Customer Reviews

Uniden DECT 2080-5 DECT6.0 Expandable Cordless Phone with Digital Answering System, Call Waiting/Caller Id, and Extra 4 Handsets and Chargers

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

 

 

I just rec'd this system (w/total of 5 handsets in the set: #2080-5) a few days ago from a different vendor and so far I am very happy!! I had been using the Uniden TRU9485 and loved that phone system with one glaring exception: Two of the four phones furthest from the base kept cutting out constantly, with the message "out of range" on the screen despite only being maybe 50 feet or less from the base in my one-story home. Made those 2 phones virtually unusable. This was a 5.8 GHz phone but it was no good for me!

So, here I am with the new DECT 1.9 GHz version and so far, no problem. It has virtually all the same features as the TRU with slightly different cosmetics. The Uniden 2080-5, with the 5 handsets (we have a larger home) do have a cute little addition: two of the silver/black phones have a brightly colored frame: one in metallic red, the other in met. blue - kinda kicky. Xln't sound, including the speakerphones, which is a feature I use 70% of the time. Phone directory holds 70 listings and can be auto-dialed with a quick press of the button. Enter your phone numbers and names just once and you can then send it to all the other extension phones without having to retype them in individually. Each phone can also add their own entries. Has intercom bet. the extension phones, Caller ID, which I don't use, the usual digital answering machine with up to 4 min. message allowed per caller. But, book says when retrieving your messages remotely, after listening to 4 min. of messages, machine will stop and require you to push 2 buttons if you need to hear more messages: a bit of a bother, but 4 min. of messages IS quite a lot for most, unless you have a lot of wordy friends who read to you daily from War and Peace. Keypad and screen light up nicely for night viewing by pressing any key. Each phone has a little light on top that will flash to let you know an unheard message is available. You can then play back that message from any of the extension phones, a nice convenience so you don't have to go to where the base is located to retrieve them. Ans. machine will emit a message beep if there are any new ones for you or you can turn that alert off. A lot of options with these phones: individual volume controls for both earpiece and speakerphone, method of answering the phone (press any key to answer or automatically have it connect with caller by just picking up the phone from the charger or base) - are just a few. Most important to me: the distance from base doesn't seem to affect the connections - yay!! A very long talk time is present - 12 hours stated, I believe. I've talked a couple hours without the battery signal even stepping down. Book says can leave phone off the charger for up to seven days, but I'm more conservative.

Oh, for those of you that don't know - another wonderful feature: Only the ans. machine base needs to be plugged into a phone jack. All the extensions only need an electrical outlet, no phone connection! Little complaints: too few choices for types of ring when receiving a call, wish there were a couple more letters allowed when entering the names & nbrs. into the auto-dial directory (16 letters/spaces allowed). But, those are petty. This is an excellent phone or my name isn't Bill Gates (okay, just kidding about the name!); you'll be pleased! ... Arline

I had to replace 2 different phone systems (both 2.4 ghz) since they were getting pretty noisy.

Settled on Uniden 2080-5, after much debate between this and the panasonic.

Pros:
Keyboards lights up.
Transferable phone book or entry.
Good Menu system
Battery life is awesome

Cons:
Occasionally- calls are dropped with out of range error. Even though I am 5 feet from the base. Cant figure that out yet.

I love this phone set. It replaces an older Uniden phone set. This one is much better. Much higher quality than any other sets I've owned. The sound is crystal clear and has a great range. I like that you can identify where each handset is and can have it's own ring tone if you want. My only complaint is the choice of ring tones...most are really lame. Great phone!

I bought this a couple of weeks ago. This is my first Uniden phone, I've always used Panasonic. Went with this on because the Panasonic DECT I looked at had no backlight on the number keys. I'll get straight to the point - the biggest problem I have is lost connections with "Out of Range". It has happened enough times already to make me return this phone. Otherwise, when it works, the clarity is good, the feature set is good though I resented the fact that sometimes it would not show proper Caller Id Name (shows phone number) and instead show caller location. Well, moot point now anyways as I think I'll stick to Panas. Disclaimer: Its entirely possible I got a defective piece.

Have had this set for over a month - great improvement over Panasonic it replaces-

Excellent voice transmission and reception - excellent speakerphone feature - very user friendly - wife loves it and the compact size and weight-

Am buying a spare - to back up the other 5 handsets and the four bases of the remotes-

Shop your prices - a big box store is gonna have them at a hundred bucks with their dollars off coupon - and they will take 'em back if they don't work-eh!!

Very nice phone bought recently to replace old Uniden 2-handset unit. The old phone was capable of showing date/time on the handset display during idle mode or when a call was in progress but this doesn't. Or i just haven;t found the right setting yet. Seems like a significant flaw because there's ample space on the display for date/time and in fact it uses that space to display date/time for caller ids.

After owning a set of Uniden phones for several years (1 lost, 1 thrown in the pool...needed a new set), we purchased a new set of Uniden DECT2080 phones at Costco (set of 5, I think). After less than a year of light use, 3 of the 5 of the phones are not working (specifically...the little menu button in the middle of the phone which allows you to select caller ID, ring volume etc.). Thankfully, I bought the set at Costco and Costco said they would cheerfully return the entire set (love Costco!). I'm not sure what brand we will buy now since we purchased about 5 sets before buying these at Costco. What a disappointment in Uniden...emailed them about my problems with the phones and they didn't even respond. That's when I decided the JUNK should go back to Costco. Don't buy this product....junk, junk, junk!

So far (only had it a few days) this has been a great phone. Sound is clear, the intercom feature is wonderful, it does a good job with caller ID, and the buttons and menus are reasonably easy to use.

I have a handful of nitpicks; I list them here figuring Uniden probably reads these reviews. They do if they are smart, anyway.

1. The range is pretty decent, but another 20 feet would have allowed me to put the base in a better place in my house.

2. The manual says the batteries will need to be replaced after a year.. A year for a rechargeable battery? Come on, guys. Given that we have to buy the batteries from Uniden (since there's a special connector for them, don't you know) that's a bit of a screw. Use **standard battery bays** and have a rechargeable battery that has a long life. If I'd known this one before I bought, it might have convinced me not to buy. This "special battery" thing is why I didn't give it 5 stars.

3. There doesn't seem to be a way to tell a handset to ignore calls. I want to be able to switch any given handset OFF, the equivalent of unplugging an extension. Options seem to be to take the battery out or move the phone out of range. How about you implement holding down the Hangup button for 5 seconds or something, to turn off the ringer and block the intercom? Or at LEAST a vibrate-on-ring feature? Something people can sleep through?

4. The phonebook could be bigger, and - major point - the base should have a USB connector so I can download the phone book and caller id history to a PC. If the batteries are going to die after a year, I'd rather not lose the phonebook.

5. When I capture caller ID into the phone book, I may have to edit it (adding or removing a 1 in front, etc.) There's an obscure way to add or delete a 1 from a number when it's in the caller ID history (the * key), but being able to edit the phonebook in general (other than deleting digits and retyping) would be nice.

6. There should be a way to tell the handset that Privacy Mode is the default for all calls. This could be critical in a small business office.

7. "Precautions! Before you read anything else, please observe the following". This is on page 53 of the manual. If you want it read first, it ought to be on page 1, don't you think?

8. The bases could be heavier. It's too easy to knock a phone over from the side, and then it's not charging. Cats, you know. They do it on purpose. Spiteful little creatures with evil agendas... but, um, back to the topic.

All that said: I love the fact that the handsets flash when there's a new message waiting, and being able to manage the messages from any handset or external call. I love the intercom and speakerphone mode. I like being able to copy the phonebook between handsets. The controls are about as intuitive as any complicated device can be. Range and sound are good. I bought the 5-handset version, based on the reliability to date of my old Uniden 900Mhz cordless (still in service and covering the one corner of my house this new unit doesn't quite reach). If the phones hold up that well, this will have been a good deal.

Addendum: not a big deal for me, but it will bug some people - you can set distinctive ring for caller id calls. Great feature. But there are only 4 melodies you can assign: Für Elise, Aura Lee (?!), Star Spangled Banner (??!) and We Wish You a Merry Christmas. (??!?!) I can hardly think of four stranger choices, and there's no way to load new ones in. And only 3 generic ringing noises to round out the set...

I purchased the 5 handset package just over 3 years ago (Dec '07.) In August '09 I added a 6th handset.

One handset started having battery issues in the past month or so. The replacement battery is just $4 so I just ordered 3 batteries -- one for the failing one and backups for when others fail, given it's been 3 years.

Other reviewers have had issues with the main control button failing. We've had no problems. I noticed the buttons seem to fail en-masse (all the handsets at once.) Given the way these handsets sync, I wonder if one handset is a culprit (bad battery?) and is causing problems with the others.

We do get the occasional weird "out-of-range" message when we are near the base. It happens about 4 or 5 times a year. It's an odd glitch, but relatively rare.

We have the base on the second floor of the house and have 5 other handsets scattered throughout, including one in the basement and one in a new addition that is fairly remote. We have never had a problem with reception anywhere in the house. (3800 sq ft). We lose service about 20' down the driveway.

Pros:
Feels good -- nice balance, curve, etc. Comfortable to talk on.
Decent sound.
Handle answering machine message from any handset, anywhere in the house.
Auto-syncing of phonebook between handsets
Intercom capability -- better than shouting for the kids, or the kids shouting for me.

Cons:
Not many -- bad ringtone selection
Strange, but rare, "out-of-range" message.

Three years out and I'm happy with the purchase.

Buttons stop working on this model. I've had many uniden phones that were excellent. This model has a serious problem.