Customer Reviews

GE 29096GE1 Caller ID Box with Call Waiting Caller ID

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

I bought two of these units in March 2003. I needed "Call Waiting Caller ID" capability and bought these units after an awful experience with Radio Shack's comparable product. I was immediately impressed by how much better these units worked, and indeed they do everything well. They even have a call timer (which I wasn't aware of). The only bad news is that I've had one of them fail. A few weeks ago it started complaining of low batteries, even though I'd put batteries in both units at the same time. Removing the batteries then putting them back in solved the problem for a week or two, but then the problem came back. Finally, the problem came back for good ... even new batteries couldn't solve it. Then the display went nutso, it started displaying the call counter even though the unit wasn't hooked up. It did that even after having no batteries in it for several days (I thought that might reset it). So I've sent the unit back to the company for repair (Texas). We'll see. The other unit continues to work fine. I like this unit well enough that I'm even considering buying a third one for another room ... and keeping my fingers crossed.

We've had this for a couple of months, and so far it's done exactly what it needs to do. Only two things about it are less than perfect: 1) it's hard to see the caller information in low light, and 2) if there are new calls, a little red light continues to blink until you clear them all out. Overall, though, it's doing exactly what we bought it to do, and is a good value for the price.

I needed a caller ID Box for my kithen, since we have gone to a retro corded phone. I reviewed many ID Boxes and found this one at a local "one-stop-shop" store. One viewer said it did not work with DSL, It does. You just need a DSL filter that you can get at any "one-stop-shop" store. It works great so far, easy to set up, and easy to install. The hardest part I had was getting the back off for the batteries....

I bought this for under $10 at Walmart at the suggestion of another reviewer. Unfortunately it tells you the total number of calls stored instead of just displaying the number of new calls received. It would be nice if it had an indicator light for new calls so you would know not to even look at it if the light isn't flashing. A plus is you can dial directly using the caller id instead of punching in the numbers. This comes in handy for long distance calls.

Very nice unit, the only thing that I don't like about it, is that it only takes batteries, you cannot plug it in. Best bet is to put rechargable batteries in it. One other thing that is not mentioned, unless I missed it, is that is has a timer on it, so you know exactly how long you were talking.

I picked my up at WalMart for nine dollars and ninty six cents, cheaper, plus saves you shipping costs.

My only real complaint about this CID unit is the display. Don't be mislead by the picture of the display in the description of the item -- the actual display doesn't have the nice white background. Instead, the background is gray, which means the contrast is not so great. It's certainly usable, but must be viewed at the correct angle, under decent lighting conditions, to be clearly visible. This is only a caveat -- I kept the CID and regularly use it.

This is our first time to have caller ID service with the phone company and what a blessing it has been. The GE caller ID works flawlessly and is very easy to set up and use. The directions are easy to follow and you will be up and running in no time.It times your incoming calls which is useful if you are talking long distance and are concerned about the cost of the call. The provided Flash button is convient if you have call waiting feature and a dial button that you press to return any calls you have missed. Erasing calls is easy and you can do one at a time or all at once. For the money it is a good value.

This box is much better than the GE 29016S one I had previously. The return-call feature is nice, and this unit even has a stand underneath in case you need to view it at a higher angle.

I have had several of these units in the past couple of years. When they work, they work great. However, they fail frequently, often after only a few months of use. I have never had one last much over a year. Many of the problems are the same as some other reviewers have mentioned - unit says low batteries, but a change of battery either doesn't help or only for a short while; hard to change batteries; etc. My current problem is the call waiting function has stopped working, although the caller id for the first call is ok. Unfortunately, I cannot find another model that features the call waiting function.

The unit does not work with DSL. It displays Caller ID information when you are on the line with another caller, but does not display any Caller ID information when you are not on the line.

When I called GE customer service about this problem, they informed me that the unit does not work with DSL.