Customer Reviews

Cord/cordless Phn 5 Wrls Hndsts

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

All in all, this is a decent package. I like having the corded base for two reasons: First, no matter how many handsets you have, invariably you will occasionally not be near one when the phone rings, and the base doesn't move! Second, it will work during a power outage. The voice quality is very good, and we have experienced no interference. It has a nice, big phonebook (70 entries), but the battery life is so-so.

What I don't understand about this phone (we replaced an aging Uniden phone) is that there is no speed dial feature, which made up about 70% of our calls on our old phone. Also, although we wouldn't miss it if we never had it, our old phone had about 15 personalized ring tones, this one has less than half that many. Dont understand why they would go backwards on that feature. Also, the handsets on the old phone had clips, which allowed you to hold the phone on your shoulder hands-free, this doesn't have that (very minor issue, since we never used the clip to "clip"). We've had this phone about 3 weeks, and I think I'm going to return it, provided I can find something closer to what we had. It probably won't be a Uniden, because they (seemingly intentionally) keep their tech specs very vague.

I have found nothing not to like about this system -- I love it.

Voice quality and reception is perfect, all of the bells and whistles you could want, and everything just plain works. The intercom between handsets is a nice bonus, and works great. Great battery life (2-AAA packs) on the handsets.

All of the handsets have built-in speaker phones, too. We run several wi-fi items in our house and there is no interference. Ditto with the microwave, which can be a problem with 2.4Ghz phones. (This one is 1.9Ghz.)

I would recommend it without reservation.

All in all a good product. Solid, durable, no major flaws.

The call block feature is better than several other phones, other phones ring once then block the call. This one suppresses the first ring, so no sound until caller id is shown. So blocked calls are just silent. Nice.

The base will work with a power outage! +++

Speaker phone good.

Some of the reasons for 4 rather than 5 stars:

Quirk 1. When you page a handset from a handset (the "find it under the couch function") the handset you are holding rings (LOUD) as well. I have to stick the #*&*^!! thing under my arm so I can locate the missing handset. No reason to have the one your holding screaming!

Quirk 2. When you are using speaker phone on a handset, if you press talk (most phones you go to non-speaker phone handset) you just activated call waiting or hung up on your party. The base works like "normal" phones.

There are a few other quirks, all livable, all a pain. But the competition I checked had their own bugs.

This is a pretty good phone set for use where you already have Wifi devices. The DECT format offers decent -but not perfect- security and good range. Five handsets allow them to be placed most anywhere, but that sort of defeats the point of having a cordless phone you can carry around.

Other thoughts: I have NO idea why Amazon pairs these phones up with a headset offering. I think this needs to be mentioned: unlike most phones, these Uniden phones do NOT have headset jacks. Regular phone headsets will not work. Bluetooth headsets will not work. The only kind that will work is an expensive office-type PBX headset that replaces the handset on the desktop phone. That's it. Most people don't have that kind of headset so don't get this expecting to use it with a headset.

The batteries do not hold a charge for very long. You will want to keep it in a charging base when not in use. For that matter, the shape is some what awkward to use so you will probably want to park them in the base anyway. There is no belt clip.

The speakerphone is nice and loud.

My girlfriend and I were about 99% sure we wanted Uniden phones to replace a quickly aging set of VTECs she's had for just a couple of years. We've both had various sets over the last 25 years; Uniden, VTEC, AT&T (owned by VTEC), Panasonic, etc. and both agree that Unidens were far better. My Father purchased a set of Unidens (4 handsets) from Sams Club in Roanoke, VA about 5 years ago and they have been fantastic. But, I'm one of those people that has to fully research an item before I buy it; checking personal reviews online, pouring over Consumer Reports' reviews & ratings, checking the big box store prices and comparing Amazon and EBay deals. Even then I'll second guess, research again and still agonize over it (read "over think it!"). Anyway, it usually works out fine. In this case we wanted certain features, the most for our money, consistent reliability and good customer service; just like anyone would. The dilemma came where Consumer Reports rated the AT&T and Panasonic phones over the Uniden sets... not across the board on all models, but the ones with our basic features anyway. My last set of AT&T phones just plain sucked (10 years ago, 2.4 GHz - static and very noisy voice mail) and I was surprised to see them rated so well. But the high price compared to the Panasonic and Uniden sets just didn't impress me enough to commit to them. I almost bought the Panasonic. I had it in the "cart" and was about to put my credit card number in and then backed out. I looked one more time at some online reviews and found one from an individual that said you couldn't name the handsets on the Panasonic - like "bedroom", "basement", "garage" and so on. I like that feature and it was not easily found when going over the phones at various sellers websites. Consumer Reports (membership is about $26 a year) has a neat widget that allows you to pick out the features you want and it will narrow down your choices. EBay and other sites do this as well for various items you're looking at. Well, every time I used it to pick our "must have" features, the Uniden 2188 series was the only choice. I also wanted 5 cordless handsets and a "waterproof" handset for the shop. So, despite a couple of negative reviews on here and even though CR didn't rate it at the top - they rated well, but just below AT&T and Panasonic - I went with the Uniden 2188-5 system. The Amazon price was better than anywhere else, except a refurbished set on another website. We also added the yellow "waterproof" handset to the order. It's no secret that Amazon's customer service is excellent and get this; I ordered the phones at 2:30 pm Eastern Time on a Thursday, paid for 2nd day shipping and guaranteed by Amazon to be delivered on Saturday. I actually received them the very next day, Friday at 12 noon! As of right now, 4/2/2010, we are very happy with the phones. Excellent range, crystal clear voice quality - while on the phone and from the answering machine, easy to set up, easy menu navigation, nice buttons - easy to see and use, good size LCD screen - easy to read, and just a good looking phone overall. The folks complaining of issues with "poor range" may have isolated problems specific to their own home construction and other interference issues probably not typical to the phone. So far, our range of use has been excellent. I guess it would be cool to have more ring tone choices, but that doesn't affect functionality. And seriously, who really wants to let their phone ring a long time just to hear a ring tone? As time goes on, we'll update this review if we have any issues. Good luck, do your research and feel free to respond to this and ask questions. I'll get the e-mail and answer it as quick as possible.
Cord/cordless Phn 5 Wrls Hndsts

Upon purchase, we were very happy with this set. It had all the features we were looking for plus an intercom system. Very easy to set up.

So, then some problems - maybe it was just this batch or the entire Uniden wireless models (note: our set was purchased from Costco).

After a few months, one handset started making a buzzing noise and was rendered basically unusable. No one could understand you speaking and you could barely hear others talk. We didn't return the entire set as we still had 4 handsets plus the base and I wasn't worried about one handset going out vs the trouble of returning everything.

However, last week - less than one year after purchase, we noticed all the handsets were acting up. While we could hear the person on the other line, they could not hear us at all - no static, buzzing or anything, it was basically like you were on mute. It would start randomly but is now more and more frequent. All the hardwired lines seem to work fine - it's just the wireless, so it's not our telephone provider (who is comcast cable).

Sufficed to say, we're going to try to return this set to Costco. So, while the set appears good for the price, I would still want a phone system to last longer than one year at this price. I hope this helps you folks out there.

Most of the phones I have purchased for home have been Unidens. Great features, great value, nice design. I was VERY DISSAPOINTED in this set. Uniden made a very bad design flaw with the back-light for this model. In a dimly lit room, the important navigation and menu keys do not light up with the number pad. The navigation keys (Menu,Select,Int'com,Up,Down,CID,PhoneBook,Mute,Block, etc) are impossible to see; makes the back-light rather pointless. Ironically, the back-lit numbers (0-9) are so excessively bright; they're blinding in a dimly lit room, such as just waking up to answer the phone. The back-light on the older model that I was replacing illuminates all of the keys.

I have now owned this product for about a month and have used it extensively. I read the guide that came with it and easily learned to use every feature on the phone (I would encourage others to do the same.) Overall, I think these phones are great and am very pleased with them and would purchase them again.

Pros: Handset and speaker phone have good quality sound; ability to block any specific incoming number with dedicated button for this; ability to mute with dedicated button for this; phonebook feature where I can store my most frequently dialed numbers; volume adjustment for handset as well as speaker phone with dedicated button for this; very, very clear reception anywhere in my home; easy switching from handset to speaker phone and back to handset with a dedicated button for this; very long battery life; easily switches phone call from one handset to another, just pick up the other handset and turn on (this also makes it easy to have a 3-way conversation with another family member sharing the call); does not interfere with my wireless router or vice versa; has nice intercom system; nickel-metal-hydride batteries for little or no memory effect.

Cons: No speed dial (however the phonebook feature mitigates this somewhat); some buttons not lit in the dark; uses special-sized,(read expensive) replacement batteries instead of cheaper AAA rechargeable batteries.

Comments: Although this phone's volume is plenty loud for me it does not go as loud as some phones I have heard and this could be a problem for some persons with hearing loss. You can put what the manual calls a banner on each handset, this is a label or name which will show on the lcd screen. Answering machine works well and is easily understood on playback. Corded handset works during power failure, cordless do not. Has seven ringtones available. Answering machine can be accessed by dialing in from outside line and has "tollsaver". All 6 telephones set the time automatically using caller ID information. The time is shown constantly on all telephones' displays. All handsets have a speakerphone.

After using this system for 2 months I am happy we ordered this system. It is a good looking system and has good voice quality. I had a bit of difficulty programming my contacts as it was a bit different from my previous Uniden system. The instruction could have been a bit clearer.
The touch buttons on the base unit feel a bit awkward to me but it does the job. The wireless units are very easy to use. I would recommend this purchae.

I bought two of these sets several months ago for two different houses. They work exactly as represented and are a significant improvement over my former AT&T systems. The handsets are well lit and are just the right size. The icons and commands are intuitive and perform exactly as promised. Even the owners' manual makes rational sense.

I chose the system with the corded base unit to ensure continuing service during electrical blackouts, which do happen at times. Buying this particular set also lowered the per unit cost for the extra handsets, which is a nice touch. The five handheld units are as clear as a bell even when used several hundred feet away from the base unit, which itself is simple to use with its clear buttons and displays and sensitive speakers. The truth is that there is nothing not to like about this system yet. If that changes, I will submit another review, but right now it's a pleasure to write this positive evaluation.