Home > Consumer Reviews > GE 29878GE1 Digital Messaging System

I owned this answering machine for one day. It was easy to operate and provided all the basics of a simple answering machine. The one huge drawback was that recorded voice messages were very difficult to understand. Even when I left myself a test message and then listened to it, I wasn't sure what I was saying. So I returned it.

I have very low expectations for an answering machine - but this machine failed on almost every count. I've had it for one month and I've given up on it.

The preprogrammed voice that tells the date/time is unintelligible. If you don't put a backup battery into the thing you get a verbal "Low Battery!!" warning every time you listen to a message -- at least I think that's what the voice was saying, hard to tell.

I was unable to record an outgoing message (!!) because the "Greeting" button, at least on my machine, did not work - less than one second after it beeped for you to begin speaking, it beeped again to stop recording. I'm pretty agile but I couldn't get my finger off the button fast enough .. if you take your finger off before the first beep the whole process stops and you have to start over. So everyone who calls me hears the outgoing message from the marble-mouthed preprogrammed voice.

It's also shoddily put together and very, very lightweight - less than one pound - I feel like if I walked by it quickly it'll fall off the table and break. Maybe that'd be a good thing.

Don't waste your money on this. I wish I hadn't.

My machine quit after about 7 months. The quality of the sound was poor. I will not buy another GE answering machine again.

This answering machine lost power after 1 month and when I plugged it in it beeped forever and stopped working. I had a similar failure with my previous GE answering machine and had to throw both of them away. I've never heard of this trouble with other brands, but I should have known better as every GE thing I've ever had the misfortune of working with has broken.

Learn from my horrible experience and do not buy a GE consumer product, fly in a plane with a GE engine, buy GE stock, or believe Jack Welch when he says he isn't a crook. And then write your congressman, suggesting he or she pass a law requiring GE to produce nothing but light bulbs. If you don't do all of those things, just be very sure not to buy a GE answering machine.

I purchased a similar "appearing" GE answering machine for our seasonal residence, and liked it so much that I purchased this model for our home. Boy, what a disappointment! It doesn't have the same features at all and the sound quality reminds one of someone with a mouth full of marbles. I wouldn't buy another.