Home > Consumer Reviews > VTech 2431 2.4 GHz DSS Dual Keypad Speakerphone

When you see a phone loaded with features at a fraction of a cost of other similar products you think that something should be wrong. After you buy it, you realize that you like it's style, feature set which is one of the best I believe. However, the disappointment comes when you try to place your first call. The sound quality is average, there's constant noice on the background and if you move away from the base the sound starts to "break"; fortunately, the connection is not interrupted. If you can live with that another problem is short battery life. Expect about 2 days in standby mode and ~1 day if you talk more or less frequently. When I opened the phone there was a note in the battery compartment recommending charging it every night, so probably VTECH is aware of this problem. I replaced the phone but without luck - same problems. Others are happy, so, may be I was out of luck and the retailer I used had a box of defected phones but I really doubt it. Dissapointed, I got a Panasonic KX-TC1851 and happy with it so far. My 2 cents...

I just had to try this little techno-critter to see if it was any good as its features are the best available, and it fit my installation needs perfectly ('tho I wish the wall mounting bracket were more attractive). I got it locally (WMT) so that it would be an easy return if needed, and it was less $ than anywhere else I could find it. I really wanted to be able to add 2 or 3 extensions as well, but that is the end of my happy story. The features are easy to use, even intercom and paging, but the sound quality is rather poor, IMO. I wanted to use it in the kitchen/dinette area, so that I need not have a cord crossing the countertops and blocking the way of others. It would also be easier to pass around the corner to the living room than a corded phone. Unfortunately, it had a hiss no matter where I plugged it in (power and phonejack cords) and no matter where I was in relation to the base. The directions say to move it away from other electronics and off of circuits that are used by electronics too. I did that in my 90 minutes of experimenting, and no luck- all the same noise. Oh well... On the positive side, I did walk down the street (~300yds) with it, and the sound quality did not diminish, but that is little consolation (and I bet some others will do that no problem as well). It does feel like a small cell phone, for better or worse, and personally I'd rather have a bit more to hold on to, especially if I want to hold it with my ear and shoulder. At least WalMart has easy returns... I don't know if I want to spend the $ for the Siemens 2410 and its ext's. So for now, I think I will try the Sanyo 957a. T

I bought the phone 10 months ago for its incredibly cool look and for its selectable ringer. It's been a big improvement over the horrendous AT&T cordless 900MHz phone that I owned previously -- that phone made the simple task of answering a call troublesome.

The handsfree and speakerphone modes are great, as are the phone's easy programmability.

The handset has good range. Unfortunately, there's a very slight but noticeable buzz in the earpiece, and when I record outgoing messages on my voice mail, I can tell that the microphone has been adding background noise to my voice even in a quiet room; it sounds like I'm talking through a speakerphone. Furthermore, the earpiece is highly directional -- when I move my ear just a wee bit up or down the headset, I can't hear the caller anymore.

The earpiece problem was solved when I bought a headset. (I wasn't comfortable with a 2.4GHz transmitter parked next to my brain, and I like to have my hands free during long conversations.) The buzz vanished -- wahoo!

So now I have an incredibly cool-looking phone that also works acceptably well.

I would definitely agree with the reviews stating that the range is limited, but I have noticed similar opinions on other 2.4ghz phones also. In a direct comparison, the range seems to be just about identical to my old 900mhz analog AT&T cordless phone. However, clarity within that range seems to be slightly better on this phone. The range is AT LEAST 150 feet. Otherwise, it has just about every feature you could possibly imagine: caller ID & Call Waiting ID w/ name & number, excellent multi-line display, a log of redial numbers, six different ring options, supports 3 additional handsets (only needs to be hooked up at one phone jack), a fully duplexed speaker phone at the base, message indicator light (if you subscribe to the phone company voice mail), mute button (on each handset & the base), headphone jack on each handset, hold button & spare battery compartment/charger. However, the additional handsets run about $80 a piece (another $240 if you decide to add the maximum 3 additional). Overall, a very good product though.

so far i like the phone.. we got the base unit and one other handset ..

Likes: speakerphone on handsets as well as base .. voice mail light .. call waiting with caller id .. headset available (dont have yet but am getting) .. belt clip for handset .. base unit speakerphone can run off spare handset battery during powerfailure (so you dont need an eighties phone).. range is sufficient and clear enough for me (works upstairs in small house and out in a small yard).. handset page and intercom .. easy to add incoming caller id info into phone list (including "1" and area code if needed)..

Dislike: cant hold handset between shoulder and ear like larger phones (use speakerphone instead).. no caller id screen on the base unit (only on the handsets so you have to stop talking to see to the first person to see who is calling in).. only 4 volume adjustments that seem too spaced out

handsets are very small.. if most cell phones are too small for you to work and hold easily, you wont like this.. could be a problem if you have large hands