Customer Reviews

Uniden EXS9966 900-MHz DSS 2-Line Cordless Phone with Caller ID

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

The Uniden EXS 9966 is a great phone at a great price. Before I purchased it, I read the reviews from other customers. They were quite helpful in my decision-making process as most everyone thought it was a good phone. In one review, the reviewer identified as "An electronics fan from Mercer Island, Washington" wrote, "The only bad thing is, when you receive a phone call on this phone, another phone cannot be used to answer (e.g. call is for somebody in another part of the home). Likewise, when another phone is used to answer a call, this phone cannot be used to pick up." This statement turns out to be false. I have used this phone extensively transferring from one phone to another without a problem. A couple things are different from the Uniden 900MHz digital phone it was replacing. First, when a line is in use and you press the line button (Line 1 or Line 2), if the line is already in use, you hear three beeps and the LCD display indicates the line is already in use. All you have to do is press the line button again and you will join the conversation that is already in progress on that line. (This would apply to a conversation in progress or for transferring a call from one phone to another.) Second, if you are on one line and wish to transfer to the other line, you would think you would need to press the Hold button, then the other line button. With this phone, if you forget to press the Hold button before changing lines, it places the line on hold automatically. This is a nice touch so that you do not inadvertently disconnect the first call when attempting to answer a second call. All in all, I would recommend the purchase of this phone.

One last thing-Amazon.com had the best price I could find by about $40. I don't know how they could be that much below other vendors (both Web and local brick and mortar) but they are. And, as you know, the service here is GREAT!

After having used six different cordless 2 line phones, I finally found one that deserves a top rating. Excellent sound clarity, useful features, and none of the classic cordless annoyances that typically bug you.

Buy an extra battery and you can uyse this phone in a power outage, as the base will run off the spare battery. With a keypad and speaker phone on the base, you can even operate when you've left the handset in the other room. The handset includes all the top end features that I would want: caller id, caller-id with call waiting, speed dialing, redial (yep, some cordless phone forget that feature), and conmference calling where you can connect line 1 and line 2 together in a single call.

A very nice feature is that the caller-id lists are kept seperately, one for line 1 and another for line 2. In my household my wife gets calls on line 1 and I get calls on line 2; this way I do not have to scroll through her calls to see who called me.

Finally, a word on clarity. No drops outs, only very occasional interference from other devices (my only problem is when I put the phone down on top of the laptop computer it makes the laptop hum!), and very long range, clear connections (well beyond 500 feet).

If you want a full feature 2 line cordless phone, this is it. If you don't need all the feartures, then find one with a smaller base unit, as this one is pretty big. Me, I'm more than satisfied.

Oh yeah, you can order a spare battery at the uniden web site for $6!

This phone works really well - I have had no problems. One of the reviews above states that the phone cannot be used to answer calls picked up 1st by another phone or vice versa. This is not true. Hold the button a little longer to answer on a "line in use". Just a feature to keep you from jumping in on someone accidentally.

Have no fear - buy it.

I selected the Uniden EXS9966 primarily based on the reviews here to replace an ancient ATT cordless phone. At first I was pleased with the purchase, but eventually found one annoying and one fatal flaw.

The line 1 and line 2 buttons are located at top of the phone, lining up with your cheekbone. I found that on several occassions I would inadvertantly hit the line2 button with my cheek and switch to line 2. After realizing that I had done this, I would have to select line1 and see what the person on the other end had been saying in the meantime.

The real problem came when the outgoing volume dropped substantially. I isolated the problem to the phone but found no phone settings to control the outgoing volume. The Uniden customer service folks had no suggestions outside of sending the phone in for repairs.

After spending the time to research the purchase and paying quite a bit for it, I was pretty disappointed that it had problems so soon and decided to return it to Amazon instead of getting it repaired. So, I geuss I was either unlucky here, or Uniden doesn't do a good job of quality assurance. I've since bought a Panasonic which works fine so far and doesn't have the line1/line2 design issue. Good luck!

I have used a lot of cruddy phones over the years, both corded and cordless. This is the best built cordless phone I have ever come across. Sound quality is absolutely flawless, not a hint of interference. With other 900 MHz phones people used to ask me "is something wrong with your phone?" With this one they cannot tell I am on a cordless. And on my end, the sound is plenty loud and totally clear.

The "spread spectrum" is an important security feature that makes it a lot harder for scumbags to eavesdrop on your phone call. That's important if you value your privacy and/or if you expect to be saying things like credit card numbers over the phone.

The lighted keypad is very clear, feels good, and is easy to use. The buttons have a nice rubberized feel and are not undersized.

The battery lasts and lasts. It seems I can leave the phone off the hook for days and it still works, or can make a 2 hour phone call with no problem.

The trade-off for all this is that the handset is not small. In fact it's a bit clunky, probably the biggest cordless handset I have seen in the past two years. It works so well I scarcely mind, but if you're a person who likes to carry the phone all around the house just in case it rings, this model may be too big for you.

The controls are labeled a little unconventionally. Guests to our house find it confusing that you have to press "Line 1" to talk, instead of just dialing, or having some clearer button label like "Talk". But once you learn how the controls work they make perfect sense and in fact seem rather clever.

The speakerphone built into the base works too, but the sound of your voice is badly compromised, just like on most sub-... speakerphones. You won't want to use it much, and neither will whoever you are talking with. If I used the speakerphone feature much, the rating of this product would plummet. But I suspect most people, won't want to use it much.

A good deal, but the background hum listed in the 'Cons' is certainly that. Since I planned to use this phone as my primary, I am returning it and will have to find some other product. This is too bad, as my other Uniden products have always been top notch.

I am surprised they did not withdraw this phone from the market.

With teenage daughters in the house, all our phones get a lot of use. We really need both lines, caller ID, call waiting, the whole works. We have had other cordless phones over the years, and still have two different Panasonics, another Uniden, and this model EXS9966. All of them get their fair share of use, but this phone is everyone's favorite. The sound is crystal clear. The range is remarkable, up to 500 feet from the base. The battery life is healthy. But the real reason everyone likes this phone is it is to easy to use. The buttons are large and easy to read. The handset buttons and display light up when in use. The memory holds more numbers than we need, and it is easy to access. You can easily begin a call on the base speakerphone, then switch it to the handset by merely lifting it off the base. This is makes waiting on hold easier. The handset is always getting carried off to other rooms, but it's easy to find with the page/intercom button. My one minor gripe is that it can be hard to find the "hold" button on the handset (it is the same as the Caller ID button). But teenage girls can't be wrong, and like I said, this is everyone's favorite phone.

I have been happy with every feature of this phone (mostly the price - thanks amazon). Can walk half way down the block with out so much as a hint of static.

Here are the positives: Great reception (I can talk in parts of my house that my other portable phone was unable to reach), no buzzing background noise that others complained about (I guess this really depends on where you live). Here are the negatives: Battery doesn't last very long before it needs re-charging, the phone is a bit bulky, and when I balance the phone between my face and my shoulder (when I'm trying to talk and do something with both hands which is often), I frequently disconnect the call because the hang-up button is placed right at my cheekbone....annoying. Other than that I am keeping the phone. It was difficult to find a cordless phone that could handle 2 lines and had NO ANSWERING MACHINE!

IN general, I like this phone. The reception has always been terrific, and I've learned to live with a few usability quirks. Like another reviewer, I have also had the problem of accidentally hanging up on people because the hangup button is located right at the cheekbone. (I have this problem on another Uniden phone that I own, and my sister has this problem on her Uniden phone, too).

But the problem that is sending me over the edge is that after only 8 months of light use, the "3" key on the handset has stopped working. I called Uniden this morning, and was told that I would have to box it up and send it in to be repaired, and that it would take about a month to get it back. Many companies that sell electronics will send you a new one, and will also pay for shipping for repair. For example, when I had a bum Palm Pilot, Palm sent me a new one overnight, along with a prepaid shipping envelop for returning the old one. That's good service. By contrast, it seems that Uniden couldn't care less about supporting their products once they have your money.