Customer Reviews

Panasonic KX-TG5438F 5.8 GHz FHSS GigaRange Shock and Splash Resistant Digital Cordless Answering System

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

 

 

I received the phone yesterday and have been playing with it for a day. It looks nice and has good handset speakerphone/microphone sound. However, the answering machine quality is poor. The sound quality from both the speakerphone and the microphone on the base for the answering machine are unsatisfactory. Another annoyance is if a power failure occurs, the date and time need to be reset, although messages are not lost.

Pros:

1)The phone looks good, takes up very little space on the counter.

2)We use the intercom very little, but it is pretty straightforward.

3)We can get clear signal all over our single level home and outside as we take out the trash.

4)The voice mail interface is nice, because it is easy to delete, repeat and stop messages.

5)The automated message doesn't play, but you can hear the person leaving the message, so you can screen calls.

6)You can also hear messages from the handset itself.

7)This phone is very good at detecting and not saving false messages, like when a caller hangs up before the message ends. Our last phone was a Sony, and we would have 2 messages every day that were just disconnect tones.

Cons:

1) the ring tones are abrasive electronic beeps or annoying melodies that are too soft to hear. I would prefer something like a regular phone ring, or least not a bad (BAD!!!) MIDI rendition of Beethoven's 5th symphony.

2) when you are looking for numbers on the handset's caller ID, The screen first gives you the name of the caller, and you have to wait for 10 seconds for a number to come up. This is annoying because a lot of people come up as "Private Caller", and you are waiting for the number, and there is no way to speed this along.

***Best Feature***

What we absolutely love is the voice changer. This is awesome for messing with telemarketers or pranking friends and family. You have a high pitch, silly voice, and deep voice. We are yet to tire of this. When you get the telemarketer to hang up on you, you have WON!!!

This is my 2nd phone from Panasonic. My previous one was from GE and it was nightmare. OK, anyway, this feedback isn't for GE but for this Panasonic phone. People complained about battery life - not an issue for me. I keep my phone away from the base for 4 days with no problem (knock on wood). And I did perform massive voice mail check up to make sure no messages are skipped. Every single message was there and there's no problem with the mic on my phone also. I really hope I won't run in to any future problems because I always liked Panasonic. The only con is that this phone isn't expandable .... but who cares :)

I bought this phone on Wednesday and used it for about three days. During my testing, the first problem I noted was that it randomly did not save messages on the answering machine. On the first day I twice called while I was away and left myself messages in order to test the answering machine. When I got home I only had one of the messages. On the second day I called twice again thinking maybe I had done something wrong or that if a message was too short it didn't keep it. When I got home I had both of my messages and one from UPS so I thought I was golden. However, later in the evening I found out that my girlfriend had called, heard my greeting and the beep, and left a message, but it was nowhere to be found on the machine. Basically, the same thing that happened with my message the first day.

Okay, so the above problem is bad but I was willing to believe it was just a faulty unit and return it for another of the same model. However this phone suffers from another problem which I believe is probably part of the design and to which I refered in my subject. While I can hear the caller fine and messages that make it to the answering machine are clear and loud; the person I'm talking to can barely hear me. After having several people tell me that I sat down for two hours fiddling with the settings and calling my work voicemail to test. Nothing worked, not holding the phone's mic closer or further from my mouth, not any of the volume settings, not moving closer or further from the set, and not going to a quieter room in the house.

Since I doubt a different set would fix this problem I am going to take the phone back and get something else. I'd recommend people stay away from this phone.

the main problem with this phone it's the range. Mine has a range of like 45 feet. It has so many cool function of wich like 80% are totally use less. So this phone is more like a toy phone. Wish you luck if you buy it.

Have to agree with #5 who said earlier the microphone pickup is bad. We've used this phone for 6 months now and most people ask us to speak up or tell us later they have a hard time hearing us. I have even taken the phone apart and removed a small screen that cover the microphone hole, but it doesn't seem to help. There doesn't seem to be any settings to help either. SO, in summary a nice looking phone, great featureset but LOUSY microphone pickup.

After struggling with many other cheap wireless phones that have static, channel problems, and poor sound quality, i took a risk and tried this one. It works great!

The sound quality is very good, it even provides a voice enhancer mode. I do not hear static fuzz or fiss.

The voice changer is also very fun to call your friends and play jokes on them. The phone is of solid construction and is ergonomic except maybe it has a few too many buttons. I've never had a problem with the answering machine like other people have had, but who knows if it was just luck?

Good solid phone. Great range and the answering machine has been a great upgrade. I have an older model Panasonic phone that is about 6-7 years old and still works great. I got this in the event the older one gives out. The shock resistance is one of the main reasons I purchased this style, but I am very happy with all the other added features I do not have on my older phone.

this is my 2nd one I purchased. One for my primary residence and one for summer home. Phone works great. no complaints and good reception.

We have had this phone for 18 months. The sound is great the callers can hear us and we can hear our callers. The previous people that said the sound was lousy must not know how to set the volumn or they had faulty phones. We have gone downstairs and outside,we have an acre and can easliy roam most of the yard while talking. Noone has said they can not hear us. Even my 97 year old mother in law can be heard and better yet she can hear the callers with this phone. The speaker phone is great and I have even used it with a headset without issue. The ring tone is loud enough to hear it ringing 3 rooms away. I like the different ring tones. We have a different ring for my family and friemds so we know who is ringing by the melody or ring. I love the way you can get the messages from the handset and do not have to stand by the main unit. This phone is the greatest. I am about to purchase two more. One for our other line and one for my parents. 10 stars for this phone