The following are examples of general information & error recordings that you may find while using the AT&T long distance network. Also included are CLEC (Competitive Local Exchange Carrier) recordings
AT&T General Information & Error Telephone Sounds & Recordings
AT&T 4ESS Long Distance General Information & Error Recordings
These are primarily recordings from AT&T Number 4 Electronic Switching System (#4ESS) tandems throughout the United States. The traditional 4ESS tandem is being slowly phased out and will be replaced by the N4E tandem (see below for N4E recordings
Call Cannot Be Completed – Hurricane
Call Cannot Be Completed – Earthquake
Call Cannot Be Completed – Flood
Call Cannot Be Completed – Mudslide
Call Cannot Be Completed – Severe Weather
Call Cannot Be Completed – Tornado
Toll Free Number Disconnected
Call Did Not Go Through
All Circuits Busy In Location You Are Calling
Telephone Company Facility Trouble
Local Telephone Company Trouble
Emergency In Area You Are Calling
No Answer Disconnect
Not A Valid Code
Number Not Available From Your Calling Area
International Call Cannot Be Completed
Cannot Be Completed (Male Voice) (October 2003)
Male voice (probably locally recorded) from the Baton Rouge, LA tandem (012-T).
AT&T N4E Long Distance General Information & Error Recordings
Starting around 2012 and continuing well into 2024, AT&T is slowly replacing the 4ESS tandem with the “New 4ESS” (N4E) tandem system. This tandem is all digital and does not have analog recordings. These are clean recordings with trailer codes at the end that are recorded by Pat Fleet. Most of these recordings are female, but there is at least one with a male voice. These came from the Greensboro, NC N4E (034-T) and Pittsburgh, PA N4E (076-T)
All Circuits Are Busy (December 2023)
All Circuits Are Busy At The Location You Are Calling (February 2023)
Your Call Cannot Be Completed As Dialed (December 2023)
Your Call Did Not Go Through (December 2023)
Due To A Numbering Change (February 2023)
Due To An Emergency (February 2023)
Due To The Earthquake (February 2023)
Due To The Flood (February 2023)
Due To The Hurricane (February 2023)
Local Telephone Company Trouble (February 2023)
Telephone Company Facility Trouble (February 2023)
Number Not Available From Your Local Calling Area (December 2023)
The Area Code has changed to 239 (February 2023) Note: This is in ALL of the new N4E machines. Granted that the area code split for Area Code 239 was in 2003 and there have not been any area code splits since 2007. This is in both English and Spanish.
Your Call Did Not Go Through Male Voice (February 2023) Note: There is not a Network Switch Number (NSN) ID on on this recording, regardless of which N4E it came from.
AT&T 5ESS Edge Tandem AT&T General Information & Error Recordings
Call Cannot Be Completed (October 2003)
This is a generic “Call Cannot Be Completed As Dialed” recording from a 5ESS tandem. This example is from Richmond, VA that uses a 5ESS as an edge tandem within the network. Notice the recording is in the format of NPA (Area Code), then a number (usually 7, 8, or 9) and the letter “L”. In this case: 804-9L.
AT&T CLEC Recordings
Recordings from AT&T CLEC (Competitive Local Exchange Company) systems
AT&T CLEC – Number Not In Service (September 1999, March 2002)
AT&T is now a CLEC in many locations nationwide. These are examples of “call cannot be completed as dialed” when attempting to dial an AT&T CLEC number. These came from a 4ESS machine
AT&T CLEC – Number Not In Service (N4E) (December 2023)
The original CLEC recording has been copied over to the N4E machines as well, but it plays the NSN at the end of the recording. This came from 078-T (Richmond, VA)
Misc. AT&T Recordings
Miscellaneous AT&T recordings not shown above
Unable To Return Call to Pre-Paid Card Customer (October 2003)
Prior to Caller ID (actually Automatic Number Identification) being sent through the pre-paid calling platforms – when someone received a call from someone who uses an AT&T pre-paid calling card (Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club, etc.), their caller ID box shows a valid phone number ending in “9978”. If you try to return a call to this number, you get the above recording. Surprisingly, the call does “supervise” (causes a toll billing).
Other Modern Telephone Sounds Pages
Automated Intercept Local Telephone Company Recordings
Centralized Intercept Local Telephone Company Recordings
Long Distance Telephone Company Verifications
AT&T – General Error Recordings
AT&T – Operator Services Platform System Recordings
Other Long Distance Company – General Error Recordings
Other Long Distance Company – Operator Services Platforms Recordings
Area Code Test & Change Recordings
Canadian Telephone Sounds
North Pittsburgh Telephone Company Recordings
Cellular Phone Company Recordings
Various Virginia Telephone Recordings
Miscellaneous Modern Telephone Recordings
Main Telephone Sounds Pages
Modern Telephone Sounds
Vintage Telephone Sounds
What’s Old is New Again (vintage sounds from museums and private collections)
International Telephone Sounds
Miscellaneous Telephone Sounds
Time, Temperature and Weather Forecast Recordings
Wawina, MN Telephone Sounds
The Last Step by Step Switch on the PSTN?