System: Panasonic KX-TD1232 v4
Voicemail: KX-TVS75
Phone: KX-TD7425

I have a bare bones 1232 which I am installing in a school. I want to set these phones up as an intercom system so the office can dial one of the classroom phones and it will automatically answer no matter what. (instead of ringing and the teacher having to pick up the phone)

I would like to make it so each of the classroom phones has the auto-answer permanently on. In other words if someone pushed the Auto Answer button it would not turn off.

Is there any way to do this with the current phones? If not are there other phones that this feature can be set to stay on? We have 12 classrooms total. I am open to any suggestions. I even considered physically opening each of the phones and disabling the auto answer button. (I just don't know how I would turn it on after that though because it seems like every time the phones gets power cycled auto answer defaults to off.)

Thanks all!

you could change the internal call type to voice, it will call in but not be able to answer back. other than that disable the auto answer button and have one handset to enable it at each phone if the unit is powered off

I really appreciate the reply.

So changing the internal call type to voice would basically make it auto answer with the microphone muted so even though the office could speak to the class the class would not be able to reply without picking up the handset? Or would they actually have to initiate another call to have two way communications? I will experiment with it. Any idea where I would change that?

Maybe its time to program a 3-2-3 chip to watch for the aa light and if its off it would trigger the button (close the circuit to the auto answer button)

Turn it on then superglue the button so they can't press it =) Why not I've had people spill stuff on them and get the buttons stuck. You could always plug in a phone with a working one to turn it back off if you needed to.

I would not superglue the buttons that is a little extreme and irreversible(the following week the customer may get complaints from the teachers that one could easedrop on the classroom or they want the option to have their classroom to ring takes about 15 mins per phone to do what I suggest.) you can open the phones and put black tape over the switch circuit below the auto ans button and enable it with another phone like the fella above suggests.I have done this on the 123211D phones and and Delta Galaxy phones were the customer wanted something crazy or system was just not as flexible as they are now.....and the had to reverse it later when they realized How messed up their request was !!

If speaker in only was enough, they could just use the * after dialing extension to voice in, and have a choice to leave it ringing or voice in

true could put double dss at attendant station and store each location with the star after it mark button call room xxx

Yeah I know superglue is extreme hence the smiley face after was a jest.

Since the button is not an actual toggle switch and just a digital button depending on the mode that that extension was already in when you plugged in the phone, it seems like superglue or tape could have an opposite effect.

As OBT said if you change the call from tone to voice it appears that it basically just forces Auto Answer on, As is mentioned here: https://www.fixya.com/support/t1855032-panasonic_kx_t7433

I have yet to find out if the teachers will be able to answer back or if it functions more like a one-way paging intercom. I will post back here once I try though.

In forced Voice mode the mic is off.

Tape won't work, the switches are sealed micro switches, not a carbon button and PC traces.

Thats not true there are traces and there is carbon on silicon and rubber and the button does complete the circuit and covering the pcb stops the circuit from being compleated! Open a 7200 or 7400 series phone apart and look!

brokeda: so then the only way to answer is to pick up the handset? would that actually connect the call for two way communication or would they have to dial the office back to have a conversation?

As for kxtvet and lightniinghorse: the question would be, does aa get reset to off every time you unplug a phone? I am noticing aa gets turned off in some situations that I would not expect it to so the button staying down would make it so you would not be able to turn it back on in these situations right?

Pretty sure about that, you would just have to try.
Way I remember it you call and get ringback, Press VOICE soft key or dial *, changes to Voice mode but Mic is mute, hit SPEAKER or pickup to answer'
If AUTO button lit mic is live.. Been a long time.

The auto answer will stay on if the phone is unplugged but will turn off if the system loses power. And the voice call is a one way transmit from the calling party if the calling party is still on the line picking up the handset or pressing speakerphone button will connect you with the calling party. Also if the calling party has a display phone and auto answer is off the far right soft key changes to say voice and pressing this will also initiate a one way voice call.