Customer Reviews

VTech DS6321-3 DECT 6.0 Cordless Phone, Silver/Black, 3 Handsets

5 star:		(92)
4 star:		(48)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(18)
1 star:		(18)

 

 

We had bought this phone from Amazon, along with many others on the way. To compare, we tried: AT&T's TL9237 ~ $120, Uniden's ELBT595 ~ $70, and Motorola B802 ~$95.

This phone far exceeds those with more bang for your buck. It can connect up to 3 different bluetooth devices, but only 2 at a time can be active. It does a great job of downloading your phonebook from your cell, and can have your directory available on all handsets. When accessing the phonebook, you can choose which cell's directory to use, and can rename the cell phones that connect (i.e. Bob's Phone). I've had the phone for about 2 weeks, and have yet to have a dropped call, and bluetooth connection is outstanding. Very clear.

I have a Blackberry Pearl, and my wife has the Iphone. Both initially connected seamlessly and automatically connects to the phones upon entering the house. Two of the three other bluetooth cordless phones we tried had the issue: if you are on the cell phone when walking into the house it'll drop the call to connect to the base. Upon testing it with this product, there was a short moment of silence, but the call maintained connection with no problem. Excellent!

Each active device on the phones can have their own ringtone. This is very neat. One downfall of the phone is you have to set the ringer and ringer volume attributed to a connected device ON EACH HANDSET, and you can't change the ringer on the base (simple enough, turn the base ringer off). Although it was only 3 phones we had to do this to, it took less than 5 minutes and it was set and done, so not a huge deal.

Why it works for my uses... I simply wanted a bluetooth cordless phone that works. I don't need memo's (who uses those anyway?), fancy ringtones, headset jacks (this doesn't have them), or anything else. If you are simply looking to extend the talking capabilities of your cell phone to the rest of the house, then this phone is it. I can't comment on the answering machine because I don't use it. The max talking distance between handset and base is decent (when I tested it, it went through 3 walls, exterior wall, and traversed the length of my yard before a hint of static). The phone is very simple to use, and buttons are large (probably because there isn't any fancy shmancy crap on it). The handsets are lightweight, and pretty good quality (they look like they could survive a few drops). Batteries initially take about 16 hrs to charge, but man they can hold that charge. Great battery life. The speakerphone is pretty good too.

All in all, if you are simply looking for a phone to do a phones job for a lot less money, this is an excellent choice. Sorry for the essay... and major use of ().

We have had this phone for a few weeks now. When I first started researching Bluetooth phone systems, I was very disappointed in the reviews most phones received (not just on this site). Then I found and ordered this phone.

This phone was easy to set up and simple to use. The call quality is excellent with either a cell call or landline call (can't tell the difference). The phone quality is very good as well. It does exactly what we need:

- It pairs up to our cell phones as soon as we walk into the house (actually when we pull into the garage).
- If using Bluetooth headset when walking in the door, it pairs up after the headset is turned off.
- The distance between base and cell phone has exceeded the recommended 30 feet. My cell is usually in my purse stowed away in the closet. My husband's phone is in another room, on the other side of the refrigerator. We have yet to have a problem with pairing.
- We have yet to have a dropped cell call.
- It utilizes our phonebooks from our cell phones - probably the one of BEST features!!!
- No more having to add new numbers to a home phone directory.
- I no longer have to run upstairs or downstairs to answer cell call - The BEST feature!
- If you have a land line, you can talk on both the landline and a cell call on separate handsets at the same time.
- You can choose which ringtone is used for each cell phone and landline so that you know without looking if it is your phone that is ringing (must set this up on each handset; takes two minutes).


A couple of notes on setup:

- It took the recommended 16 hours to charge the batteries before setting it up.

- When downloading the phone books from each of our cell phones there were some numbers that were missed. To fix, I deleted and re-entered the numbers into our cell phones and re-downloaded - this fixed the problem. Having Verizon wireless helped with this task - I deleted the entries from my phone and then re-synched with my Verizon online address book (a free feature from Verizon when you create a "MyVerizon" account on the web).

- At first it seemed like too many steps to search a directory, but then I found that if I pressed the Up arrow on the middle disk it took me directly to the directories saving a few steps (duh - now that I look at it there is a picture of the directory right under the up arrow).

2 Features I wish this phone had; but all of the other features and the quality make them a barely a wish:

- Speed dial settings
- Different ringtones for different callers.

Overall the quality of the phone, the great features and ease of use make this phone a GREAT buy!

Update: 2/21/2010 - We have had one dropped cell call - ooops- Husband had cell phone in his pocket. His phone rang and he picked it up on the Vtech. While talking, he decided to go to the mailbox (with cell phone in pocket), the call didn't drop until he was about 70ft away from the base unit! Pretty decent range.

Had one Bluetooth lockout. My cell would connect, husband's would not. I simply "un-paired" my phone and his phone paired up then I paired mine and all has been great since.

Battery life on the handsets are wonderfull - can leave off the charging unit for at least a week.

Still very happy with this phone!

Bought the phone from Amazon. There are 3 handsets and setup of time/date etc can be done in either one, and show up in all others quickly. Voice is much better than my 5-yr old 2.5GHz v-tech phone. The keypad is relative soft and responsive.
Bluetooth devices can be paired with base. It paired easily with our two cell phones, One ATT tilt, one Sony W520, and one bluetooth headset. But only two devices can be paired in the same time and user can pick which two. Cell phones can be pretty far away from the base, in my case from one corner of the house to the base ~40 ft, but I have to keep the headsets closer ~15 ft. Directory from my cellphone is uploaded easily, and it keeps the directories from different phone separate and I can pick which one to use, which is nice.
It does not have a headset jack in handset! which can be useful for long meeting/talk, that's the reason of one missing star. I have to use bluetooth headset instead, and stay closer to base, since only base can pair with bluetooth device. It does not have handset clip as in my old vtech phone, but I rarely use it.

I use this system both at home in my retail shop.
Pros
- two cell phone can be connected at once
- land line and one cell can be used at same time
- reliable auto connect IF CELL IS SET UP PROPERLY! We use two Blackberries and once we set the cell phones to auto connect, trusted etc, they worked fine. When we arrive at the shop phones are connected before leave the. When we arrive home, we are reconnected to the home unit, again before we leave the car.
- cell directories do download and can be accessed independently
- cell and land line ring tomes can be set different.
- comfortable, easy to hold and view handset
- speaker phone is actually fairly good
- answering machine programmable from any handset
- pretty good range: well over 100 ft from base
- DECT 6.0 seems to have been implemented well: our shop is in a downtown area with dozens of Wi-Fi's and who knows other DECT 6.0 systems around, and absolutely no interference
- easy to adds handsets to max
- one handset can join in on a cell call
- incoming calls light different answer buttons for land line and cell (both cells answer with same button)

Cons
- you cannot use two cell phones THROUGH THE SYSTEM at the same time. You can always pick up a cell and use it, though.
- only one handset can be active when another is in use, i.e. two handsets in use at a time.
- no headset jack on handsets
- no belt clip
- limited customization, i.e. handsets have numbers and not names, so using intercom requires you to know which handset is where (we have 12 at home and 7 at work).
- intercom does not have a ring all function.
- limited (10)ring tones.
- one land line: limits business use (we only have one line in our business, but can be a show stopper for others)

Overall - this is our third Bluetooth and land line system, plus trying a residential gateway. This is the most reliable and solid system, making the use of land line or cell line just a button push. Cons are manageable, and as more folks drop their land lines, features will be added in future generations.

Health Opinion note:
I saw a reviews here at AMAZON giving this one star for excessive radiation, but praising UK systems not available here.
DECT 6.0 implementation in US is at 1920-1930 MHz, Europe 1880-1920 MHz. These are a lower frequency range than the older 2.4 GHz wireless phones many folks still have. The difference in US to European DECT 6.0 frequencies have nothing to do with any superior health concerns of the old country regulators, but available bandwidth and licensing. In fact the US limits transmission power to 100 mwatt whilst the European limit is 250 mwatt - two and a half time more transmission power for the radio frequency radiation at essentially the same frequency. Actually, technically DECT 6.0 should be called DECT 1.9 as compared to 900mHz and 2.4gHz predecessors, but who would want to go from 2.4 to 1.9? so 6.0 was chosen as a marketing name, not a frequency specification name. The advantage of DECT 6.0 is the ability to adapt on several sub channels the information exchange between handset and base for more secure and less interference communication. In fact, most handsets seldom exceed 10 mwatt.

A 3G cell phone can emit up two watts maximum power (2000 mwatt), though only when far from a tower (they have adaptive transmission power and adjust power as needed, not for health reasons in particular but for battery life). I do not know about the long term effects RF energy from telecommunications equipment, but I know I need to use phones in my business and personal life and a wired phone will not do. So, given the choice I would rather be using the DECT 6.0 handset at 10 to 100 mwatt than my 3G cell phone at 100 to 2000 mwatt. But that's just me.

I highly recommend this system to those wishing to integrate their land line and cell phones and/or multiplex their cell phones to handsets around the home or office.

Thanks for reading my review.

This phone is just what I have needed! I can now use this to make phones via my cell phone while in my downstairs which usually wouldn't get an signal over my cell phone. No more running up or downstairs because the cell phone is on the wrong floor. It's like my cell phone is all through the house when I am at home.

It was very easy to set up and to pair my iphone to. Calls are clear and sound great. I didn't hook it up to a landline, as now that I can use my cellphone everywhere it my house I plan to drop the landline. By being able to drop the landline, this phone will pay for itself in two months of not having to pay for the landline. I am very pleased!

Update 6/3/10 I have downgraded this review from five stars to one. I'd give it less than one if possible. The reason being that we upgraded our phones and the Bluetooth no longer works reliably. Disconnects sometimes after the second ring. Disconnects sometimes in the middle of a conversation, drops call, then reconnects by itself. I have tried everything imaginable over the past two weeks to get the Bluetooth to remain connected, swapping phones, deleting any missed calls on the cell, deleting Backup Assistant, swapping phones, deleting everything and starting from scratch, power cycling the phone system and the phones. Nothing helps. IMHO, the Bluetooth in the cells has been upgraded and is now incompatible with the Bluetooth in the Vtech. The Vtech cannot be upgraded. The Vtech website offers no help or insight, only a comment that the system has been tested with the cellphones I am using. Not having a reliable connection is unacceptable. The Vtech is going back.

Original review.
For those who don't like to carry their cellphone with them while at home, especially in a multi-level house, this phone system is a wonderful way to be able to answer those cell calls from anywhere in the house. A great system to have whether or not you have a landline. The sound quality is noticeably better than the 2.4 Ghz Unidens we had been using, although the Unidens were acceptable. Easy to link the Bluetooth enabled cell the first time, and the cell is automatically re-linked when the cellphone is brought back into the house as long as the cell has Bluetooth enabled. The system can handle up to 12 extensions, each extension can call another extension by selecting Intercom, and one can call out on a cell from one extension while another is using the landline on a different extension. The entire contact list from the cellphone can be uploaded and the whole list appears on each extension. A nice big screen that shows date and time, which of the two cellphones are linked, and if a line is busy. The only downsides so far are the pathetic list of ten ringtones to choose from, and the fact that the handsets cannot be named (such as living room, computer, kitchen, basement), but only handset 1, handset 2, etc. I don't find these flaws to be serious enough to downgrade my rating. I have my six handsets placed in such a way that I can easily remember what room they are in. Everything is very intuitive in using these phones. It has a built in answerer, which we have turned off, since it is more convenient for us to use voicemail.
2/8/10 Update: phones still work great, for both the landline, cell, and as an intercom. Just two things to note. Disappointed that there doesn't seem to be a way to ring all the other handsets when using the intercom. Only one at a time. So the other person is somewhere in the house, but I'm not sure where. Have to ring each handset one at a time. The other slight annoyance is that when the entire contact directory on the cellphone is uploaded to the Vtech, it replaces the existing directory. There is a slight difference in the way names and types of phones are displayed. When imported, for example, a mobile phone will show up as Jane Doe/M, (next line blank), 123-456-7890. One has to step through each entry and make corrections to display the entry as Jane Doe, <cell>, 123-456-7890. With hundreds of contacts, this can be tedious. However, it's not an operational issue and I wouldn't downgrade my rating because of it.

While most of the features work just fine, our primary reason for purchase of this phone was the bluetooth feature and that is where we experienced problems. Simply put, the phone will not automatically re-connect reliably via bluetooth when we return home. This seems to happen when the cell phone has been connected to another bluetooth device (such as the car or in one case a bt headset) but even once the other bluetooth device is turned off, the phone does not connect automatically. To correct, you are forced to go through several menu steps on a handset and re-connect manually.

I did a lot of research to replace our aging, and failing, Panasonic cordless phones. I have used Panasonic for probably 20 years and was definitely favoring them, but I could not find a system that did what this Vtech system does. I also had a lot of trouble finding real information about each system. Eventually, with every system I read about having very mixed reviews, I had to make a decision, and there were a few reasons I went with the Vtech. First of all, it had bluetooth connectivity to our cell phones, and secondly, it could upload our cell phones' directory of phone numbers, so we did not have to enter them manually, and finally, the reviews were as good or better than all the other systems I found. I have had the phones (bought a three phone system with answering machine) for just a week so can't comment on longevity. Here is what I have found;
- The handsets are well built, solid feeling, although smaller than the old panasonic ones
- The cradles and base station are a bit lightweight, but fully functional
- The base station can link with two cell phones simultaneously, and one land line (but see next line)
- The system can handle one cell call and one land line call simultaneously, so it is like a two line phone
- The bluetooth link is quite powerful, and can maintain a connection, in our experience, for over 25 ft., so the base station and the linked cell phones can be that far apart without any call quality degradation.
- The upload of a cell phone directory worked flawlessly, I uploaded over 500 contacts from my Iphone.
- The program controlling the directory could be better, there is very little space provided for information about each contact, such as "plumber" or "doctors office", it only provides four categories "home, cell, work, other"
- The sound quality is fine: clear, good range, no static or hiss
- The buttons are backlit, except for the five function buttons in the middle, which they should change.
So, overall, I am very pleased with these phones, and on top of that they are very reasonably priced. I would recommend them to anyone wanting to use cell phone bluetooth calling, as well as a landline. This would be especially helpfull if you talk with your cell phone in a limited area to get good reception, put the cell phone in a good location and pick up the Vtech and go!

The vtech DS6322 series of phone is an upgrade from the DS6222 series. Most of the same features and drawbacks are kept intact, but Bluetooth is an added feature.

Why Bluetooth? This way this cordless let can function as a standard landline phone as well as a cell phone on the same handsets. Think of it as a two-line phone with one line attached to your cell phone. You just need to have this set "discover" your Bluetooth mobile phone (by placing it next to the base ) and all your contacts are immediately imported.

Most of the pros and cons of the previous model have not been changed:

PRO: Clear audio signal, easy to read display, answering machine, lighted keypad and screen, value priced

CON: Poor ringtones, most are monophonic, so musical rings are basically not available, when power disconnects you have to reset your time and date, 50-phone number limit on landline numbers (more available on cell phone downloads)

Overall this is a nice package with features most consumers want. Vtech should have upgraded this phone with better ringtones is my main complaint. Vtech has priced this phone at a reasonable price point for most buyers.

I have tried several similar systems, as well as the XLink which connects to your existing cordless phones. The VTech gets a solid plus for the absence of problems with making and receiving cell phone calls. Unlike the other systems, there is no issue with sound quality--clear as a bell, with no static--or dropped calls.

There are two issues, however. First, if you review the user guide online you'll note that the answering machine should function with cell calls as long as the number of rings before the machine picks up is set to less than the number of rings for your cell service voicemail. Also, the manual says the handset will indicate that you have either new voicemail (on the cell service side) or a new message. In fact, none of that works. The answering machine is only for landline use, and the handset does not reflect voicemail. It does show that you have a missed call, and you can move through the menu to find the caller's number. I called VTech and they verified that the answer system and the handset indicators (apart from missed call) only work with land lines.

The other issue is that there is no direct soft key input to get to your directory (phone book). You have to hit "Menu/Select" a few times to get into the directory, select "Home" or the name of any imported directory, and then scroll down or search for the entry you are looking for. In contrast, Panasonic systems place the phone book on the screen as a soft key selection and you can easily get right into your list of saved numbers.

In comparison, the X-Link system does seem to patch cell calls through to a cordless system answering machine (no idea how they did that), but it also has errant, and loud static--at least in my home. It may be that my old, standard cordless system does not coexist well with the new fangled gizmo. The Panasonic Link-To-Cell can be maddening at times, until you straighten out any problems with dropped calls. Apart from that, the software is well designed, as I mentioned, and the call clarity is fine.

Bottom line: The VTech system is trouble-free, but you need to be aware of the limitations regarding the menu and lack of answering machine for cell-only users. I think VTech should note on their web page and in the user manual that the answering system does not work for cell calls.