Rating: Summary: Good Value Good system Review: I have had this phone system for about 16 months and have never had a problem. Yes it is true there is no mute button but to be honest I think I have used such a button about 4 times in my life. Conference calling works great contrary to what the reviewer that never read the manual states. Just used it again today with the speakerphone on my wireless desktop version.Having a CORDED Wireless phone was the reason I originally wanted this phone. I did not want a wireless phone at my desk since I needed a speakerphone and hate when you accidentally hang up on people with a wireless phone cupped under your neck. I can pick up my desk set and walk into the kitchen as well when needed. I use the auto answer on only 1 line and when I am out it pages me immediately. Great feature that does not exist on our office phones at work (over $5000 Partner system from Lucent circa 2001). All in all they work great. I had to change one battery on the most used portable handset. After 16 months of every day usage, charge recharge, that seems normal. Make sure you protect the phone with a UPS system so a blackout does not leave you without a phone and you will always be happy. Enjoy and be careful when people knock a product so bad while others state it is great. It cannot be that bad if some people love it. People sometimes are not so smart with electronics..
Rating: Summary: Poor Build Quality - Otherwise a Good Solution Review: I have had this system for more than two years. Overall it is good (much better range and voice quality than a 2-line Siemens Giga set I have at home). It lacks some features, but compared to what is available in this price range it is a good package. Beware that the number one on the handset's keypad seems to stop working not long after warranty expires. It has happened on all four of my handsets, and it is happening again on one of the refurbished replacements (only 90 days warranty) for which Panasonic charges about $80 (if you ship your broken one to them). Others here have noted the same problem. I like Panasonic phones, but this quality issue would stop me from buying this system again.
Rating: Summary: WORST PHONE I EVER BOUGHT Review: I have purchased TWO Panasonic 4 line phone systems for my business. One was for our office in NY and one for our office in IL. I bought both systems through the Hello Direct website.
The #1 that you press on the hand set does not work. It is defective on ALL of our 6 hand sets that we own. This means we CAN NOT use the phone to dial out on long distance calls that need the use of the one.
We had bought and used the first system and then bought another system before we began the issues of the #1 not working. The first system in NY was the one to experience this problem , at first.
I proceeded to call the Panasonic GA office and they also would not deal with the issue.
At this point, now BOTH systems are incapable of being used. All we can do is just dial from the base and then pick up the line on the handset.
Today, we called cusomer service and spoke to Chris Cabutaje, a supervisor, and he told us there was nothing he could do. He even admitted there was a problem with this phone but still did nothing.
I think this is an outrage that a company this big cannot stand behind its product.
Rating: Summary: Panasonic dropped the ball on this one! Review: I have the KX-TG2000B which is the same exact phone except it only supports 2 incoming phone lines. - The bottom line is, 90% of us purchased this phone for the "auto-attendant" feature. Unfortunately, Panasonic skimped on everything in this area. The auto-attendant functionality is basic, bare-bones, and completely unconfigurable. The only thing you can change is the general greeting message and the mailbox messages. YOU CAN'T set your own extention numbers, define how many rings to allow before picking up, set to go to mail box automatically if there's no answer, etc, etc, etc. If all you really need is a multi-line phone with answering machine, look elsewhere, there are far better phones for 1/3 the price. If you need the auto-attendant functionality, this is unfortunatly the only phone available short of purchasing a more expensive PBX system. If you want an idea of how limited this system is: go to Panasonic's web site and download the product manual PDF from the support section.
Rating: Summary: Efficient and easy to set up Review: I ordered a base unit along with two cordless and love them. The base unit was relatively easy to set up and the clarity is wonderful! I would recommend these phones to anyone.
Rating: Summary: HORRIBLE - DON'T PURCHASE Review: I purchased the Panasonic KX-TG4000B 4-line cordless phone. What I should have done was researched reviews. The phone sucks. You can barely get a reception. Even when you are standing next to the base the handheld constantly says "no link to base" and when it does attain a link to the base it is a noise with a scratch drum in the background that doesn't let you listen well. What a piece of crap for $500.00. Then what is even worst, Panasonic doesn't really care. When you call it takes about 18 minutes to get a customer service rep, and then they tell you that you either have to mail it in to the company or bring to an authorized repair center. And when I drove for an hour to bring it to the nearest repair center, they told me they DON'T REPAIR these units that they have to be sent to the factory. And Panasonic's customer service department really doesn't care what happens. They don't want to assist you. Now, I use this phone for business purposes and having no phone phone was a horrible hardship having to use my cell phone. DON'T PURCHSE THE UNIT. MANY OTHER CONSUMERS WHO HAVE PURCHASED IT HAVE COMPLAINED ABOUT THE SAME THING. ONE CONSUMER PURCHASED ABOUT 8 OF THEM BEFORE GETTING RID OF IT. THEY ALL HAD THE SAME PROBLEM. AND WHAT IS WORSE, PANASONIC IS NOT CONSUMER FRIENDLY EITHER.
Rating: Summary: critical flaws - no mute, only 1 handset / line, poor sound. Review: I purchased the Panasonic KX-TG4000B as a replacement for my old Siemens Gigaset 2420. I'm really disappointed with the Panasonic KX-TG4000B, and I'm considering trashing it and returning to my old Siemens Gigaset 2420. The Panasonic KX-TG4000B has some critical flaws: (1.) the sound quality is not great - just as BAD as the Siemens; (2.) there is NO mute - no mute on the speakerphone - and no mute on the cordless handsets; (3.) only one handset per line (I'll explain details later); and (4.) cordless handsets cannot be assigned "names" (like "kitchen" or "master bathroom") -- the handsets only have pre-assigned numbers. The problem with the "one handset per line" is basically that you CANNOT join a conversation ... you get "line busy". For example, if the base unit has a call going on line #1, and you try to join that call from one of the cordless handsets, then you get a "line busy" error message and a busy signal. So, if someone else in the house in on the phone with Gramma, and asks you to "pick-up the phone", ... basically, ... YOU CAN'T. You try to join Line #1, and you get a busy signal. The only way to get another cordless handset to join the call is for the current caller to "conference" the an additional handset onto the call. And, that's difficult because you cannot assign a "name" to the handsets (like "kitchen" or "master bathroom") -- the handsets only have NUMBERS! If preventing you from joining a call in progress is some kind of "security" feature (e.g., might be appropriate for an office setting), then they ought to have some kind of configuration option that will let you turn it OFF (especially in a home setting). A minor annoying aesthetic is the base station number keypad that you use to dial the phone -- the number buttons are BIG and GOOFY looking, not professional, not backlit. The cordless handsets have nice transparent number buttons with a backlight. Panasonic should have used the same number keypad on the base unit. The inability to join a conversation (because you get a busy signal when trying to join a line with a call in progress), combined with the lack of a MUTE capability (neither on the base unit nor the cordless handsets), the inability to assign names to handsets, and the poor sound quality make this a disappointing phone with a very large price tag. So, my question for other shoppers is: If the Siemens Gigaset and Panasonic KX-TG4000B both have problems / drawbacks / feature flaws, ... then, ... what's the answer --> What is the best cordless, multi-line, multi-handset telephone system? Which frequency gives better voice sound quality: 900MHz or 2.4GHz? Or, are they the same? Does FHSS (Frequency-Hopping Digital Spread Spectrum) provide better voice sound quality? What's the best?
Rating: Summary: Typical product marketing - leave you wanting for the sequel Review: I purchased this phone for my home office. I liked the ability to have access to all the lines (including my fax line) on one system. This system has excellent functionality based upon the attendant and call routing. It also has better range in our 4,500 sf house than the Siemens 2420 system, which only is only a two line phone (more later). This system has large programmable memory locations, intuitive interfaces on the extensions as well as the base station. HOWEVER, the primary purpose for acquiring this phone was to use the base station as my primary office phone with the capability to roam throughout our three story house. As a base station, this system is severely lacking. Although the speaker phone is great, it has NO MUTE! If you participate in conference calls, you need a headset with a mute switch to have an offline discussion or even sneeze. Also, using two friends as guinea pigs, the sound quality was pitiful on two different units of this same model thinking it was a fluke. According to my unscientific testing, the sound quality of the cordless handsets was poor as well. Finally, the handsets are huge. While the antenna makes the range a little better, it is a large unit that makes me feel like I have a Motorola Brick phone next to my head. Ergonomics are not Panasonic's strong suit, but the lit keypad is nice for using in the dark (although I prefer doing other things than dialing someone while in the dark). I tried these units in direct comparison to the Siemens 2420. I've never been a VTech fan and didn't even consider them. The Brother was too cumbersome so I excluded it too. So, based upon my personal, and time consuming, experiences, I chose the Siemens because it had better sound and, of all things, a mute button for the base. The range of the Siemens compared to the Panasonic may not be great and I had to replace the NiMH with Li batteries, but taken as a whole I liked the Siemens better. If Panasonic had put a mute button on the base of this system, I would have kept it in spite of the sound differences. Funny how one litte feature made my decision.
Rating: Summary: The heart of a small law firm is communications Review: I run a busy, but small law firm. I purchased this system after carefully researching many alternatives. It was a more cost efficient option by at least 60 percent over the next best system. Cost efficiency is worth nothing if the system is not reliable. In fifteen months of operation we have had one telephone that needed replacement, and one two hour glitch in the main desk set which the Panasonic techs worked us through. Individual voice mail and paging is standard with this system. The paging is a great feature as I can be anywhere and a voice mail left on my unit is sent to me as a page. I can return the call within thirty seconds, no matter where I am. In the setting of a law practice I cannot overemphasize the importance of quickly returning certain calls from clients, courts, or opposing counsel. For offices with up to eight employees, this is a very impressive telephone system.
Rating: Summary: DON'T BUY PANASONIC PHONES EVER! Review: I spent $140 on a Panasonic phone. The store I bought it from had a 3 month return policy... the problems with my phone started 3 months and 11 days after purchase. Panasonic are absolutely not there in support - their solution is to send the phone back to them for repair or they will send me a refurb (at my expense... thanks a lot). Meanwhile - my solution - BUY A NEW PHONE until they get around to returning mine to me! Great! Thanks! Never again....
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