Home > Consumer Reviews > AT&T 9345 900 MHz Cordless Telephone with Caller ID/Call Waiting (Espresso)

Over the past 2 weeks, I've tested 12 different cordless phones, some analog, some 900MHz, some 2.4GHz, some DSS, incuding Panasonic, Sony, Uniden, etc. Even though I didn't ultimately choose the AT&T 9345, I was impressed with the comfortable styling, solid construction, clarity and decent range. People I called said my voice was very clear and distortion free. Earpiece volume is also good. The CID window is large and text is easily readable if you have good vision or wear glasses, but is too light in my opinion. Bolder text would make a big difference and the contrast can't be adjusted. Entering names & numbers into the 20-name memory is a breeze and accessing the stored info is easy and quick. One thing I didn't care for are the solid plastic indented keypad buttons that feel a bit strange and cheap.

The reason I didn't choose the 9345 is partly due to the indented keypad buttons, but mainly because conversations tend to drop out during interference. With slight interference or noise, parts of words or sentences would get cut off and I'd always have to ask people on the other end to repeat themselves. Keep in mind this was only outdoors at a reasonable distance from the house. Inside the house in any room, the 9345 was perfect. But we have a great back yard with a Koi pond, etc and I enjoy talking on the phone out there and don't want my conversations being chopped up.

I expect some intereference with any cordless phone, but don't want my conversations cut off in the process, and all the phones I tried intermittently cut off my conversations during interference (particularly digital) except two...the new GE 2.4GHz (analog) 27910GE1, and Sony analog 900MHz SPP-N1020. I ultimately chose the Sony SPP-N1020 because of its excellent, nearly interference-free performance with no drop-out even when 3 houses away from mine, as well as being well-designed, comfortable and having more features than the AT&T at about the same price.

This is the second AT&T cordless phone w/caller ID that I've bought, and I think after this experience, I'm going to switch to a new brand. Here's why:

1. When I press the phone button to answer a call, it doesn't answer right away. I sit there saying "hello?" for a good 10-20 seconds every time before the connection is made. I checked; it's not the phone line.

2. The buttons are too small.

3. You can only store 10 numbers in memory (my previous model stored 50).

4. Erasing caller ID entries is more complicated then it needs to be. I don't want to have to press the buttons a million times.

5. Turning off the ringer used to be an option in the menu. Now you have to remember which number key it is.

All in all, this phone is much more trouble than it's worth.

I purchased this telephone after a series of Uniden phones that broke after any abuse. We own another AT&T phone that has worked fine for about 10 years so I thought this might be more durable. Indeed it may be more durable but that is not the problem.

My main issue with this phone is that even at the highest volume level I still cannot hear the person at the other end of the phone. Some other problems I have encountered is the programable telephone directory which saves your numbers in alphabetical order. This is fine in theory but if you call someone frequently and their last name begins with a Z, you will spend a lot of time scrolling through the directory. In addition, there does not appear to be any way to call someone back from caller ID if they are calling long distance. The caller ID displays the area code and number and there is no way to add a 1 to the number to return the call.

I think that I would have been better off buying a series of Uniden phones that I could have at least used.

I have had this phone for less than a year and have had nothing but problems with it since I've had it. First, it takes forever to answer. Then, it doesn't even charge right. So you put the phone on the charger overnight, thinking you'll be able to use it in the morning....but no such luck because it only charges when it feels like it. The base of my phone is completely useless. At this point I can't get my phone to charge at all. This was the worst money that I've ever spent. I might as well get a cup and some string to talk on!!!!

I bought this phone after having an abominable experience with the GE 24GHz that's everywhere you look these days. This inexpensive little AT&T phone leaves the GE model in the dust -- its reception is so far superior that it's not even funny. I have to admit that I was nervous about product quality at this price, but I was pleasantly surprised.

The only complaint that I have about this AT&T phone is its annoying stored-number system. Rather than assigning a speed-dial number to each stored number, you have to page through a directory of stored numbers until you reach the one that you want to dial. It's often faster just to dial the number, rather than paging to its stored version. Oh well.