Customer Reviews

Uniden TRU8888 5.8 GHz Digital Expandable Cordless Phone with Corded Base, Dual Keypads, and Answering System (Black/Silver)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I bought this phone to replace my old Siemens 2420 Gigaset which was just horrible. The only reason I kept it was because it would forward distinctive ring calls out the second port (which I use as my fax). The Uniden does not do this but I purchased a device to take care of that. Here is the quick and dirty:

Pros:
-It works great with my Wireless G network - no outages and no interference.

- The size of the number keys on the base set are larger than the model with two wireless handsets. Very easy to dial. This is a big plus as the TRU-8885 model has TINY buttons.

-The handsets and base station have their own phonebooks but you can send stored entries to one another (base to handset, handset to handset, handset to base). You can send one at a time or the entire phonebook at once.

-Display is large and easy to read.

-Speakerphone is loud and clear on both handset and base. People I've called hardly noticed I was on speakerphone.

Cons:
-The sound quality of the corded handset sounds a bit "hollow". Uniden claims to use some kind of sound technology to enhance sound quality but I don't like it. There is no way to turn it off!! Speakerphone sounds great though.

-Caller ID is saved on every handset and base. You have to delete them individually from each handset and base. At least there is a delete all option.

-You can't dial directly from the Caller ID menu because It doesn't add the "1" in front of the area code. All you have to do is hit the "*" key and it will add the "1".

-Can't adjust the ring volume on the base and it is LOUD.


Overall, I can't give this phone five stars because of the cons listed above, but don't let that stop you from picking this up. It is great if you can live with the loud ringer on the base and the "hollow" sound from the corded handset. The cordless handsets sound great. Weird.

I just received my phone last night and I LOVE it. I never really write reviews until its super great or super bad.. this phone is just awesome.
I wanted to counter some of the "CONS" that some of the previous reviewers stated.

1. "Can't adjust the ring volume on the base and it is LOUD."
That's NOT true. You simply hit the volume on the base when its not in use, and it gives you three options: OFF, LOW, and HIGH.

2. "You can't dial directly from the Caller ID menu because It doesn't add the "1" in front of the area code. All you have to do is hit the "*" key and it will add the "1".
This makes sense because not all states require a "1" when dialing another intrastate area code, like Texas.


3. "The sound quality of the corded handset sounds a bit 'hollow'".
Thats not the same in my case. The corded and the cordless both have great clarity and sound.


Here are some extra perks that I just love-
The cordless handset emulates a lot of newer cell phone technology, such as speakerphone ON THE HANDSET and BASE. If you want to call someone and have a group of people listen, you don't all have to gather around the base on the table..you can just hold up the handset since it also has an external speaker.

Also, there's a DO NOT DISTURB button..which silences all the handsets and base with one push. So if you just want a little free time, you dont need to disconnect, just hit DND and the caller ID will still log of your calls.

All in all, I just HIGHLY recommend this phone. It will last you a long time (my bf's uniden still has great sound and its 4+ years old..my toshiba lasted only 2 years)

I think I'm going to return this phone. I absolutely love it, and it works great, and I ranked it five stars. However, it's not working well with my Plantronics CS50 wireless headset. The sound distorts on the headset and will sound sort of like "alien voices" in a bad sci-fi flick, and sometimes I get loud feedback. Also, the Plantronics handset lifter barely works with the handset of the Uniden--there is not enough space to wedge it between the handset and the base. It is working, but it is a bit precarious in that respect.

Now, if you're a normal human being and aren't planning on using this phone with fancy wireless headset and such, it is an excellent device. I had returned a 2.4 GHz phone which had so much static and noise and also caused the wireless connection on my laptop to disconnect. This phone doesn't seem to interfere with wireless networking equipment at all--or suffer ill effects from all of the other wireless devices in other buildings (I live in a crowded city).

Also, the clarity on both the corded handset and the cordless phone are excellent. I think it must be the fact that it's not only in the 5.8 GHz band, but it's also digital. My best friend called me, and I asked "who's this?" and I realized that I was thrown off because on this phone, she sounds exactly like she does in person, which I was not expecting.

Also, after having reviewed the manual, all of the features were easy to use. The setup and the preferences were easy to configure. Overall, I would highly recommend this product. The only non-intuitive thing was that you have to adjust the volume of the phone itself while your greeting is playing back or something...otherwise the volume control applies to the volume when you're on the handset. It was twice as much money as the 2.4 GHz AT&T model that I tried at first, and I think it is worth it because it was perfect out of the box.

I also love the fact that you have mute buttons on both the corded base and on the cordless handset. Also--if the line is already in use, it tells you so via a message on the cordless handset or a light on the base. You can change settings on the base remotely from the cordless handset. And the phonebook feature allows you to send the phonebook from base to cordless handset (I've seem some reviewers of other phones requesting this feature).

Overall, a really great device.

I am quite satisfied with this telephone.
Best points:
1. Excellent reception/voice quality using the cordless handset.
2. Despite some of the other reviewers' comments, I do not think that the corded handset has a "hollow" sound.
3. The speakerphone is excellent, although people I am speaking to are aware of the fact that I am using the speakerphone.
4. The other reviewers are incorrect - the ringer volume on the base unit IS adjustable. One simply presses the up arrow or down arrow key just to the right of the display. There are three choices: ringer off, low ringer, loud ringer.
4. Set-up is easy
Worst points:
1. The remote access code is only 2 digits of your choice - not very good security.
2. The cordless phone provides a choice of ringer tones/tunes. However, the base unit has no choice at all. The result in my apartment is that I hear a combination of the base unit ringer and the cordless unit tune when someone calls.
3. The base unit is not especially attractive. It is black with a cheap-appearing silver shell around the keys.
4. The corded handset is too small - not comfortable to hold.

Overall, I recommend it strongly for anyone who wants a corded base with cordless extensions and needs 5.8 GHz (important for apartment living where interference levels are high).

I bought this phone to replace a Panasonic 900 mhz cordless with answering machine (which has been a good phone, but message playback was loosing quality and the handset battery was dying) that was 8 or more years old.

A trip to the giant electronics/appliance store proved to be dissapointing. If we can put people on the moon, why can't they make a decent cordless phone/answering machine I was thinking, until I saw the Uniden. I liked it right away because it has a ton of useable features, is expandable to 10 cordless handsets, and the cordless handsets are a manageable size (slightly larger than a cell phone).

After bringing it home (with one extra cordless handset purchased seperately), I found a lot more features that I thought were great. In addition, the range is fantastic, farther than the 900 mhz phone it replaced and further than the 2.4 GE that I have in my home office. Sound quality at distance is crystal clear, a feature I liked as I stretched out in my hammock in the backyard with a cigar and a scotch while making some calls that used to be done by cell phone.

Other features I found very useful:
- global programming features (set the time on one phone and all the others match it).
- check and listen to messages from any handset.
- distinctive ring tones that can be assigned to frequent callers.
- pre-recorded greeting that sounded professional and had great quality (not a robotic voice).
- room monitoring - like a baby monitor, but it rings the phone before it kicks in.
- intercom dialing between handsets.
- all handsets blink a red light if a new message was received by the base unit.
- easy to see readouts on handsets and base (nice dark black lettering on a pleasant orange LCD background).
- The cordless handsets also have a walkie-talkie function (you take a couple with you someplace away from home and you can make calls between them).
- No external antennaes.
- Easy to adjust volume of ringer and conversations.
- Do not disturb feature (phone and answering machine still work, but in a silent mode).

So far I have only found one thing that is missing - when listening to messages the phone does not display the caller ID info for the caller that left the message. My old Panasonic did that and it was a feature that I used often. You can still read the caller ID info, but it doesn't automatically display when playing the message. I am still learning the features, but I think that you have to exit the messages, remember what time the message was left, and the scroll through the CID info to find the information. Not a deal breaker for me, but something that I really liked on the old phone.

My technophobe wife loves this phone and said I did well in picking it out. My teenage son (who thinks computers should rule the world) loves it and said "these are too cool." I'm somewhere between the two of them and I love the phones as well.

I'm extremely pleased with this purchase. Also, Amazon's prices are slightly cheaper than the big box stores, and after writing this review I am going to order a couple of more expansion handsets.

PROS:
* The handsets and base have their own phonebooks. You can send the numbers to each handset or to the base. You can send individual numbers or all of the numbers at once to the designated unit.
* Excellent sound quality
* You can retrieve messages from any handset or from any touch-tone phone while away from home
* Good range
* The instructional prompts are clear and easily understood
* The "do not disturb" feature stops both the base and any handset from ringing.
* You can disable the audible tone when you have a message.
* The corded base unit will work during a power outage.

CONS:
* You have to set the time yourself instead of the phone getting it from the telephone system. However, it is a global setting and can be done from the base of any handset.
* Not wall-mountable
* There are not enough menu shortcuts. As an example: while you can disable the audible tone when you have a message, you have to first select the menu, then answering machine, then at least one other choice to simply cut off the tone.
* The base unit does not have selective ring tones like the handsets
* While the buttons are a nice size, the print underneath them may be difficult for some people to see.

TOSS-UPS:
* Caller-Id is stored on each handset and the base. This means the numbers must be independently deleted from each. This is a good idea some users want to keep numbers others do not want, but a bad idea if you want every unit to be the same. Look at the first item under PROS.
* The phone does not automatically add a `1' when calling a number from caller-id if the number has an area code different from your own.

BOTTOM LINE
I've had this phone for over four months. Overall, I am quite pleased with its performance and usability. I have not had anyone complain concerning its sound quality or the speakerphone. It some cases it could be more intuitive, one would think if you did not want to be disturbed you would also like to avoid a tone telling you have a message. It is a good system and well worth its price.

I first bought the UIP1868P version for VOIP (Voice Over Internet) phone service.
I'm not sure if it was that phone, the Mac or the Packet 8 (not Vonage) technology, but I gave up on that and bought this one. For one thing, if I do decide to try VOIP again, I'd rather have the router separate so I am not limited to one service provider.

Having played with the phone and handset while trying to get the internet service to work, the additional steps to fully set up the system were, not surprisingly, easy.
Oh, I shoud admit I am not a phone person. I am probably the only person in Denver metro that doesn't own a cell.

The functional layout and size of the buttons is logical and easy to use. They have a very nice touch; you don't push them accidently and you don't miss numbers because you didn't push hard enough. I have had my Panasonic for almost 3 years and still have to check the buttons to remember what to push to erase, delete, etc.
Since the speaker phone button lights up when on, it's easy to figure out what to turn off if you want to switch.

The steps to do anything are easy to figure out by the LED prompts. The ringer variations seem pretty reasonable. And I like both the Do not disturb and ringer off features very much. Another feature dear to the heart of someone who does not like living in a world of beeps is the option to turn off the tone that is made when you push a button. (If only I could do that on the microwave...)

It is a plus for me that corded base will work as a telephone in a power outage.(My other one won't) I happen to like the orange backlighting. Generally the phone and handsets seem better built than most. I really like the built in angle - seems like someone figured out just the right degree of angle for a desk phone.

The next time I go shopping with my 20 something kids, we will take the handsets and use the Direct Link, 2 way radio feature.

It is close on the five stars, but I don't know if it will last ten years, so I can't go there. Also would prefer the back plate and buttons on the base were not the same(silver) rather than a contrast. It is not as much of a problem as if the handsets were.

Factoid someone else might not realize BEFORE trying to deregester an extra handset and reregister it to a different phone. You have to deregister on the first phone. New phone can't do that. Then you can reregister to the new phone.

4/06 Footnote, I did get VOIP to work with Vonage (so far - great, the telephone marketers have lost me :) I'm using the answering machine on the phone rather than their voicemail. Works easier for me.

Just bought the phone today and I love it.

I read a review that said the base ringer volume couldn't be changed - that's what I thought too, but it turns out that it can be changed. Uniden just left it out of the manual, but through a call I discovered if you press the volume up or down button 2 times really quick when the phone is on the hook, it will change the ringer volume.

I ordered the base phone and several others to go along with this expandable set and can receive calls but cannot make calls. In other words there is no dial tone. So I called Uniden and spoke to a rep. she asked me the usual questions, like did I try the phone is another room, did I try another type of phone, but she never asked me if the phone was plugged into a splitter until I asked her. The reply was the phone does not work with a splitter at all, you must plug it into a phone jack. So buyer beware. I don't remember seeing this when I bought and spent $300.00 for this phone and others from Uniden.

I already have a TRU8885-2 unit for the house and had been very happy with it so decided to pick up the TRU8888 for my home office to use with my Plantronics 510S headset. I enjoy everything about the phone and would have given it 5 stars except that it does not work with a base station style headset adapter (one that hooks in between the base and handset). The "Integrisound" voice enhancement feature of the Uniden severely distorts the headset making it unusable and there is no way to turn this feature off on the Uniden. To confirm this I pluged in a few older base station headsets with the same results.

The 2.5mm headset adapter on the cordless handset does work for basic 2.5mm earpieces but several people I called using this said that the volume was very low, which was not an issue when switching to the normal corded and cordless handsets on the same call.

Overall, if you do not need to use a headset I would highly recommend this phone. It provides great voice quality and a robust feature set for a phone at this price. The compaints that previous reviewers had about a lack of volume control or redial button are not correct. Both features can easily be found by reading the manual.