Customer Reviews

VTech 20-2481 2.4 GHz DSS 2-Line Expandable Cordless Phone with Digital Answering System and Caller ID (Silver and Black)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

I looked all over to find a 2.4GHz 2 line cordless phone, before purchasing the Vtech. What I liked about it (besides the price) was that it has a very readable caller id screen on both the base and handset and a speaker phone on the base and handset. The handset speakerphone is a very unusual feature that I find very handy. The phone is also nice in that you can purchase additional handsets for locations where there are no telephone jacks.

Sound quality is very good, and the range seems much better than my old Sony 900MHz phone.

Here's the downside:
1. The base is not wall mountable. That may not be a problem for most people, but it is for me.
2. Occasionally, pressing a button on the phone does not create the correct tone. For instance, when calling my answering machine, I'm supposed to press 7 to delete the message. Although I press 7 on the phone (and 7 shows in the display), it is not always recognized by my answering machine. This has happened on other voice mail/computer phone systems too. I don't know if this is a problem on my specific handset, or is common to Vtech.
3. The quality of sound from the handsfree speakerphone varies. I can be talking to a caller using the handset speakerphone, and the voice fades in and out... even when I'm right next to the base.

In sum, it's a great looking phone with all the right features at a good price. The minor problems I've described are probably limited to my unit. I'll try it for a while longer, and then exchange it for another of the same model if I continue to have some problems.

The features of both the handset and the base-unit are excellent, it seems that they've thought of everything you could imagine. And the full-text displays make it rather easy to use. Some people may find the handset a little too small. A larger handset would make it a little easier to press-against your shoulder (so you have both hands free) - but it can be done.

The audio quality of the answering machine is rather poor. Has that tin-ish, echoey sound. And, the answering machine doesn't let you rewind/fast-forward within a message. You can either go back to the beginning, or skip to the next. But, if you need to hear a certain part over-again, you have to hear the whole thing over again.

In one questionable design item, they have a very large light (about the size of a dime) that indicates whether or not the answering machine is enabled (even more annoying is that it blinks if you've only enabled the answering machine on one of the two lines). But, the really important light (that tells you if you've got a messaging waiting) is the size of a pencil point. They should've reversed the size of these two lights. And they really could've done without the first one.

Not a bad phone, no real big issues. Very limited choices in 2-line expandable handset group.

Although from the following it would seem that the Cons are overwhelming, in reality, they are somewhat nitpicking however they do sigificantly take away from the overall package of the device being user friendly.

Pros:
Very very nice voice quality I'm told (in my ear though there is a hint of hiss which apparently others don't hear). Size is small enough to fit in pocket and very comfortably fits on a belt clip. However, it's smaller then most phones, about the size of a candy bar sized cellphone and takes a day to get used to. I find the phone to be very ergonomic and of a nice physical design. Very nice feature mix on this item.

Battery life has been really great after living with this phone for about 3 weeks.

Transmit/ receive range seem to be good. I've noticed no degradation in comparison to other cordless phones I own.

Cons:
Can't change almost any features on all phones/ base at the same time. This in and of itself makes programming a big chore. Memory programming has to occur on each phone and base independently. So, to program a bunch of numbers etc is a big pain in the you know what. Additionally, to clear the caller ID log which is the top display on all handsets and base is another big hassle for the same reason.

The relatively humongous red light showing that status of the answering machine is annoying to say the least especially when the answering machine is enabled for 1 line only and this thing flashes making it a major distraction when it's on a desk or in a bedroom in this mode (what were they thinking?).

Answering machine rates a 8 out of 10 in voice quality to the caller. It's not as crisp as I would have liked but it's definately not annoying or a big issue.

Summary: I would buy this phone again if I had to make another buying decision.

SHORT UPDATE AFTER 3 MONTHS OF USE:
Voice quality of callers leaves something to be desired... My voice quality Im told is very good.

Default display on handsets and base showing call history is lame and a big pain to clear out.

Programming system is also difficult as previously mentioned, each device must be programmed indvidually. Another poor item.

Large red flashing LED is distracting and is a useless feature.

OVERALL:
I would look elsewhere that perhaps there's new options in this catagory. The only contender I'm aware of (multi handset 2-line) is the Panasonic but that has the issue of lousy battery life from a lot of users. The deminished quality on received calls on this phone is very annoying. (I wonder if it's just mine but it's on all the handsets I own and I may try to get it serviced). It's not noticed when you use this phone all day but switch to another and then back again and it's very visible.

I did lots of research before buying another 2-line cordless to replace my ancient, worn out Panasonic 900 mhz. I knew two things from the start: 1) Panasonic's customer service is virtually non-existent, has always been so, and will never change ! (Shame on you Panasonic !) and 2) Panasonic batteries are a disaster.So, we eliminated Panasonic at any price ...
The VTech is a very good choice in a very limited field of entries. No 2-line phone on the market is going to provide an
ideal universe of performance and/or features. This VTech comes close !
1) manual : easy to folow
2) setup : very easy
3) cusomer service : hold time approx 7-10 minutes, not great,but
acceptable
4) itercom : excellent
5) speakerphone : excellent
6) additional handsets - excellent
7) soft keys - easy
8) keypad - easy
9) no discernable background noises when in use
10) answer machine - this appears to be the major complaint of the customer reviews. The quality of voice is acceptable , not tinny, not robotic sounding as others have mentioned. Is a separate answer machine better? Of course ! But, this built-in is acceptable. It's also easy to record, play-back, erase, etc.(However,we will deduct 1 star on the answering device)...
To those reviewers who nit-picked about the blinking light or the
small size of some lights,or other silly minutiae, I say, "Get a life !" To those who require a 2-line home/office phone, I say, "Get this VTech".It's as close to ideal as you're going to come !!

Whatever you do, don't buy a Vtech phone. But especially don't buy this one.

We got 3 of these phones for our 1500 sft. appartment. At first we loved them (I think this accounts for the favorable reviews). They seemed to have good signal and we loved the features. However very soon after putting them in we started having major problems. The biggest problem is that 50% of the time when the phone rings and you go to pick up the call, it will not give you the call. Instead the handset beeps, displays the vtech logo and then tells you it's looking for the base. This happens even when you're using the base phone!

We contacted Vtech about this and they gave us a list of things to check for. We followed all their instruction to the letter and it is the same as ever. There is nothing more frustrating than to not be able to answer your own phone.

We've had other Vtech phones and they also had similar "signal" problems when sitting right on the base! I've also talked to friends with vtech phones that report the same problems, so I don't think that we simply got 2 sets of faulty phones.

These phones look nice, but for such powerful phones it is a mystery why 50% of the time 2 feet from the base unit they can't seem to find the signal.

I would not recommend this product. I am returning it, because the quality of the answering machine is very poor. The playback sounds like a robots voice instead of a crisp digital quality recording. I am also not impressed with the sound quality of the handset, but I would have kept it but for the terrible answering machine quality.

I bought this phone as a replacement for a Panasonic model which I have for many years with no problems. This phone has a lot of features for the cost, however, we have tha base in the second floor and the phone is used in the first floor - usually it is somewehe but in its base most of the day.

The battery won't last a full day. Some times I would do long conference calls and it would not last for the whole call. The other day at Target I purchased a replacement battery for about $17 and now battery life is a couple days and not an issue anymore. The new battery is a 1500mAh compared to the 800mAh that came with the phone.

Other than that, the sound is clear, reception is good, the phone is very light, the answering machine works well, overall a good buy.

I liked this phone when I got it but am in the process of sending back the second one I purchased. The caller ID feature works on one line but not on the other. The company's help line was worthless, didn't even know how to turn off call screening. I tried everything they suggested, unplugging, taking out the battery, unplugging other two-line phones in the house that had caller ID, etc. Nothing worked. The company was very good about sending another phone but that one didn't work either. It's a shame because the ability to access the answering machine from the additional handsets was a big plus.

Voice quality was only fair, and I sometimes got a clicking sound when talking on the phone that was annoying to me and the people I was talking to. Still, I would have kept the phone for the ability to access the answer machine, the speaker phone in the base, and the light weight of the handset if it hadn't been for the malfunctioning caller ID.

Update: The company has finally admitted that the caller ID on the second line of the phones just doesn't work. They are trying to fix it and will give me a new phone when they do. In the meantime I am stuck with a phone that doesn't do what I need it to do. I have ordered an AT&T phone system but just learned that AT&T owns V-Tech so this system will probably turn out to have the same problem. It infuriates me that the company knows this is a problem but still sells the phone promising it will show caller ID, and not just on one line!

I bought the same unit about 5 years ago (still working) but needed a new remote handset as some of the numbers were sticking. The price for a new base unit from [...] was actually cheaper than just an additional handset from other sites. I really didn't want to go to a new 2 Line phone as this one is so easy to use.

Got this one to replace the 2 US-made Siemens Gigasets 2400 / 2420 where all the handsets died = ended up sounding like you are under water. Good at first, except a few flaws like unable to transfer the numbers programmed into a handset to another one...
Who likes programming each phone, when you use several.
However, after a few months callers complain about the crackling in the line. Checked, it is the V-Tech's !
Cannot suggest buying this one,despite it's reasonable price. Only problem if you want a 2-line: what else is there? Ugly Panasonic...and then ?