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Hardware

Which 2Ghz Cordless Phone Do You Recommend? 24

Posted by Cliff from the doesn't-mix-well-with-802.11 dept.
A Wireless Anonymous Coward asks: "My 900MHz cordless phone needs replacing, but I've since adopted 802.11b wireless networking in the house courtesy of Apple's Airport. What if any problems can I expect with either the new phone or the network if I bring in one of those swank new 2GHz phone systems, e.g. Siemens Gigaset? Compatibility issues aside, what's the best of these next generation phones?" I've been toying with the thought of getting one of these, but I also have a wireless LAN in operation, and hear that these devices do not co-exist. It would be interesting to hear if someone has a work around, but if you have a wireless LAN, you're probably better off sticking with the 900Mhz phones.
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2GHz Phones And 802.11b Networks - Do They Mix? More

2GHz Phones And 802.11b Networks - Do They Mix?

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  • The phone is incredibly clear and has an incredible range. I can't comment on the effect on your wireless network though.
  • i can comment on this, as my situation is similar.

    i have two of the panasonic phones you discussed, as well as a compaq WL400 802.11u wireless transceiver. i can't use either phone simultaneously with the wireless lan (even after multiple attempts to change channels, etc, etc).

    just my 0.02.

    Peter
  • Sounds like your microwave is leaking radiation. I'd worry more about getting cancer from being nuked all the time you are near it more than I'd worry about interference with my phone!
  • I know that you're asking about 2 GHz phones, but I have to say that I love my Vtech 1511 900 Mhz [vtechphones.com]. The phone is completely contained in a headset (no wires drooping down to belt-level) and has a little infrared keypad that's separate so you can easily dial while wearing the phone. I can throw it on and rotate the boom mic up out of the way. When a call comes in, rotate the mic down and presto, the call is answered. The earphones don't come in contact with your ears, they sort of float just 'above' them, which means you can hear ambient sounds easily. It's somewhat larger and heavier than a regular headset, but the design is such that I don't notice. I haven't yet seen an equivalent product in 2GHz, but I haven't had any range or interference problems yet, so I'm in no hurry to switch anyway.
  • We use a VTech 2.4GHz phone and have just added an 802.11 wireless LAN using a D-Link access point and LinkSys cards. They work fine. There is no interference at all.
  • I use a KX-TG2550 phone (the blue one), and interference with my 802.11b network isn't a problem unless I'm using the handset right next to the wireless node. Even 4 feet away is fine, and my network signal level stays in the "good" range. But if I forget and answer the phone as I type at my laptop, my net connection goes bye-bye completely.
  • I don't know about interference from your wireless LAN, but I can tell you that your microwave is going to cause interference. (no bull). They're on the same frequency - you get too close to your microwave with the phone while it's on and crrrzzccch is all you'll hear.

    I have a Panasonic phone, for what that's worth.
    Joseph Elwell.
  • The Siemens Gigasets are, as far as I'm concerned, the shit when it comes to cordless phones. I've had mine (two-line version w/o answering machine, and two handsets) for more than a year, and absolutely love it.

    Hint: Replace the batteries that come with it with NiMH batteries from Radio Shack. I did this, and now I get some six hours of talk time on my phone, and several days of standby.

    They're small, have belt clips, and have headphone jacks, meaning that I can just toss on a headset and wander around my house doing whatever, without having to worry about the phone at all. This feature should not be overlooked! I don't know if any of the other 'fancy' systems out there have headset jacks, but I couldn't live without mine.

    I haven't had any problems with voice quality or interference, except when I run my microwave -- But this seems to be a problem with all 2.4GHz phones. The interference isn't so bad that I can't talk, but is definately noticable.

    I also can't vouch for the quality of anything involving the models that include an answering machine. I'm a voicemail kind of person myself, so can't comment there.

    Summary: They're great. Buy one. Buy several.

  • That's odd, I have absolutly no troubles with our panasonic 2.4ghz gigahertz extreme. I have used it within a Tin roofed barn in prefect clarity where our 900mhz phone would crap out just walking beside. I recommend the phone and plan on buying another should I move out. Though i would get one with caller id and the built in answering machine.

    I have yet to mess with wireless networks, but after finishing a little network trouble between my linux boxes, I might get bored and try to network the linux boxes to the windows pc in the living room via wireless. Im pretty sure there is no interference if you have newer equipment. Older speced stuff might have trouble or less channels. The 2.4ghz spec is a Range of a band and sidebands.. There should be a lot of airspace there.

  • The caller ID is great, but the answering machine part bites. The outgoing message quality is like "paper cup on a string". We finally started using the default message where Mr. Fake Electronic-Voice tells people you're unavailable.

    We are able to take the phone through the apartment building and into the garage and talk in the car. No interference across our room with wall-to-wall computers. Great sound quality through the handset, and incoming messages are OK.

  • Check this site out:
    http://www.panasoniccordless.com/

    They mostly sell Panasonic phones, but they also like the EnGenius SN-920 for long range use.

    I have a Panasonic KX-TG2550 Gigarange Extreme that I bought refurbished off eBay and it works great.

    And I have a Webgear Aviator Pro 2.4GHz network that works right alongside it.
  • I didn't realize that it was trolling to point to resources that answer the question. I'll refrain from doing that in the future.

    Click here for $50! [dangifiknow.com]
  • I can't speak for the model 100 but my father (in his lifelong quest for a decent cordless phone) bought a bunch of their 3000-series phones for his house. They turned out to be complete peices of crap. Every time I call him, it sounds like I'm talking to him over a radio link from a remote outpost in Antarctica. It's horrible. And it's the phones, not the lines--when he picks up a conventional corded handset, the quality is great. I've done a bit of cordless phone searching myself and I've always been very pleased with Panasonic phones. Motorolas were ok but the battery life was awesome. If you plan on using multiple cordless phones in your house, make sure that the frequencies are sufficiently different to help prevent interference.
  • I just tonight figured out how to get my aironet, and my 2.4GHz phone working in the same house. Up until tonight, anytime I used the phone, my wireless network would cut out (it defaulted ot using channel 6), It turns out I had to change the channel on the receiving base side (I changed it to 11, as far away from 6 as possible). Now when I pickup the phone, no matter how close to the base or PC card on laptop, the wireless continues to work as well as when the phone wasn't in use. I'm still only in the fair category though, and my guess is, because I live in an apartment complex in the silicon valley, probably full of 2.4GHz phones, other wireless networks, etc etc. This phone works ok, but I had to do the configuring with the wireless network, it would have been nice if I could have set the channels on both the network AND the phone side. But this model of phone simply doesn't offer that. That would be one thing to look for.
  • I've had several Panasonic 900MHz phones in recent years and have been pleased with all of them. In my experience the digital spread spectrum models (Panansonic's buzzword for this is 'Gigarange') seem to offer a little more range and immunity to noise, and I would assume security from snooping. The difference in quality is not great, and if your budget is tight, I would not hesitate to go with the cheaper analog models.

    In my opinion, their Gigarange models try to act too much like cell-phones with a deep and complex menu system that is just too awkward. Fortunately, you can just ignore all the 'gee whiz' features and use it as a good ol fashioned phone.

    Consumers Reports did a test recently and concluded that there was no advantage to the 2.4GHz frequency over the 900MHz frequency. This has been my personal experience as well. I wouldn't pay any extra for a 2.4GHz phone. On the other hand, if you know you are already using one band (wireless network for example), that may be a good enough reason to get a phone that uses the other band just to reduce interference.

    As it sounds like you have an electrically noisy environment, I think the best advice is to buy from a store will liberal return policies. Pick a phone you like and try it for a few days - if it doesn't work out, exchange it for a different brand or frequency phone.

    Be prepared to invest some time finding the best phone for your situation. A bad phone is a constant annoyance - life is just too short for that.

  • I have the exact same problem (I think). Panasonic Gigarange. After several minutes of talk time, I get a popping crackle (mmm... rice krispies) that will not go away. I've tried numerous locations for the base and phone, and I still have the problem (even in an entirely differnt apt. complex). Oh well, I use my cell now exclusively.
  • errr s/battery life was awesome/the battery life was horrible/g
  • I know that this is hardly ground-shaking, but our [munkandphyber.com] only complaint about these phones is that, bizarrely, they have no mute function. You can put somebody on hold, but during those extended conferences calls, sometimes you just want to hit mute to cough, have a drink, openly mock your client, etc. Unlike with our CDMA phones, these phones have never caused any interference with our office network.

    -Waldo
  • According to Consumer Reports, there is no difference between 900MHz and 2.4GHz regarding range. It is therefore much cheaper and makes more sense to get a 900MHz DSS (Digital Spread Spectrum) phone. The Panasonic 2.4GHz phones are not even digital, offering NO PRIVACY. They use what is called Spread Spectrum Technology (SST) which is still analog. I would recommend getting a 900MHz phone (which you already know works in your environment) with DSS. You will notice increased range ... the same increase you would notice with a 2.4GHz phone.

    --------
  • Check-out the following URL for great prices on 2.4GHz phones:

    eBuyers.cc [ebuyers.cc]

    Here is an example: Northwestern Bell Excursion 2.4GHz for 39.99 (many others also...)

  • I hate writing "me too" posts, but I have to say, regarding good experience with Panasonic 2.4GHz -- "Me too".

    Hmm, not as bad as I thought. Just a slight self-loathing...
  • Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • Don't know much about 802.11, but all other things being equal, AT&T has a 2GHz cordless system that lets you add more handsets to a single base station, giving you multiple cordless handsets with only one base station. The default package is 2 handsets, and I think it supports up to 4.

    A friend of mine got one, and I also saw them at Costco.
  • SST offers privacy over analog. There's nothing about encryption that makes it specific to digital (although implementing on digital is easier).

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