Customer Reviews

VTech i5881 5.8 GHz DSS Expandable Cordless Speakerphone with Answering System

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

 

 

After trying more than half a dozen new cordless phones which I returned for various reasons, I believe that I have found the right one.

This new VTech has just about any feature you would want, and the sound quality is, so far, second to none. Truly great, and I think better than I get on a corded phone, as you don't have the feedback of your own voice. Very natural sounding, which was impossible to find in a non 5.8 cordless phone.

My only suggestion to Vtech would be to add music on hold, expand the phone directory from 50 to 100 entries, and allow the user to shorten the length of time a caller can leave a message from 4 minutes to a lower number. Don't know why other makers have not been able to follow the Siemens lead - Siemens has had music on hold for years on all their phones.

Have had this new phone about a week, and really like it so far. Have not discovered any big surprises. Those who want to purchase an additional battery for power failure protection for the base which seem to be always unavailable from Vtech, can perhaps do as I did and buy a Sanyo battery ...for about 14 dollars - the one for the VTech 2420 works so far.

I think it would be very difficult to find a better buy on such a fully featured phone, and would certainly be hard to find a phone, cordless or corded, which had better sound quality.

The i5881 is full of features. It has everything that you need on a cordless phone. The quality of the phone is very good. The ringers and phone settings are easy to configure and let you personalize the phone. Call quality is great on both regular and speaker phone. A few minor things that are inconvenient include: the caller ID on the handset and the base do not link up (ex. base says 4 new calls, handset says 0 new calls); the answering machine quality is pretty good, but can use a bit of refinement. It seems like the treble is a little too high. However, everything is understandable. Overall this is a very good phone for the price, and is one of the best phones out currently. The minor imperfections are not enough to lower the rating to a four, maybe a 4.5 but thats not an option.

Pros:
Base is a fully functional speakerphone with keypad.
Handset not physically tied to the base.
Excellent voice quality.
Loud and clear speakerphone on handsets.
Expandable and has point to point intercom among handsets and the base.
Call transferrable to a specific handset if needed.
Clear display.
5.8 GHz does not interfere with 802.11b/g

Cons:
Caller id not displayed while playing back messages recorded on the answering machine.
Rather tiny keypad buttons.
Wish it had talking caller id.
Recalling numbers from memory while in the middle of a call is not easy.

I once had the expensive Siemens cordless system, but ditched those on Ebay b/c of the horrible ergonomics. If you picked up a phone call for another person, you couldn't just yell, 'pick up the phone' b/c the other units couldn't barge into an existing call. You'd have to remember the cumbersome process of call-forwarding.

Anyhow, the VTech system doesn't have such problems, so right off the bat I was encouraged. Out of all the great features this system offers, you cannot custom name each station. You are stuck w/ the default numbering. Thus if you want to transfer to, or page, another handset, you have to recall which phone is which number. What is more surpising is that older VTech system allowed custom-naming, according to tech support.

Contrary to a previous review, I didn't find the answering machine quality horribly poor, but it isn't stellar either. I can certainly live with it.

What I think isn't so hot is the general sound quality when on the phone. I would have thought that 5.8GHz would be the best I've ever had. On the other hand, phone lines only transmit a very poor quality sound; something like the equivalent to 11kHz mono (vs 44kHz stereo for compact disc music).

My only other complaint is the general crappy belt clips that snap onto cordless phones, including these. If you bend over & the phone is too far towards the front of your belt, the clip snaps off & the phone tumbles. Better design would be appreciated.

Several days ago I bought a VTech phone identical to the i5881 but without the answering machine component. Loved the cool design (especially the bright blue indicator lights). The phone had all the features I wanted including base keypad and speakerphone and expandable handset capacity. The problem is that it has the worst range of any cell phone I have ever owned. We keep the base set in the kitchen at the back of the first floor of our house and I can't get any remote handset reception in our bedroom in the front of the second floor. Our house is big but not huge. Its a wood framed house not solid masonry or steel which can block reception. Tonight I am returning the phone to the store where I bought it. One other minor problem that I could have lived with, had the reception quality been better: the dial buttons on both base and the handset are very tiny...hard to see for aging baby boomers like me.

I've had this phone for 6 months and the handset that came with it won't charge anymore. A new battery didn't solve the problem. A quick call to VTech for a replacement handset reveals that they don't make this phone anymore and the only option I have is to buy a completely new setup. Don't waste your money.

I got the new version set (with color handset)
it claims it runs at 5.8GHz, but actually handset to base is still running on 2.4GHz, only base to handset is running 5.8GHz, the reason I get 5.8GHz model is I run wireless LAN and bluetooth, the old 2.4GHz phone often kills the connection
the mailbox is not that clear, and the setup is not that easy as well, and the mailbox can be monitored ONLY on base, not any handset
the call voice is fine, speakerphone on handset is okay, not too loud, but the speakerphone on base is pretty loud if I set the volume to max
it has no hold function, you have to use mute instead
you can use walkie-talkie between handsets, and transfer calls between base and handsets
the battery is easily removable, and you can buy an extra battery for the base, that you can keep using the WHOLE system during power outage, this is very handy feature for un-interruptted use

if you're running wireless LAN at home, think twice before buying this set

I bought this telephone at Sam's and felt like this would be the end of all my phone worries. This telephone system worked great for one month, and then the reception went to the dogs. Unless I am within five feet of the answering device, I get only static on the handhelds. Unfortunately I didn't keep the receipt and box and cannot return it. I'm looking at going back to corded telephones.

This set of cordless phones is very good for VoIP users. I'm using Vonage and it only requires one phone jack. I have three add-on handsets. Also, since it's 5.8Ghz, it does not interfere with my home wireless 2.4Ghz network. There's a great speakerphone feature on each as well. I found this very useful and better than having to connect a headset to the phone. I also like the fact that each phone has its own caller ID log. I've never really tested the advertised distance capability of these phones but I've never had a problem with it within my 3 story house. The only CON about these phones and the reason I'm giving it a 4 instead of a 5 star, is because the quality isn't superb. Sometimes you can get some static but overall it's a great set of phones and beats the regular 900Mhz, 2.4 Ghz cordless phones.

Good phone, even used, but in need of an appearance update and a worthy battery to keep it going. Used these for many years before switching to another brand.