Customer Reviews

Panasonic KX-TG2553S 2.4 GHz DSS Cordless Phone with Caller ID (Silver)

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

 

 

I have tried several 2.4 GHz phones from other vendors, but this one is the best I have found so far. It provides excellent range and sound quality. The only thing I don't like is the short battery life. The talk-time is only around 4 hours and when in stand-by mode away from the base, the battery life is not much better. I usually need to recharge the battery every day. Other than that an excellent buy.

P.S. The 900 Mhz Digital Spread Spectrum models are just as good, and cheaper...didn't notice a difference in respect to range and sound quality.

We had this phone for a year and used it a LOT. At first it had great distance and clarity, but it soon got worse and worse and the battery life got shorter and shorter. We both work from home and need a clear line, so had to buy a different phone to keep working. For what we paid for this phone, we expected a lot better durability. Also, I agree with the other reviews that complain about the number of "keystrokes" you have to go through to redial or dial a number in memory. Very cumbersome. I believe there are much better models out there for less money.

We've owned the Panasonic KX-TG2553B 2.4GHz DSS Cordless Phone with Caller ID (Black) for two years.
The phone has just enough useful features to make it a good choice for home / small business equipment. It has Caller ID (you need to subscribe, of course), redial, memory of calls received, a "phone book directory" for frequently called numbers, volume control, and the usual features. It also has some features I don't use regularly and forget. One feature it also has and I use ALOT is the hanset finder. You press a button on the base and the handset actually beeps long enough to locate the handset. Some brands tend to beep 5 or 6 times and then stop.
We have a phone company messaging service, so didn't want a phone / answering machine combination.
Most phones on the market seem to have too FEW OR too MANY features. The Panasonic seemed to be as close to perfect in that regard as we could find.
The base takes up little room on our bedroom chest of drawers. The base itself doesn't ring so it is not a nuisance to put in the bedroom. The antenna on the base both pivot for better reception. After two years I can attest that the whole phone is quite durable. The handset has logically placed rubber "bump" pads (on edges and corners) to lessen damage from being dropped
The handset is small and convenient to carry around. But also tends to get misplaced (at least in our house). The read out for incoming calls is backlit and in SOME low lighting situations, very hard to read. That could be somewhat caused by my eyesight, my wife doesn't seem to have a problem. There is a toggle button to navigate through various functions and the menu is convenient and LOGICAL. The number buttons are lit when in use and easy to see and use. The "redial" button is very small, located near the bottom right of the face of the handset.
The antenna on the handset is fixed and quite durable, but seems to have attracted attention as a chew toy from either our son (when he was of teething age), or a pet.

During the two years we've used the phone, we've noticed variable amounts of reception interference. But not any more than several other brands of cordless phones. We have owned and used the product at two different locations (homes) with lots of electronic equipment. The one that has caused the most reception problems has been a electronically controlled ceiling fan in the living room. We have to turn the fan off to use the phone or leave the room. I do suggest experimenting with placing the base in different locations for best reception. It has made a difference. It may speak well (pardon the pun) of the Panasonic that it is still in use while the other brands are gone and been replaced.

We still have the original battery pack in our phone a talk time has definitely decreased between recharging. The display holds any calls that have come in and makes the handset lights blink, which drains the battery quickly.
There seems to be a personal preference factor with regards to size and weight of cordless phone handsets. My wife prefers the full size handset of another brand of cordless phone if she is to be on the phone for any length of time. I prefer the Panasonic compact headset. I'd suggest checking out a few different phones and brands before purchasing.

We checked quite a few brands a liked the Panasonic KX-TG2553B 2.4GHz DSS Cordless Phone with Caller ID (Black).
After two years, I can say we are happy with our purchase.

John Row

When we first got this phone, it was wonderful! It worked fine - had great range, great sound etc. However, after the first month or so - it started having problems. It would say "out of range" even though you were standing right next to the base. Customer service gave some tips but these didn't really work. Ended up returning and getting a replacement (it was still under warranty). The new phone does the exact same thing. Now, the phone does not work at all. Several friends that have the same phone have also experienced this problem and others. I would not recommend this phone.

The phone hasbeen a gem up until now. It is now 9 months old and the battery has gone bad. The big problem is I can't find one anywhere. The manufacturer is back ordered 6 to 8 weeks. Now the phone is useless!!!!!! Buyer beware. I'm going to buy a Sony. Maybe I'll have better luck???????

I've had this phone for about a year. It gets great reception out of the condo building and around the grounds while I'm walking the dog. Built-in voicemail button works well with our telephone company's voicemail service. Plus the user functions are easy to learn.

I haven' t had any of the paint flaking problems that the others have complained about in their review. Plus, I've been able to leave the phone off the charger for up to two days with light talking. In addition, my puppy managed to get to the antennae and chew a bit on the plastic and the phone came through just fine.

Ever since my wife dropped our Sony 49mhz cordless phone on the kitchen floor and shattered it into several chunks, I have been on a quest to replace it with a reliable model. It had great talk time and a clear sound, and that is a hard combo to purchase these days (even from Sony!).

After purchasing several cordless phones since then and being dissappointed with them I decided that my problem was that I was not spending enough money.

So I bit the bullet and spent a lot of money on this phone and was dissappointed. It is already unplugged and sitting in the garage, replaced by a lower priced Uniden.

What didn't I like?

#1 complaint had to do with the talk time. It seemed every time I picked the phone up it was needing recharging.

#2 complaint was an excessive amount of noise that I could not get rid of, no matter if I changed the channels or walked to a different part of the house. It would come and go, in and out, and made the phone unusable.

It could be that my heavy electronic gadget laden house had something to do with it, but I think it had more to do with another feature of the phone: dual communication channels.

Notice the dual antennae on the base station?

That is because what you say is transmitted at 2.4ghz but what you hear is at 900mhz. This occurs simutaneously and is supposed to provide a clearer conversation because the two frequencies do not interfere.

One interesting artifact concerning the range is that when you are far from the base what you can hear begins to drop out before what you are transmitting does.

It does, however, have a long range and I am able to walk up and down the block with the phone and use it (call out and take calls).

I do suspect that the noise had something to do with my house because it was clearer once I was outdoors, but maybe your house has as many speaker wires (and wireless speakers), video transmitters and other gadgets as I do.

I usually have good luck with Panasonic products, but this phone is now unplugged and I have returned back to a Uniden 900mhz that is my favorite phone yet. I may try a *true* 2.4ghz in the future.

My only complaint is that the battery life is very short. We even replaced the battery. The new battery was strong for one day & then reverted to the incredibally short life of the first battery.

This is my second Panasonic 2.4 gig phone & both phones had the same problem. The battery life problems started after the return period. I didn't look into warranty repairs as I hobbled along on the week battery of both phones & made sure to charge at all times except when in use.

When straight out of the cradle I can have as long as one single 1-hour phone call - but with any additional calls, the battery drops the call. It can barely sit out of the charger for one evening (after work & until bed) It absolutely can not sit out over night.

This phone has been great. We've been using it for a year, with no problems. The middle keys (4, 5, and 6) seem to be unusually worn. But that is the only problem we've had.

This phone works great with the telephone company's Message Center.

After several inexpensive cordless phones went by the wayside, I went back to Panasonic,the one phone that has always lasted. I guess I wanted to try the cheaper phones to see if there was a difference, and the answer is a definitive yes!

My favorite feature is the caller ID and message lights that lets me see someone has called without picking up the phone. (We have voicemail through the phone company, so previously we had to pick up the phone to know someone had called.)

We have dropped it several times and have no problems to report. My husband and I both love this phone. This is my first time writing a review and the first product I have felt warranted my time. Past reviews helped me find this phone in the first place, so I figured it was time to give back!