Corded/Cordless Combination Phones

[ancient-one]

Because of changing from DSL to Cable in the near future I am going to need to get new phones with adjustable ringer volume. A base with answering machine and one cordless.
Any input would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[H Richard]

Uniden makes a good setup.

 

[TucsonMTB]

We have been very happy with the Panasonic phones purchased in the last few years. Our latest one has a generous memory for numbers that you want to block, as well as the usual phone book and answering machine functions.

The range is excellent, easily half a block. As a bonus, you can set it to not ring for the first ring while it performs Caller ID. As a result, blocked numbers do not ring at all. Very nice.

It also announces Caller ID information with a fairly intelligible computer voice and speaks the digits of the numbers that call with no Caller ID information, or speaks the name you entered in your phone book, which really helps when people call from their cellphone. As you probably know, cellphones seldom provide more than the number calling. Having the name spoken when someone calls is helpful for us old folks who may not remember everyone's cell number.

All of the cordless handsets share the same address book, but they can have different ring settings. The extension in my office area is basically mute. I can hear the Caller ID information spoken by the extension in the kitchen, if I want to. Or, ignore it easily enough if not.

Highly recommended, especially for the phone blocking features. We used to have an external blocking device because most phone's that block have such pathetic memory capacity. That extra gadget was awkward to use.

 

[doublesharp]

I've had good luck with Panasonic.

 

[Kanewpadle]

According to Consumer Reports, Panasonic phones are top rated. The top 5 rated phones are Panasonic followed by Uniden and AT&T.

I suggest going to a store and get some hands on to see which you like and the features that work for you.

 

[rwsmith]

We have ATT phones....

I don't know if it's the phones or not but I don't like them. They seem like one-way-at-a-time talking. They crackle badly.

We just switched to Uverse and maybe the system is the problem. If this is the state of things-to-come I'm not very impressed.

 

[HOUSTON RICK]

The basic VTECH corded Trimline phone works in power outages and costs $10 at Big Lots.

 

[hoc9sw]

Problem with the vtech (I have that as well) in the OP's case is moving from hard-wired DSL and phone to a cable provider. In that case, there isn't a hard line to work in a power outage. He'll want to add a backup battery / ups to support the cable box / modem. I did all of that for my mom when she moved to a complex that had no land-line coverage, but at the first real large-scale outage, it turned out that the cable company had a router for the entire complex that did not have any battery backup.

So it was pointless to have all the parts powered when they had an intermediate stop that was not powered.

So I added another cell phone on my plan for her.

 

[TucsonMTB]

The basic VTECH corded Trimline phone works in power outages and costs $10 at Big Lots.

Oh, yeah! I forgot to mention that the Panasonic phone set we have will operate during a power failure. The battery of the handset that is parked in the larger base unit with the answering machine powers the system. The other phones just work as normal. Very slick and it does give you a sense of comfort even though power loss is very rare in our neighborhood.

We have one other cordless, a Uniden flip style model, that uses a separate battery in a small base unit to do the same thing. I have used that one during a power outage, one time, quite a while ago. Other than casual testing, the Panasonic has not been used without power, but it worked fine for the 10 minutes during which I tested it as a lark.

It's about time cordless phones made some improvements. Our older phones seemed great when we got them, but unlike S&W revolvers, phone designs do NOT get better with age. Go figure . . .

 

[Kanewpadle]

That's why we got rid of land lines and went to cell phones only.

 

[TucsonMTB]

That's why we got rid of land lines and went to cell phones only.

I hear you. Cell coverage in our area (Verizon) is fairly good, except at our house. Go figure.

We have a second line from when I was a consultant. It has nationwide, unlimited long distance service for $20 a month and is always clear as a bell. During business conference calls I often had opportunities to harass my colleagues who relied solely on cellphones and often "fell off" the calls. Nothing is more embarrassing when you are the conference host. Oh, and it was not a two bit company either. Whatever!

We keep the FAX machine on that line too. It's fairly common to have a neighbor ask us to receive a FAX for her, usually something related to her sons who are big team sports players. One of them might end up with a good scholarship.

In any event, I always like being able to help.

We also use a DSL for Internet service on the primary line. Though NOT as fast, it has been much more reliable than the cable service we dropped. Admittedly, we do not watch TV . . .

 

[johngalt]

I used to have a landline and DSL in my old place, I get my phone through my cable service now. I much refer the DSL service. Cable is less reliable - I've had the cable go out while on the phone, dropping the call. Never happened with the phone company. DSL is a little slower than cable, but that is usually irrelevant, the bottleneck is probably someplace else.

A few years back when hurricane Ike went through Cincinnati, we lost power for 3 days. Nothing worked, including cell towers. My landline still worked.

I've thought about ditching my landline and using my cellphone, but I can't stand the poor voice quality. The uni-directional nature of the conversations is really annoying also.

 

[rwsmith]

I have one just for that reason..

A few years back when hurricane Ike went through Cincinnati, we lost power for 3 days. Nothing worked, including cell towers. My landline still worked.

I've thought about ditching my landline and using my cellphone, but I can't stand the poor voice quality. The uni-directional nature of the conversations is really annoying also.

I have one phone still on land line for that reason. The base phones have batteries but they only last a few hours.

 

[rwsmith]

Uverse quality

We switched to Uverse around my house. How many people had it and are not real keen on it.

I seems that you can talk only one way at a time like an old radio/receiver setup. At least it gives that impression. I'm starting to end my sentences with "Over" to get communication going.


When I pick up the phone, I'm used to saying 'hello'. But it takes a second for the phone to come on line so you can't talk right way.

I'm getting crackle that makes speech incoherent.

I don't know how much of this is the phones or the fiber optic design but I'm not real happy with it.

Anybody else using Uverse?

 

[cowart]

I've had good results with a Panasonic setup.

A base with answering machine and one cordless.

I strongly recommend that you get an outfit that comes with multiple cordless phones. Once you get used to them, you will probably want to have extra phones in various parts of your house. While some systems allow you to purchase extra phones later, that is a more expensive way to go.

Even if you don't want to initially use the extra cordless phones, you can always put them away as spares in case of problems in the future.

 

[loutent]

I've had good results with a Panasonic setup.

I strongly recommend that you get an outfit that comes with multiple cordless phones. Once you get used to them, you will probably want to have extra phones in various parts of your house. While some systems allow you to purchase extra phones later, that is a more expensive way to go.

Even if you don't want to initially use the extra cordless phones, you can always put them away as spares in case of problems in the future.

We also have a Panasonic with 4 handsets in different rooms - works great (Costco) - but be prepared to have all the handsets wind up in one room at times

 

[Brian41]

We've had good luck with Panasonic phones too. It seems though these newer cordless phones just last a few years before giving problems as we've replaced several over the years now.

 

[ancient-one]

Thanks to all of you for your input. It will be helpful in making a selection.

 

[chief38]

Wadaya mean - these ain't gonna work??