Customer Reviews

Panasonic KX-TG6700B 5.8 Ghz Cordless Phone Two-line Expandable Phone System

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I am an industrial designer, so I look pretty closely at features and design. I bought a 5.8 GHz phone because one of the other users has a very minor hearing impairment, and I was told that a 5.8 GHz will deliver the "best sound". I wanted cordless because I didn't want to be tethered during long calls.
First, the handset volume, at max., is not very loud, even for me. It is clear, but the handset volume is the most disappointing feature of this phone.
Secondly, these days, one is frequently placed on hold after making a call. I'm used to placing the phone back in a cradle or in the base station when this happens and placing the call on Speakerphone, so that the handset can recharge while I'm waiting. Panasonic tells me there's no way to do that without disconnecting the call. It can be left on handset Speakerphone, but not returned to the cradle for re-charging without disconnecting the call.
Thirdly, I was surprised at how small the phone and handsets actually are. There's certainly less to cradle in one's shoulder.
Finally, the silver coating on the round button with the arrows pointing if 4 directions is already chipped on the edge. Doesn't portend well for how that coating will hold up.
This is far from being an excellent product! I am tempted to return it, but I don't see another 5.8 GHz product that has received wonderful reviews.

Having just bought and installed the TG6700B after hours of research, I thought my preliminary take might be helpful to others.

Where I'm coming from: I've owned cordless phones almost as long as they've been around. I was looking to replace a VTech model, bought just a few months ago, that truly sucks.

My needs: are pretty basic. Two-line service plus an answering machine, two extensions. I don't use Caller ID, Conference Calling, Call Waiting or any of the dozens of other advanced features of modern telecommunications, and I'm too polite ever to put someone on hold to answer the other line!

In the past, I've always met my needs with a three-box solution: two separate cordless phone systems plus a dedicated A/M. The TG6700B is what you might call a 1 1/2-box solution: a main base unit and A/M in one under its own handset, plus an extension handset that relies on the same base unit. I had reservations about going with an expandable system: I was afraid the integral A/M would be second-rate compared to a dedicated machine, and I was worried that the extension handset, not having its own hardwired connection to the phone lines but relying on the radio signal from the main base quite a distance away, wouldn't work well.

I didn't even know there were expandable systems until I did this research. I learned that there isn't a huge choice, these days, in 2-line cordless phones -- less choice than ever, it seems to me -- and that there isn't any one system that users are wildly enthusiastic about. I also discovered that RCA has just launched the first 2-line DECT phone, but I didn't consider it for long -- I'm not convinced DECT is the answer to cordless prayers that it's hyped to be. I know that, in countries that have had DECT a while, health concerns are beginning to emerge regarding the technology; I also know that the sound quality, incoming and outgoing, of the DECT phone my mom has had for a year or so is horrible.

In the end I went for the TG6700B because it seemed, overall, to be earning better online user reviews than most other models. Also, I've owned Panasonics in the past and found them reliable.

The TG6700B has a sleek, compact design and a digital A/M with 60 minutes of recording time, which is pretty much state-of-the-art. The A/M does NOT have multiple mailboxes. A year ago, when I bought my last A/M, I would have considered that a big disadvantage -- I live in a 3-person household, and also work from home. But in fact we'd found that most callers didn't understand -- or were too lazy to use -- the discrete mailboxes we'd set up on our AT&T machine, and that it was no big deal for any of us either way.

What the TG6700B DOES have is a sound quality that is the best I've ever experienced, both on the A/M (incoming messages and the computer-voice instructions) and on the handsets -- even the extension handset, which is parked on a different floor and about 30 feet away from the main base, and is typically 40-45 feet away from the main base in use. Assuming that holds up, it makes the TG6700B a winner in my book.

Finally, a few words about the typical criticisms of the TG6700B you'll find on the web:

"You can't turn the handset volume up high enough": I've had no trouble hearing callers at the default volume (i.e. without turning it up at all). Maybe the critics have hearing difficulties.

"The construction is cheesy": It's true that the base and handsets are compact compared to earlier cordless phones -- that's the trend in consumer electronics. But they're not unattractive, and they don't seem to me to be particularly fragile or prone to breaking. I have no trouble working the buttons on the handset, and no one has ever accused me of having dainty fingers.

"Setup could be easier": Perhaps. I can't speak about setting up the bells-and-whistles features; as I've said, I don't use them. There are one or two ways basic setup could be more user-friendly, but in the end the difference is between spending 5 minutes and 10 minutes on a onetime activity.

"The user manual needs improving": True. I had a problem with one setup issue, and couldn't find the solution either in the manual or on Panasonic's website. Had to call tech support. But I got a toll-free agent quickly, and she solved the problem inside of a minute.

"The handset is too small to hold between shoulder and ear for hands-free use": Maybe so. As someone who has never been big on getting cricks in the neck, I prefer to hold my handsets in my hands. This one does fit comfortably in the hand.

All in all, I'm very happy so far. I'd be surprised if there was a better 2-line cordless on the market. And particularly if you need more than one extension...

I am looking for a system to replace a Siemens 8825.
The 8825 has, in my opinion, the best set of functions of anything
currently available but I have some reliability issues with it. I first tried the Motorola 7081 and found that unsatisfactory.
My next attempt was the Panasonic KX-TG6700B. This phone has decent volume and clarity at the base. The handset has good clarity and range but the volume could use a little help. The base layout is ok but the way you turn on the answering machine at the base is silly. The handset feels light and chintzy. The clarity of the outgoing messages on the answering machine is poor. The base is ugly; what were they thinking?
Anyway, it ok, not wonderful. But since I couldn't get the answering machine to save messages on either line (it's defective) I sent it back. Back to the drawing board.

Cr*ptastic!

I have had good luck with prior Panasonic phones, both corded and cordless. Unfortunately, I am now very frustrated with this unit and Panasonic's tech support.

First, the design flaw. I have four other phones/devices in my house that accurately read and display CallerID information. This unit refuses to display the CallerID information at all. The cause is likely the DSL that is also part of this line. Despite having the DSL filter in-line, as recommended in the manual, this phone just fails to display the info...even at the same time other phones are happily displaying CallerID during the same call!

Next, the UI stinks. Why, if the phone correctly gets time from CallerID data, doesn't the system set its own clock automatically? Dumb. My 4-year old AT&T phone does... Also, when idle, the handset displays the # of missed calls. Why not display a clock as well? ...again, my older AT&T and Panasonic phones do.

On one line and want to answer the other when it rings? Press HOLD *twice* (page 27 of the manual). What? That makes no sense!

I wish I hadn't thrown out the boxes when I first got this. I'd return it in a heartbeat...

Finally, when I called Panasonic to report the CallerID flaw, they wanted me to send the base unit to them *at my expense* after just 5 days of ownership. They would send me a refurbished unit 5-10 days later. No exceptions. What a joke!

Overall I find this phone works well. The progamming features are easy to understand and impliment, the voice clarity is great but... If you live in old style construction as I do where walls are plaster and lathe, not sheetrock, the signal from handset to base does not carry very well. I have 3 extra hansets of which 2 work exceptionally. This includes the phone that is part of the base unti. The one in my bedroom that is some 20 feet away but with 2 walls in between has an issue with humming and crackling call quality. True, my 3 computers are in the same room but this phone operating on the 5.8 giga hertz band should not cause interference or be subject to interference. I can only conclude ( perhaps the right word is guess) that the wall materials are such that they block effective transmission of voice and cuase amibent intererence on the line. Mind you, this is not true all the time.. only some of the time. My extension that is situated some 45 feet away in the pantry is clear as a bell until I turn a corner into the kitchen about 4 feet further on. At this point I loose the call altogether. I am not going to pan this product based on the construction quality of my apartment . I am sure this phone will work just as advertised in most situations.

I was very scared to purchase this phone after reading some of the reviews. However, I needed a new phone system.

When I set up the original phone system and the extra handset, I found it to be an excellent product. I have had no problems with the phone. The sound quality is excellent. The portability is excellent, and I have no problem with static anywhere in my home, and I have a lot of walls. Phone is easy to work. The digital recorder works well, and it's easy to listen to messages from the base or any handset. The speakerphone works well on both the base and the handsets.

I absolutely have NO complaints with this phone system and extra handset. I will probably buy a few more handsets, since I have teenagers in the home. Handsets are numbered and cannot be named. But, since I only have a total of two handsets, it is not hard to remember which number I need when paging. Yes, it would be nice to name the handsets, but not really necessary.

Overall, this is a great product!!!!

Finally a 2-line phone that has most of the features I've wanted: Cordless, good sound, answering machine, easy set-up, intuitive features, no big antenna on each handset, and good mobile range. I'm quite happy with it and only have a few gripes: the lighted display on the handsets is hard for me to read and it doesn't stay lighted long enough; the Line1/Line2 buttons are recessed and hard to push unless you have very small fingers; no voicemail boxes. Overall, this is quite a good phone system.

This is nice phone and apparently an improvement over their last gen unit (they've added more phone expansion capability and the interface is easier). It does alot for the money and is the best made and most full function phone for its price-point. I checked into many others and there seemed to be too many caveats with them for my taste. This phone fits the bill. It was just a few quirks that kept me from rating it a 5:
1)The phonebook cannot be copied to the base station, but only to another handset (the base station itself does not have a phonebook-not great if you use the base speakerphone alot, as I do);.
2)The ability to switch from handset to base speaker phone (or visa-versa) or switch to calls coming in on the other line is clugey and invites mistakes which may cause losing one or both calls. You can do this, but it takes some practice and is not very intuitive.
3)The unit does not have a backlight on the message counter/base display, which would have been nice.
4)Does not indicate which line a message came in on, only that you've got one and it does not allow you to play messages from only that line (I guess this is the notorious "lack of separate mailboxes" everyone mentions), though it does have different outgoing messages for each line.
5)A word of warning to those using a fax machine hooked to a combined (4-wire) line: the fax will not work on a dual line, only single. I verfied this after finally taking a line from a single outlet and hooking up the my multi-fax machine. It worked fine. Use separate lines if you have a fax.

Overall a good phone. Great for a home business/dual line use. I plan to purchase one or two xpansion handsets for the other rooms in my house. I'm looking forward to using the intercom/paging function (less yelling!).

I've had this phone over a year now. It was always hard to balance between one's shoulder and ear because of the strange shape. The reception was good but I use it as a netphone and had some problems with the being able to hear people but they couldn't hear me. That was when I knew my connection wasn't so good so in fairness I don't know if it was the phone or the connection. But what turned me off big time because I have to dial long winded, long distance numbers, is that when you dial the same number twice in a row, the person or computer on the other line receiving the number thinks it is one number, not two. So, for example, if you dial 1,1 or 2,2 or 3,3 you have to pause distinctly between dialing and be careful of that all the time. If I speed-dial it's not a problem, but if I manual dial, it is a problem. A phone this expensive shouldn't have a problem like that. Then, just in the past few days the base station buttons stopped working! First the review message button...the circular one with the light...didn't work so I had to use the handset to review messages and now ALL the buttons on the base station do not work whereas the handset buttons still work. I had a panasonic 900MHz phone before this for 4 or 5 years and it's sound quality was better than this. Yes the recording playback quality of this is very good but I am really disappointed that this phone has failed after about 14 months. The buttons are good, however and show no wear after this time in the symbols. But ergonomically and the two digit glitch along with the base-station crapping out on me is surprising for a phone of this caliber.

Panasonic downsized the regular 5.8 ghz phone, and the Battery is Smaller. Range is not as good as the larger 5.8ghz but is ok sound is ok but not excellent. Big problem is that phone is too small and the keypad is more like a cellphone size.

How did panasonic let this phone get to development?

Not an Improvement. i am returning it and buying the older 5.8 Ghz Panasonic phone (the one with the external antenna).

I love panasonics, but sometimes More is More.

Jacob