Home > Consumer Reviews > VTech 2421 2.4 GHz DSS Expandable Cordless Speakerphone with Caller ID (Silver/Black)

I bought two of the VTECH 24XX series phones and love them. I bought the 2421 and a 2420. The two phones get excellent reception and offer several unique features like intercom dialing, line use status and handsfree. The intercom dialing is very handy especially if you have a large family or home. The intercom dialing does not prevent outside callers from getting through while you are on an intercom call. The line use status allows you to see if someone is on the line without barging in on someone elses call. The handsfree feature is great because it is on each handset. You just push the handfree button, put the phone down and start talking while you cook, clean, work or whatever. I recommend the phone highly.

I was very excited at buying the feature-rich phone because it had everything I could want. I like the adaptability, the caller ID function, the keypad on the base unit, the speaker phone in both the base unit and on the phone. It shows me when I have voicemail, has a great belt clip, a long battery life, etc.

One big "but" here, though, is that it doesn't have the clarity I want if I am any distance from the base unit. This is quite disappointing since I "upgraded" from a Panasonic 900 mhz phone which I could take across the street into the neighbors house and have clear reception.

If I am outside, and my body comes between the phone and the base unit, I get interference. If there are too many walls between me and the base unit, I get interference. So it makes me house-bound while I am on the phone. It is important to me to be able to garden and do other work outside while on the phone.

Other than that, it is great. But I will probably give it to my husband (who wouldn't dream of working outside).

Previously reviewed as: Easy expandability + affordable pricing = adequate solution

New take: Half of effort wasted. Siemens a much better product. Do not buy this phone. Two unexplainable dead extensions, other two still quite lively. Sadly, that doesn't make for a good product.

Previous review:
Best features: good reception, very easy to add extra phones, phones stand up on their own [flat bottomed], hands free/speaker phone, caller ID, small base, sleek lines, redial gives options of adding 1 for long distance, headset compatible, belt clip.

Worst features: adequate [but not exceptional] battery life, unclear whether volume control is adjusting speaker volume or ringer volume, no locking feature [to keep out children], programmable phone book is for specific handset and not chain of four associated phones.

Overall - a good solution that results in fewer phone cables. I bet the Siemens product is better, but probably not better enough to justify the price for most consumers.

New conclusion: Get the Siemens. Not a glitch there. V-tech bad, Siemens good.

Although it seems like a nice expandable phone system with high-end design touches, I've found the clarity to be a such an issue that I would not recommend this phone. My older Panasonic 900mHz had much less static and better reception. Occasionally, I've also experienced a weird echo during a conversation. I attempted to rid the line of noise by relocating the base unit, but found no difference in any of the sopts.

Also, there seems to be a glitch with the way the edit function works for numbers stored in memory. I was unable to edit the name assigned to a number and had to erase the whole entry to adjust the name. The manual gave a different scenario of what was supposed to happen compared to what I was actually getting on the display. A frustrating annoyance that might be an isolated problem. Either way, mine is going back.

I bought one of these last year. I loved the small size; I like to carry my phone in my shirt pocket always. One the first one you had to tap the base every morning (sometimes more often) or you couldn't hear the other party (they could hear you though). A loose connection. The battery failed within a year. When the headset socket wore out (really) I wanted to buy another type phone. None were as small so I bought another one of these. I had awful clicking on it all the time. It had to go right back. Quality control at Vtech is nonexistent. I bought a Panasonic 2.4 Ghz DSS and it works great, just too big, although the same weight as the Vtech. A tip for shirt users; wrap a rubber band around the clip so it grabs onto your shirt and doesn't fall off when you bend over.