VTechAccessory Handset for DS6151 Series with 2-Line Cordless Phone, Suitable for Small Business or Home, Answering System, Expandable up to 12 Handsets, Intercom, Conference | DS6101 (Black/Silver)

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.

Worked very well

There is not much competition left in cordless phones (especially those that don't patch into cell phones and especially 2 line phones). This is a declining segment as are landline phones in general. There are, as far as I can tell, only 2 other brands left and one of them (AT&T) is also owned by Vtech and are the same phones with a different label.But this phone is the latest standard (DECT 6.0) and seems to work pretty well or at least as well as any other DECT phone. Don't expect miracles - these are meant for short range transmission. You are not going to get reception a mile away. But for most people all they want is for them to work in all parts of their house and these are good enough for that.Without changing the star rating, I would like to comment on Amazon's Warehouse Deals condition ratings. I ordered several of these phones on Warehouse Deals in supposedly "Like New" condition. Most of them were true to their rating. However, one phone that I received was clearly someone's old, broken phone. Not only was it filthy but it was non-functional. Whoever rated this as "Like New" was clearly not checking very closely. I can imagine that the inspectors are pressed to go fast and not spend a lot of time rating each product but even a cursory inspection would have revealed that the phone was not "Like New". I'm sure that they don't test if the product actually works but you could see the wear and tear and filth on this phone from 10 yards away.This has happened to me lately more than once, for other products as well. Plumbing fixtures that were rated "like new" when in fact it was clear that they had been removed from the box and installed and then returned with scratches and so on and were "acceptable" at best.I shrug it off and return the product if it is not as rated (especially if it is totally non-functional or missing parts) but that still creates inconvenience, delay, etc. The customer is not supposed to be Amazon's unpaid quality control dept. Amazon needs to make sure that the Warehouse Deals condition rating system is working as intended and that "Like New" products are really in like new condition because lately they have been far from it. The phone that I received wasn't even in "Acceptable" condition let alone "like new".

This is an excellent phone system. The clarity of the sound on both receiving a call and speaking is excellent. The use of the speakerphone is also very useful, with a superb quality and lack of distortion or echoing. I was told on numerous occasions, that you could not tell that the speakerphone feature was on. The features of the phone are very useful and the ease of use in dialing and the display utilizing caller ID is adequate. There are volume adjustments and the sound quality is controled and clear at all times. The only criticism I have is the fact that the handsets are very light in weight, as well as the bases, and could use some stabilization on the surfaces where the instruments sit.

Sound quality was abominable. Lots of feedback. Speakerphone was particularly bad. As soon as I started dialing the noise level went up. People I was talking too complained they had lots of background noise that made it hard to hear. Taking the handset off and trying to use that was fruitless. Worse feedback even when I went into another room. Same for the base unit. I tried it in different locations to see if there was other electronic interference in my office but got the same results. I put up with it getting steadily worse for the past month and today's calls were the last straw. Fortunately got in on the last day that I could return it. Going to drop it off at UPS now.

Easy setup and works Great!