Buy Panasonic Cordless Phone

Review by S. Valeria Dombiak-woelfel:

I got this phone about a week ago in order to replace a 2.4 panasonic that died -some numbers were not dialing and finally battery hookup broke off- In general I like the phone but it has some major things I don’t like.

Pros: Easy to set up. You get 2 phones with 1 phone jack. Speakers are great! (unlike with my old phone people don’t complain when I use them). You can hear answering machines messages from either remote set. Phonebook sharing. You can conference between phones and call each other (big hit with my kids).

Cons:

1. There is something wrong with the volume (I read complains about it in reviews in Circuit city and thought maybe person had hearing problem… but no, they were right). Let me explain: the volume goes up and down by itself for no good reason. One phone call you hear great and next one is really low so you need to adjust volume and it goes up and then down on its own again -sometimes during the same call while you are talking- …. You can live with it, you adjust volume but I don’t particularly like playing with volume every other call! For me it is really a pain!

2. Answering machine base don’t display the number of messages you have (it has no lcd screen!). No talking id or any other fancy stuff either.

3. When you play messages from answering machine the sound is a little boxy, robot like…not clear. This does not happen if you hear messages from the phones themselves.

In conclusion I would say this is an all right phone, I expected better… but it is also not very expensive and it has the latest technology. I guess now I know why some 5.8 panasonic phones (previous technology) were more expensive than this one… you get what you pay.

Review by Nineteen:

I have just used this for 3 days now. Very happy. The specifications do little justice to this phone. 1. This unit has a speakerphone on both handsets. I thought there would be just one on the base fixed unit. 2. Unlike the comparable Uniden model, this has a headset jack. 3. The buttons are big and easy to dial.

No wireless router interference. Overall very happy so far. Much more than I expected.

Review by S. Rys:

I have gone through more than 15 types of cordless phones in the last several years. Some of them very good, but not perfect, others fairly awful. When I was doing my research this time for a new phone, I came across DECT 6.0 technology. It claims no interference with WiFi networks, greater range, clear transmission and extended battery life. Bottom line, it’s pretty much true.

I’ve used this phone for a week and it is crystal clear, no interference with my WiFi network, no “hiccups” with a call, like static or audible digital artifacts. My 5.8 Ghz phone would let me talk with a range of maybe 100 feet outside of my house with the front door closed. This telephone lets me go to the end of my driveway, across the cul de sac, and into my neighbor’s driveway without sound degradation. I’d guess that I’m getting about 3x the distance of my 5.8 Ghz phone in a real world situation.

The great thing about this phone is that the battery life is awesome. The phone claims up to 17 hours of talk time and several days of standby. I make a lot of conference calls from my home, and I’m on the phone about 6 hours per day. I’d have to switch cordless phones during the day with ANY 5.8Ghz phone, as they’d last anywhere from 3 to 5 hours. I’ve made 2 days of calls, for a total of 11 hours, and the battery indicator still shows a full charge, without being placed back into the charger. I’m going to keep it out of the charger in standby and talk until the battery runs down, to accurately gauge the battery life, but it would appear that the 17 hours of talk time is a realistic estimate. By the way, the phone uses traditional AAA rechargeable batteries (x2), for each handset. My 5.8 Ghz phone used 3, and had a max talk time of about 5 hours.

The keys on this phone are bigger than other phones, another plus in my book. I’d always misdial a number with smaller buttons. I have yet to misdial with these keys. They’re the perfect size.

I don’t use the answering machine, as I have telephone company voicemail. The only downside to this phone is that the message waiting indicator for telephone voicemail, doesn’t work. I’ve set it to “on”, on every phone, and my 5.8Ghz phone will flash the voicemail alert, but these handsets aren’t flashing. I’ve had this problem with other phones, especially VTech, so I’m thinking that most phones work, there must be something about the connection into my house that doesn’t get the call message alert to the phone. I have DSL and filters in the house. Maybe this is the cause?

Anyway, overall, this is a really good set of phones, they work great, have great sound, and the battery life is stellar. I’m really happy with this purchase. You should probably consider DECT 6.0 going forward. It’s MUCH better than 5.8Ghz technology, in my opinion.

UPDATE:

As an update to my review, the phone is now in it’s 16th hour of talk time, with 5 days of standby (no charging) and it’s still working on the last bar of the battery indicator. I’d say that the 17 hours of talk time is a conservative number. As stated previously, the battery life is the best that I’ve ever experienced with a cordless phone. Actually, incredible by today’s standards.

Review by Super Mum:

I have had this exact phone system for 6 months and loved it so much during the first month I had it I convinced a friend to buy it too. However, I am now leaving a “long-term” review which I appreciate more than those who review products they have had for only days… (although it is nice to see immediate reactions when products first come out)

First with the negatives:

– Both myself, and the friend who I talked into buying the phone are both getting the same error and it is increasingly becoming worse. After dialing a number and hitting either the “talk” or “speaker phone” button a “Busy” is often displayed on the screen and the phone refuses to dial. This went from happening once or twice a week to everyday.

- Since day one there has been a bit of a hollow tinny noise on both of our phones but the clarity and lack of “fuzz” was fantastic so I was willing to overlook this.

- Certain display functions come and go. Luckily none of them are important… yet. For example, the lines that make up the outline of the battery on the display of the phone come and go as they please. This has happened to the [] that surrounds the number of the phone.

- Not enough room for contacts. I am not a phonebook person and love to store tons of numbers on the phone. Not enough for me but your needs may be different.

- I know this is nitpicky and no stars were lost for this but I miss the alarm “snooze button” feature on my last phone so that the phone by my bed was my alarm clock as well. Made the bedside table less cluttered. No snooze button here.

Positives:

- That is one loud or quiet ringer depending on the setting… wonderful!

- The speaker phone function is the best I have had on a phone thus far.

- The charge lasts forever. For once a company is not exaggerating their claim about how long the batteries last.. in fact I think they last longer than Panasonic claims. A downside to this, I no longer put the phones on the charger at night (or during the day) and can never seem to find them. (Again, no stars lost for my laziness).

- The range on this phone is fabulous. My last phone worked at the neighbors house with much “fuzz.” I can go over to my neighbors and it works in every room of their house with no interference or noise.

- This phone does not freak out when I use my microwave. Most phones I have used do. Yeahhhhhh!!!!

- Although I don’t use it (because it is creepy)I like the call screening function on the phone. I live in a small house and hearing my friends and family leave messages from three phones in surround sound is too much. If I was in a two story home I would be obsessed with this. Also could be great for when you are in the shower to hear the message being left. If it is the cable company finally calling you back after weeks of phone tag it would be worth jumping out and grabbing it.

All-in-all I have been extremely pleased with the phone and, until the recent errors, would have given the phone four stars because of the battery life, speakerphone quality, and range. These frequent errors (and the fact that someone I know is having this problem too) knocks off a star as a warning to others out there that a non-isolated problem does exist on this fairly fabulous phone.

Review by dallas7:

This review covers the KX-TGA641 handset used by the KX-TG6431, KX-TG6432, KX-TG6433, KX-TG6434, KX-TG6441, KX-TG6442, KX-TG6443, KX-TG6444 and KX-TG6445 cordless phone sets. The KX-TG644x “keypad/speaker phone” base is not discussed here.

DECT Security Breach: as of this June 6, 2009 writing, it remains unclear how secure is the Panasonic KX-TG64xx series – specifically the KX-TGA641 handset. Poorly designed DECT hardware is at risk of being eavesdropped . An updated DECT standard uses CAT-iq which may enhance security. On May 8, I emailed Panasonic support asking if this product set is subject to the “DECT hack” discussed throughout Internet forums and if CAT-iq is implemented. On the 18th I sent another and this time I received a case number: 26512122. On June 1st I inquired as to when I might expect an answer. The silence is deafening. (June 9 UPDATE: this is their reply… “The KX-TG6433 is using Panasonic unique DECT protocol for the communication between the base unit and the handset. This unit has higher protection against eavesdropping than standard DECT even without CAT-iq protocol.”) And this is Panasonic’s “Security Code Statement” on the FCC Web site: “This cordless telephone system has more than 1,000 billion combinations that are provided by the following means: Provided with 128 bits for security codes. When shipped from the factory, the security code is decided by the manufacture. It is memorized in a memory IC. Base and Handset knows each other’s security code information.” The “DECT hack” requires a modified VOIP card and a laptop running Linux and in some cases the use of a back-end PBX server – most of which is beyond the means and reach of your usual wannabe snoop. I conclude this phone is quite secure enough for average personal and business use. Regardless of the make, model and technology of the cordless phone(s) you own, privacy critical conversations should be done on a hard wired set.

The Review: To begin, the manual is awful. Useful feature information is buried in verbose paragraphs instead of outlined bullet points. A highlighter pen is required! The most egregious instructions are for Programmable Settings which are done via either of two methods, the nice scrolling menus or “Direct Commands.” The latter is keyed in at the main menu as a pound followed by three digits, such as #302 to record a greeting. Quoting page 20: “Direct command is the main method used in these operating instructions.” So, twenty seven pages of instructions for direct commands and two pages for the menus. Now, where are the scrolling menus? On the handset. In your hand. All the time. From now on. Where is the manual with the three page chart of direct commands? Hmmmm. I cannot fathom this idiotic bass-ackwards scheme. On the bright side, once you’ve scrolled through the 35 or so menu screens enough times, you’ll be more than well versed in their usage. Note: the “Initial Settings” menu contains sub-menus for much more than settings that are, well, initial.

One of the big selling points for me is the use of regular old AAA NiMH batteries. My triple handset KX-TG6433 replaces three stand-alone sets that used different, proprietary and expensive battery “packs.” No more! However, one caveat… discussed further on.

The LCD screen is informative, big and bright with large, easy to read fonts. The keypad is quite nicely illuminated although lighting of the three soft keys is absent. You can choose any color back light for the screen as long as it’s blue.

The handset ear piece audio is crisp and clean, free of digital artifacts while listeners on the other end can hear me well. The speaker audio for the handsets and base is dinky but usable in a quiet environment. For extended hands-free conversations I use the KX-TCA60 headset. (Update: that broke after about a dozen uses. I now use a Plantronics.) This is also one of the few phones I’ve ever used that I can cram between my neck and ear without jamming any buttons.

The KX-TG64xx series is loaded with all the usual bells and whistles and lacks for nothing in my experience. Most everything I became used to in all the phones I’ve had over the ages is here, and then some, all fully integrated. (If I had to quibble, I would want a flashing LED on the base to indicate the presence of messages listened to but not deleted.) All the fancy schmancy services you pay extra for at the phone company are recognized and operate well. Answering System messages can be accessed and manipulated from any handset and from outside phones using a three digit remote access code. Most settings migrate across all handsets meaning that if you change/add/delete something on one, it’s done on all. Others, like rings tones and volume, affect only the individual ones. Now that I’m past the “return for exchange” period, I decided to buy a fourth handset.

Finally, this phone talks. My favorite is Talking Caller ID. When the phone rings, I don’t even have to raise my head from my recliner pillow to look at it. Now that’s living! On the down side, the KX-TGA641 handset strongly resembles my Logitech Harmony 550 universal remote. I often find myself shouting “Hello” into the remote. Or trying to change channels with the phone. When did life get sooooo complicated??

From the “Why on Earth did they do that?” department: the charger does not recognize fully charged batteries. When I first unboxed my KX-TG6433, I took the six 650 mAh AAA batteries and ran them through my MAHA C401FS charger. This would not only save time and effect a nice conditioned charge, but the MAHA diagnostics would warn of defects. Imagine my surprise when all three handsets alerted with a flashing battery icon and a “charge for 7 hours” message. With fully charged batteries! Similarly, if at some point you remove the batteries in a handset to read the label in there (serial number, FCC ID number, etc.) or for whatever reason, you are greeted by the same scenario. And even though fully charged, the batteries will be COOKED for several hours to the degree the handset becomes… too hot to hold! So, here’s a hot tip (heh heh) – don’t pre-charge the AAAs and don’t remove them unless they need to be replaced.

That and the manual aside, this is a good looking, feature rich, convenient and affordable cordless phone system. Now that I’m beyond the menu system learning curve, I’m expecting years of comfortable and easy use.

Review by Laura Clifton:

Our old phone system was giving up the ghost so I looked for a phone system that would get good reception throughout our house and not interfere with other wireless set ups. I have had no problems with the wireless internet and the phone system to date. I even get reception at the bottom of my 3 story house. I ordered the extra handset and now there is a better chance that you will find a reciever on the house level your on when the phone rings too. I can even walk anywhere on my 1/2 acre and get reception.