Customer Reviews

AT&T 2.4GHz Dual Corded / Cordless Telephone Answering System 1487

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I wanted a corded speakerphone with a good answering machine and had just about given up until finding this model. In particular I had tried a GE model but had to return it as the answering machine audio was terrible, the transmitted audio from the handset was poor, and one week after getting it the answering machine cut off all messages in 3 seconds or less.

Here are some basic impressions of the AT&T model. I do not have Caller ID and so cannot comment upon those functions.

What It Is: Corded speakerphone with 50 memories, 3 line digital display, digital answering machine with 15 minute capacity. A separate 2.4 GHz cordless phone, also with 50 separate memories, is included. The corded unit easily wall mounts

Audio Quality: Above average on both units. Answering machine audio quite clear

Memory Dialing: No dedicated buttons on corded unit. You either scroll through the alphabetized list one at a time or hit one of the phone keys to jump to a letter in the alphabet. The cordless unit has 9 "speed dial" but these are still two button combinations.

Chain Dialing: This is useful if you use a long distance access number or have to put in account numbers after you dial. The corded unit will do it, but the "jump to nearest letter" feature fails; you have to scroll through the memories one at a time with the directory key. A work-around is to enter your frequent chain dial numbers at the head of the alpha list by inputting them as "A name" so they come up first in scrolling. The cordless unit cannot chain dial.

Speakerphone: This is only on the corded unit. Volume is adequate and adjustable. You dial with phone on hook and then hit "Dial display" the speakerphone comes on and dials with very loud annoying phone beeps. There is no way to get rid of this except by picking up the phone as soon as you hit the dial button. Of course you can dial with the phone off hook.

Display: Good 3-line backlit display on both units. Oddly, neither phone times the call as almost all such phones do. The display does not show the date and time on the corded unit (it does on the cordless).

Answering Machine (corded unit only): This works quite well. An extremely bright LED flashes when you have a new message and stays lit when you have old messages you have not erased. A second large LED shows the number of new messages. The capacity is 15 minutes and 99 messages. I've had no trouble with people being cut off. You can set it to answer after 2,4, or 6 rings. It has remote access and toll saver. The remote access is close to full function. You can change your outgoing message, delete messages, etc. At home you can speed up or slow down the messages as you listen to help in difficult areas, but you cannot advance or go back by a given number of seconds. You cannot limit incoming messages to any particular length of time. The unit self-limits at 4 minutes.

Cordless Phone: I haven't used this too much but the range seems good and the audio is clear. One nice feature is that it gets its phone signal from the corded unit, so the cordless only needs a power supply, not a phone jack. It can be put anywhere in the house there is power. I've had no battery problems (longest calls about 30 minutes so far). The ringer on the cordless phone cannot be turned off (it can be turned off on the corded unit). Volume is good and adjustable.

Misc.: Mine is white. I found the set-up, putting in names, etc. to be tedious. Apparently the clock will be set automatically if you have call waiting. Otherwise it is a somewhat weird (aren't they all?) system for setting the clock (needed for time-date stamping on message machine), but this is done once. There is no battery back-up. The claim is that all memories (except for date and time) will be retained after power outage. The corded unit will work as a plain phone when power is out and only phone service works.

Overall Rating: I'm pleased with this unit. It would be greatly helped by a few dedicated speed button dials on the main unit and less noisy speakerphone dialing, but overall it is solid and performs well.

Update 5 months later: The unit has continued to work as described in the review. The only thing I would add is that the call screening function (which we didn't have with the phone company voicemail) is really quite useful for us. If you're in the middle of something you can let the answering machine respond and you automatically hear the caller leaving a message and can decide whether to pick up. Solicitors will usually hang up during the message.

I found the directions for programming this machine to be almost incomprehensible. Using trial and error and blessed with a little luck , I made it happen. The machine is far too complex for my tastes. It tries to do all things for all users and not too well. Another complaint is that when you have the speaker -phone on , and you dial a number using the directoory, there is no way to lower the sound volume. I complained to Tech Services and they promised me an answer. That was several weeks ago. I think I hit a nerve here.

The answering system on the unit I purchased is acceptable. The audio quality of the cordless handset is disappointing: I hear a constant hiss when using it.

This is a lot of product for the money. I haven't seen this quality instrument for the price anywhere. Takes a little getting used to for the button sequences for daily operation but soon one learns it. The lighted display is bright and clear. It becomes initialized as per the buttons you press and auto shuts afterward. The answering machine is right up to par as well. Why 4 stars then instead of 5? I find that the volume output of the speakerphone is too low for some calls. Taking that into account, you cannot go wrong with this item.

The audio is fine on this phone, but the display an the base went out within a year and the one on the extension within 2 years.

Neither the base unit nor the cordless phone were satisfactory in terms of sound quality. The answering machine was often unintelligible. I would take note of the fact that Amazon's current price is approximately 50% of the list. I like bargains, but in this case I suspect it is a matter of not being able to sell the stock on hand -- for a good reason.

There are 2 standout issues regarding this phone:

1. No mute button on the cordless handset. There is a mute on the base, but it seems like a grave omission not to have mute on the other handset.

2. When you insert or remove a headset into the headset jack, it makes a horrible screeching noise on the other end.

If you need a phone for telecommuting, look elsewhere.

I wanted a combo speaker phone and answering machine, so this one looked great. Overall it is OK, but let me point out the items not so great:

- No battery backup, so the clock has to be set again if you have a power outage.
- The cordless handset is very much full of static, even close to the base, and even if you try to change channels.
- When you do loose power, the unit does not dial in touch-tone- it uses pulse!
- The caller ID history use useless since you can't append a 1 for long distance calls.

The LCD display should show more answering machine features, instead it is just caller ID and directory numbers.

On the plus side, for the number of features, the price is right, and it has been reliable so far.

I bought this because I wanted a very cheap 2.4ghz corded/cordless telephone. It turned out to be just that. The display in the hand set went in a few days. The handset also seem a bit big and the sound quality could be better. The corded station is much better but programming and menu use is a bit confusing. As my headline suggest, you can buy if you are cash strapped and you need a 2.4ghz corded/cordless.

AT&T 2.4GHz Dual Corded / Cordless Telephone Answering System 1487
Works great and comes with extra cordless phone. Has answering machine and speaker phone also. Buttons big enough to see, volume loud enough to hear. Couldn't ask for more - especially for the price.