Customer Reviews

Panasonic KX-TG6583T DECT 6.0 PLUS Link-to-Cell Bluetooth Cordless Phone Solution with 3 Handsets

5 star:		(46)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This unit has every-single-feature-you-could-use, and more.

You don't need the phone company to block numbers, this machine does it for you, along with pairing up TWO cell's that have Bluetooth and your cordless Bluetooth earphone! Just pair your cell and you can transfer the directory from it to this unit's directory...a great feature, along with being able to answer your cell from any handset in the house. Panasonic doesn't bundle this unit in larger than three handsets, so at this price. I bought two, which is cheaper than buying two extra handsets separately, at most stores, as they are charging $120+ for the set, and I bought mine at Target for $80.00!

I have used this unit three months now without one complaint. Why not get all technologies rolled into one, and have the convenience of the extra cell line to use when somoene else has your main line tied up? The distance is great, I have used this system in city and country, and you can even get an extender from Panasonic, but this phone with DECT Plus covers the two acres I live on just fine.

Here are the advantages of this unit, some of them already noted by others,IMO:

1. The handsets have a jack for wired headsets.
2. There is a keypad and speakerphone in the base, so it functions as a fourth phone.
3. The interface with your providers voicemail (the voicemail service I use is from Vonage) is more comprehensive and easier to use than what you get from Vtech, Uniden or AT&T. For example, a light flashes when I have a message and the alert disappears automatically when I've heard all the messages. The VTech required you to go through a process to erase the alert after you've heard your messages.
4. The Bluetooth connection is like a microwave. Once you use it, you won't ever want to go without. You can even pair this unit with your wireless Bluetooth headset!
5. Call block. Get a call from a number you don't want to hear from again? Panasonic handles that! You merely save that number to your blocked list, and forever after anyone calling from that number gets a "busy" signal. No need to pay extra for that service from your provider.
6. It will transfer your cell's phone book to this unit easily!
7. The range is outstanding. I live on 2+ acres, and have never encountered a dead spot or fading.
8. Plug the units base into your UPS that you have for your computer, and it will never be without service in a power outage.
9. You can push a button when on a call, and lock-out other extensions from listening in on your call.
10. The talking caller ID is great when you are busy in the kitchen or working on a project.
11. The answering machine, for those of you who still use them instead of voice mail, has the longest recording time out there, 18 minutes.

I saw that Consumer Reports recommended the AT&T, and I previously had one of theirs and was happy with it. However their reviews were done a year before this unit came to market in 2010, and given the Bluetooth edge, this is the best cordless phone for your money.

I use this unit in cell line only mode - I do not have a land line connected.

The Panasonic KX-TG6583T works as advertised with my LG-Env2 except for the following issues:

1) When I return from being in my car (where the phone is paired with a bluetooth handset), it won't automatically connect to the base. I simply shut off the phone and turn it back on and it connects every time. I can live with this.

2) The major issue is that when making calls through my cell phone using the handset, the keys will not pass tones through the cell phone to the call recipient. I cannot check my cell voicemail using the handset or use any other system that requires key presses. I can press any key on the handset and no tone is produced. I see the number I press on the handset register on the display of the cell phone, but for some reason the tone functionality of the handset is turned off using link to cell. It could be an incompatibility with my particular cell phone. The only solution is to make key presses on the cell phone itself. This works if I am near the base unit where the cell phone is stationed. However if I am anywhere else, I am out of luck. Tech support was no help.

Other limitations to be aware of:
* Only one cell line can be active at a time. You can answer a call coming in on the 2nd cell phone itself. But you must have the cell phone ringer on or you won't hear the call coming in.
* The answering machine will not pick up calls from a cell call.
* Searching / scrolling through the contacts seems archaic compared to a cell phone interface.
* Only one bluetooth connection (cell phone or headset) can work at a time. You can't use both a bluetooth headset and link to cell at the same time.

If the tones would work with link to cell I could give it 4 stars. I have ordered a Droid X and will update the review with results.

I read reviews mainly to find out what doesn't work. However, after all the negatives stated, I do recommend this phone and I've had good experiences with past Panasonic cordless phones. How well it works for you will be a matter of compatibility with your particular cell. Otherwise, features and sound quality appear to be very good for a cordless phone - but I wonder at all the technology in cell phones that seem to bypass the cordless market (e.g. contact management). It all comes down to price and the cost of cell phones are subsidized by the cell service contracts. So it seems we can't get an advanced user interface on a desktop system.

On the plus side, it uses triple A Ni-MH rechargeable batteries. This means I will not have to throw the unit out due to the high cost of replacement batteries in the future.

I have not used the answering phone feature as it only works with a land line.

Has anyone else used this unit with an LG-Env2 with success? I'm hoping I have a defective unit and can replace it.

The Panasonic KX-TG6583T DECT 6.0 PLUS Link-to-Cell Bluetooth takes care of a need for convenience & being connected. I carry my cell phone when I am out, but usually set it down somewhere when I'm home. Then when it rings, I would make a mad dash for it before it would go to voice mail, because it's never in the same room that I am. But No More! This system uses Bluetooth to wirelessly connect to your cell phone, & make answering a cell call as easy as the closest handset. There is a slight delay when it connects, but the sound quality is great. This phone has many other great features such as being able to send your cell phone directory to the system, & then it shows up on all the handsets. In addition, you also have a base unit that can be used as a speakerphone, & lets you know if any of up to 2 cell phones are linked to the system. I am very glad I spent a little more, & got such a usable device.

This is a wonderful phone solution for your entire home. I replaced an older model Panasonic set (5.8GHz) that I loved, so at first I was apprehensive that this set would win me over. I'm happy to report I was wrong! Features I like about this phone set include:

TALKING CALLER ID: This kicks in on the 2nd ring and is great when your hands are too dirty to pick up the phone or when you're listening from another room

BLUETOOTH: You can use the handsets to make and receive calls on up to two cell phones via Bluetooth. I got this feature setup quickly and it works great.

SHARED PHONEBOOK: A shared phone book between handsets; FINALLY, it was so annoying keeping my old handsets in sync with new names and numbers!

TIME, DATE and ALARM: Time, date and alarm in each handset; This is handy if you go outside with them.

GREAT RANGE: DECT 6.0. I walked down the street to my mailbox (approximately 6 houses away) and was still getting great quality.

STANDARD BATTERIES: These just use regular AAA rechargable batteries. This makes for some great battery life and I can also replace them when I want without searching for an obscure proprietary battery models.

HEADSET JACK and BELT CLIP: These are a must if you're on the phone a lot.

SPEAKERPHONE in the HANDSET: Great feature that I can't live without; a lot of Panasonic phones have this and it's become a standard feature.

MUTE BUTTON: Some cheaper phones don't have this feature! I'm in meeting a lot throughout the day, so this is a MUST.

Overall, this would be a great phone set to try if you are looking for a new set of phones for your home. The features and price are hard to beat!

I've considered dumping my landline on and off for the past couple of years. Whether or not I keep it, this phone is great! I easily imported my iPhone contacts via Bluetooth (I didn't even REALIZE my iPhone had bluetooth, but you can find it under Settings) - only downside is that it can take a couple of minutes if you have a large number of contacts on your phone.

You can also set it up to ring when someone calls your cell. This is a genius feature: how many times have you heard your cell ring, only to be unable to find it in some random pants pocket upstairs? Or, if your cell is on one floor and you're doing something somewhere else, you might be more likely to have a handset nearby than to have your cell handy. If you set this up, you can choose to have one or all of the handsets ring when someone calls your cell.

Oh, and the sound quality/features are pretty spiffy for landline users, too :-) The phone doesn't get as hot as an older model Panasonic that I had before. And if you wear makeup, you don't have to worry about the phone getting discolored after a few uses (if you get the white model) because the hard plastic buttons are FAR better than the silicone-like ones on my old model. If you wear makeup, you can BET that the old phone would get discolored after repeated uses, and I was never quite able to get my white phone back to its original color. This new model, however, wipes off easily if anything gets on it. The buttons are also a bit bigger (as are the labels) so that might be helpful for some.

The phone speaks the name on the caller ID when the phone rings, so if you hear something like "CONSUMER RESEARCH!", you don't even have to get up off the couch. Great way to avoid telemarketers without actually having to walk over to the display. You're also able to add numbers to a list of blocked callers, so if you get a call from some telemarketer, not only can you decide to just ignore it much more easily than before, but now it's a snap to also block the number so you never have to hear from them again. This phone is a lifesaver - I am shocked it took so long to get some of these features because now that I have them, I feel like I couldn't live without them.

We've had this phone system about a month & we really like it. Our primary reason for purchasing this phone was 1)having a phone with a programmable 'silent' mode & 2) cutting down on unwanted phone calls with the 'call block' option.

Things we like about the phone:
- Call Block option. Basically, once you identify a caller you would rather not talk to, you can program the phone to block their next call. The next time they call, your phone receives one ring and then your ringer goes silent as the unwanted caller receives a busy signal. We have multiple telemarketers calling each day to sell HVAC, carpet cleaning, you name it. Despite our efforts to be registered on a national 'no call' list and asking them to remove us from their call lists, they still call at every hour/every day. This phone solves that issue.

-The cell phone convergence option. Easy to set up and now my incoming cell calls come through the land line via bluetooth. Outgoing long distance calls via cell line are an option as well.

-Silent Mode. Each handset can be programmed to be silent during certain hours of the day. This works especially for our child's regular nap times.

-Ability to transfer cell phone contacts to your cordless phone's 'phone book'

Things that Panasonic Can work on, small quips really:
-It would be nice if call block did not ring even once prior to blocking the call

-Available ringers. Its possible that I have yet to figure out the phone entirely but, I have not been able to find a ringer besides the default one. If they are available, the instruction manual should (it does not)have an index to find such an option.

-Cell phone convergence marginally improves cell reception. Where we live, our cell phone carrier reception is terrible. I had wished that the convergence option was a magic bullet per se.

-Silent mode. Again, I might need to read the manual more but, believe the actual base will ring regardless of the handsets being silent. Make sure to set up your base somewhere away from the area in need of silence.

Despite some minor quips, this phone works as advertised. I'd purchase it again and gladly pay full retail.

This is to replace a 5 yr old phone system that was also panasonic. While there's nothing wrong with the old system, I've had to replace one of the handsets battery 2 times over the years but that's about all. This new version has quite a few great things about it. First is that the number buttons light up! Yes, finally a phone that light up the keys. That was one of my biggest peeves about the older model. I'm also excited about the Bluetooth feature that lets you make and receive calls from your cell phone thru the handset. It has all the usual features like caller id and call waiting caller id with name and number. The lcd is nice and clear with big letters. It also has talking caller id so you can hear who's calling especially if you don't want to get up and get the phone.

Sound is nice and clear on the phone which is another reason I like the Panasonic brand. this model is supposed to have an extended range so you can take the phone outside without getting disconnected. I can walk to my mail box with no issues but had no issues with the older one either but its good to know its just as good with range. They colored the on/off buttons to look like a cell phones with the red and green symbols. I'm sure this system will last just as long or even longer then my current one has. Oh and one more thing, this system can be expanded up to 6 handsets. This one comes with three but I use 4 so I will purchase an additional set.

Panasonic is back on top - this phone is great. The only reason I thought about not giving it a perfect rating is that the call block feature, although a wonderful feature, isn't perfect. The phone still rings once while the system analyzes the call to see if it should be blocked then stops the call. It would be great to be able to completely block calls so the phone doesn't ring at all.
Still, this is the best phone I have ever owned. I love the feature set - the Bluetooth cell phone connection works great and syncing phone books from my cell phone to this phone was very helpful. The talking caller ID and CID history is way above average.
I will come back after I have owned this phone for a while to comment on longevity.
Update: it's been a year and a half and these phones are absolutely fantastic.

In my opinion, this product has three substantive advantages over the comparable VTech product.
1. The handsets have jacks for wired headsets.
2. There is a keypad and speakerphone in the base, so it functions as a fourth phone.
3. The interface with Call Notes (the voicemail service I get from AT&T) is far more elegant and comprehensive than what was available with VTech. For example, a light flashes when I have a message and the alert disappears automatically when I've heard all the messages. The VTech required you to go through a process to erase the alert after you've heard your messages.
Overall, I am very happy with this product. Pairing with my iPhone proved easy and I haven't yet run across any problems. I haven't tried paring with a bluetooth headset because I don't have confidence in the sound quality.

I got the Panasonic KX-TG6583T cordless phone system as an upgrade over my previous system Vtech DECT 6.0 Expandable 2-Handset Cordless Phone System with Digital Answering Device and Caller ID (CS6229-2) (see my review). These are the features that mattered to me:

* DECT 6.0 Plus - to avoid interference with wireless internet
* Handset usability
* Easy to use answering machine
* Able to use multiple handsets on the same call
* Bluetooth

The call quality on the Panasonic unit matches that of the Vtech system, and that is actually quite a compliment. It also has no problems with the third handset being upstairs at the opposite end of the house from the base unit.

The handsets on the Panasonic unit are very easy to use. It essentially has the same layout as the Vtech system with two additions. It has a four-way navigation button rather than the two up and down buttons. The left and right buttons serve as shortcuts when using the menu to travel up and down the different levels rather than having to use the "Menu" button. Which leads to the other addition - the three buttons just below the display that are context specific. These serve as shortcuts or entry points into the menu. The main place that this stands out is when switching between landline and cell linkage through Bluetooth - more on this later.

The answering machine is a breeze on the Panasonic system. Like the Vtech it features setup from the handset rather than the base unit. The menu system follows the late `90s early `00s non-smart phone style of navigation. For playback from the handset you have the option to listen to only new or all messages.

As I mentioned in my review of the Vtech system, I had problems in the past when wanting to have more than more handset on the same call. The Panasonic unit achieves this by allowing either two handsets or one handset and the base unit on speakerphone. I don't need this often, but I want to work on those rare occasions.

So far, there doesn't seem to be much to differentiate the Panasonic system from the Vtech other than a few more advanced features on the handsets. However, what the Panasonic adds is Bluetooth support. The results of the Bluetooth functionality were mixed. As a test I set the system up initially in "cell only" mode using my wife's phone. The idea was to make her phone more ubiquitous in the house since she doesn't carry it with her (whereas I were my on my belt). However, the automatic Bluetooth connectivity was spotty. On multiple occasions my wife reported that she could hear callers but they could not hear her. I tried wiping the configuration on both her LG VX-9100 and the Panasonic system to no avail.

Abandoning this scheme I set the Panasonic up with the landline and then paired it with my BlackBerry Curve 8330 (see my review). I chose not to auto connect since it didn't work well, and I didn't really need this. I essentially use the Panasonic system as an on-demand uber-Bluetooth headset. I set up the Panasonic so that the handsets have different ringtones for landline vs. cell calls. I had no problems making or receiving calls. The automatic transfer of my phonebook from my BlackBerry to the Panasonic didn't work out because entries containing an e-mail address or other non-phone number information will not transfer. I was a little disappointed that the transfer aborts after encountering a problem rather than skipping the entry it cannot process and continuing. This would be a nice enhancement to add.

I did not try a Bluetooth headset with the Panasonic unit since I'm essentially using it as a quasi-headset as it is. The other main feature I did not test was linking to a voicemail system for landlines as I do not have one.

Overall, I would consider the Panasonic KX-TG6583T a very solid phone system for home use with a landline. It's easy to use, has great range, and it adds Bluetooth for a convergent solution that integrates with your cell phone. The only caution I would give is for the "cell only" mode. Otherwise I was very pleased with it. If you have any questions that I have not addressed, please feel free to ask below in the comments.