BT Answer 1571 on your home phone

What is BT Answer 1571?

BT Answer 1571 is an answering service that will answer calls when you are either away from the phone or engaged on another call. It then alerts you that there is a new message waiting in your mailbox by placing a stutter dial tone on the line. You can create your own personal greeting for callers to hear and change this as often as you like.

How do I get BT Answer 1571?

To order BT Answer 1571, please go to www.bt.com/callingfeatures or simply dial 1571 from your home phone.

How do I record a personal greeting on my line?

• From your fixed line, dial 1571 using a telephone set for touch-tone dialling
• Press 2 from the main menu to use a personal greeting
• In the next menu press 1
• You'll hear a system message advising you that you have no personal greeting and that to record a personal greeting you must press 1
• After you press 1 you'll hear the system prompt: 'Please record your greeting after the tone. When you’ve finished recording press square (#)'
• After you hear the tone please record your personal greeting as required and then press square (#)
• You'll then hear another system prompt: 'To listen to your greeting press 1. To use it, press 2. To record a new greeting press 3, or, to cancel recording and return to the greeting menu, press star (*)'

How do I remove BT Answer 1571 from my line?

You can do this online. Visit www.bt.com/callingfeatures and click the 'Change features' button. Otherwise please call us on 0800 800 150 (Monday to Saturday 7:30 am – 10pm and Sunday 9am to 6pm

How do I know when BT Answer 1571 has been provided on my line?

After ordering, BT Answer 1571 will be in place within two working days. You can check whether it is on your line by dialling 1571 and listening for the BT Answer mailbox greeting.

How do I access my BT Answer 1571 messages?

Once the service is activated, simply dial 1571 from your home phone to connect to your BT Answer 1571 mailbox.

Is BT Answer 1571 free of charge?

BT Answer 1571 is available at no extra cost when you sign up, for customers who make calls with BT. If you are billed monthly, then you must make at least two chargeable calls with BT each month or if you are billed quarterly, then you must make at least six chargeable calls with BT within that quarter. If you use the service and don't make these calls with BT you will be charged for this service. See www.bt.com/callingfeatures for further information.

How does BT Answer 1571 Message Alert work?

If you miss a call because you're on the phone or internet, BT Answer 1571 will take a message and ring you shortly after you've hung up or logged off and tell you that you have a message.

If my BT Answer 1571 mailbox is full, what message will the next caller hear?

If your BT Answer 1571 mailbox is full, callers will hear the following message: 'Sorry, this mailbox is full, it cannot accept any more messages.'

How do BT Answer 1571 and Call Diversion work together?

When you have both Call Diversion and BT Answer 1571 and choose to activate Call Diversion, you will not hear the usual interrupted dial tone to indicate that the diversion is active. You'll only hear a change in dial tone when there is a new message on BT Answer 1571.

Does BT 1471 (Caller Return) update when a call is answered by BT Answer 1571?

BT 1471 will update in the normal way if:

• BT Answer 1571 picks up the call when there is no reply
• you have Call Waiting active and are engaged on a call but choose not to take the second call

However, please note that 1471 will not update if a call switches to BT Answer 1571 when the line is busy.

BT Answer 1571 knocks me off the Internet. How can I stop this?

If you find that BT Answer 1571 sometimes disconnects you from the Internet, make sure you retrieve all your BT Answer 1571 messages before connecting to your ISP. Then, either save or delete your messages.

How do I know if I have a new message?

When you have a new message you will hear an interrupted dial tone on the phone line. You then simply dial 1571 to listen to your new messages.

How many messages can BT Answer 1571 store?

BT Answer 1571 will store up to ten messages at any one time. The messages will be stored for 20 days, after which time they will automatically delete.

How long can one message last on BT Answer 1571?

The maximum length of time for one message on BT Answer 1571 is two minutes.

If my BT Answer 1571 mailbox is full, what message do I receive when I dial 1571?

If your BT Answer 1571 mailbox is full you will hear the following message on dialling 1571: 'Welcome to BT Answer. BT Answer is completely full. Please delete any unwanted messages'.

If I set up a Reminder Call and choose not to answer it, does the Reminder Call divert to my BT Answer 1571 service?

If you have BT Answer 1571 and set up a reminder call and then don't answer it, the call will not be diverted to the answering service.

How does Call Waiting work with BT Answer 1571?

If you have the BT Answer 1571 service and are on a call when a new incoming call arrives, an intrusion tone will advise you that a new call is waiting. The caller will hear the Call Waiting announcement, and, if you decide not to take the new call, after 21 seconds it will be diverted to the BT Answer 1571 service.

What happens if I stop using my BT Answer 1571 service?

If you do not access your BT Answer 1571 mailbox at least once every 90 days, it will be switched off and any saved messages will be lost. To reinstate the service on your landline, dial 1571 from your handset. To reinstate BT Answer 1571 for BT Broadband Talk, please login to manage your Calling Features online.

More information on managing your BT Broadband Talk Calling Features.

Is my alarm system compatible with BT Answer 1571?

Some social alarm and burglar alarm equipment may not be compatible with BT Answer 1571. Please check with your alarm supplier.

Can I have both BT Answer 1571 Personal Greeting and Message Alert on my line?

Yes, from 25 September 2009, both services become available in the same combined service.

Can callers hear different personalised greetings?

No. If you use a Personal Greeting with Enhanced BT Answer 1571, callers will hear the same greeting regardless of whether the line is busy or unanswered.

 Calling Features user guide (PDF doc, 163 KB)