Customer Reviews

Thomson GE 28111EE2 DECT 6.0 Dual Handset Expandable System with Caller ID

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

Went in to the local big box electronics store armed with my consumer magazine ratings to buy a digital phone for my land line and saw this model with multiple handsets. Although not shown on my ratings, this DECT 1.9GHz model from GE caught my attention and the packaging box displayed the exact feature list I was looking for.

After charging the batteries for sixteen hours, I began programming the phone with a minimum set of numbers to test. I could not get it to answer a call from my cell phone on either handset with any audible ringtone. Called tech support which advised me to turn off my household Wi-Fi (Isn't this what a DECT phone is for?). I did, and the same non-response. I returned this phone today and will choose one that is on the consumer magazine rating list.

I wanted a phone with the following features:
- didn't interfere with home WiFi network
- had a headset jack on the handset
- had a mute button
- had an answering machine
- could keep good quality while roaming 1 or 2 rooms away

I tried two sets of GE 6.0 phones, and both suffered from faint, tinny, clipped audio. Words that were perfectly understandable on other phones were simply not there on this one. Also, the buttons aren't actually lit - the light is a ring around each button, but not the button itself. So it actually makes it HARDER to read individual buttons in a darkened room.

I was very disappointed in this phone.

Of those I tried: GE, Uniden, Panasonic and AT&T, the Panasonic was the best. All features work, Panasonic audio is good, and the buttons and beeps are nice and responsive. Only complaint about the Panasonic is that there is no display on the base unit to show how many answering machine messages are waiting.

Horrible phone. It's very lightweight and feels cheap. The handsets are not comfortable against your head or in your hand. The belt clip is short and not secure. The blue backlight comes on very frequently for no reason when the phone is at rest, creating a lot of light in a dark room. Just look at it and it lights up. Also, when it's on its base, the red charge light is always blinking, and it's a large light, and the large bright blue message light is also very obtrusive. GE makes incredibly obtrusive phones in general, however. I stopped using my 2.4ghz phone because every time I put the handset on the base it confirmed connected with a very loud beep that would wake anyone sleeping in the room. You could not shut it off. The button beeps are very loud and you can't turn the Voice volume down enough. We joke that it's a special model for the hearing impaired. These new phones, then, must be for the vision impaired.

This phone has lousy sound quality. There is a lot of static and echo and it sounds like you are talking to people overseas on a cell phone. This may be inherent to this new technology, but given that it's advertized as crystal clear, I don't think so.

Due to the poor sound quality and endless light show, I've returned this phone set.

The Vtech 5858 is a superb choice. It costs more, but works very well and has a ton of features. The handsets are a great shape, they stay clipped to your belt, and they work great with a headset (some phones have lousy headset jacks so you get poor sound with even the best headset).

GE, I used to love your phones, but after a few bad sets, I've had it.

There seems to be something strange about devices with blue backlights. I have a Logitech universal remote control with a blue backlight and it comes on all the time for no reason as well. As with this phone, we had to take it out of our bedroom because of the lights going off and on. You'd be surprised how much a full blue backlight can light up a room.

If you have DSL like I do, you may experience some static. Wi-fi does interfere with these signals, despite this product's claim that it operates on a bandwith above that. As for complaints about the talk button being too close to the face, that makes no sense. Unless you are pushing the phone into your cheek while talking, you won't have a problem. The only legitimate gripes are these: (1) the display has a blue screen with dark blue characters. It is very difficult to read. What genius decided on this color combination?! (2) the display does light up randomly, which can be distracting if it is near your bed at night and you are trying to sleep.

I purchased this phone and it worked as expected except I had hung up the phone on accident when trying to shoulder the phone because the talk button is next to your face and it hangs up. That I could live with. But what I couldn't is that randomly the phones would light up with the blue backlight. I thought the phone was ringing without sound, but it wasn't. This happened on both handsets.

Then I have the extra handset by our bed and last night my husband and I noticed that it was blinking erratically behind the speakerphone button! It was very odd and it continued to happen and always does, but you cannot see it with the lights on. So, I'm taking this phone back and just going to use my old 5.8 GHz phone that I really didn't need to replace in the first place.

I've never been a fan of the GE product so I was reluctant to make this purchase, but I needed a dual handset withOUT an answering machine (am I the only one in the world that has voicemail??) that would allow for very private phone calls without interference or static when I move around my house. So far it's done ok. There's a little noise in the background but not enough to interfere with a phone call. I haven't had a problem with static. There are 20 different ringtones to chose from, very cool!

My biggest complaint is that the text on the caller ID barely shows up against the bright blue lighting.

I'm returning my phone immediately. The display is almost completely unreadable due to the ridiculous blue on blue color choice and glare of its brightness. Shame on you G.E. for putting out such a terrible product.

Similar to the comments above, we purchased this phone as we switched from Voip back to a standard land line. Only problem is, there is no audible ringtone for incoming calls. Called GE support and they mentioned to disconnect the phone and try connecting it again. GE said sometimes there are interference issues with VoIP systems, which I no longer have. After "rebooting" the phone...still no ringtone. GE Support suggested I return the phone, which is exactly what I'm going to do. I'm going to get a 5.8 ghz phone instead.

PROS
-Great ringtones
-Great speakerphone
-Easy to use buttons
CONS
-Not comfortable to hold
-Handset volume is too low to hear incoming calls well and adjusting the volume makes it have static
-Talk button apparently touches the face during conversation and hangs up on people

I originally bought this product when the DECT technology first came out. Never had any problems with it. Had a major power surge and it burned out my phone. While looking for a replacement I was amazed to find that very few phones even had headset capabilities. This is invaluable to me since I talk to clients while entering data on the computer. The only ones I found with headset capabilites required headsets compatible ONLY with their phone. The GE Thompson wisely uses the standard earphone size so you can buy whatever suits your needs.

This phone has gotten a lot of bad press but I have found it to be extremely reliable with excellent clarity.