Customer Reviews

Uniden DCT-5280 2.4 GHz DSS Cordless Phone with Digital Answering System and Caller ID

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

 

 

I have had many cordless phones with varying results. With that experience I can tell you that this Uniden product exceeds any other I have owned. Physically, the phone is very sleek in design and comfort of use. The base unit, with a very nice digital answering system is simple to program using the voice confirmations the system provides. The handset menu functions and soft-keys operate nicely and are also very easily programmed. There is a very nice selection of options for personalizing the phone to your needs. The battery life has been excellent, including a battery strength indicator on the display. In addition, we also added a second handset to this expandable system by merely placing the expansion handset into the base cradle. The only drawback is a minor one in which you must program the second handset manually, not a major task. The expansion handset also provides very nice intercom options, walkie-talkie like features, and is a nice value at $... The system we replaced with the Uniden was much more expensive with fewer options and poor performance.
We use a wireless network for internet connections, and the phone system works perfectly without interference or signal loss.
We are very pleased with this system and would highly recommend it. Simply put, the very best telephone we've owned.

I have had my Uniden phone now for just under a month. I bought it to replace an IBM phone that started having problems within a few months of purchase. The Uniden phone has been great. Reception is clear as a bell and it has a ton of features that I love, including volume controls on both the handset and the base. It also features 16 different ringer options, and the ability to assign ringers to certain callers (so you'll always know if it's someone you actually want to talk to or not). The digital answering system works wonderfully as well, and is very easy to operate. That feature alone saves me [money] on voice mail from my phone company! I highly recommend this phone to anyone wanting a high quality 2.4 GHz DSS system. UPDATE: I've now had this phone for over a year and I am still very happy with it. I haven't had any problems with the battery yet. I've dropped the receiver from high up at least five times, but this phone just takes a licking and keeps on working great! The only minor complaint I have is that you have to be careful putting the handset back into the base if you have it mounted on a wall...otherwise it tips forward and falls. Still a phone I'd recommend to anyone.

I am very picky about my phones, and after much research and experience with this phone, I think it is safe to say that it is a terrific phone. I bought several phones that would suit my multi-handset needs, including a different Uniden model, and returned them shortly after because either the features were lacking, or because the sound quality was poor. However with the DCT 5280, the sound quality is great, as is the range. In addition to this, the features of the phone are outstanding, including distinctive rings, speaker phone built into both the base and handset, and the ability to use the handsets as intercoms or walky-talky style units away from the base (like at the mall) and standard AA size rechargeable batteries, allowing for great flexibility to my needs. This said, it is important to note that the sheer amount of features does make the phone complicated to begin with, so if you are somewhat techno-phobic, perhaps this phone isn't right for you, but otherwise I highly recommend this phone (along with the additional handsets) to anyone who is in the market for a great cordless phone.

A bit pricy, but worth every penny.

PROS:
- Great quality speaker system on the handset (major plus).
- Built -in answering machine with ALL the features one should have, including remote access.
- Handset holds charge for a very good amount of time.
- Easy to use menus. Easy to adjust volume on handset and base.

CONS:
- Price.
- Handset is a bit heavier than I'm used to.
- 2.4 GHz (if true) doesn't reach as far as you would think! I used to own a 900 MHz panasonic and the range of that phone was better.

Bottom line: Go for it.

As the other reviews state, you'd be hard-pressed to find serious flaws with this phone. But here are my nitpicky ones:

- LCD could have better backlit display

- The phone doesn't nestle itself to your face very well. Often times it is difficult to target the earpiece to your ear

- Although the handset is sleek and solidly built, it is a bit heavy and can wear down your arm after a while

My old cordless was a 900Mhz Analog, which worked fine, but my answering device puttered out, so I decided to go all new. I picked up this phone and am very satisfied with it. It sounds good, has good range, and comes with an impressive set of features. Plus, it's reasonably priced.

What a terrible phone. It's reasonably priced, attractive, and has great features, and I really wanted to love it... BUT the sound quality is horrific. For some reason, the volume in the handset fluctuates based on the sound coming from your end. So when you speak, the sound mutes on the other side for a couple seconds, then comes back (which you can track easily because of the ample background static). It's like talking on walkie-talkies. After discovering this problem, I then bought a similar Uniden model (DCT5285) to see if the original phone was defective or if the problem was with the DCT line in general. Sad to say, the DCT5285 had the exact same problem. Bottom line: bad line of phones. I've had good luck previously with the Uniden TRU3465 phones, so I won't write off Uniden altogether -- just the DCT phones.

I have had this phone for the past few months and i like it. The main Pros and cons are:
PRO: Love the speaker phone on the handset, its a very useful feature.
CON: Hate the redial feature. Couldnt Uniden have put a redial button, rather than force the use of the menu.

Nice looking, compact, easy set up but sound quality is very poor. I have excellent hearing but must have NO background noise when talking on this phone or I cannot hear the person I'm speaking to. I also have to strain to hear the answering machine (and have silence for that as well) and the answering machine playback is always garbled and hard to understand. I was very disappointed. I bought this phone for that very reason - I guess I'm going to have to break down and just get voice mail through the phone company.

The redial is ridiculous too - going through an obscure menu to find redial takes longer than just redialing the number. Why didn't they just put a redial button on the phone?

This would be a great pone except for one big problem: when you talk, the earpiece quiets down and cuts out just like talking on speakerphone. The volume in the earpiece is constantly fluctuating. I guess that's because each handset can be a speakerphone (a feature which works quite well... better than most speakerphones). But it was just too annoying more me so I had to return it. Otherwise it has many many features. Useless features like a giant phonebook, the ability to check the answering machine from any handset, and other silly gadgets mostly found on cell phones like playing Fur Elise for a ring tone. It seems built really well but it's just not worth the extra money.