Customer Reviews

VTech ip5850 5.8 GHz DSS Cordless Phone with Dual Handsets and Digital Answering System

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(29)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(16)
1 star:		(25)

 

 

I take the reviews seriously when researching products but the reviews for cordless phones were so varied within same models that I could only take a chance. I bought the VTech ip5850 because of the 5.8GHz and the price. Other cordless phones I've had, mostly Radio Shack phones, worked awfully in my house. With the ip5850 I have not experienced any static inside the house, but in the garage however there was some (not a big concern for me though).

The calls come in very clearly and callers tell me that they hear me clearly as well.

The messages left on the answering machine are also clear.

The menu is easy to navigate and the User's Manual is equally simple to follow.

I like that the phonebook is automatically shared by both phones. For single folks its ideal, famlies might not want an entire phone book shared by all users.

I'm not crazy about the backlighting or LCD display, the backlight could be brighter and the LCD contrast should at least be customizable, which it isn't. But again, my greatest concern when choosing a phone was a clear connection which the ip5850 certainly has given me.

I have yet to have a problem with the rechargable batteries but then again I always keep the phones on their bases.

To sum up, great phone, great clarity, no interference from the many electronics I have in my home, an overall good phone for a good price. Hope this helped.

I recently purchased this phone to replace one that I was completely unhappy with. This one seemed to have all of the features I was looking for and so far, I have not been disappointed in the least.

First off, this phone comes with everything you could ever want: 2 handsets, answering machine, paging, intercom capapbility between the 2 handsets, 3 mailboxes, ear pieces for the headsets and the list goes on and on.

I have roamed far and near with this 5.8ghz beauty and have yet to experience any interference at all. My basement wreaked havoc on my old 2.4ghz system, but not a single buzz or squelch from the VTech.

We keep the base in the kitchen and the extra handset in the bedroom. If I get a call that is for someone else, I can page the other phone and transfer the call over. No more yelling in the house to pick up the other phone!

Seriously though, I've gone through all sorts of phones to try and find that perfect fit. So far, this one is living up to all of my expectations.

I was amazed at how long I had gone without using a handsfree set with our home phone. Since this set includes 2 earpieces I was able to try that out right away and I will never go back to holding the receiver in my hand.

The sound is great and design is sleek and handsets are lightweight and are easy to read in the dark.

If you are looking for a phone upgrade, this is a definite option for you.

I bought this phone based on the features-to-price ratio -- it was hard to beat! I went to physically look at this phone compared to the Uniden model. The Uniden was just too small, and had dozens of tiny buttons that were indistinguishable from one another. I've been very happy with the VTech 5850.

Clarity is great. I have a wireless home network and didn't want the interference, so the 5.8gHz is essential. The base is solid, but not too large, and well laid out. The voice-led menu system is easy to navigate through for settings.

I love the handsets. They sit sturdily upright, and the speakerphone is excellent. The buttons are logically placed and it's very easy to use.

One of my favorite features is that the phonebook is stored in the base unit, and is shared between the handsets. It's a breeze to enter new names/numbers, or add names to the #'s in the phone's call history.

My two minor quibbles:

(1) The way the 5850 plays messages is backwards from every other phone/answersystem I've used -- this unit plays the date & time FIRST, and then the message. This takes some getting used to, but there's a bigger problem: if you listen to a message and then hit the DELETE button (even while the date/time is being played), it actually erases the NEXT message, and you never get to hear it! (And, unless you're counting the new messages as they're played to compare with the number the machine said you have, you may never realize you've deleted one.) The only way I've found is to play through all messages, then play them all again and skip/repeat to delete the ones you want. It may sound minor, but wait until you've erased a few messages before you realize it.

(2) Really minor, but I wish there were some better ringers. We found one that's relatively benign, but most of them were fairly jarring.

Overall, I really love this phone. The price is right, and as long as you don't need to expand beyond the included 2 handsets, it's got everything you need.

I have owned VTech phone systems from the first generation cordless up until this model, which replaced my 2.4 GHz system. This model is ideal for a single person or small family as it is not expandable, but you get two phone sets for a great price. The features are plentiful and easy to understand. I like the new rechargable batteries instead of the clunky cartridge in the older phones. Three mailboxes, 50 phone number storage (What's cool is you only punch in the numbers/names once and they are shared by both phones.), good sound quality, so I have no complaints yet. I didn't give this 5 stars because I don't know how it will stand the test of time. My 2.4 GHz system became a pain as it aged and the phone units discharged very quickly, even with new battery cartridges. Plus VTech did not say if you should let your phone units discharge off the charger or keep them sitting on the charger...a real dilemma because I wonder what is best for long battery life. But let's hope the new rechargable batteries do a better job...then I'll add the fifth star.

Owning three (you think I would have learned) of the most expensive Panasonic 5.8's has been like beating my head on the wall. The pain only went away after bringing home the lower priced "VTEch 5850." The best sounding no-nonsense phone. No echo, no static, no hassles, no stupid bells & whistles. Does it all. Don't even think about it. The second handset is a bonus.

We purchased this from Amazon a little less than one year ago. The features of this phone are great (speakerphone, shared address book, call waiting caller ID, 3 mail box answering machine, etc). Getting everything set up was a piece of cake, though it did take some time to get the address book set up. The phone worked great, but there are some cons...

- the batteries only lasted about 7 months (and you have to buy expensive vtech replacements)

- the base station handset has a lot of static now (just started happening).

- the other hand set will no longer answer calls.

- the other hand set caller ID no longer works.

So, we'll see how good their 1 year warranty is. I don't have the original packaging anymore so they may not accept it...

What I have found:

- Does NOT interfere with our wireless network. This was my biggest concern when purchasing the phone.

- Each handset takes takes 3 normal AAA rechargable batteries (Nickel Metal Hydride.) A BIG plus when you consider that the phone will probably outlast the batteries. This way they can be easily changed out, instead of dealing with those (expensive to replace) sealed battery packs like in other phones. Batteries were included in my box. ***UPDATE: The batteries that ship with the unit are JUNK! (After a couple months one handset's battery set wouldn't charge anymore.) Spend a few bucks and buy some real batteries.

NOTE on the batteries: I noticed that the batteries get really warm when the handset is in the charging cradle. I think the phone is constantly charging the batteries and doesn't turn off when they are full. Just a thought.

More on the batteries... when you lose power for an extended period of time (a few hours or more) you might want to take the batteries out of the handsets until the power turns back on. The handset will continue to "search" for a signal from the base and just drain the batteries which will cause it to beep occasionally until the batteries are dead. So, if you need to use the phone when the power comes back on you won't be able to.

- Works in the basement. I have the main unit on the ground floor and the second handset in the basement - the sound is clear and the reception is perfect all over the house.

- The lettering on the main base is REALLY REALLY small and printed with black ink on a dark grey plastic (why would they do that?) If this phone is to sit in a well-lighted area with a magnifying glass near by, then it will work for you. But, if it is to be placed in an area of the room that is rather dark you might want to consider having a flashlight close at hand. I used a Brother label maker to make larger labels for my base.

- This V-Tech purchase replaced a wall mounted phone that had a great little compartment on the back to stash the extra phone and plug wires so that it wasn't all over the counter. This, however, does not. I tried to shove it, coil it and tape it to the back of the wall mounting bracket, but it would take a miracle to make it work AND let me nail it to the wall. I had to coil it and zip-tie it to the bracket. Not exactly neat and clean, but it works.

- Second handset charging station doesn't have a light to indicate that it is charging. If you have had a cordless phone (or cell phone) you should know the fun that is had when you don't put the phone in the cradle completely and the contacts don't connect - a dead phone. A charging light is provided on the main base but not on the remote base.

- You can name the two handsets individually. This is just a cool feature that shows when you first look at the phone.

- Yeah, the ring tones are pretty annoying. They should have added the classic phone ring and a British telephone ring. That would have been cool. Instead, you get something that sounds like a sci-fi laser gun and some other really odd ring tones. My guess is that the default is what 99% of the users end up choosing.

- The instructions are clear and easy to follow.

I highly recommend this phone for the wireless network user and the people that have a large house (you can use it like an intercom!) For the price, you can't beat it.

*** UPDATE **** My roommate and I have been troubleshooting the wiring in my house and have been using the intercom feature on this phone to talk to each other (just like we were on the phone to each other.) IT WORKS FLAWLESSLY!! I was in the basement and he was 50 yards away in the garage and we had NO static or interference. My guess is that he could go half-way down the street before we would have a problem. The handsets' intercom works!!

Would be a nice feature if you are out in the yard and someone in the house wanted to talk to you, or if you were at the next door neighbors' house and still wanted to be connected. Real cool stuff.

The key feature for me is to be able to share incoming calls with all the handsets.

When there is an incoming call, the first handset can pick up the call. Then the second handset can also pick up the call just by pressing On. And you have a three way conversation.

There are a lot of cordless phones but only a few can do this in such a simple way. Most of the time, the first handset has to select 'transfer call' or 'open 3 way conference' and I can tell you this is really a pain. You have to yell through the house and the garden to get this done. You can't just pick up the call.

So I would heavily recommend this phone.

Also neat: backlight for keys and LCD (have you ever try to call when it's dark and you can't see the keys?)

I gave it 4 stars because it seems I've bought a set that does not extend beyond 2 handsets. There is another one which extend to 5 handsets and I wish I had bought this one.

I will say this, so far I love the phone part, and get a kick out of the fact it uses rechargable batteries.

But one point about the answering system makes me almost HATE the whole thing. You have to erase a message DURING the message. If you press 'Erase' as soon as you've heard the whole message, it erases the NEXT message. Since you don't know when a message is gonna end, this machine basically makes you listen to all messages first. This KILLS me. ALL other machines I've used have a pause at the end where you can press 'erase' and it'll erase the previous message.

Like I said, great phone. Answering machine pisses me off by wasting my time.

Don't be fooled, as I was, into buying this phone set. I have the Vtech ip5825, which is identical to the ip5850 minus the answering system. When you initially receive these phones the features will impress you, and it will work too. Then, after a short period of time (depending on your luck), things begin to run downhill fast. In my case (see my review on the 5825) the phone would not hang up the line after only 3 months of use. I had to contact customer service and only because I'm obsessive did I see the thing through in dealing with Vtech support or lack there of. I'm sure others would have given up early on. They (Vtech) sure don't make it easy to get them to honor their guarantee. After all is said and done, my refurbished Vtech phones are going south again. Now the batteries, as many other Vtech owners have attested to, are failing.

You may see some 4 and 5 star reviews but I'm sure most of these owners reported on their immediate impressions, not their opinions after owning the phones for a few months (that's all it takes for them to fail in some way). My advice is to look at the poor ratings and experiences of those who have had these phones for some period of time, and then steer clear of them. A word to the wise is sufficient.