Home > Consumer Reviews > Uniden EXS9966 900-MHz DSS 2-Line Cordless Phone with Caller ID

I have owned a Uniden EXS9966 since July 2001 and have gained some insight into the battery problems that can plague this phone. One issue I suspect is that the battery charging circuits on this phone (for both the handset and the spare battery compartment) are very simple and likely to overcharge the nicad battery pack if it is left to charge for long periods of time.

I made the mistake of leaving the spare battery pack in the base as a backup instead of taking it out after 24 hours of charging. I damaged several battery packs doing this until I realized that it is not safe to do this.

I have had better luck with the battery in the phone handset - probably because I take the handset off the base station at the start of each day and only put it back late in the evening. I suspect leaving the phone charging on the base unit when not using it for making phone calls is likely to damage the battery pack through overcharging.

In short Uniden uses simplistic battery charging strategies in this unit that can damage batteries depending on consumer usage patterns.

If you need spare battery packs I have found them on ebay at much better prices than at the uniden store.

I counsel people on the phone, and talk on the phone a lot for a long time. Even though this phone is now obsolete, I just purchased 2 to replace my aging one.

I made a mistake by not just buying another when the first uniden began to wear out. I have dropped the handset thousands of times, got it wet, got garden soil into the handset and otherwise abused it and it still works, but not as well as it used to.

But the battery still lasts forever, even when it's been off the hook for a couple of days.

To replace it unfortunately we bought the 'state of the art' panasonic KX TGA 270S with multiline, multihandset operation, but poor battery life and the poor signal even outside in my yard, made me fed up with them very quickly. I hate those phones. I WISH I HAD SENT THEM BACK.

The Uniden works even 3 or more BLOCKS from my house -- more if there's nothing in between the house and me. (I've driven around my neighborhood with this phone, using it like a short range cell phone)

The only reason I bought the panasonics was that at the time, uniden didn't make a multihandset, 2 phone line phone. This phone is such a solid thing, I just decided to go back to it. Eventually when new features I can't live without make me, I will buy another Uniden phone.

In addition to the above, the phone is just well thought out.

EG: The ability to have a battery in the base so that power outages don't put you out of action is nice, and that's the same battery that goes in the phone, so if I talk for 4 or 5 hours, then I get another call, I have a back up battery that charges in the base.

Other than my Palm organizer, my uniden is one of the best products I've EVER purchased.

The speaker phone is loud and clear... It's a great phone. I could go on, but I have a call... On my Uniden...

While it is a little clunky, it has all the features I needed in a phone. 2 line, Spread spectrum, Headset Jack, Caller ID/Waiting, Battery swappable. The speakerphone is decent for waiting on hold, and the only complaint I have is that the handset is not smaller. Sound quality is good enough to overcome that shortcoming. And it doesn't mess with my wireless network -- an added bonus!

Our search for a cordless phone had us going through at least 6 different manufacturers. All of the phones had terrible reception until we tried this one. It is so fantastic we are buying another one.

We had last year's model of this phone and just loved it but it was water damaged and we ordered this one to replace it.

The range is well over 1,000 feet and very clear.

And, the price is right, but....

It has the most uncomfortable ear piece we have ever used. It is impossible to talk for more than a minute or two without having to lift the earpiece away from your ear as it HURTS!

The other thing is that on the older model we had, it would automatically answer an incoming call as soon as the handset was picked up. You didn't have to press line 1 or 2. This model requires that in order to answer any call you must press the associated line number first. The owner's manual states two things about this. First it says "press line 1 to answer", but next to it it says "AutoTalk automatically connects the line when you pick up the handset from the base" Which it does not.

Another "improvement" they've added is that if you put a call on hold from a different phone and try and pickup with this phone, you must press the line number TWICE. The old phone allowed instant access. Their last "improvement" requires that you scroll down a long list of numbers in memory to find the one you want rather than just hitting "memory 1", or "memory 2", etc. Also on this one you can't just hit "1" or "2" or "3", you must hit "01" or "02" or "03". Just a pain.

So, price is right, range is right, clarity is right, but.....