How do I change the number of rings to start answerer

What model answering machine do you have? On some units, there is a physical switch on the side or back to set the number of rings. The options can be limited to 2, 4 or TS (10 rings). This is the case for my AT&T 1337 digital answering system. On others, you will need to access the Menu and look for an Answering System menu item. Enter the sub-menu and look for the number of rings option. Increase this value and save the setting. You may find additional number of rings settings.

Please add a comment with the make and model for a better solution. I hope this gets you started.

Cindy Wells

The KX-TG5621 isn't an answering machine. It will ring until you answer, some answering machine picks up, or the caller hangs up.

To change the ring count on your answering machine, refer to the documentation for that answering machine. If you require further assistance, please add a comment to this question and specify the make and model of your answering machine.

The CS6719-16 isn't an answering machine. It will ring until someone answers, some other answering machine picks up, or the caller hangs up.

If you want to change the number of rings before an answering machine picks up, please reply to this post and specify the answering machine.

Set rings to answer
You can select the number of rings that will occur before the fax answers an incoming call. If you are using your machine as both a telephone and a fax machine, we suggest you set the ring count to at least 4 to give you time to answer.
TIP: HP 1050 Fax: The Toll Saver function for the Digital Message Center interacts with Rings to Answer. See Toll Saver on page 40. If you have the HP 1050 Fax and have Toll Saver turned on, set the Rings to Answer to 2.
1. Press Menu repeatedly until BASIC FAX displays and press Start/Enter.
Rings to Answer will display.
2. Press Start/Enter.
3. Enter the number of rings you want (2-7) and press Start/Enter.
The HP Fax rings the set number of times and then answers. It then produces a different sounding ring to alert you to which type of call is incoming.
• The additional ring may occur once for a fax call
• The additional ring occurs 5 times for a voice call. After the 5 additional rings, the answering machine will answer.

The following set up assumes you have one conventional phone line, but two different phone numbers. One being your regular phone number and the other a distinctive ring for your fax machine

If that is what you have then this is how you set up the phone. Its important to know what type of distinctive ring your phone company will send to your phone. If it doesn't work you can talk to them about getting a different one than their default distinctive ring.

2 Set the HP all-in-one to answer incoming calls automatically.

Press the Auto Answer button until the light is on.

3 Change the Answer Ring Pattern setting to the pattern that has been assigned to your fax number by the telephone company, for example, double rings or triple rings.
For information on changing this setting, see Change the answer ring pattern
(distinctive ringing).
Note Your HP all-in-one is factory-set to answer all ring patterns. If you do not set the correct ring pattern assigned to your fax number by the telephone company, your HP all-in-one might answer both voice calls and fax calls or it might not answer at all.

4 (Optional) Change the Rings to Answer setting to one ring or two rings.

For information on changing this setting, see Set the number of rings before answering.
5 Run a fax test. For information, see Test your fax setup.
Your HP all-in-one will automatically answer incoming calls that have the ring pattern you selected (Answer Ring Pattern setting) after the number of rings you selected (Rings to Answer setting). Then it will begin emitting fax reception tones to the sending
fax machine and receive the fax.


If it is easier or you want to know other options which may be more applicable to your phone setup. You can find that information here.

http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c00235090.pdf

Auto Attendant
Answer Lines
1 – Feature 983
2 – Log: Dial 1020000 (3-digit DNs) or 120000 (2-digit DNs)
3 – Press AA
4 – Press LINES
5 – Line number: Dial line number (001-xxx).
6 – Line:xxx Ans:No Press CHNG to AA if auto attendant will always answer theline. If a Night Service key will be used to activate auto attendant answering, leave Ans: at No.
7 – If line has been changed to Ans:AA, press * then press TABLE.
8 – If Table:1 is OK press RINGS. (Table 1 is the default greeting table. Change to a different table (1-4) if alternate answering is required on the line being programmed.)
9 – Rings:0 – Press CHNG, dial number of rings before auto attendant answers the line, or leave at 0 for immediate answering. Allow at least 2 rings if CLID is in use.
10 – Repeat for each line to be programmed.

Notes For Night Service Mode Auto Attendant Answering
If the auto attendant will only answer lines in night service mode, line answering should be set to No as per step 6 above. Using night service will cause the AA to answer lines immediately.

I am also trying to change the number of rings before the answering machines toll saver activates.

Set the number of rings before answering
If you turn on the Auto Answer setting, you can specify how many rings occur before
incoming calls are automatically answered.
The Rings to Answer setting is important if you have an answering machine on the
same phone line as the device, because you want the answering machine to answer
the phone before the device does. The number of rings to answer for the device
should be greater than the number of rings to answer for the answering machine.
For example, set your answering machine to a low number of rings and the device to
answer in the maximum number of rings. (The maximum number of rings varies by
country/region.) In this setup, the answering machine answers the call and the device
monitors the line. If the device detects fax tones, it receives the fax. If the call is a
voice call, the answering machine records the incoming message.
To set the number of rings before answering via the control panel
1. Press Setup.
2. Press Basic Fax Setup, and then press Rings to Answer.
3. Enter the appropriate number of rings by using the keypad, or press the left or right
arrow button to change the number of rings.
4. Press OK to accept the setting.

Get manual at http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c00863866.pdf

The Rings to Answer setting is important if you have an answering machine on the
same phone line as the HP All-in-One, because you want the answering machine to
answer the phone before the HP All-in-One does. The number of rings to answer for
the HP All-in-One should be greater than the number of rings to answer for the
answering machine.
For example, set your answering machine to a low number of rings and the HP All-in-
One to answer in the maximum number of rings. (The maximum number of rings
varies by country/region.) In this setup, the answering machine will answer the call
and the HP All-in-One will monitor the line. If the HP All-in-One detects fax tones, the
HP All-in-One will receive the fax. If the call is a voice call, the answering machine will
record the incoming message.
To set the number of rings before answering from the control panel
1. Press Setup.
2. Press 4, and then press 2.
This selects Basic Fax Setup and then selects Rings to Answer.
3. Enter the appropriate number of rings by using the keypad, or press or to
change the number of rings.
4. Press OK to accept the setting.

Press the 'Change' button
Press the 'Setup' button until you hear the voice say "Number of rings"
Then use the "Skip" and "Repeat" buttons to change the number.
Press the "Change" button to finish.