Customer Reviews

Panasonic KX-TG9392T 2-Line Corded/Cordless Phone with Answering System, Metallic Black, 2 Handsets

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(14)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

Bought this phone from a local "big box" office supply store after considerable research, etc. to replace a dying Uniden 2.8GHz model. Features, range, sound quality, and so forth are OK. Even the curiously slow dial tone sequencing is tolerable; HOWEVER, cordless "talk time" is ridiculously short (<90 mins cumulative, when kept off the charger base) AND the cordless handset goes dead (i.e. drops the call & the display blanks-out) whenever a GSM mobile phone is nearby and actively sending or receiving. That makes it unacceptable for any serious business/SOHO use. Swapped it for a 2nd new unit within 10 days; it had the same fatal performance flaws. Panasonic's "customer service" lines (for all consumer products, apparently) are routed to a call center in the Philippines. That would be OK if the reps were knowledgeable and empowered to do anything but give polite lip service. They finally offered an "advance replacement" with a refurbished set, but without acknowledging the problems or any assurance the 3rd system would be any different. Declined. Panasonic was once a solid, responsive company; sadly, they aren't anymore.

I needed to replace my old Panasonic 5.8 phone system. The old handsets had been dropped too many times, battery life had dropped to nothing and none of the replacement batteries were worthwhile.

Onto this product, however.

Reading the other reviews I was afraid that my GSM phone was going to cause it to drop calls. Fortunately that was NOT the case. I've had my GSM Moto Razor sitting next to the base and next to a handset and had no drop (some static, but no drops) when receiving a call.

The range is fantastic. Areas of my house where my phone used to lose connectivity are clear as a bell with the new phone.

A really pleasant surprise is the battery. Demonstrating some unheard of common sense the new device uses 2 AAA rechargeable batteries instead of a proprietary battery pack.

Summary:
Pros:
Good clarity
Great range
AAA rechargeable batteries
Corded handset on the base

Cons:
none so far...

This phone is a decent choice for a 2-line cordless phone. The corded base station is a nice plus and sound quality is excellent. Range is pretty good too.

However, for me, the negatives of this phone were a deal-beaker. The phonebook has no speed dial numbers and it takes multiple keystrokes to get into the menu to look up numbers to dial. Likewise, accessing the caller ID log takes multiple keystrokes to see the log. Both should be single key access from the idle mode.

The voicemail indicator is via text on the screen, not the light on the top of the phone so I often missed seeing waiting messages. It also seemed the VM detect was flakey as I often had messages and the phone did not display them.

The ringer sounds and volumes are poor. I use this in a office environment and the softest ringer is quite loud and there is only one normal electronic ring sound (bad design for a 2-line phone!)

Finally the biggest problem of all - the cordless handsets will randomly go "dead". After speaking about this with Panasonic they told me there may be a problem with iPhones or other GSM cellphones interfering with the handsets and making them go dead. They said there were other reports on the internet of this being a problem but had not concluded their study. Since I'm an iPhone user, I guess I won't be a Panasonic phone user.

Here's a video clip so you can see for yourself:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZU2Q516VFY

This phone is a decent choice for a 2-line cordless phone. The corded base station is a nice plus and sound quality is excellent. Range is pretty good too.

However, for me, the negatives of this phone were a deal-beaker. The phonebook has no speed dial numbers and it takes multiple keystrokes to get into the menu to look up numbers to dial. Likewise, accessing the caller ID log takes multiple keystrokes to see the log. Both should be single key access from the idle mode.

The voicemail indicator is via text on the screen, not the light on the top of the phone so I often missed seeing waiting messages. It also seemed the VM detect was flakey as I often had messages and the phone did not display them.

The ringer sounds and volumes are poor. I use this in a office environment and the softest ringer is quite loud and there is only one normal electronic ring sound (bad design for a 2-line phone!)

Finally the biggest problem of all - the cordless handsets will randomly go "dead". After speaking about this with Panasonic they told me there may be a problem with iPhones interfering with the handsets and making them go dead. They said there were other reports on the internet of this being a problem but had not concluded their study. Since I'm an iPhone user, I guess I won't be a Panasonic phone user.

I own the KX-TG6502 2-line and 5.8GHz handsets. I first replaced them with the Philips dect 2-line SE6591B/17, which although a beautiful looker, was a tough sell for my workgroup because of the menus and feature set. I returned it to Amazon and bought the DECT version of the Panasonic to increase range and decrease AM bleed from a local broadcast tower.

In response to a previous poster who said the range on this Panasonic is not as good as its 5.8G counterpart, I found that the KX-TG3932T range was improved for the first week of ownership. I thought we'd solved range issues by upgrading, and although calls sounded fine at my end, the other party heard intermittent stuttered and garbled speech. Within a few days of ownership both handsets started to display erratic behavior. Callers said we sounded underwater with or without speakerphone. It wasn't subject to the same interference from a nearby AM transmitter as the 5.8GHz version, but something was interfering with it...I don't own an iPhone but we use two UMA Blackberrys that may have been the culprits. It seemed to come and go with atmospherics or other unknown variables. With this model I sat at my desk next to the base and several callers said they couldn't understand me...that's when I said send this one back, the Philips was a much better sound.

In Philips vs. Panasonic 2-Line DECT the differences are: adding a contact to the Philips syncs both handsets, whereas the Panasonic takes more steps. The Philips range is hands down better and more crystal clear. Both are very similar, yet I like the feel of the panasonic better. the volume on the 5.8 Panasonic and the Philips DECT were both better than this model, plus this should have the sync-to-address-book usb cable function that other panasonic models have offered.

Physically I like the decreased weight of the handset, the great sound, and the superior ergonomics, but your mileage may vary. Once I passed 30-40 feet and a couple walls it was worse than the 5.8 version. Though it lacks some advanced features like talking caller ID, color display, or custom rings, it is a good replacement for 5.8GHz technology...just not for our setup. I hope the next version is better.

I purchased the KX-TG9391 base unit, which comes with 1 handheld. In addition 5 more satellites KT-TGA939 were purchased, 6 satellites total. These were installed in a 6,000 square foot, 3 story building. The base unit was in the main office on the lowest floors and the satellites were placed in various rooms throughout the building on all three floors.

Prior to this purchase, my partner and I were using a Radio Shack similar system, but with the 5.8 GHz format. The Radio Shack system had all the features we needed, but there was about 20% of the building where the Radio Shack system had neither the range nor ability to cancel noise, so my partner and I were constantly walking to a better reception area so we could understand one another.

We heard the 6.0 GHz systems had at least twice the range of the 5.9 GHz, so we thought we would give it a try.

WHAT THIS PANASONIC SYSTEM DID RIGHT:
1. The superior range and noise canceling ability on this system allows for clear conversation all over the building. We no longer have to walk into better reception areas
2. The caller ID works well
3. On the base unit the phonebook holds 100 names and is easy to use. There is one button you push to go to phone book. You don't even have to lift the receiver. Just touch the letter key of the first letter of the person's name you want to talk to; say "G" for Gary. Scroll down the Gs to Gary. When you lift the handset, the system dials Gary.
4. You can program different ring tones for different people.
5. Customer Service is available and helpful. I felt sorry for them because there were so many issues with this phone system that they had to say over and over, "Sorry, what you are saying makes sense, but the system can't do that. We'll report it, and maybe the next model will be better."

WHERE THIS SYSTEM REALLY SCREWED UP:
1. There is an intercom where you can page any satellite from either the base unit or a satellite. BUT, while you can page all the satellites from the base unit by hitting "INTERCOM" and "0", you can NOT page all the satellites from a satellite; only one at a time. THIS IS SO ANNOYING! If you are on a satellite and don't know where the other person is, you have to try one satellite, then another, then another. Like the joke, "You will always reach your party on the last one you try." Usually it takes 3 to 4 tries. (The Radio Shack unit allowed you to page all at once; when your party picked up, it would tell you where they were.)
2. On the base unit you can put your phone book numbers in Groups where each Group has a different ring tone. So you program your 100 numbers into their appropriate Groups and the system lets you "Copy All" into the satellites; BUT when it copies them into the satellites, it copies ALL YOUR NAMES into the satellite's Group 1. Panasonic's customer service checked and said in order to have the phone book names in their respective groups on each satellite, I would have to copy each name into each satellite. Do the math, 100 names into 6 satellites, i.e., makes 600 entries you have to program!!!
3. We use 2 lines. Line 1 is incoming and the number we give for people to call us on. Line 2 is the toll free line where we make outbound calls. You can program the system to automatically select line 2 when you pick up the phone to call, BUT if you do, the system always selects Line 2 to answer. So when a call comes in on Line 1 and you pick up the phone, nothing happens. It just keeps ringing! Now that can be frustrating! If, on the other hand, you select "Auto Answer," it picks up whatever line is ringing, but it always defaults to calling out on Line 1, so we pay a toll. Again PANASONIC'S CS said they messed up because there is no way you can call out on Line 2 and have it answer from whichever line the incoming call is on.
4. One of their big selling features is that you can put your phone book names into 9 Groups and each group can have its own ring tone. Well, guess again, there are only 7 allowable ring tones!! You have to pick which 4 Groups to share 2 common ring tones.
5. Very NON-intuitive to program. I am an electrical engineer with phone experience, and it frustrated me.

SUMMARY:
They got the hard things right, like range and clarity, but they so screwed up those easy things that would make the system useful that I can only rate it a 2 star out of 5. BTW, the Radio Shack system, which cost only about half as much, was really well thought out and allowed you to easily do all the chores you need.

This product was a breeze to set up and the flexibility of the 2-lines in combination with the clarity of the DECT 6.0 standard makes this the best product in its class. The clarity is excellent. Battery Life is also very strong. The handset is tremendously light (almost cheap-feeling) is the only real downside. Just a minor gripe though. Overall a great phone. I will be getting 2 more receivers for the house.

I purchased the base station and 4 additional cordless phones from Amazon this past summer. I selected this model because we have two lines coming into our home; the first line is for family and the second line for business.

The good news is that the audio quality is excellent, the range is impressive (work perfectly over our 5 acre hobby farm), and they go for weeks without recharging, the intercom function works well, and they could not have been easier to setup.

The bad news is base station and the cordless phones selection of assignable ring tones do not match, at all. You also have to program them into each phone one at a time. If someone changes their phone number and you want their ring tone to follow them, you must edit their profile on every cordless.

Another problem is when the phone rings at night, the numbers light up, but the answer button does not, and it is small and hard to sense by touch, making it necessary to turn on the light, which does not go over well with ones mate.

This product is not ready for market, and definitely NOT what I would expect from a heretofore well respected company like Panasonic.

I would have sent them back had I not mistakenly recycled their boxes.

It's a good phone now that we've resolved a couple of issues, but it was definatley a pain before we figured them out.

First, we were having a problem with the phones mysteriously turning off. Pressing the "off" button would power them back up, but that takes a couple of seconds and the phones won't ring, etc. We finally discovered that this was happening when setting down the phones next to one of our iPhones. Generally, within about 2 seconds, the phone will power down. In at least one case, it wasn't happening. I suspect it may have to do with the frequency of the base tower the iPhone is sync'd up to at the time. I would guess that this issue would happen with most GSM phones. As long as we keep the phones at least a foot from the iPhones, they have no problems.

Also, one of the charging docks, out of 3 of them, was initially only charging intermittently. It turns out that on that particular one, they forgot to solder a couple of the wires in place. A little bit of soldering and that was resolved.

These phones are good, but suffer from two limitations. (1) Since the antennas are now internalized, the phones do not cover both floors of my house, unlike earlier Panasonic phones with external antennas. Thus, I have an older phone upstairs in my office, which gets me halfway down my stairs; and THESE phones, which get me halfway up my stairs (one from my kitchen, and the other from my bedroom). The only phone I have that can follow me ALL through the house is a Panasonic from ten years ago, with a six-inch external antenna. (2) These phones fall deeply asleep after a while, so when a phone rings elsewhere in my house, and I go to answer one of these, it may be, in effect, dead, and I either miss the call or have to run to another room. None of my earlier Panasonics fall into a coma like this. Furthermore, although internalizing the antennas makes the phones look sleeker, the loss in range is not worth it.