Customer Reviews

GE Corded 29897GE2 Phone with Speakerphone, Call Waiting Caller ID and Digital Answering System - Black

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

I had the exact same problem as the other reviewer with 2 of these phones:

"After plugging in the unit, completing the setup and recording a greeting, I called in from my cell phone. The unit answered after 4 rings but then failed to play the greeting or record a message. In addition, the clock got erased and went back to flashing 12:00 AM."

When I exchanged the first one for a second one and it had the same error. I can only assume that they had a bad batch and no quality control. I've missed a number of calls and made multiple trips to Office Depot as a result.

Our old phone/answering machine stopped working, so I went out to purchase a new one. This one seemed to be a great deal. I brought it home and the answering machine did not work at all. Like other reviewers, I thought perhaps I had picked up a bad one. I went back and purchased another one. Now here I sit, staring at the second malfunctioning one, wondering why I didn't check out the reviews first. Don't even think about buying this phone.

I was looking for a nice corded phone for my office with a answering machine and caller ID. I purchased this phone and it worked for only three days. The answering machine decided to stop working after three days and it took me a few angry clinets and some loss of business to figure it out two days later. Thinking I must have picked the bad apple, I went and bought another one (shame on me), right out of the box I set it up and tested the answering machine, nothing, it just hangs up on you. Not good for business. I think GE needs to have a re-call on these phones. all I can say is DON"T BUY THIS PHONE!!!

My brother bought one of these phones in April 2006 and was happy with it until its memory filled. Erasing all messages does not enable it to record new messages. When it answers it gives a greeting and invites the caller to leave a message, then declares "Memory Full" and will not accept the message. The only help found thus far is an instruction to disconnect the phone line and power connection for at least 5 minutes, then reconnect and reprogram it, and try it again. Did that 5 or 6 times without correcting the problem. Deleted all messages. Still cannot take any new messages. One other complaint is that it does not include a battery backup. After some short power interruption it filled its remaining memory with about 30 messages saying "The clock is not set!". Don't expect non-gadget savvy people to program the thing. I wasted 2 1/2 hours of vacation on it in August. I'm quite comfortable programming gadgets, at least ones which function properly.

I was looking for a corded speakerphone with answering system and the GE model 29897GE2 seemed to fit the bill. This is the same model as the 29897GE1 except for the color (black instead of white). I tried both of them with the same result: the answering system does not work.

After plugging in the unit, completing the setup and recording a greeting, I called in from my cell phone. The unit answered after 4 rings but then failed to play the greeting or record a message. In addition, the clock got erased and went back to flashing 12:00 AM.

I modified the settings and tried repeatedly to no avail. I called customer service and the representative told me to reset the unit by unplugging it for 10 minutes. Needless to say this did not solve the problem.

But that's not all. On the side of the retail box, there is written "Up to 40 minute record time". But on the GE web site, the recording time is stated as 10 minutes. I asked the customer service representative which is correct and he said 10 minutes. As far as I am concerned, neither is correct since the recording time works out to ZERO minutes.

I've had my GE Corded phone for several months now, and it is still working fine. I was surprised to read all of the negative reviews. I'm glad that I had purchased mine before reading the reviews. I keep my pnone on my desk, and all that I can say is that everything on it works perfect.

I bought this phone, model number 29897GE2-A, you don't want to. 1) The phone just goes into a mode where the phone says the message box is full, but there are no messages in it. My friends keep having to tell me they could not leave a message because of this. 2) the phone does not have a internal battery for power drops, so every thime the power goes out all the programming is lost. 3) I have and the phone does not get the time from the phone line, It just blinks 12:00. This items gets 1 star because there isn't a zero star option.

It decides at random whether or not to answer an incoming call. Since I bought the box primarily to replace an ancient tape answering machine, it was a total waste of money. I'm in total agreement with the other posts here.

This phone is loaded with intuitive features and posesses a beautiful easy to use design.
I needed new phones for a retail shop that are both dependable and easy to use.
The sound is good, set-up was a snap, and the greeting was simple to record.
I must also respond to the quality control issue of several previous reviews. First I was concerned about ordering these, since so many seemed to have severe problems. Then I read the one glowing review involving an improved model with a suffix "a" at the end of the model#. This surely indicates an upgraded series, and these new phones I ordered have all worked well and have been problem free. A visual indication of the new model is that the numeric buttons are black with white print instead of silver with black print.
I also should note the time/date auto sets with the first incoming call and batteries are not needed to maintain memory, although a plug in power transformer is required (and included) for normal operation.
One omission is a lighted caller ID display, that is standard on some less feature laden models, but the display contrast is adjustable in 5 steps, and that helps compensate.

Other reviews have complained that this speakerphone informs callers that the answering machine is full when it isn't and will not allow callers to leave messages. This just happened to us following a short power outage (even with a surge protector). However, all you have to do is to unplug the phone from the electrical outlet for a few minutes and then plug it back in. It corrects itself automatically. Hope this helps