35 out of 35 people found this review helpful.
Vtech 5.8 GHz Trio 1-Line Cordless Phone -Now We Have Three Handsets to Lose
Date of Review: Jul 9, 2008
The Bottom Line: Despite the bad reviews, for the most part this phone has worked for us. I especially like being able to put the handsets anywhere in my home.
One peril when owning a cordless phone is the tendency for them to disappear when in the hands of teenagers. When that happened with our last phone (it turned up a few weeks later) I needed a new phone for our home really quick. I went to the store and grabbed what was available, wanting more than one handset because then I didn't have to worry right away if one handset happened to go missing.
I came home after purchasing the Vtech 5.8 GHz Trio 1-Line Cordless Phone and found a few reviews online. I was sorely disappointed in my choice and contemplated heading back to the store and choosing something else instead. I didn't, and although I do have a few issues with this phone, overall it has worked out fine for us.
The Vtech 5.8 GHz Trio 1-Line Cordless Phone comes with a base station containing an answering system, three handsets, and two remote chargers. The base and the remote chargers all have to be plugged in, and the handsets can be recharged on any of these. The first charge didn't take all that long.
WHAT I LIKE
Setting up the Vtech 5.8 GHz Trio 1-Line Cordless Phone was easy enough. It was basically plug it in and go. I let the handsets charge good and left the generic message on the answering system. Changing the message is easy enough, but more and more I have heard people say they keep the generic message and don't personalize it as a safety precaution. The base plugs into an outlet, as do the remote chargers, so they have to be located within easy reach of an outlet.
The line from the phone plugs into the base, but none of the remotes need a phone line plugged into them, making it easy to locate the remote chargers in any room of the house regardless of whether there's a phone line available. That's important for us as we have Vonage service which basically connects one phone line near my cable modem, rather than running through the wires in the house.1
The size and weight of the handsets makes it easy to use. It fits nicely in my hand and doesn't weigh a lot. The buttons for dialing are easy to see and light up after one is pressed to enable them to be seen easier especially when it's dark out. The display screen on each of the handsets is also lighted. It's not a color screen, but I have no problems seeing the display. I use the display mostly to check on the most recent calls or to get a phone number for someone who called. Scrolling through this is easy using the handset.
We have a wireless network in our home as well as cell phones. I haven't experienced any interference from any of these using this phone. We have Vonage service, so usually the interference I experience is what's coming through the cable lines rather than the connection to the base.
The battery life is good. In fact, I don't think any of the three handsets has ever run the battery down. The specs say 300 minutes of talk time, and even the teenagers haven't run down the batteries in these. It's easy to remember to drop them back on either the base or any of the remote chargers. Finding them is easy as there's a LOCATE HANDSET button on the base which operates pretty easily.
The range on the phone is pretty good. I have taken it outside with no problems. One day I called from the car and one of the kids took a handset out the front door and all the way around the back of the house to where the guys were working on our deck. Not once did the handset disconnect or even get static on it.
It works well with all of the functions of our phone service including caller ID and call waiting. I can see the numbers very easily as soon as the call comes in and decide whether or not I want to answer it.
WHAT I DON'T LIKE
The answering system can be frustrating at times. There's no real way to delete all of the messages. Instead I have to delete them one at a time as I am listening, which usually means listening to them all the way through, then going back and deleting them one at a time as they playback a second time.
The volume adjustments aren't that great and I can only adjust the ringer level while it's ringing. I like to turn the ringers down or off while I'm sleeping during the day, but have a handset nearby in case it's a call I have to take such as from the kids school. I really can't do that and it can get frustrating at times.
Each handset has to be programmed separately, so if you have a certain set of names and numbers you want to store among the speed dials for each handset then you have to program it in each one separately. There's a main directory for the phone system, but I put one number in there and have found it near impossible to decipher how to correct it or delete it from a handset without cracking open the manual again. These functions can be done, but the system isn't very user-friendly.
FINAL THOUGHTS
If you are looking for a basic phone with extensions, I think this will work for just about anyone. If you need the latest and greatest in technology with all the bells and whistles, I don't think you'll be satisfied with this phone. There are a few issues which are annoying, but the phone works fine on our system through Vonage. I like being able to have the handsets located throughout the house without having to worry about a phone line nearby, just an outlet. The battery life is good, and I haven't had an issue with interference with the 5.8 GHz frequency. It works very well for our needs.
© 2008 Patti Aliventi
