Customer Reviews

Panasonic Dect 6.0 4-Handset Cordless Phone with Answering Machine (KX-TG6434T)

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I have had this system for 2 days and I am so pleased with it.

I bought this system to block collection calls aimed at the
previous owner of our recycled verizon phone number. We have
been baraged with these collection calls with no way other than
changing our phone number to stop them. (I found out that the national
do not call registry doesn't apply to bill collectors!) My wife
didn't want to change our phone number due to the hassle of notifying
everyone and no assurance that the new phone number wouldn't also
have the same problem. I have been looking for a way to block
specific phone numbers on our land line verizon phone, and this
is the ONLY way I have found to do that.

This system allows entry of up to 30 phone numbers to block. The
numbers can be keyed in after entering a code on any of the
4 handsets. The number is then blocked on all the handsets and the
answering machine. Or if I get a call from a number I wish to block
I can navigate to the option to block that number with a few key
strokes. (Naturally you need to have caller id service on your phone
for this feature to recognize the incoming phone numer).

To test the call blocking I blocked my cell phone, and when I called
my main number. I got a single ring, a fast busy for a few seconds and
then a disconnect. On the Panasonic phone I just heard a single ring
and then blessed silence. A few times a day we hear the one ring and
know a call is being blocked. We no longer check the caller id list
to know who called and got blocked - it doesn't matter. No answering
the phone or removing crummy collection messages from the answering
machine. It works !!!

In addition to call blocking, other features I really like is the large print
bright black on white lcd display on the handsets, the ability to mute the ring
on selected handsets (like the one in the bedroom). The ability to mute
the ring on the answering machine (also in the bedroom). The ability to use
any of the 4 handsets to check messages, and to record the answering machine
greeting. The ability to answer a call on more than one handset at the same
time (no more hokey transfering of calls from one handset to another).

This system is heads and shoulders above our last system. The Panasonic
Dect 6 technology is a new generation of features. I know I sound like
a commercial, but I am that pleased. If you check my other reviews and you will
see I tell it like I see it, good or bad.

... added 8/17/09 ...

I forgot to mention another good feature, the answering machine turns off
if I pick up the phone while someone is rcording a message... no more trying
to get the answering machine turned off to avoid feedback, while trying to
take the call.

Regarding the text to speech feature which announces the caller's name
from their caller ID, we don't use it. It is primitive and difficult to
understand but if you needed it you could get used to the voice chip
translation of your caller's name. The reason I don't use it is because
I wanted less disturbance from calls and I found the mangled caller
ID announcement a bit jarring.

In regard to call blocking, it has drastically reduced the annoyance of
the harassing calls we were receiving. The blocked numbers have mostly
stopped calling, and when one company called with a different number,
it only took a few seconds to add that number to the blocked list.

This is our second DECT set and we've been encouraged to get it after a very positive experience with a multiple phone DECT set from another vendor. I've been using the Panasonic for a couple of weeks already. I hope that my experience may help others decide whether this is the set worth buying or they should be looking elsewhere.

So far, the phones operated as expected and they gave me no trouble. The set is expandable to 6 handsets per base (that would be the answering machine) but I had no need to purchase any extras. The answering machine we don't use because our pre-existing DECT set answering machine does everything very well so I won't have much to say about it.


THE BADS

I thought I'd start with the bad issues which are not too many so, if these are disqualifiers you may not want to read much farther.

- The speaker volume is low. This is true for both the phones and the answering machine/base. This probably has some advantages when it comes to battery life (see below) but anyone who must have a loud speaker should be warned that these phones' speakers are anything BUT loud.
- The ring volume is also low. Seriously, anyone who has a hearing problem should NOT buy this set. I do not mind the low ring volume because too loud rings bother me but I am listing this as a negative because some could mind.
- Talking caller ID we don't use it. It's spooky but, to each his/her own, some may appreciate this.
- The design and the colors could be improved - a matter of personal taste.



THE OUTSTANDING

- Call blocking is probably the best feature this phone comes with. I have a number of marketers who insisted on calling us several times per day - there's a loophole in the national 'do not call' prohibition that allows for company who've done business with you are are doing business with you to keep calling for a year or 2 after they had some 'relationship' with you and they are relentless. They also ring only 3 or 4 times and, if you don't answer they stop so they can bother you for free. The call blocking picks up the phone and then hangs up on them. This makes the phone company rich and gives us more peace of mind.
- Silent mode can be set on individual handsets. A light will flash when set to silent.
- Good range - the DECT specs claim 300 feet but, with the base in the basement I had to trouble with 150-200 ft.
- Long battery life. Possibly because of the low-volume, these phones seem to last forever on a charge. I can stay on conference calls, on speaker, for hours.
- Zero interference with my WiFi and Blackberry.



FEATURES

- Black on white display
- Backlit keypad
- Belt clip - my wife loves this more than I do because I tend to be at my desk when I talk on the phone
- Headset jacks on all handsets - another feature that my wife loves
- Speakerphone on all handsets
- Long battery life
- Talking 'low battery' alert
- Pick from a number of set ring tones
- Handset locator
- Talking Caller ID (not impressed)
- 50-number phonebook
- 50-number CallerID recall
- Set phone provider's voicemail number for quick access
- Mute/Hold/Flash (of course)
- Ring volume can be set to High/Mid/Low/Off (high may be too low for some)
- Alarm (talking)
- Silent mode
- Call blocking (see above)
- Intercom
- Conferencing (including between handsets)
- Easy to navigate, simple menus
- Shows date and time


I am overall VERY happy with these phones. The 'low volume' issue does not warrant taking off one star and the same can be said about the 'design' which is a matter of taste but how many of us spend much time staring at their handsets? I would recommend this set. I would not miss the opportunity if it was made available again as a 'deal of the day' or a 'lightning deal'.

___________________________________________

Just in case anyone cares to know what DECT is about.

DECT (Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications) is a relatively new (2005) standard for cordless phones, initially developed in Europe.

Some of the advantages of DECT 6.0 include:

- easier to implement multiple handsets sharing one phone jack connection via one common base (have it on a 5.8 GHz set as well)
- easier to implement intercom features between individual handsets (have it on a 5.8 GHz set as well)
- extended range, up to 300 feet
- low power consumption and, therefore, extended battery life
- better performance in areas experiencing heavy radio traffic
- not affected by Wi-Fi or Bluetooh signals (neither are the 5.8 MHz)

This is a very nice set at an exceptional price. The four handset unit is only slightly more expensive compared to a three unit set...but whether you keep one in storage or use in the garage/elsewhere throuhout the house, the cost can't be beat.

I've owned the Panasoni Dect 6.0 3 unit set that was put out a few years ago and have been happy with it...durable, ergonomic and great sound quality. Recently one unit burned out and since spouse is visually impaired, really wanted to try out this set for the voice - caller ID feature.

This set is also very ergonomic, easy to handle. Buttons are distinctive and the audible caller ID is a great addition. I personally find the voice a bit on the mechanical side but it's a lot better than nothing. Spouse loves it and uses it constantly. I turn it off on my office phone so works well for both of us.

Although all of these Panasonic phones seem to work very well with minimal interference from a household filled with televisions, radio, appliances, computers and much more...this set seems more clear than the prior set.

One downside - the talk-time is less. The former set shows 17 hours whereas this is only about half that. On the other hand, this does live up to the full talk time whereas the former set did not.

Purchased an additional headset to use with belt-clip just as did with old set. These have excellent reception and routinely use both inside or outside when doing chores or other routine tasks. Both speech and hearing remains clear at any location in the yard, garage or house making them highly versatile for both a phone or when used for the intercome feature.

Haven't owned long enough to comment on durability but very pleased with upgraded features and expect the same suprior quality on carry-over features.

I bought these phones to connect to my VOIP provider. I had a set of old Panasonic 2.4GHz phones that I had not used for several years. But I found that I could not use these since they interfered with my wireless network. These are good handsets overall, but I would like better sound quality from them.

Pros:
-Handsets are lightweight, yet still feel well built.
-No interference with 2.4GHz devices
-The screen is large and easy to read
-The Batteries seem to last a long time
-Each set uses two NiMH AAA batteries. The positive terminal on the included batteries has a longer post on the "+" end, so I do not know if standard NiMH AAA batteries will work or not.
-Some people have complained about the menu structure. But I do not find it is overly complicated. I actually find it rather intuitive!
-You can define a timeframe for each handset to not ring. For example, if you do not want the handset in the bedroom to ring past 11:00pm, you can set this.
-Each handset has an alarm function that can be set.
-The phonebook and incoming calls are stored in the base, so each handset has a access to them.
-The clock that is displayed on each handset is synced with the time given by the caller ID data.

Cons:
-Sound quality is not quite as good as a corded phone. (The audio codec that all DECT phones use is G.726.)
-The battery meter is rather inaccurate. (It will show 1 bar and it will be days before I need to recharge.)
-The base has no display, so if you have new messages, you don't know how many just by looking at it.
-If one handset is being used for a conversation, the other handsets cannot access the phonebook.
-Intercom cannot call the base.
-If there are missed calls, the handset display "missed call", but do not state how many calls were missed.
-If you try to charge the AAA batteries in an external battery charger and put them back in the handset, the handset will still issue a low battery warning.

This is a great phone system especially for those of us using VOIP with only phone jack near the cable modem!

This is our second DECT set and we've been encouraged to get it after a very positive experience with a multiple phone DECT set from another vendor. I've been using the Panasonic for a couple of weeks already. I hope that my experience may help others decide whether this is the set worth buying or they should be looking elsewhere.

So far, the phones operated as expected and they gave me no trouble. The set is expandable to 6 handsets per base (that would be the answering machine) but I had no need to purchase any extras. The answering machine we don't use because our pre-existing DECT set answering machine does everything very well so I won't have much to say about it.


THE BADS

I thought I'd start with the bad issues which are not too many so, if these are disqualifiers you may not want to read much farther.

- The speaker volume is low. This is true for both the phones and the answering machine/base. This probably has some advantages when it comes to battery life (see below) but anyone who must have a loud speaker should be warned that these phones' speakers are anything BUT loud.
- The ring volume is also low. Seriously, anyone who has a hearing problem should NOT buy this set. I do not mind the low ring volume because too loud rings bother me but I am listing this as a negative because some could mind.
- Talking caller ID we don't use it. It's spooky but, to each his/her own, some may appreciate this.
- The design and the colors could be improved - a matter of personal taste.



THE OUTSTANDING

- Call blocking is probably the best feature this phone comes with. I have a number of marketers who insisted on calling us several times per day - there's a loophole in the national 'do not call' prohibition that allows for company who've done business with you are are doing business with you to keep calling for a year or 2 after they had some 'relationship' with you and they are relentless. They also ring only 3 or 4 times and, if you don't answer they stop so they can bother you for free. The call blocking picks up the phone and then hangs up on them. This makes the phone company rich and gives us more peace of mind.
- Silent mode can be set on individual handsets. A light will flash when set to silent.
- Good range - the DECT specs claim 300 feet but, with the base in the basement I had to trouble with 150-200 ft.
- Long battery life. Possibly because of the low-volume, these phones seem to last forever on a charge. I can stay on conference calls, on speaker, for hours.
- Zero interference with my WiFi and Blackberry.



FEATURES

- Black on white display
- Backlit keypad
- Belt clip - my wife loves this more than I do because I tend to be at my desk when I talk on the phone
- Headset jacks on all handsets - another feature that my wife loves
- Speakerphone on all handsets
- Long battery life
- Talking 'low battery' alert
- Pick from a number of set ring tones
- Handset locator
- Talking Caller ID (not impressed)
- 50-number phonebook
- 50-number CallerID recall
- Set phone provider's voicemail number for quick access
- Mute/Hold/Flash (of course)
- Ring volume can be set to High/Mid/Low/Off (high may be too low for some)
- Alarm (talking)
- Silent mode
- Call blocking (see above)
- Intercom
- Conferencing (including between handsets)
- Easy to navigate, simple menus
- Shows date and time


I am overall VERY happy with these phones. The 'low volume' issue does not warrant taking off one star and the same can be said about the 'design' which is a matter of taste but how many of us spend much time staring at their handsets? I would recommend this set. I would not miss the opportunity if it was made available again as a 'deal of the day' or a 'lightning deal'.

___________________________________________

Just in case anyone cares to know what DECT is about.

DECT (Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications) is a relatively new (2005) standard for cordless phones, initially developed in Europe.

Some of the advantages of DECT 6.0 include:

- easier to implement multiple handsets sharing one phone jack connection via one common base (have it on a 5.8 GHz set as well)
- easier to implement intercom features between individual handsets (have it on a 5.8 GHz set as well)
- extended range, up to 300 feet
- low power consumption and, therefore, extended battery life
- better performance in areas experiencing heavy radio traffic
- not affected by Wi-Fi or Bluetooh signals (neither are the 5.8 MHz)

good product. easy to use. minor complaint (common with competitors also): no indicator of how many messages in cue. Also when a message has been heard one time, there is no reminder that a message exists so my spouse never sees messages if I have accessed them first!

would likely buy again.

When I started shopping for a new phone system, I really didn't know how many features I actually cared about until I read some reviews. I realized that I do care about things like an intercom, headphone jack, central address book, wall mounts, etc. Here are my pros cons and other thoughts:

Pros:
Small Footprint
Good Range (got good reception 150' away in detached garage, basement, upstairs)
Headphone Jack
Intercom
Belt Clip
Display is big and easy to see
Sound quality is good
Feels solidly built - not flimsy
Uncluttered keypad
Call blocking works well
Phone can remember what area code you're in. This is handy because my old phone would try to dial all digits of caller ID when returning calls, which would give the "It is not necessary to dial a 1..." message. No more writing the number down in order to call local people back.
Central Phonebook (also many settings made at one handset instantly apply to all handsets).
Wall mountable (main unit and also the handset chargers)
All buttons are illuminated

Cons:
Intercom feature is a bit cumbersome - I miss my vtech dedicated button for this. With this set you have to go into the menu to get to the intercom, then specify which handset to call.
Unable to "name" the handsets - I have to remember that handset 2 is the kitchen, 4 is the garage, etc. My old Vtech system let you assign a name for each handset.
Volume (for both ringer and earpiece/speakerphone) seems just barely adequate. Highest setting seems more like medium on other brands.
Recessed buttons for menu navigation take a little getting used
Talking Caller ID - kind of creepy sounding - turned it off
No answering machine display on the base unit - I can live with this as you can see how many messages you have from the handsets.

Neutral:
Batteries are your garden variety rechargeable AAA size. While it is nice in case I need to replace them in the future, I could also see my kids looting the batteries from these phones for their MP3 players and such. Could become an issue.

Overall I think the pros make this phone system just what I was looking for and I can live with the few cons I found, so I'll be keeping this. It's a great system for the money.

Man oh man this is a great system. I've been struggling with a Vtech I bought at Sams for several years. If I had known how much better this system is I would have bought it long ago. It uses rechargeable regular size batteries versus me having to go to some special battery store. I can block callers and they get a fast busy. I can push a button and return a call - sounds elementary but the "1" was never on the Vtech and I couldn't figure out how to change it so I never could return calls. Likely the Vtech was a pretty good phone but not user friendly for me. This system is very user friendly. My callers tell me the sound is very clear. It came with the answering system and 4 phones for a very reasonable price. You can't go wrong with this one in my opinion!

The phone is easy to set up and start using. Sound quality is good
and I've used it outside with no problem. The only complaint I have is
the message light is very small and you have to walk up to the phone to
see it. Also, it's yellow and not red, so it doesn't show up from
across the room well.

I bought these phones to replace 2 older cordless phones of different brands and relied upon user reviews of the panasonics. After going to a big box store and getting them in my hand I settled on this model. Got them home, set them up and found it easy to do.. Had a problem though.. turns out when I went to use one of the handsets a few hours later... it doesn't work.. make that the earpiece didn't work. Handset display worked and the speakerphone worked but not the earpiece..

As I'd just come to like this set the thought of packing it all back up again (how do they get all of those pieces in the box lilke that??!)and then waiting weeks for the items to go back and forth ticked me off. However.. on the Amazon site I processed the return and they'll exchange them.. I filed this on a Thursday and they told they'd ship out the new ones and I had 30 days to get the defective set back to them... The next day.. the new ones arrived. Amazing service from Amazon!! yes they also issued me a credit for the cost of shipping back the defective ones!

As for the phones.. I'm happy to report they work great and I love them.. They didn't get 4 stars in all areas because the following is needed to make them "perfect": Can we please get an indicator on the base to tell us how many messages there are and if they are new or old??? Ringer volume... these have silent mode that allows to program what times of day you want them to ring or not. great... however, Can't I just turn off the volume... when I want to without "programming it". Well I can.. but please.. make it easier.. why are there 3 menu steps just to get to the ringer volume..

All in all a great value for a good system..