Customer Reviews

VTech DS6151 DECT 6.0 Cordless Phone, Silver/Black, 1 Handset

5 star:		(45)
4 star:		(26)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(15)

 

 

I am running a business with 2 phone lines for many years now and phones have always been a problem for me. I found that all cordless phones degrade or stop working after a couple of years, so I went through several different brands and models which I can repport here for you. My comment on the VTech is the last paragraph.

Starting 1999 I had a 2.4 GHz Siemes Gigaset and that was the best phone I had, it was stylish, very well organized and functioning. Unfortunately, wireless computer networking exploded shortly after and swamped this frequency band that no cordless phone at 2.4 GHz worked well any longer. Features included phone book copy amongst the different hand sets.

I had two sets of different Panasonic 5.8 GHz phones, and all were really bad. Voice quality was horrible and something stopped working in a short time. One is tempted to buy Panasonic because they have the largest selection of models. But don't be fooled by that! I could not buy Siemens because they retracted from the 2-line analog phone market, they only offer VoIP stuff, but I am not ready for that yet.

I had a Motorola 5.8 GHz for a couple of days and let me tell you, this was the worst phone I ever had, it was even much worse than all Panasonics. There would be not enough space on the Amazon server to write down all the details :-)

Then I had a 5.8 GHz AT&T phone and I really liked voice quality and workmanship. But all hand sets had different numbers in their phone book because you cannot transfer the phone book between them; I just could not keep up with this. Also, the functionality was not very intuitive.

Finally I got his VTech phone, and I must say that I am impressed. I wanted to have a DECT 6.0 phone because I believe this is the best frequency band for cordless phones. This phone looks great, has excellent voice quality, has an intuitive menu setup, and it has a very competative price. And what I like most which no other phone ever had: You program a number into your phone book and it is available instantaneouly in all hand sets. Only thing, they should have memory for more than 50 numbers. I have this phone and 4 hand sets since Dec 2009, and the only thing I hope is that it will be reliable. As soon as I have an issue I will update this review, so if you don't see an update, that is more points for this phone.

Everything is great about this phone except that it does not have a headset jack. Since I use it for long business this is a must for me and I returned mine. It is my fault for not checking the specs more thoroughly but I thought I would save others from the same mistake by posting this review. So if you need a headset jack don't buy this phone. I gave it three stars because I believe a 2 line phone of this caliber should definitely have a headset jack. Also, the handsets do not support belt clips. So if you are used to walking around with the phone on your belt while you talk look elsewhere. My previous VTech phone lasted 6 years and had both these features. It is a real shame they left these two minor things off. I guess if I want DECT and headsets I will have to go Panasonic. Happy dialing.

Just received this phone as well as 3 more extensions. Voice quality is excellent. Answering system is good as well. Fairly easy to operate.Handsets are comfortable to hold.
The only reason I gave it 4 stars is because it does not have a jack for a headset. I use headsets frequently because I have carpal tunnel. Haven't used it outside house to see what kind of reception there is.

After throwing away three seperate handsets that gradually stopped working, it appears that the cheapest set might do the trick. Started out with a Siemens base station and handsets, then a Panasonic and just the last set was AT&T. All of them died and were never really good in the first place. It has good range, clear sound, easy to press buttons, speakerphone works nice, phonebook sharing throughout all handsets and base station. If you need a two line phone without suffering with junk like I did, get this.

I have been using this VTech 2-line DECT phone for about three months now. I am satisfied with the initial quality and features of this phone. Audio quality is good, and the features work as advertised. While the handsets and the base do not have headset jacks, the speakerphone feature more than compensates for that. Battery life on the handsets was not bad even with handset speakerphone use. The base speakerphone sounds a bit tinny, but still the voice clarity is good enough for any office or home use.

I have used Panasonic, Uniden, and Sony cordless phones before, and this VTech phone seems to have better voice quality than the other models I have used so far.

This seems to be a very good 2-line DECT phone for the price. I recommend this product.

I am an administrator at a small private school. We have some older Panasonic 2-line phones that need replacing. I am very impressed with the sound and quality of the vtech phones. We bought 6 extension units for our school. I have a vtech at home and love it. However, these units do not have a separate ringer for paging or intercom. We want to be able to shut off the line ringer in the classrooms and still be able to page the individual phone. Unfortunately when you turn off the ringer for the phone lines you also turn off the pager. My single line vtech at home allows for seperate tones and controls, but for some reason they do not have this feature on the 2-line. So.. we are going to be sending them back... too bad.

Believe it or not, I have never reviewed a product on Amazon before. But the poor quality of an item I purchased because of its good reviews has compelled me to write this one.

I purchased a Vtech 6.0 DECT 2-Line cordless phone for my office and staff to use, which replaces a 1-line cordless phone system from Panasonic. Unfortunately, I feel I have to return the Vtech system for the following reasons:

1) Loud static before and after someone speaks while on speaker phone
2) Microphone delays sometimes at the beginning of speaking while on speakerphone, causing parts of a sentence to be cut off
3) Volume not loud enough to hear some speakers on the other end
4) Voice sounds tinny to many callers when speaking

There are other drawbacks, too like the lack of a headset jack, which I knew about in advance, but the phone's other shortcomings fail to outweigh these other downsides. Hopefully I will be able to return the system and find a better substitute.

- Aaron

I bought this phone to replace a Phillips SE6591B/17 DECT Series 2-line cordless phone with answering machine Philips SE6591B/17 DECT Series 2-line Cordless Phone with Answering Machine (Black) that I had purchased not quite a year ago. That phone was a beautiful design that was incredibly hard to live with. Just one example is that the answering machine was not accessible on the base. You had to use the hand set to find and listen to any new messages. Also, the only indication that you had a new message was a blinking red light on the handset. But that same red light blinked after each new call that the phone received if you didn't clear the call log so it does not indicate a new message.

Unlike that phone, the Vtech 6.0 2-line cordless phone with answering machine is a real answering machine with answering machine buttons and flashing indicators right on the base where they should be. You have a new message on line 1, the line one mailbox button flashes and there is a polite little intermittent beep to alert you. (no beep on the Phillips).

The Vtech was so simple to set up and program with phone numbers. It is wonderfully intuitive. You can figure out how to do what you want without even looking at the well-presented instructions. (My wife can even operate it!) Sound quality and range are excellent, it has volume control so you can control the volume on either the handset or base and it actually has HOLD buttons on both.

All in all a great 2-line cordless phone/answering machine at a very nice price. I only wish this was available a year ago. (I paid $108 for the Phillips 11 months ago from Amazon and I see that it has now been marked down to $51.81! I think that says it all.)

Replaced a Panasonic that was several years old with this Vtech. The reception, sound, etc. is tremendously better. The expandability and the 2-line features are outstanding. The only shortcoming, which reduces my rating to 4 stars, is the relatively poor menu structure of the user interface. Essentially, each act, such as calling a stored telephone number, requires several steps.

WE purchased this system with five additional handsets.
This is the most versitile phone we have ever used. The sound quality,the programability and the ease of use are just a few of the many features we appreciate.
We had never heard of the brand name but were put at ease when we discovered that they are the manufacturer for ATT. Unfortunatly,there was confusion with the order process and the purchase required several frustrating conversations with people in the Philipines who spoke english poorly.
VFH