Most Helpful Customer Reviews
53 of 57 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Smarthome (Amazon seller) is great, but this product is not, August 22, 2006
This review is from: Caller ID with Phone Ring Controller (Electronics)
I purchased this product for one primary reason - to block specific callers from ringing my phone. While this caller ID does have other fuctions, this was, for me, the only reason I purchased it.
Unfortunately, it failed at this job and even created other problems. Each time someone on the "blocked" list called the phone would ring for a fraction of a second. Doesn't sound bad, but it was. At times it was more jarring than having the phone ring normally. Also, at least once, one of the blocked callers got through. Not sure why that happened.
In order for this product to attempt to control who gets through and who doesn't it has to be the first thing connected to your primary phone jack. While that's logical, it also creates a problem that will be a negative for anyone with more than one phone. This caller ID blocked the ID information from being forwarded to my two phones. So the phone rings and the only way you'll know who's calling is to get up and look at the base unit that could be in another room or even on the other side of the house. Very inconvenient.
I used this caller ID for about a week and I knew it wasn't going to work. It barely did what it was supposed to and was more of a hassle than anything else. I contacted Smarthome, the Amazon distributor, and they were very courteous and took the item back and paid for the shipping back to them. I'd probably purchase from them again given how they handled the situation. But as for this product, I really can't think of anyone who would find it useful given its limitations.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very useful but has quirks, January 15, 2010
This review is from: Caller ID with Phone Ring Controller (Electronics)
First of all, buyers should be aware that there is a version 2 that became available early Jan 2010. The major upgrades over the original model include compatability with internet-based (VoIP) phones, an increase in the "reject" list from 20 to 70, and the ability to reject an entire area code (like 888) using wildcards. Although the controller has 3 lists: list "A" (always allow), list "B" (allow certain times of day) and list "R" (reject these), I only bought the controller to reject frequent annoyance callers (list "R"). The controller simply supresses the ring on numbers entered into this "R" list. Any devices installed between the "wall" and the controller - like an answering machine - will operate as before. Any devices installed "after" the controller - like your phone - will not receive the ring tone or caller ID. The caller ID will only be recorded on the controller itself. I personally do not want to hear my answering machine's greeting when receiving "rejected " calls. Therefore, I place both my phone and answering machine after the product. In this configuration, the caller will hear the phone ring until they themselves hang up. I don't hear anything.
In order to prevent your other extensions from ringing, some people turn off these ringers. That's not very useful in a larger home. I have voice over internet cable and so I simply installed the controller immediately after my modem which suppresses the ringing for rejected callers to all the phones in my house. It might be more difficult to find the entrance point for landline phone service. One limitation that I have not read before was the inability of the controller to suppress messages on a phone company or ISP-based message answering service. Even though most annoyance callers do not leave messages, their equipment seems to produce a tone which is captured by many answering machines as a brief message. So if you use a phone company or cable-based answering service, you may get alerts when you only have these false messages.
I only had the controller a short time. I first rejected 800, 866, 877 & 888 numbers. When an annoyance call comes in, I later retrieve the caller ID on the controller and set it to the "R" list. Good luck!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great call blocker!, May 1, 2010
This review is from: Caller ID with Phone Ring Controller (Electronics)
I use this unit as a call blocker. As such, it works well. It's connected between the wall jack and the base station on a 4-phone wireless system. I block all toll free numbers, using wild cards for the last 7 digits. It can also selectively block individual numbers. It is compatible with Vonage, which requires the country code to be entered on the unit. The phone does not ring and the answering machine does not pick up when a blocked number is calling. The ID is displayed on the unit for all calls. My only complaint is that the ID is not passed on to any of my phones, even non-blocked calls. Maybe this is not technically feasible. A workaround might be to plug your TV into a wall jack if it has caller ID display capabilities. The documentation is poorly organized but all the information is there. Just read it carefully.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|