Customer Reviews

Uniden DCT 6465-2 2.4 GHz Expandable Cordless Speakerphone with Dual Handsets, Base Keypad, and Caller ID

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I looked at reviews on this site when I went to find a phone, and was disappointed to see that nearly every Panasonic phone I looked at had fewer than 3 stars (Panasonic is generally my favorite brand cordless). So I kept looking and found this package deal at Costco and on this site, and bought it to try, as well as a Vtech 5.8GHz set of 2 phones. On this note, I am a firm believer that--no matter the marketing hype from cordless manufacturers around new frequencies--that performance is about the same whether on 900MHz, 2.4GHz, 5.8GHz, or some combination of transmit/receive using a combination of those frequencies AS LONG AS you have a digital spread spectrum phone. The frequency hopping is so reliable that it doesn't matter if the frequencies are crowded or not, b/c the DSS is effective enough to get great range and no cross-talk, so I would not buy a phone based on the frequency on which it operates.

Anyway, I looked at all the feedback on this site and found it helpful, and felt compelled to take the time to give a little back now that I've evaluated this model. In short, the Vtech (don't know the model) and this were great, but the features were superior on this Uniden system. Both had great range to within 7 feet of each other when I walked away from my house to test range - overall I could get about 40-50 feet away from my house with both handsets. The speakerphone was marginally better on the Vtech than the Uniden, but I generally use the handset speakerphone when I'm on hold with an airline or something, and not to talk on, as anything less than full duplex (which neither of these support) is a pain, in my opinion.

I don't have 802.11 in my home yet, and am slightly concerned that this may interfere, but the reviews on this phone show this does not create a problem, and I have some friends with multiple brands of 2.4GHz cordless that they say don't interfere either. I suppose the chances of interference are slim, but exist though, with this phone, I'll assume it's not a problem.

So, I bought the Uniden for the features. I think this uniden comes closer to a cell phone experience than any cordless I've used in the past. It has a 800 or 850MAh NMH battery (not as good as Li-Ion, but much better than Ni-Cad) and, when I tested talk time, it held a call for 6+ hours before it died!! Very impressive. The base has a keypad and speakerphone, both handsets are small and have their own speakerphones, and adequate yellow/gold backlight. I liked that, like a cell phone, if the phone rings, and I don't want to answer it, I press the END button, and it mutes the ringer. I also like the Do Not Disturb feature on the base, which mutes all three ringers but lights up and caller ID displays in case I want to take a nap. This is really impressive: I took quite a bit of time to enter names and numbers in the phonebook using the triple-tap method on the keypad, and entered about 30 names/numbers, then I went into a "global settings" menu and wirelessly transferred all of these names/numbers and respective speed dial assignments to the other handset, to exactly match the first handset - that saved me hours, and assured both handsets are programmed identically. I;'ve never seen that feature on a cordless before. I also programmed my mobile and work numbers, and my wife's mobile in and assigned a particular ringer so we always know immediately if we need to pick up the phone for each other, then assigned a different ringer to all family members so we would immediately know by the ringer if family was calling, and all other calls get a third/different ringer. I spent about $70 on this 2-unit system plus the keypad/speakerphone base, and I'm very satisfied with the purchase.

I researched phones for months before coming across this one. You name it, this phone has it! From walkie-talkies to a transferable phonebook, I promise you won't be diasspointed. I found that the features are easy to use and the size similar to a cell phone instead of being big and clunky! My base unit is in our basement and extra handsets upstairs and the sounds is just crystal. Here are some features I love!

-Battery Low indicator ON SCREEN, no more guessing how much longer you have!

-Transferable Phonebook between handsets
-Use as Walkie-Talkies away from home on a roadtrip or as Room Monitor for your kids while you're outside!
-Paging device between phones. I love this because if my husband is downstairs and I am upstairs, he doesn't have to come get me and tell me I have a phone call. He just transfers it to the other handset and I pick up!
-DO NOT DISTURB! This one is a beauty! Mutes ALL ringers for that peaceful dinner you always wanted.
-Privacy Call- allows you to block other phones from hearing your converstaion (wish I had this at my parent's house when I was a teenager!)

Those are just a FEW!!! This phone is just awesome, I'd recommend it to anyone!

***The only suggestion I have is if you do get this, do not setup your area code on the handsets. By doing so, caller id comes up WITHOUT it and makes it a little more difficult to save the numbers to the phonebook.***

This is definitely my favorite cordless phone of about five that I have owned over the years. This surprised me, because I hated the 900MHz Uniden that I had a few years ago. But Uniden appears to have learned a lot.

First, the things I like about this phone:

+ The outgoing message and clock are preserved thorough a power outage! FINALLY - it's taken me ten years to find a phone where this worked right.

+ The handsets are small and light enough to slip into my pants pocket, and (wonder of wonders) it's really difficult to accidentally hit a button while it's in there, because the buttons are relatvely tiny and almost flush with the phone surface. If you have big fingers this might not be a good thing, but it's great for me.

+ Reasonably good range (at least 400 ft outside, unobstructed).

+ Excellent NiMH battery capacity - I get a week of standby time, and Uniden claims 6 hours of talk time, which I have no reason to doubt.

+ A speakerphone on each handset (as well as the base) - this is GREAT. Also a standard headset jack, another must-have feature for me. The handset's speakerphone is not particularly loud, but it's more than adequate for a normal work (desk) environment, it seems to work well, and I've had no complaints about it from callers on the other end.

+ The phonebook and the caller ID list can be accessed while on a call. The call timer stays visible for 10 seconds after the call ends.

+ Hold/transfer/page functions let you page or transfer a call to a specific handset. You assign a name to each handset, which makes this easy.

+ The system handles multiple phones and handsets the way I want it to: by default, anyone picking up a connected extension phone or handset is automatically connected to the call, unless you have turned on "privacy mode".

+ Each handset can screen incoming calls and access all answering machine functions, including memo. You can also record a call in progress, although the machine beeps intermittently when doing so, and the short recording capacity limits the usefulness of this feature.

+ The "wealkie talkie" direct-link mode is a cool feature, although I haven't had any need to use it yet.

+ A lighted "Do Not Disturb" button on the base turns off all ringers on all handsets, the answering machine speaker, etc. This is truly a Great feature - I only wish I could also activate/deactivate it from a handset. The handset display still lights up when there's an incoming call, also nice.

+ I expect that the 2.4GHz frequency-hopping spread-spectrum communications would make it difficult for someone to eavesdrop on your conversations (just a guess).

+ Perhaps my favorite feature of this unit is one that is difficult to describe: it generally just works the way I expect it to. Most consumer electronics products seem to get this wrong, where every feature is either awkward or annoying. On my previous phone, for example, the call timer would disappear the moment I hung up, and it was impossible for someone to pick up an extension and join the conversation. A lot of default behaviors on this phone can be changed through the menus, which is great if you're not afraid of menus (I'm not). Most of the operations (e.g. deleting all messages) are easy and intuitive, and usually just work the way you expect them to. This is astoundingly rare in the world of consumer electronics.

Although there are a lot of buttons on the handset, I prefer this to putting everything in the menus, and I like the balance Uniden has struck in putting the most-used functions on buttons and the less-used ones in menus.


There are of course some things about the phone that I think could use improvement:

- Occasionally the signal gets flaky when I walk around the house while on a call, like being on a cell phone with poor reception. When this happens the person on the other end complains that my voice is dropping out.

- Sound quality is good, but not excellent. I occasionally hear the annoying scratchy, tinny echo that another reviewer complained about, but only rarely, and it doesn't last long. If it was persistent, it certainly would be unacceptable.

- I have Caller ID, but my telco doesn't offer "Caller ID with Name", so only the number comes through. I wish the phone would display the corresponding name from its phonebook for the incoming number, as my last cordless did. The phonebook's distinctive ring feature helps to identify an incoming call, but it would be a huge improvement to also display the name.

- There is no "mute" button - Mute is accessed through the menus. However, since it's the first menu item it only takes two button presses to activate or deactivate it.

- The answering machine's fixed sound quality and available time (12 minutes) are both mediocre, though adequate for me. 12 minutes is not going to be enough for some folks who like to leave their messages on the machine for days or weeks.

- It takes an awful lot of buttons to enter a name in the phonebook (e.g., 8 button presses to get a lower-case 's').

- The handsets are so small that they're difficult to clamp between yout ear and shoulder (just like a cell phone). I suppose that's the trade-off for having a phone small enough to slip easily into your pants pocket.

- The Caller ID list does not store a '1' before the numbers; when you want to dial a number in the Caller ID list you have to first press a button to add the '1' prefix. There should be a menu option to make adding the prefix the default.


Overall, I really like this phone, much better than any of my previous cordless phones, and I would certainly recommend it. I can't offer any information about possible interference from 2.4GHz wireless routers, since I don't have any other 2.4GHz devices in my house.

Overall, a very nice system that we've been using about 2 months. This is not only an excellent remote phone system, but has the following features we love:

- signal and talk directly between handsets and/or base
- room monitor from either handset to the other or to the base
- either handset or the base function as a speakerphone
- call waiting caller id that works
- can use both handsets simultaneously
- distinctive ring based on caller id

The range for us, from the main floor, goes about 300 feet outside (flat terrain) before breaking up. It works best with a direct line of sight above ground. (not over a hill etc)

The battery life for us is approx. several (4-5) days with moderate usage (1-2 hours per day).

It also works great with the uniden headset available at amazon:
Uniden HS910 Headset for Cordless Phones
It works OK on the shoulder (with the beltclip), but is a little small.

Note that this model does NOT have a built-in answering machine. I consider this a plus, since we have voicemail from the phone company. Also while the base has a speakerphone, it is not really meant for much use, and does not have a built-in LCD screen etc. We use the base for emergencies only (or to locate the remotes).

I agree with the previous reviews that a few features are hard to get to, such as mute or privacy (although I am glad privacy is off by default so someone else can join a conversation from the other phone). Speed dialing is easy to use, though - just press and hold one of the digits to pull up the speed dial number.

This phone has given my husband a new lease on life as far as hearing people on the phone. We have tried all kind of phones for hearing impaired but he has been unable to hear clearly, especially women's voices. He is a veteran so he qualified for the free phone from Sprint, but had problems with that. This Uniden phone is wonderful. He can hear perfectly using the speaker phone feature on this phone, even though he still has a hard time when putting the phone up to his ear. It was getting to the point where he would just tell people "My wife will have to call you back". He couldn't hear what our grandson and other family members had to say. So now we have handsets for this phone all around the house so that whereever he is in the house he can use the phone again. He can even hear when he goes out into his workshop at the side of the house. Thank you Uniden (and Amazon) for having this phone on your site. Anymore we do not buy any large items until we check out the "reviews" on Amazon.

Compared to the vtech 2651, this phone set shines! It has everything that other expandable phones of this price (and higher) would have. I especially appreciate the blinking LED notification of voicemail left with my service provider, the Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) battery is far better than Nickel Cadmium (NiCd) batteries, the handsets are small enough to be discrete like a cell phone, and the operation of the phone seems fairly intuitive to me (with hints of feature implementation matching my cell phone). Sound quality seems fine when listening, and the voice pickup by the phone is decent. The wireless reception is pretty good, and it hasn't had problems (and hasn't caused problems) with our 802.11g router. No complaints. It's a keeper.

I have had this phone for a couple of months & I love it. It has excellent reception & range. The phone is smaller than the one we had before, making it more "pocketable" & it has a handy belt clip. The display is BRIGHT orange & an 'easy to read' Caller ID. The answering machine sets up real easy & there are lots of "rings" to choose from.
The only thing that could be considered a negative is, that all though it is wall mountable, it is hard to see the answering machine display when it is on the wall. The phone mounts to the wall in a horizontal position via an adaptor. The display is facing the ceiling & when wall mounted, you can't see the display from across the room - thus the 4 stars.
The thing I like most is that the ringer can be "shut" off (do not disturb mode)& that is real handy for me when working an off shift!

Excellent cordless phone. One of the best cordless phones I have ever seen. A lot of cool features, compact and good quality.

Everything works just perfect and it has survided 2-3 good crash landings :-)

I recommend it to any one looking for a compact, multi handset, caller -id, speaker(on each piece), room monitor(volume a bit low), intercom and a lot of other features phone.

This phone system has more features than I'll probably use. The reception is crystal clear and static-free. I especially like the ability to choose different ring tones much like a cell phone. It comes with belt clips which are great if you're walking about the house or want to set it up for hands-free capability. It comes with 2 phones which is a great buy ! It's also expandable to carry more phones. Excellent buy !!!

I can't tell you how many old cordless phone systems I have in drawers and in the garage (IBM, AT&T, quite a few V-Techs) that I lost interest in. The sound quality in any of them wasn't that good ("It sounds like you're in a tunnel") and they didn't last very long.
I like the convenience of cordless so decided to try again. After reading a lot of reviews (particularly on Amazon.com), I decided on this one. Am I ever glad!!!! The voice quality - both incoming and outgoing - is as good as any corded phone I've ever used. Out of habit, I still ask people if they can hear me ok and nobody can tell I'm using a cordless phone!
I work from home and am at my computer all day. I use my phone with a Uniden headset and the voice quality still sounds like a corded phone. This phone is feature-rich and the lit keypad is very handy. A feature I especially like is the "Anykey Answer". When my phone rings, I don't even have to look at it, I just press any key and I'm connected to the call.
I wish I had known that this phone had a version with a digital answering machine built in; I would have gotten it instead. But, I'm still extremely happy with this one. In fact, every time I use it I'm still amazed at how lucky I am to have finally found the perfect cordless.
I recommend this phone with no hesitation.