Unlike its predecessor (combined phone/answer, also BT) it never gave me an alert that a message had come in - just the number, which of course you don't always see. Today it makes a beep every few minutes and nothing will stop it - power off - remove battery - reset message and time. Next thing to try is a bucket of water and a new machine. Cheap and basic, but doesn't do what I wanted and has now failed in a very annoying way.