Customer Reviews

AT&T EL51209 DECT 6.0 Cordless Phone, White/Grey, 2 Handsets

5 star:		(87)
4 star:		(39)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

This phone with spare handset has worked very well for me for a couple months now. For its price I can't imagine a small phone that's much better.

What really impressed me, however, is that this phone uses Nickel Metal Hydride batteries (NiMH) as opposed to the forerunner batteries, Nickel Cadmium (NiCad). The bottom line on this type of battery is that you can leave the phone in its charging base all the time if you wish and it will remain fully charged. NiCad batteries were such a pain because the user is expected to discharge them fully on a regular basis so that they will recharge better and more completely, and also increase battery life.

What's the point of having a handy charging base if you have to deliberately leave your phone off the charger so it will discharge and then abruptly cut out on you while you're using it.

I'll leave it to others here to extol the virtues of this phone but for me the phone is very adequate in function and features and its batteries remain its noteworthy asset.

Thanks ... Sam

People have told me that there is feedback when I put them on speaker. As a result I find myself wanting a headset option. There are some minor software problems, such as the caller id is stored without the leading 1-, so if you try to call the number back (how convenient!) it will fail :(. Also super lame imho is if you are using the "phone" and press the "speaker" button (or vice-versa) it thinks you are trying to conference in a new call rather than that you simply want to switch between handset mode and speaker-phone mode.

I was starting to hear "noise" on the line while using my older phones. I don't recall the mega-hertz numbers (I did my comparative research a while ago), but these phones work at a lower megahertz (I think 1.9) than my older phones. I read on Consumer Reports that my older phones operated at a mega Hz that was prone to interference.

These new phones are interference free. I set the base unit in the house and the mate outside in my garage. I like to work in my garage and the older phones would not ring out there - the new one does.

I'm very happy with the new phones. I even bought another set.

B. Tefft

The phone has worked flawlessly over the month or two I have had it. There are two handsets, which can each use either the main or the satellite base for charging. I charge mine nightly but suspect I could use them and leave them off base for days without a problem. With this phone pair, you can use both handsets at the same time on the same call, which I could not do with the phone pair I replaced. They may also be used at the same time with another phone that is not part of the set if connected to your line. I have had no interference or bad signals, and range has never been a problem, even when we take a handset out in the yard. I really am 100% satisfied with my purchase and feel I got a great deal at $40 for the pair.

Installed the ATT EL 51209 phones on April 1st, 2010. Shortly thereafter my internet connection started to give me random disconnect problems. After days of on and off DSL router problems I got a new replacement modem of a different brand from my service provider. Short term improvement but then problems daily. May 18th had a tech come out and check the line. His test equipment indicated many many error codes on the line. Disconnect phone connection to the house and error code immediately went away. Reconnected house wiring and many error codes. Have 3 wireless phone bases and unplugged them one by one. As soon as the ATT EL5 1209 was unplugged from the phone line all the error codes went away and as long as unplugged stayed away. Apparently it has to do with the frequency the cordless phone unit operates on. Nothing on the box tells you what frequency that is. Bought a new cordless unit with 3 phones operating on 5.8 gigahertz (same as the 2 older cordless units) and now no problems. The ATT box says "Digitally Enhanced Cordless Telecommunication (DECT6.0) is a new frequency band that transmits your voice across multiple channels. This technology provides superior quality of voice and sound, high protection against wiretapping and better range than 2.4GHz and 5.8GHZ phone systems while not interfering with wireless routers." It might work for you but if you start having problems with dropped DSL internet service, unplug the ATT EL51209 and see if it goes away.

These phones are just what I needed. Good sound and range. Simple, clear buttons and instructions. Recommend highly for extra phones for your home

This phone is okay, however it is exactly the same thing as the Vtech CS6219-2 for more money.

I have always liked AT&T for sound quality, however I found they don't make this phone. Whoever makes this phone also makes the Vtech CS6219-2 phone. The only difference between the two models is the color (AT&T: White and Silver - VTech: Black and Silver) and a couple minor differences on the keypad, not to mention the Vtech phone is about $10 cheaper.

Everything else is the same including the manual and the warranty card. Few ringtones (all irritable) to choose from and a menu I found less than friendly. If I wasn't using this for my second line phone, it would be returned tomorrow. If this is for your primary phone, look for something better.

Phones, phones, phones...I have replaced more phones this year than I can ever remember. They just don't last as long as they used to. I nearly bought a single phone V-tech for half the price of the two new AT and T's, but had a change of heart. I have never owned a V-tech and was skeptical.

I have only had them a week, so I may need to update this later. Consumer Reports gave these an excellent rating. Phones seem to be made of much more flimsy materials these days and these seem a bit light and flimsy to hold, but they do seem to be nicely made.

I would have preferred that the buttons had been rubber, as I keep them out in places with hard floors and lay them flat in places where they could slip...such as on top of my washing machine. The rubber buttons have traction and these buttons are very smooth.

That said, the buttons seem very solid and easy to push. The sound quality is excellent both from the earpiece as well as from the speakerphone. Very loud...which is very important for me since I have hearing loss. It seems like a very stable phone.

I had to get rid of one older AT and T phone, because of these two. It was causing it to "search" and no longer find a dial tone. Very strange! But all of my other phones seem to have no problem with these two new ones. So who knows? I guess they had the same signal as the one I had to discard. To clarify, the phone that was being interfered with was a 2.6 that was made at least five years ago. My other phones are much newer...one is also a 2.6, but it was made in 2007. If you want to check which other phones I have that are not interfered with at all, they are all in my "other reviews", and none of them have the problem that the older AT and T 2.6 had. See, I said all I have been doing this year is buying new phones...LOL


On the appearance side, they are very attractive looking, which is a minor asset as well, sort of white into grey, but very subtle.

The ringers respond very easily and it was quite simple to set them up. I do not use caller id and I did not program in any phone numbers to auto dial, but I could see that it would have been very uncomplicated, given my experience with the ringer adjustments, which also have to be programmed in the same way.

I would definitely recommend these phones....so far..... If I need to update, I will.

The telephone has shown great range throughout our two-story home without static or loss of signal. We encountered some static early on until we realized the telephone line we were using was not connected through our DSL filter. The issue went away after the correct filter port was used. Our living room has no telephone jack, so the dual handset is very useful in order to be able to have a handset in the living room without needed the base to be connected to a telephone line. The speaker phone feature on the handset has also been useful when having a telephone conversation while having both hands occupied. This has been especially helpful for my wife tending to our newborn baby. We haven't yet played around with all the features of the phone, but so far, everything for which it has been used, has been very good.

The AT&T Dect 6.0 Cordless Phone is sleek and sexy while being the perfect choice for my kitchen decor. Most of the cordless phones are black! Why is that? But, this one is also a great phone. Good sound, good options. I like that even though we use Verizon for our answering service, the phone indicates when we have a message. Good size on the numbers for reading without glasses.