# What's the best cordless phone? How do I find out? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 8, 2006, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-cordless-phone-how-do-i-find-out/351892 "2006-04-08T22:15:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gozu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gozu/32/6615_2.png) [@Gozu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2006, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-cordless-phone-how-do-i-find-out/351892/1 "2006-04-08T22:15:07Z")
I need a cordless phone. I would like it to have good sound quality and long range. Unfortunately, it’s hard to find out what the best cordless phone(s) is(are) so I’m asking for your advice. Thanks for your time /gozulin ---
**Author:** ![gardentraveler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gardentraveler/32/3576_2.png) [@gardentraveler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gardentraveler)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2006, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-cordless-phone-how-do-i-find-out/351892/2 "2006-04-08T23:14:33Z")
I bought and returned 3 before I found one with OK quality. Started with a cheap Motorola, moved to a Panasonic (because I’d had good luck before), then tried a VTech (because my last one had been one). Kept calling my brother to see if they were OK. Finally found one labeled AT&T that met my brother’s high standards. I hadn’t bought a phone in about 5 years. Seems like quality has really suffered in the meantime. I’d recommend looking for phones that have the features you want and then just trying them out. Find a friend or family member who is willing to be the recipient of your calls. GT ---
**Author:** ![Gozu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gozu/32/6615_2.png) [@Gozu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2006, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-cordless-phone-how-do-i-find-out/351892/3 "2006-04-08T23:28:24Z")
> [@gardentraveler](#): > > I bought and returned 3 before I found one with OK quality. Started with a cheap Motorola, moved to a Panasonic (because I’d had good luck before), then tried a VTech (because my last one had been one). Kept calling my brother to see if they were OK. Finally found one labeled AT&T that met my brother’s high standards. > > I hadn’t bought a phone in about 5 years. Seems like quality has really suffered in the meantime. > > I’d recommend looking for phones that have the features you want and then just trying them out. Find a friend or family member who is willing to be the recipient of your calls. > > GT That’s the thing, I don’t want any features. That means pretty much every existing cordless phone is an option for me, and there are way too many for me to try them all. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2006, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-cordless-phone-how-do-i-find-out/351892/4 "2006-04-09T10:02:30Z")
> [@Gozu](#): > > Unfortunately, it’s hard to find out what the best cordless phone(s) is Not really. Consumers Reports seems to review the latest crop every couple years or so. Basing their reviews both on the testing that they do, and on reports from thousands of user on the repairs needed/not needed by the phones. I can’t think of a better place to start than Consumers Reports. And copies are available for free at most librarires. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2006, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-cordless-phone-how-do-i-find-out/351892/5 "2006-04-09T13:38:33Z")
I second Consumer Reports. You can also access their ratings online at [www.consumerreports.org](http://www.consumerreports.org), but you have to be a subscriber ($4.95 for one month’s access). You can see the [Cordless Phones Buying Advice](http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/electronics-computers/cordless-phones/reports/how-to-choose.htm) section, but you’ll have to pay to see the actual recommendations and ratings. I am a CR Online subscriber and I can share some of their basic ratings with you if you’d like (email me), but I think the 5 bucks is worth it for the full product descriptions. CR is great for just about anything except cutting-edge electronics, so your membership would also let you look into any other category of products you’re interested in. ---
**Author:** ![xash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c6cbf5/32.png) [@xash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xash)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2006, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-cordless-phone-how-do-i-find-out/351892/6 "2006-04-10T00:47:57Z")
Moved to IMHO. - **xash** General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![MaceMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@MaceMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaceMan)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2006, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-cordless-phone-how-do-i-find-out/351892/7 "2006-04-11T05:18:21Z")
It’s been my experience that digital phones typically have really poor sound quality, even the expensive ones, while the cheaper and older analog phones sound just as good as corded phones. That being said, since so many people talk on cell phones, fewer tend to notice just how bad the sound quality really is. ---
**Author:** ![MizGrand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cdc98d/32.png) [@MizGrand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MizGrand)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2006, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-cordless-phone-how-do-i-find-out/351892/8 "2006-04-11T11:29:28Z")
I pay $25 a year and share my login with anyone/everyone I know. Ya know, the man and all. Email me and I’ll share it with you. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2006, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-cordless-phone-how-do-i-find-out/351892/9 "2006-04-11T12:01:00Z")
> [@RSSchen](#): > > I pay $25 a year and share my login with anyone/everyone I know. Ya know, the man and all. > > Email me and I’ll share it with you. **RSSchen** , you are offering to commit fraud. Don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2006, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-cordless-phone-how-do-i-find-out/351892/10 "2006-04-11T12:09:42Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > **RSSchen** , you are offering to commit fraud. Don’t. If she looked it up for him, would it still be fraud? I’m thinkin’ NOT. Re: the cordless phone. When we bought ours, we kinda asked around because we were worried about quality as well. Someone in Phone World told us you don’t want to go under 900 MHz, which is what my Uniden is sporting. For all I know, this may be an industry standard now…you’d have to look at the store and see what each model says. This is our second Uniden and we’re more than pleased with the quality. Mine has got to be five years old and we’ve changed the battery out maybe twice. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2006, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-cordless-phone-how-do-i-find-out/351892/11 "2006-04-11T12:17:23Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > If she looked it up for him, would it still be fraud? I’m thinkin’ NOT. Looking it up is not what was offered, is it? ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2006, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-cordless-phone-how-do-i-find-out/351892/12 "2006-04-11T12:27:46Z")
No, but the result is the same. Yes, yes, yes…it’s technically breaking the rules, but really…what difference does it make? The end result is that someone who didn’t pay the money is getting the information. Information that is free at the library anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2006, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-cordless-phone-how-do-i-find-out/351892/13 "2006-04-11T12:33:40Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > Yes, yes, yes…it’s technically breaking the rules, but really…what difference does it make? Technically? Not only technically, but morally and ethically as well. It’s the difference between my loaning my print copy to a friend, and my photocopying every page of every issue for my 20 friends. You usually seem to be a rational poster; I’m astonished that you can’t see what’s wrong with this. At any rate, there will be no further discussion of this here; we’ve hijacked this thread enough. If you disagree with my moderator’s decision, you know where to take it. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2006, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-cordless-phone-how-do-i-find-out/351892/14 "2006-04-11T12:36:24Z")
Australia’s Choice recommended PANASONIC KX-TG1805AL, UNIDEN DSS2415, PANASONIC KX-TG5821AL, UNIDEN DECT1825, DORO DD550S. They are an independent consumer choice organisation. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2006, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-cordless-phone-how-do-i-find-out/351892/15 "2006-04-11T13:14:27Z")
When I worked for the ol BestBuy one of my responsibilities was to get every department in the store a cordless phone to use. These were to be taken out of store stock. So of course we tried a lot of different brands and then I got feedback from all the employees while they used them 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. I got to hear “this one sucks, if I go two aisles over I lose the signal, this one sucks cause the battery dies before my shift is over, this one sucks cause I just dropped it once now it doesn’t work, this one just fell apart, etc. etc.” Over the course of a year and going through literally dozens of phones we found that “Panasonic” by far had the best sound, best battery life, and simply lasted the longest. My home has 3 of them and I’ve never replaced any of them. The original one is from 1996. YMMV ---
**Author:** ![Jacob\_Silj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Jacob\_Silj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jacob_Silj)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2006, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-cordless-phone-how-do-i-find-out/351892/16 "2006-04-11T18:28:00Z")
Whatever brand you decide on, make sure you don’t make the mistake I did and buy one (Uniden) without a lighted keypad, especially if you make a lot of calls in the dark. It’s incomprehensible to me that a phone would come without a lighted keypad, some much so that I did not even think to check for this “feature” when making the purchase- I assumed this was standard. Good cheap phone otherwise though. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2006, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-cordless-phone-how-do-i-find-out/351892/17 "2006-04-11T18:47:04Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > Re: the cordless phone. When we bought ours, we kinda asked around because we were worried about quality as well. Someone in Phone World told us you don’t want to go under 900 MHz, which is what my Uniden is sporting. For all I know, this may be an industry standard now…you’d have to look at the store and see what each model says. Well, people in the store will tell you _anything_ that helps them get the sale. The last Consumers Reports article I read said this was **not true** , except that if your house is in a neighborhood where lots of neighbors have devices using the lower frequency bands, you might get interference. But even then, most phones can switch frequencies to find an open one. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2006, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-cordless-phone-how-do-i-find-out/351892/18 "2006-04-11T19:21:19Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > Well, people in the store will tell you _anything_ that helps them get the sale. > > The last Consumers Reports article I read said this was **not true** , except that if your house is in a neighborhood where lots of neighbors have devices using the lower frequency bands, you might get interference. But even then, most phones can switch frequencies to find an open one. Well, that may be true. All I know is I never get interference or crosstalk or a bad connection, so I’m pretty happy. Also, the weight of the handset is substantial…like a land line phone. I like that as well. ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2006, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-cordless-phone-how-do-i-find-out/351892/19 "2006-04-11T19:32:20Z")
Stay away from Sony phones. We use Sony products pretty much exclusively, but their cordless phones are crap, in our experience. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2006, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-cordless-phone-how-do-i-find-out/351892/20 "2006-04-11T22:04:31Z")
I’m pretty happy with the Panasonics we’ve had. We bought two when we moved into our house in 1994. One died about six months ago and was replace by my retro [pink Princess phone](http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0000DHVMG.01-A1VC38T7YXB528.LZZZZZZZ.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000DHVMG%3Fv%3Dglance%26vi%3Dsimilarities%26me%3DA1VC38T7YXB528&h=500&w=500&sz=22&tbnid=rauINjUfnvaNdM:&tbnh=127&tbnw=127&hl=en&start=4&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dpink%2Bprincess%2Bphone%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26sa%3DN). The other one just recently died and we are looking to replace it with another Panasonic cordless. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-cordless-phone-how-do-i-find-out/351892.md?page=2)