in the morning and evening.

Finally I had enough of the marketing call hassle and decided to fight back. I put a TelezZapper on my Christmas "wish list" and received one as a gift. I was a little skeptical about the thing and wasn't really sure if it would work but a few days after getting the unit the TeleZapper was on my phone line and I was waiting for the first telemarketer call to arrive to get zapped. I was also waiting to see if it would zap my DSL connection since it's on the same phone line.

I didn't have to wait very long. The phone rang, I picked up the receiver, and in about a second I heard the tri-tone signal, and then said "hello" ... the line was silent. I called out again and got no response. I just zapped my first telemarketer and it was great!

I booted up my computer to test my DSL line and it didn't skip a beat. I also checked my caller ID and it still registered numbers.

Finally, something that actually seems to work!

A few things to note:

· Re-record your message machine to allow a 2-3 second gap at the beginning so that the Telezapper can beep and not garble the beginning of your message.

· Tell your friends about the device on your phone and tell them not to hang up when they hear the tones. Some of my friends just thought they got a wrong number and hung up to try again.

· If you're not expecting any calls you may want the call to go to your answering machine first to get zapped and then pick up after you're sure there's a voice at the other end of the line.

· If you pick up the receiver before your answering machine picks up, wait for the tones to go off before putting the receiver to your ear -- the tones are loud.

Overall this is a great little unit and it really does work with my marketing calls dropping by at least 90%.

The next thing I need to do is to place the TeleZapper on my 2nd line -- my fax line -- to get rid of all those junk faxes!

I actually have the earlier model of the TeleZapper -- the one that's the size of a small answering machine. The product does exactly what it is designed to actually do, and it does so reliably. But the real question is does what the product actually do stand up to it's marketing as a way to stop telemarketers from calling you.

The answer is, to some degree, sort-of.

The way it works is this: The telemarketer calls you. You (or your answering machine) answers the call, and the TeleZapper beeps. If the telemarketer is using the right equipment to recognize that tone as being a non-working number, the telemarketer will automatically disconnect from the call, and theoretically delete your phone number from the list it is using.

So let's look at this closer. Your phone still rings. If you (or your answering machine) does not answer the ringing phone, the beep-tone is never heard by the telemarketer's equipment. The result of not answering the phone is the same with or without the TeleZapper.

Okay, so we have to answer the phone once. But after that one time aren't we deleted from the lists they all use? Well, no. There are lots of lists out there. Some are used only once. Doesn't do much good to be removed from a list that will never be used again. But in all fairness, you will be removed from a few lists that might have gotten used again.

My personal experience was that initially there was no change in the number of calls. It took some time before any of those beeps my TeleZapper made had any effect on whether or not I was going to get called again. During this first period, I still got to talk to a lot of telemarketers because they weren't using equipment that the TeleZapper had any effect upon.

After about three or four months, I realized that there were far fewer times that I answered the phone, and no one was there. That could mean one of two things: Either the TeleZapper was working, and I was really was being taken off the lists, or telemarketers stopped using the kind of equipment that's stopped by the TeleZapper.

It's been over a year now, and it's just been in the last two weeks that things changed again. I'm now suddenly again getting lots of calls with no one there. My speculation is that the TeleZapper worked, and I was taken off of quite a few lists, but now there are new lists out there that include my name.

You can't really control who calls you on the phone any more than you can control which people you pass on the street will say something to you. But just as there are things that you can do to discourage people you pass from saying something to you, there are things you can do to discourage telemarketers from calling you. The TeleZapper can be a part of your arsenal, but don't expect it to be the best tool you can use. And since the TeleZapper doesn't start to do anything unless you (or your answering machine) picks up the phone, don't expect this tool to take the lead, either.

So the TeleZapper functions. It does have some effect. Is it worth the price? Well, I don't have any regrets about spending the money, but I wouldn't do it again. If your state has a no-call list, the fee to be included on that list is probably going to get you a better bang for your buck.

On the other hand, if you're not as assertive as I can be with Telemarketers, the TeleZapper saves you from having to speak directly to sone telemarketers, so the price may be worth it to you.

I always enjoy reading reviews of "controversial" items. It amazes me what expectations people have in a product. This item is a great example. Here's how this item works:

Telemarketers and others use computers to call up people to try to sell them stuff. They can literally dial THOUSANDS of numbers a day. It doesn't matter if your number is unlisted. If it can be generated by a computer, you will get unsolicited calls. Caller ID is great to avoid unwanted calls BUT unfortunately, just because you don't answer, doesn't mean they'll stop calling your number. The phone company offers a "blocking" service, but you pay every month and sometimes every call coming into your number. There is a national and state by state "NO CALL" list you can sign up to on the net. But, I'm signed up with several, I still received DOZENS of calls selling stuff.

For various reasons, the Phone company's computer has an electronic signal to mark disconnected phone numbers to other computerized systems.
The Telezapper TZ900 mimicks these electronic "disconnected" signals. That fools the telemarketers' (and others) computers into believing the number is disconnected and hangs it up. The telemarketers system is set up to delete "disconnected" numbers, so it doesn't waste "valuable" telemarkerters time.
If you have Telezapper connected correctly (pretty easy with instructions), your phone number will eventually show up as disconnected to all the telemarketers! The telemarketers will EVENTUALLY stop calling.
There are NUMEROUS telemarketers with NUMEROUS computerized calling systems, but EVENTUALLY your phone number will be on less and less lists! Thus less & less calls.
It won't be immediately. I noticed a difference after a week. And if you have that one telemarketer who seems to call YOU 8 - 10 times a day, he's gone after just one ZAP!
As telemarketers lives become harder and harder, their equipment becomes more sophisticated. Thus, so do the countermeasures like TeleZapper TZ900. Life in the 21st century. So, unfortunately, I may have to buy an updated "better" one next year.

The pros are that this unit doesn't need a converter to take up an electrical outlet. It has a three tone signal instead of the earlier model's one tone signal. This eliminates even more telemarketing systems!
The cons are that this unit is kind of expensive. And you need to avail yourself of different anti-telemarketing strategies in addition to help eliminate unwanted sales calls completely.

This product is a good tool you can utilize to stop telemarketing abuse.

I bought my parents a telezapper back in 2000 when they first came out. It's still going strong and the longer you have it the more effective it is as you are gradually purged from more and more databases. I recently bought two more of these, the new model TZ900's that are now sold. I have one at my residence and at my office. The one for my house arrived and did not work. The one at my office arrived and worked for 2 months then died. There is no manual on the telezapper website nor are there any instructions included when I bough these through amazon. After much searching I found that there is a CR2032 Lithium battery inside of the new models!!!!! Changed the battery out and they are back in business. I think that alot of these are old stock so they show up with dead or near dead batteries in them. If telezapper would put some documentation up that would help immensely. I will be adding a second unit at my office for my fax line to help weed out junk faxes soon.

Anyhow, if your TZ has quit working try changing the batter. There are 2 screws on the bottom to remove. Then pull the top and bottom pieces apart and that will expose the CR2032 battery on the top of the circuit board. Slide it out and slide the new one in then button it back up.

The "TeleZapper" is a little device that will eliminate computer-dialed telemarketing calls. I bought this item since I was receiving over 3 telemarketing calls per day, selling everything from credit cards to prescription drugs (it that legal?). My purchase of the TeleZapper was out of rage, when I got one abrasive telemarketer too many.

For the first while, it helped eliminate some of the telemarketing calls, but not all of them. It only phases out calls made by a predictive dialer, not manually dialed or more advanced computer-dialed calls. Though some still did get through, it cut down signifigantly the number of calls I was getting. In terms of installation, it was pretty easy. The instructions are strait-forward enough.

But after the first while, I got very annoyed with it. Often, I would pick up the phone and nobody would be there. You are basically trading one inconvenience for another: a telemarketer vs. dead air. Both are annoying when they come at a bad time. The other drawback is that it can block out important calls. Once, my credit card company called to tell me that my bill payment did not go through, but it got "zapped". Since they though my number was not in service, it landed me in some hot water, for a short while. The "beep" you get when you pick up the phone is a small annoyance.

Overall, I think the TeleZapper was not worth the hefty price I paid for it. One way or another, I will rush to the phone to answer either a telemarketer or a dead air call. I would rather have saved my money and simply said "Take me off your calling lists". At least if I said that, the company would be legally obligated not to call me back. With the TeleZapper, what is to stop them from putting your number on another list? Who would I recommend it to? People who get excessive amounts of annoying telemarketing calls. But be warned, if you are expecting it to get rid of all annoying calls, you might be disappointed.

I used to work in the telephony field, part of my job was programming dialers. The only way this could work is to "fool" a dialer is to broadcast the "tri-tones" that indicates a disconnected or out of service line.

This is fine for telemarketing but many credit companies use dialers to verify phone numbers. The last thing you want if you are trying to get a new car loan or mortage is for your phone number come up "bad".

This does as advertised, but ESPECIALLY on advanced
mode! One cannot expect the seller or maker to open
the package, reset the switch for you, and reseal it
all. SIMPLY unscrew the back, and move the switch to
the ADVANCED mode! Then it will do as advertised and
HELP to eliminate calls! Not overnight, but over a small
amount of time, as you are called, it will do its job
and help you. I've seen these go on here for less than
FOUR DOLLARS now plus shipping, and they are worth every
penny! So simply get your screwdriver out and git er dun!

I recommend a combined approach -- buy the Zapper, and ask to be put on "do not call" lists! We used to get about 10 calls per week, and now we get a couple calls a month. While the Zapper works for only computer-assisted calls, this is a HUGE proportion of the calls I used to receive. If you can get used to the beep every time you answer the phone (followed by dead air when someone gets zapped), I recommend the Zapper. The number of calls diminish quickly, so it is not like you are constantly racing to the phone to hear dead air.

When telemarketers do break through -- ask to be put on their do not call list. As a secondary thing, add your number to....., the government's national do not call list. In addition, you can e-mail every phone company and ask to be removed from their call list given that they are the most persistent and have the technology to break past the Zapper. This does not take much time to do -- and the reward (peace and quiet) is worth the investment in the Zapper and the lists.

I used to receive at least 10 telemarketer calls during the week. They would all come in around dinner time. We would get at least one call every night. It was truly consistent, so I broke down and purchased the Telezapper with little hope that it would work.

I was ready to try anything. I almost bought the older model (TZ 800) from a third party, when I learned that the telemarketers are rendering it obsolete by ignoring the single tone that it produces. That's why I decided to buy the newer TZ-900 with a three tone generator.

Immediately after hooking it up, I was still receiving calls during the week. They were hang ups, so that was different. During the second week of ownership was where I noticed that IT WORKED. I could finally have dinner with my family without any interuptions. The concept was very simple, and equally brilliant. I utilize the advanced setting, so the zapper emits three tones that we're accustomed to hearing when we dial a "number that's no longer in service".

Hearing the tone requires some getting used to, but once it no longer bugs you, it's completely transparent, if not amusing. I feel as though I have this permanent camoflauge from telemarketers and that's without additional monthly charges.

The build quality is impressive for an inexpensive electronic product. There are two shiny screws on the bottom holding the unit together very tightly. Comparable electronics, I've noticed, are made in much more of a sloppy fashion. I hope it continues to work this well. No more Daily News, MCI, or AT&T.

I installed the Telezapper TZ 900 about 2 weeks ago, and the telemarketer calls have pretty much ceased. I used to get 4-5 calls every evening. Now, I might get one every 3 days, and I don't think it is a computer generated call. I have the Telezapper set to advanced mode (3 tone disconnect signal). The reason I gave the unit 4 stars is because the unit was delivered with a dead battery. Please be aware of this. When it is connected to your phone line, you should hear the disconnect tone when you pick up your phone. If you don't hear the tone, then the battery is dead. The battery was easily available at my local Longs drugstore. I suspect that many of the reviewers who claim that the device flat-out doesn't work had units shipped with dead batteries.