Another battery comment:

I believe these phones have proprietary batteries which are expensive, expensive enough to make you rethink replacing your system when two or even one battery goes KAPUT.

Last time this happened to me I shopped for systems that used only standard rechargeable batteries (AAA) and found Panasonic. Now I never have to worry about junking the whole system due to a battery failure of one telephone among the four.

If I have a two line phone system in my office with both lines coming in the same jack, would I be able to buy two systems and use them?

tpscan wrote:drpace,
you and md1207 both ask related questions.

The DECT system uses digital signals and encoding, which eliminates the kind of interference older analog cordless phones experienced. They also use a digital IDs to lock out handsets that are not part of the local, paired "network".

Just like WiFi network cards, every phone has a unique digital serial number. Each base unit is paired with the handset, and vice versa. Every data packet exchanged between the base and handset carries the phone ID and base ID. The base unit rejects signals from phones not paired with it, and handsets won't talk to base units they don't recognize.

That means you can have two separate lines to identical Vtech sets, and only the properly paired units will respond. Ditto, your neighbors can't eavesdrop, or steal free phone service.

With multiple, bi-directional communication channels, which also use time domain multiplexing to pack in lots of bandwidth, you can have dozens of phones in the same office without interference. I don't know what the upper limit is, but they use this same system for office PBXes with many dozens (hundreds?) of users.

And the DECT system uses 1900MHz (1.9GHz), not 2.4 GHz, so it avoids interference with 802.11B and G WiFi, bluetooth and is not affected by micowave ovens working around 2.3 GHz.

Plus the range is slightly better than 2.4 GHz with slightly better "penetration", since this is effectively a line-of-sight frequency, and attenuation goes up with increasing frequency.

See the Wikipedia article on DECT {Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications) for more detail.

mentalmadness wrote:I have this phone and it has been great. To answer a couple questions.

2.4v 500mah NIMH battery

And no base loudspeaker....You have to find a handset to talk, cant answer at the base....

Biggest complaint? No belt clip....Everything else works fine and I like the way I can get my messages from the base thru the handset...

Thanks for the battery info.

Anyone know if you can disable the answering machine feature?

caffeine_dude wrote:The main unit does hang on the wall but it sticks out. It hangs on the wall flat (in the same orientation if it were on a desk.)

Thanks for this info (I see it in the manual now). I hate when they make wall mounts that protrude like that. I haven't upgraded our phone system in 8 years because it is getting harder and harder to find a "real" wall mount unit.

I am considering this set for a gift. Does anyone know if it comes with a warranty and if so what? And also do they come in the original box since they are new. the last thing I ordered from Woot came in bubble wrap.

bzbz49 wrote:Anyone know if you can disable the answering machine feature?

Use the 'Ans On/Off' button on the base.

All that talk about the blues and the dumb phone doesn't even have bluetooth to connect with your cell phone.

nrizza wrote:I am considering this set for a gift. Does anyone know if it comes with a warranty and if so what? And also do they come in the original box since they are new. the last thing I ordered from Woot came in bubble wrap.

1Year VTech. From past experience, will probably come in a box since it is warrantied by the manufacturer. Most things that have just the Woot warranty are not in a box...just bubble wrap.

Thank you for the information.

Got em the last time. Perform well. Worth it if you still use a landline. I use Vonage with 'em ...

bluefinepoint wrote:Wow, I wonder how many people need that many land line phones?

freaking exactly,,,, who here is using land line anymore???? seriously???? WOOOT c'mon, are you targeting your audience towards old people or young people?????????????????????? looks like woot got itself freaking people who would buy pants suspenders and grill skewers, lol, people are dumb.

valek86 wrote:freaking exactly,,,, who here is using land line anymore???? seriously???? WOOOT c'mon, are you targeting your audience towards old people or young people?????????????????????? looks like woot got itself freaking people who would buy pants suspenders and grill skewers, lol, people are dumb.

so what's wrong with pants suspenders? My wife uses them all the time when she's out chopping firewood.

Up next, we’ve got an interview with Yngwie Malmsteen about anger management techniques, only on KDDT.

Mwahaha! Unleash the #@$!ing fury on the world, with your new VTech 6.0GHz 5-Handset Cordless Phone with Digital Answering System!

valek86 wrote:freaking exactly,,,, who here is using land line anymore???? seriously???? WOOOT c'mon, are you targeting your audience towards old people or young people?????????????????????? looks like woot got itself freaking people who would buy pants suspenders and grill skewers, lol, people are dumb.

Wow ... "old" people? Are you 12? FYI, old people and young people can live in areas without good (or ANY) cell phone coverage. For that matter there is still a very large percentage of the US without broadband internet service because it's not available. That doesn't make people dumb...

About DECT: one of the things I've read about DECT is that when a handset is not sitting in the base unit charger, the base and handset are constantly sending signals back and forth. I wonder if this may be what is causing some people to have battery issues. I have a pair of DECT handsets, and the further one of them is from the base, the faster the battery discharges... i.e., the one in the LR on the desk 4 feet from the base unit holds a charge much longer than the one in the bedroom 20 feet from the base unit. And I switch them out regularly, so it's not because one of the phones has a weaker battery than the other. The constant communication between the base and handset is also of concern to those who believe that proximity to this kind of transmission is hazardous to one's health...

Too bad these don't support 2 lines. I have 2 phone lines running into my house.

crankyassjess wrote:I beg of (some) you - join the Kids Woot Off and help get it moving. Don't some of you have fantastic/crapppy kids to buy Xmas presents for?

I have 14 nieces and nephews & a fetus of my own. I can't buy this shuffleboard for ALL of them. I would be disowned.

I agree, it's currently stalled. Need people to buy the Kids woot. PLEASE!!

nvaine wrote:Yeah, that's what I thought when I got four cordless phones. Then came the bad news from home and an entire day spent on the phone with doctors and family, and I burned through three handsets and just about killed the fourth.

Having a spare or three is never a bad thing.

Hope all is well at home. But, everyone should have at least one good old fashioned analog telephone hooked up to one phone jack. When the power goes out, telephone service always seem to stay working. With an old analog telephone, communications are still possible long after cellphone and cordless phone batteries die.

We have set of these, good price. COSTCO had them on sale for $79 awhile back and that is when we bought them. But our analog telephone is hooked up and used in the bedroom.

valek86 wrote:freaking exactly,,,, who here is using land line anymore???? seriously???? WOOOT c'mon, are you targeting your audience towards old people or young people?????????????????????? looks like woot got itself freaking people who would buy pants suspenders and grill skewers, lol, people are dumb.

Try tolerance for differing needs. It tends to work. You've clearly shown your level of intelligence.

While your needs may only include yourself and maybe a significant other, not everyone is like you.

I'm a stay-at-home mom of 5 kids and I refuse to buy each of them a cell phone so their friends can call them. ($10 a month times how many phones? Times twelve months in a year? Ouch.) A land line is also our security blanket. What happens when the cell phone's battery is dead or the power goes out? A land line with a corded phone is a sure thing for communication. (And much cheaper, I must add.)

And if anyone is talking on the phone so much in a family with kids that each person needs their own phone, then they're obviously not getting normal things done like: homework, chores, family time, hobbies, practice, playing with friends (actual playing, not video games), etc. Get a life people and get away from the uber-technology unless it fulfills an actual NEED. I've already wasted too much time typing this as it is.

Oh, and I'm only 29, not "old" and "wearing suspenders". A lot of the people on here are those looking for a good deal, no matter what their age or social status is. So, let's keep it civil and stop slamming others because they choose to use older technology over new. Maybe it's just more trustworthy or more affordable.

(okay, I'm off my soap-box, now).

CrystalSinger wrote:About DECT: one of the things I've read about DECT is that when a handset is not sitting in the base unit charger, the base and handset are constantly sending signals back and forth. I wonder if this may be what is causing some people to have battery issues. I have a pair of DECT handsets, and the further one of them is from the base, the faster the battery discharges... i.e., the one in the LR on the desk 4 feet from the base unit holds a charge much longer than the one in the bedroom 20 feet from the base unit. And I switch them out regularly, so it's not because one of the phones has a weaker battery than the other. The constant communication between the base and handset is also of concern to those who believe that proximity to this kind of transmission is hazardous to one's health...

This woot is for the Vtech CS6229-5. I have the Vtech CS6129-54, which appears to be very similar in apparence and function. Probably last year's model. My kids leave the handsets laying all over the house and I go around every few days and put them back on the chargers. In the year that we've had these phones, never once has a handset battery discharged completely. I am very satisfied with these phones.

Is there anything I could read about the transmissions? Thanks

S0, if the electrical power goes out you have no phone - right?! Because all handsets are wireless, none are connected to a base.

does this have a monitor feature?

N6VMO wrote: But, everyone should have at least one good old fashioned analog telephone hooked up to one phone jack. When the power goes out, telephone service always seem to stay working. With an old analog telephone, communications are still possible long after cellphone and cordless phone batteries die.

The reason the the old fashioned telephones work when the power goes out is that the phone is powered through the phone line by the phone company. It's either by law, regulation, or agreement - but the phone company has to make sure the signal and power are there. The reason some corded home phones plug into an electrical outlet is to power other functions such as answering machine or speed dial, etc.

I was tempted but the lack of a headset jack is a deal killer for me.

yeawuteva wrote:how durable in case they're dropped?

They are good when dropped, not so good when smashed against a wall... most phones arent, but, im must saying... i got these phones from walmart.. and love the extensions... our house has minimal phone jacks, so these were ideal

FYI DECT 6.0 is NOT 6Ghz - it runs at 1.9Ghz and won't interfere with 802.11 b/g devices. I don't know why they hide this information!?

wonbadan wrote:In a nutshell, it uses a different frequency that is less likely to be interfered/interfere other wireless devices (your wireless router, etc...).

It should probably be said that "DECT 6.0" does NOT run at 6.0 GHz, as is commonly assumed (and as the pithy Woot description would have you believe). It's actually 1.9 GHz. The "6.0" part doesn't refer to the frequency; it's just pure marketing, based on the (not unreasonable) belief that consumers are too dumb to understand that 1.9 is, in this case, better than 5.8 or (especially) 2.4.

That's not of practical significance, other than to understand that this phone won't interfere with wifi or Bluetooth, or be interfered with by your microwave.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DECT#DECT_6.0

devansmd80 wrote:Are there chargers in all the stands? Thanks

Definitely!

What is the longest outgoing message time?

For those on the fence, I just received the ad for Best Buy Black Friday. They have this same phone for 49.00 but only 2 handsets. This is a good deal.

MiloMutt wrote:For those on the fence, I just received the ad for Best Buy Black Friday. They have this same phone for 49.00 but only 2 handsets. This is a good deal.

It better be, this is woot, baby!

brendaf4017 wrote:does this have a monitor feature?

unfortunately, it does not

I have had a 4phone V-tech for about 4 years. The batteries are finally going. This is 5 phones for 1/2 of what I paid for the old set and cheaper than replacing the batteries. In for one. Use the 4 phones and store one.

tpscan wrote:Yes, the caller ID information is sent during the ringing pulse and decoded by the phone. If you don't pay for Caller ID, nothing will show. In my area, AT&T used to charge $1.99, but over the years, it's gone to $7. Some companies include caller ID as part of a basic package.

And yes, there is a MUTE function, click the link on the bottom of the Woot description to see the enlarged HANDSET picture. MUTE is the bottom middle.

And yes, this phone does work with a MAC.

Note: One other down side to cordless phones -- if the power goes off, the base station, which is the transmitter, also shuts off. Your handsets may be charged but they won't work without the base being powered.

If you live in an area with frequent power outages, look for a base that has battery backup, or make sure you also have a corded phone handy.

Or plug the base into a UPS

Well, this is my first Woot! purchase. My son has been watching out for phones for me for months and I jumped on this when he told me about it. I bought before reading all of your comments and am now having buyer's remorse before I've even received the product. Are the comments normally this varied? As many of you like the product as hate the product. I'm nervous, now.

valek86 wrote:freaking exactly,,,, who here is using land line anymore???? seriously???? WOOOT c'mon, are you targeting your audience towards old people or young people?????????????????????? looks like woot got itself freaking people who would buy pants suspenders and grill skewers, lol, people are dumb.

No people are dumb that think a cell phone will work all the time, They don't.
A hard wired "Old School" phone will always work unless the phone or power lines are down.

bzbz49 wrote:Anyone know if you can disable the answering machine feature?

Definitely can - it is just a push of a button on the base.

bzbz49 wrote:Anyone know if you can disable the answering machine feature?

yes, you can. main base has a one-button feature.

Evinstonian wrote:Well, this is my first Woot! purchase. My son has been watching out for phones for me for months and I jumped on this when he told me about it. I bought before reading all of your comments and am now having buyer's remorse before I've even received the product. Are the comments normally this varied? As many of you like the product as hate the product. I'm nervous, now.

You shouldn't be nervous. I did telephony tech support for 20 years before I was involuntarily 'retired' by my former company. I supported systems that ranged from single line corded phones to multimillion dollar corporate systems. I've also owned last year's version of this Vtech 5-phone system for a year with no problems.

The range of comments is normal on Woot -free speech and all... Some of the posters obviously know little or nothing about telephones and how they work. Other posters are very diligent, and research and present knowledgeable and considered opinions and data. I know you will be satisfied.