Rating: Summary: I haven't had the problems -- except the clicking Review: I have owned a base along with 2 handsets for over a year. I just added 2 more handsets. Over this time the system has performed very well in fairly constant use, even in a harsh environment with a lot of construction dust due to remodeling. I have not had any trouble with the batteries (they are inexpensive AA 1300mAh NiMHs, so if they do weaken, no big deal), nor with the user interface, nor have the handset buttons failed or even started to give any trouble. I haven't had the occasion to call Siemens tech support so I can't say whether they are any good or not.People who are getting a lot of clicking are experiencing interference with another 2.4GHz piece of equipment, and the clicking is a symptom of the system trying to compensate and failing. The usual culprit is a wireless LAN or another 2.4GHz phone system. This can be really irritating if you are trying to use the phone for important calls and can't control the source(s) of the interference. I discovered the cause of the clicking noise quickly when I accidentally fired up a WLAN gateway a foot from the base station and the phone became VERY noisy. Later I changed the preferred channels and the location of the gateway and the systems cohabitated nicely. Still, at our last house we experienced a lot of uncontrollable interference from many nearby neighbors; our current place is further out in the country and doesn't suffer from the problem, so the phone is less noisy here. Overall, I have found this to be an excellent system with the noisy frequency-hopping to be the only drawback. From the other comments here I have concerns about its long term reliability, but so far, so good.
Rating: Summary: Great idea - limited range Review: I have the 8825 and one 8800 extra handset. That means I have one base station and two cordless handsets. The base station is great and has tons of great features. I have written a complete review of the system under the 8825. One of my handsets is located about 15-20 feet from the base station in the next room. It works fine and has no real problems. The other handset is in the bedroom which is on the same floor and about 30 feet from the base. The connection to this handset is terrible when it is this far from the base (both handsets have the problem from this distance - it isnt an individual problem with the handset). There is so much clicking it is hard to conduct a call. I would stay away from this system although the features are generally first rate. It works much better on paper than it does in real life. Caveat: I live in a NYC apartment building and have an 802.11b wireless router. Unfortunately turning the router off doesnt fix the problem. I also am NOT running the microwave when the clicking happens.
Rating: Summary: Only problem - I can't find more handsets in stock Review: I just love this system... have had Zero reception problems and I have a big house and a seperate garage... You do have to read the instruction manual to really set the system up... I notice people complaining about the "volume" -- which is completely adjustable if they would read the book and find out how. The slickest feature by far -- is the ability to program all your numbers in ONE PHONE and then "send" them to the other phones - and you can choose what to send - or send "everything"... That's worth the price of admission right there! Wish I could find more stock of the handsets - they're just not available now and I want 7 more (total of 8 sets max use)!
Rating: Summary: An absolute must for the busy home or small office Review: I originally bought the 8800 series because I do lots of conference calls and needed a digital duplex speakerphone. This phone offers so much more however. One feature that we didn't know existed but have used constantly since we purchased is the voice announce for caller ID. I can be in the kitchen and the phone rings and then my voice comes on and annouces "The Smiths" from the base station. We answer that one. Or "Caller ID Unknown". Probably a salesman, no need to get up from dinner for that one. It has caller ID based mailbox routing, call barring (to prevent the phone from ringing at all if someone calls who has deliberately blocked their caller ID from being seen), individual phone intercom, 'all house' intercom, and the room monitor with call forwarding works great as well. There are too many features here to learn in one sitting. We have had two problems. Every once in a while the cordless handset has a clicking in the background which I believe to be related with some other 2.4 GHZ appliance interference. If you could manually overide the channel selection, I think that would not occur. It is a rare occurance but I think preventable with the right options. The other problem has been just finding two more cordless phones. These are hard to find. I would highly recommend this phone.
Rating: Summary: This phone is very poorly designed and made. Review: I own one. The keys fail. Game over. Don't buy this phone.
Rating: Summary: An absolute must for the busy home Review: I run my business from my home as does my wife. We have two teenagers and 4 kids total. I originally bought the 8800 series because I do lots of conference calls and needed a digital duplex speakerphone. This phone offers so much more however. One feature that we didn't know existed but have used constantly since we purchased is the voice announce for caller ID. I can be in the kitchen and the phone rings and then my voice comes on and annouces "The Smiths" from the base station. We answer that one. Or "Caller ID Unknown". Probably a salesman, no need to get up from dinner for that one. It has caller ID based mailbox routing, call barring (to prevent the phone from ringing at all if someone calls who has deliberately blocked their caller ID from being seen), individual phone intercom, 'all house' intercom, and the room monitor with call forwarding works great as well. There are too many features here to learn in one sitting. We have had two problems. Every once in a while the headset on the cordless has a clicking in the background which I believe to be related with some other 2.4 GHZ appliance interference. If you could manually overide the channel selection, I think that would not occur. The other problem has been just finding two more cordless phones. These are hard to find. I would highly recommend this phone.
Rating: Summary: Handy, but very complicated to learn. Review: I've been using this phone for over year now and it work. However, I cannot say it was easy to use this products. Buttons are small for one and instruction on each mobile unit is not very clear.
If you are considering cordless two line phone, try to get the manual for this unit before buyign. Or check out panasonic.
Rating: Summary: Worst phone I've owned Review: I've owned several Siemens 2.4GHz phones over the past 2 years. They have been the most frustrating devices I've ever owned, but after paying around ... for the 2-line Base Station/Digital Answering Machine, and ... for several handsets, I feel locked into it. The handsets last only a few months before the buttons start malfunctioning. After a year, two or more buttons are malfunctioning to the point where the answering the phone becomes a challenge, since the talk button only works once every 5 hits (if at all)...so you'll need to replace these handsets often (at ... a pop). I have more than one handset with the same problem. When the handset is sitting in the cradle, it often malfunctions. For example, even when the handset is new, if the phone rings and you try to answer it by picking it up out of the cradle...it hangs up on the call roughly 50% of the time. If the phone rings, but the answering machine gets to it before you do (even by a second), you can't answer it with this handset. There is no capability for this handset to interupt a line that has already been answered. You also can't transfer a call from the handset. There are no buttons to even attempt this. All such operations are only available from the base station unit. If the base station sits near an outside wall, you can actually walk a block away in that direction, and still get good reception. However, it doesn't do so well with walls (especially kitchens), so you may not be able to get a good signal on the other end of your house. Mine won't transmit from the bedroom to the Kitchen without significant breakup or cut-out. I loose 10%-15% of my calls due to these missing features and malfunctions. If you buy this phone, be ready to break it to bits in a fit of rage.
Rating: Summary: Great product, but... Review: I've owned the Gigaset 8825 system and 4 8800 cordless phones now for about a year. In general, I'd agree with most of the reviews. It is a great phone system and generally, I really like the features. I have only one big problem. I can't find 3 of my cordless phones. With two teenaged daughters, the phones seem to be popular after school (and into most of the night). The thing is, they seem to forget to put them back in the charger. The standby power on these things is not all that great. The specs say 80 hours, I'd give it a little more than 8. I've replaced the rechargable batteries a few times, but that doesn't seem to help. Usually, I find these things, but for some reason, they are being very illusive. When they have power, the intercom Call All feature lets me find them easily, but when the power is gone, they are small enough to hide in sofa cushions (looked there), under beds (looked there too). I'm about to offer a reward, teens always need money.
Rating: Summary: Great product, but... Review: I've owned the Gigaset 8825 system and 4 8800 cordless phones now for about a year. In general, I'd agree with most of the reviews. It is a great phone system and generally, I really like the features. I have only one big problem. I can't find 3 of my cordless phones. With two teenaged daughters, the phones seem to be popular after school (and into most of the night). The thing is, they seem to forget to put them back in the charger. The standby power on these things is not all that great. The specs say 80 hours, I'd give it a little more than 8. I've replaced the rechargable batteries a few times, but that doesn't seem to help. Usually, I find these things, but for some reason, they are being very illusive. When they have power, the intercom Call All feature lets me find them easily, but when the power is gone, they are small enough to hide in sofa cushions (looked there), under beds (looked there too). I'm about to offer a reward, teens always need money.
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