I ask because all of the ones we’ve bought seem to fail within 2-3 years. We had a great phone (Panasonic), which lasted >7 years-and it was dropped and abused-at the end, it was held together with electricians tape. Since then , we have has several (SONY, GE, SAMSUNG)-and they allseem to break within 3 years.
Not sure why this is a Great Debate . . .
Anyway, I’ve had two good Panasonic cordless phones. I recently had to retire one (with two handsets and built-in answering machine/Caller ID) because we needed more handsets and this one wasn’t expandable. Otherwise it was still working great. I actually miss some of its features that the new phone doesn’t seem to have.
Want it? It’s a Panasonic KX-TG2344B. I’d be happy to mail it to you; I have no further use for it, can’t find anyone who needs one, and just want it to find a good home.
Moderator’s Note: Moving to IMHO.
I’ve got a GE basic 2-phone cordless set. It gets moderately heavy use - I’ve always got one of the two handsets out, and leave them out until the battery runs down, then swap, and the batteries usually hold up for nearly a week even with the heaviest use. Thus far haven’t had a single problem. However, Uniden phones seem to be pretty nice. I’ve been thinking about one for my bedside phone, to have the caller ID displayed in an elevated position.
I’ve bought a GE corded phone recently, discovered the cord was molded into the handset :smack: and returned it promptly. I found a cheap clone of it with replaceable handset cord, and bought it.
However, that says nothing about the cordless phones and, as I said, I’m quite happy thus far.
I love our unidens. The cheap models, nothing fancy. It’s the only brand of cordless phone I’ll buy.
We use a set of three 5.8 GHz VTech phones that we’ve been quite happy with for about 8 years now. Features include good range, good battery life, caller-ID in the handset, expandable (until the line was discontinued,) message waiting indicator, and much more. I have no idea if the newer VTechs are as good, and hope never to have to find out.
I’ve had a Panasonic model KX-TG2314, according to the front of the phone, for quite a few years. Never a problem, and perfect clarity.
Joe
We have Panasonic KX-TG5633’s which work great, and allow intercom functionality.
“Expandable” meaning you can add handsets? If so, I’m gonna take really good care of mine. It came with four, so I’m never far from a phone. What I like best is the intercom feature. We use all three levels in the house, and I hate yelling.
The old VTech lasted 7 or 8 years. It still worked fine it was bulky compared to the new one, and the LED readout was fading.
Consider VTech.
I had a VTech setup. The base had a digital answering machine built in, we had maybe 2-3 extensions. It lasted a few years but not as long as I thought it should have.
Now we have a Uniden with three handsets that I picked up in a blister pack set at Costco and it’s worked great for two years, hope that it last several more.
Exactly. If I remember correctly, when we bought ours, the base package came with one handset and the base, which could be used as a speakerphone. We bought an extra handset at the same time, but when the time came that we wanted a third handset, the line had been discontinued. We had to turn to e-bay to find one that was compatible.
I had the same problem the OP had, but even more so - I was replacing my cordless phone every 12-15 months. I finally dropped some big buck on the predecessor to the Bang & Olufsen BeoCom 1 system.
That was about ten years ago. Since the first one, I’ve picked up two additional handsets off eBay. I love these phones - they work incredibly well, they sound great, and they’re a pleasure to hold & use. If it weren’t for how much I like 'em, I would have gone all-cellular years ago. But I just can’t stand the idea of a long phone call on anything but one of these.
Bypassing all previous replies and responding directly to the OP:
Nope.
I’ve been reading this thread intently because my parents need a new cordless phone. Ideally, they want one that can handle two lines. But my parents are in their 70s and not very savvy, so ideally I want something easy to use (so they don’t call me with questions). I haven’t found anything suitable yet. (And the ideal product would also allow us to add handsets that don’t need a phone jack.)
Two lines? You mean they have two phone numbers? How do they manage this now, if they are not very savvy? I haven’t seen a setup with cordless extensions that handle two lines, but that’s not to say they don’t exist. (Mine has caller ID display and will handle call waiting, but not two lines.)
Most of the ones mentioned above allow additional handsets that don’t need a jack, just a place to plug in the charger. That part’s easy to find.
My parents can handle two lines, since there are typically a separate button for each. But some of the phone systems with extension phones and lots of buttons might confuse them a bit. Perhaps one of those phones meant for the visually disabled would be good. They usually have only the minimum number of buttons.
The B&O cordless phone is $400! Which does not include the base station ($200). Agreed, quality is good-but the GE system (base station, 4 handsests) sells for $94.00.
Oh well, you get what you pay for1
The base + one phone was $450 when I bought it. Given that I was dropping $100-$150/year on cordless phones (I think they were more expensive 10 years ago), it made up for itself in a few years.
Regardless, you can get 'em on eBay for much cheaper nowadays. But yeah, anything non-B&O is cheaper.
Conversely, I had a Uniden phone. Cheap, nothing fancy. The base was downstairs, and I could not take it one floor upstairs; the resulting static overwhelmed the conversation. It’s one reason I dropped my land line and opted for cell only; if that was the $50 model, I certainly wasn’t going to buy a $100 or $150 model.