Customer Reviews

AT&T E5860 5.8 GHz DSS Expandable Cordless Phone with Answering System

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

 

 

I did a resasonable amount of research prior to purchasing this phone. We have owned several cordless phones over the years, different manufacturers, operating frequencies, etc. My wife and I are VERY happy with this phone (and the E580-I handset we bought to go with it). It is solid, sounds WONDERFUL, including the amazing (to me) handset-based speaker phone, and has very nice features. We don't use all of the bells and whistles, but just as a cordless phone it is the most solid and wonderful sounding phone I have ever used. The answering machine is great, easy to set up and easy to use, sounds good, time tags calls, etc. You can even listen to messages from the handset (we've done that a few times).

I agree w/ others that it would be nice to have a single call number database/memory that is shared by all handsets, but that's the only (minor) complaint I have.

Oh yes, I purchased the optional base station backup battery and our phone worked all through a recent multi-hour power failure. Nice!

I can recommend this phone system for its sound quality and wireless reception. The handset speaker-phone is excellent, and the sound via an optional earphone is as well. Unfortunately, the interface has some unpleasant limitations. If you don't have caller-ID, you'll probably avoid the address book. Entering names is painful, and isn't shared between handsets (or even the base). If you want to mix upper/lowercase letters, you'll be pressing the keypad all day, as it cycles through all of the options on each number (e.g. ABC2abc or even worse PQRS7pqrs).
It would be nice if it answered when lifted off of the base, but that I can forgive.

Our phones have worked well for about a year, and seem very reliable. They co-exist well with our wireless LAN (802.11g), and have a good range. The handset-to-handset intercom works well, and the base will even automatically activate the speakerphone if you page it.

This phone system has some flaws, but overall it's a great performer.

Before I bought this phone, I had a 7-year-old Toshiba 2.4GHz phone and a 7-year-old Panasonic digital answering machine. I had to replace the phone because it interfered with our wireless network, and I figured I'd get a new answering machine at the same time - 7 years later, the technology must be better, I reasoned.

Not so. The sound quality on this phone OK, but worse than on my old phone. And the sound quality of the answering machine is unacceptaby muffled. But those are the first of several big disappointments. The phone has nearly no sidetone, meaning you don't hear yourself speaking in the earpiece. This makes every call uncomfortable. When the phone is on the base station ringing and you pick it up, it doesn't get "picked up" - you have to press a button. Likewise, hanging it up doesn't hang it up. When you press the button to talk, there's a 1-second delay before the caller can hear you, so you end up saying hello twice. Oh, let's see. The "wallpaper" backgrounds are insanely amateurish. No matter how badly you draw, you draw better than the Michelangelos who made this thing. Next: some features are configured on the screen on the base station, while some are configured with an audio interface. The distinction is random. The icons on the phone are highlighted with a movable square outline - except that some of them ARE squares, so the highlight disappears. My outgoing message is unintelligible - I had to yell into the thing, and you can still barely hear me.

This phone would be a bargain at $10, a reasonable deal at $20, a ripoff at $30. I paid $110. Not happy.

I had an AT & T phone, when it quit I bought another brand of answering machine and phone. Within 2 weeks I was looking for a new AT&T. They have volumes adjustments for the ringer, they have the toll saver option which is great when you check your messages and it it just a great sounding phone. I had bought a GE and had terrible results. I was told to return the phone and expect a new one in 4 weeks. What a joke. Thank goodness Amazon had AT&T.

Phone exactly as advertised--- works great! Telephone was new in the box and the price was better than that of reconditioned ones that were advertised on other sites.

Phone did not work. Charged battery as instructed and phone would turn on mommentarily. Then it would not power on again. Took battery out and reinserted it ant it turned on again and then when out. Tried new batteries and it did the same thing. Did not want to fool with trying to get another one so we sent it back. All default settings for this phone were all in Spanish!!!! Had to go through and change these. What happened to ENGLISH???

I purchased the base station plus 4 extensions. Unfortunately, my roommate installed it and threw away all the boxes before I came back home. Essentially, two of the extensions had so much static that you cannot even connect to the base station no matter how close you are to it (they say they are "searching". One had a bad static problem where you cannot hear the person at the other end of the line, and the other two headsets varied depending on how far from the base station you were. It is not clear to me whether it is a signal strenth issue, a channel interference issue, a bad headset, or a bad base. Either way, the troubleshooting guide makes no mention of a proper diagnosis of the problem (and of course, no proper solution) and AT&T tech support hasn't claimed that they heard of this problem before. I normally like Panasonic phones and I've tried V-Tech, to my disappointment. I thought I'd try an American design but I guess I just threw away some money.

It rings - I answer it - and I can hear the person on the other end. Heck of a deal.