Customer Reviews

AT&T EP5632 5.8 GHz Digital BlueTooth Enabled Cordless Phone with Answering System

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

Considering my prior experience with an AT&T cordless phone (E5965C), and some of the negative reviews posted here, it was with reluctance that I purchased this unit along with an expansion handset (EP562). This is the only cordless phone I found that has all the features I'm looking for (bluetooth capability, being able to listen to messages from both the handsets and the base unit, a spare battery stored in the base unit allowing the phone to be used during power outages, blinking light on each handset for new messages).

I've had the phone for about a week now and have had no issues at all. The phones were a breeze to set up and configure. The user interface is easy to understand and navigate. Voice quality is very good. The Bluetooth connection works very well for me when I connect it to my cell phone. I've yet to experience a disconnected call.

Battery life is much improved over my other AT&T phone. The handsets can go more than 1 day without being charged.

My only complaints are a few relatively minor issues. The system has a telephone directory where you can store names and telephone numbers. Directory entries are stored separately on each handset and the base unit. There is no way to transfer directory entries from one handset to the other or to the base unit. With a set-up like mine if I want to have the same directory on the two handsets and the base unit they must all be entered manually. Rather tedious. I like the idea of having separate directories but it would be nice to have the ability to transfer individual entries, or the entire directory, between handsets and the base unit.

The same goes for the caller ID log. The system stores the 100 most recent incoming calls. These calls must be cleared off of each handset and the base unit individually. It would be nice to have a global setting that would clear out the Caller ID Log on the entire system. Again, minor issues.. :)

07/22/2008: I've had this phone for about 7 months now. It still works very well. I've recently started using it along with a bluetooth headset. No problems at all with disconnects or voice quality. Great product AT&T! Keep making phones like this one.

A month or so ago, I had to bite the bullet and purchase a new cordless phone system because one of the extensions on my then current system went out on me. It was at that point that I discovered that my old phone system could only have 6 extensions, and once those extensions were used-up, then you were up-the-creek if anything happened to one, or in my case two, of the linked extensions because the system could not be reset...

I was tempted to purchase less expensive phone systems, but the EP5632 seemed to have what I needed most of all: great distance, it could handle Bluetooth cell phones and it could handle up to 12 extensions. After having it a month, adding 5 extensions in addition to the base, I have been very pleased with it and its ease of operation.

Hooking it up was a breeze. You just place a handset into the telephone base, press MENU on the base, go up or down until "Register Handset" appears, then press "select." Setting-up the Bluetooth was almost as easy, as any Bluetooth pairing could be, which isn't always the case, and to me, the directions were clear.

After using the system for a couple of days, my wife and I programed the phones to our liking. I say this because the handsets allow you a lot of individuality with regards to different ringtones for different callers, assigning pictures to show when different callers call, etc. For us, when we assigned different ringtones, we made sure we had the same ringtone on each phone (for her daughter, especially), that way you didn't have four or five sounds producing a dischord when someone called; however, in our case, that might not have been a bad idea. We, also, liked the feature that you could individually name each phone, and we also added a color to the name (e.g. "George's Room - Red"), to match the color of the electrical tape that we placed on each base and handset. We have a tendency to make and receive certain calls from certain extensions, and I definitely don't want to have to scroll through all of my wife's important people to find the phone number of my friends, so you could say we didn't mind putting in the numbers in each phone. Also, having the extensions individually named made it a lot easier to use the intercom. And, like most cell phones now, when a person calls you, you can just press a button and that person is added to your extension.

The voice mail notifications were great! We could see if we received a voice mail while we were on the phone (a light would blink on the extension), or if we had received a message on the base telephone recorder. In the case of a recording on the base, the phone would tell us we had a "message." Additionally, the phone would tell you if you had any missed calls.

We live in a stone house, and sometimes electronic signals have to bounce off a lot, but I haven't had any trouble with the phone inside our two-story house or even the garage that makes the signals go through 5 walls. We, also, get to roam about a little bit over a half-a-block (250 feet) on outside use. With the base upstairs, we get pretty good cell service, and by using the Bluetooth, our cell service goes anywhere inside or outside our house without any dropped signal. NOTE: Our daughter quickly discovered that she could call us on our cell phone without there being a long distance charge, or her using any of her "minutes," since we both have the same cell-phone service, and the call would go through the "house" phone thus giving us reception that was better for us because we could use the cordless phone handsets.

All-in-all, I've enjoyed using the EP5632 and would recommend it to anyone who needs to have a lot of extensions, or the other features I have commented on.

UPDATE: I was getting a little ansy about upgrading my AT&T EP5632 because of the DECT models, because I noticed that several could make cell calls from the base. Well, after a year, I finally looked at the manual. Not only can you make cell calls from the base, but from the individual extensions. If you Bluetooth cell phone is linked to the AT&T EP5632, you just press in the numbers you want to call (and you usually don't have to put a "one" first because this will be a cell call), and you press the cell button at the bottom right of the extension.

There is another difference I noticed: this phone has a 20 number re-dial, not 5 number, like most other cell phones. It looks like I'll be keeping this one a little longer...

Pretty impressed with this system. We bought it for the bluetooth interface, so cellular calls and landline calls all come through the same handset when we're home. Best phone we've ever owned. Interested in how this technology will mature (see quirks (below)).

The good news:
--------------
* Color display is nice. Available wallpapers and ringers on handset are pleasing.
* Sound quality is good on handset, handset speakerphone, and base speakerphone.
* Voicemail messages come through clearly on the handsets, even through the handset speakerphones.
* Displays are bright, clear, and easy to read. Menus are intuitive and easy to navigate.
* Range on the handsets is very good. Range on bluetooth is exceptional.
* Bluetooth automatically connects to our cell phones as soon as we arrive home.

It does have its quirks:
---------------------
* Caller ID is not enumerated - as you scroll through, you're never sure exactly how many more calls there are in memory.
* Bluetooth is solid now, and automagically connects both of our cell phones when we arrive home (manual says 12' distance from main console; our chargers are ~30' from the main console). However, on initial setup, added cell #1, added cell #2, had to remove and re-enter cell #1 before it would auto-discover.
* Users can not add their own pictures for wallpaper (disappointing)
* Users have limited ability to record their own ringer (and only on handset)
* Some of the controls are not consistent with industry "standards". For instance: 4-way pad navigates to an option. Can not press [right] or press 4-way pad down to select the options; you must move to another key to select the options.
* Base retains the recorded outgoing voicemail message when the power goes out, but immediately loses track of what time it is. Planning to purchase the optional standby battery for the base (it charges an extra handset battery in the base if you have a spare), hoping it will keep the clock in the base alive, like in previous at&t phones we've owned.
* Interesting note: Not a shortcoming of this system, but keep in mind that if you have bluetooth in your car(s) and if you park within 30' of where you charge your cell phone, your car(s) and home phone may fight over control of your cell phone.

Overview:
--------
Read another review that said this phone may not be ready for prime-time. There are some quirks to it (I'm certain they'll soften some of the rough edges as time goes on -- and in reference to the other reviewer's notes, be aware that there also doesn't appear to be a way to upgrade the firmware on this phone if you buy this version, so what you get on day 1 is what you get for the life of the phone). All in all, if you want an excellent system that ties in your bluetooth cell phones, or if you use only cell phones and prefer not to have a landline at all, this is definitely the way to go!

I got this phone for my office line at home, and have a single handset and one cellphone connected to it. I agree with everyone about the bluetooth connection being a problem. I have even had problems where I needed to completely drop and re-discover the phone on a regular basis. The sound quality is very good and the speaker phone works well. It is a little wierd that the hand unit and base units don't share a directory, you have to enter all your phone numbers twice. And I also found the hand unit to be a bit uncomfortable against my ear for long calls. The edge of the unit is a little too sharp.

We bought the base unit and 6 additional phones. We also connect 2 cell phones to it. It is true that the bluetooth connection to the system happens about 1/2 the time, but it eventually connects each time. The other quirky issue is that you need to hand key in the directory in each phone - that takes a ton of time to set up. The sound quality is great, range is great, quality of the phones themselves is great. All in all, we are happy we bought the system and would recommend it.

(The previous reviewer is correct that the picture is wrong. The EP5632-2 is the model with the additional handset.) I live rurally and can only get reception with my cell phone hooked up to an antenna. With this device, I can answer my cell anywhere in my home, along with my landline. It works like a charm and I don't have to scurry from upstairs to answer my cell phone. It seems very user friendly and the menu driven operation makes sense. Only small complaint would be that no light stays on if the answering machine has old messages in it. Otherwise, I love it.

I am experiencing the same issue the person in a one of the previous reviews did: the phone does not reconnect to the cell when the cell comes into range. Happens sporadically. When you manually tell it to reconnect from the handset, it works though, so it has to be a flaw in the phones bluetooth. Great idea, but not there yet. AT&T tech support (though at&t doesn't actually make this phone, just puts a logo on it) did not return the call. I'll call them to find out if there is a fix for this, but I doubt it. Great phone, crappy bluetooth.

Update: The phone does not have battery backup, so if you lose power, your settings on the base are gone (time/date/etc). It holds battery charge pretty well, but the screen plastic of the handset gets dirty easily (not a major issue). Overall, phone's great, if they could only fix the bluetooth reconnection problems.

We bought the phone system for the same reason as everyone else. So we could answer and make calls with the cell phones or the landline while upstairs or outside. It works great for that. We have had no problems with the bluetooth autosync. The only issue I find disappointing, and would return the phone to replace it if I could find one that allowed this, is the inability to utilize the cell phone's contact system or at least let me sync my cell phone contacts to the base station. Having seperate contact databases on each phone is a big inconvenience. Hopefully AT&T's marketing department is reading our reviews.

Just got the phone 2 days back - the installation and setup of bluetooth connection to my cell phones was seamless.. My blackberry re-connects seamlessly from my car bluetooth to this phone as soon as I enter home. Also, another good point is that it works from anywhere in the 2 floor home with the baseunit in room on the top floor (which I did not expect!). Overall pleased with it so far !

After a lot of research I thought that I had found the perfect phone. The EP5632 advertises that you can connect up to two bluetooth capable cell phones. I suppose you can, but only if your phone is one of the very few that has made their approval list. For example, LG has only four phones that are approved.

When first set up my EP5632 I was able to easily connect to my cell phone - an LG vx8300. I thought this was the greatest invention ever! Then my wife came home.

I set her phone (also a vx8300) up as well. Unfortunately, ATT has not made it very well known that many bluetooth phones are not able to connect simultaneously to the EP5632. Whenever I would try to make or receive a call on either cellular line the ATT phone would drop the call back to the LG phone, making this "bluetooth phone" completely useless as it was advertised.

I contacted ATT and was told that THEY KNEW AB0UT THE PROBLEM. Their response was "Your phone isn't on the compatibility list, sorry..." I explained to them that the point of calling something "bluetooth" is that it must meet all of the compatibility requirements of that standard to earn the name. You can't call something (for example) USB compatible if it only works on Dell USB ports, but not Toshiba or Sony.

They refused to see it that way, and since I purchased the phone new through a "non-authorized" reseller they would not stand behind their product.

Long story, short -- DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT OR ANYTHING FROM ATT unless you know 100% for certain that you phone is one of only 36 phones that will actually work with their system. ATT is a ripoff and I hope to never have to give them any more of my money.