Home > Consumer Reviews > VTech 5831 5.8 GHz DSS Expandable Cordless Speakerphone with Caller ID/Call Waiting

I read all the reviews before buying it and I was kind of worried about the range but trust me lot of these people are looking for an ham radio not a phone!!!!
This phone works great and the range is perfect for a normal family house. My house is a 3 level one and I set up the base in the basement ( that's where I have my office ), and the handsets one on each floor ( I bought an extra one ) and the range is perfect, no static, no loss of connection to the base. Also this phone has great sound that I never heard before in a cordless, someone said that you hear a little echo in the handset and is true but is not bothering the conversation at all.
The sound correction is a cool feature even if I don't use it.
The other really great feature is the speakerphone on the handset.
I guess a lot of people who wrote reviews did buy this phone for a office use and got a little upset figuring out that this is just a normal home phone cordless.
Somebody complained about the fact that if you save a phone number in the base phone book and try to recall it from the handset ( or the other way around ) is not there ( the phone book are not shared ) but that is actually good if you are going to have different components of the family using the single handsets.
In my case I use the base most and my wife use the handset on the top floor so she has memorized her own "girlfriends" numbers on the handset phone book that, trust me, I don't need to find in the base phone book that I use for work !!!
All around a nice and smart phone, working fine in my case.

I was very happy with the 2.4 GHz expandable VTech phone, except for the interference between it and the 802.11b (Wi-Fi) wireless computer network on the same cluttered 2.4 GHz band.

This phone is everything the 2.4 GHz model was, plus a more slightly larger and more comfortable handset, better sound quality (both normal and handsfree/handset-speakerphone modes) -- and, of course, no more interference with the 2.4 GHz 802.11b wireless LAN (I understand it receives on 5.8 GHz but still transmits on 2.4 GHz, but we haven't encountered any problems).

The only downside we encountered is that the intercom function is now on a softkey menu instead of a hard button (as it was on the 2.4 GHz model) so it is less convenient to use and almost impossible with one hand. It does now allow you to intercom-ring all handsets at once, which the 2.4 GHz model didn't.

Consider getting an extra battery for the base unit -- the base keeps the battery charged for operation during a power outage, or as a spare for a handset.

In my opinion this is the best phone that Vtech has ever made and has the best handset sound I've ever heard in a cordless phone.

The one thing that stands out with this phone is the sound quality.....it is excellent. Very quiet, no extra noise and plenty of volume, one of my requirements. The range on this phone is very good. The base works well, I only wish that the buttons were bigger and weren't slick. I found my fingers sliding off the buttons while trying to push them. Also Vtech should have either designed the base or furnished an adapter to tilt the unit so you could see the lcd display. I found myself having to stand up to see who was calling. The speaker phone on the base is very good but not as good as my 2.4 Cidco D271, it has the best speaker phone I've ever used. I would rate Vtech's speaker phone a notch below the Cidco. The displays on both the handset and base are very easy to read and controls are laid out well. Another complaint that I have is the way the caller ID works, which is not just limited to Vtech. Some manufacturers have what's called caller ID matching, which is when a call arrives and a match is made in the directory it is displayed as it's shown in the directory. In other words when mother calls it's shown as "Mother" just how I entered it into the directory. Why more manufactures don't use this technology is beyond me.

Overall this new technology 5.8 GHz phone from Vtech is very good and would have received 5 stars if it wasn't for the speakerphone and the way the base is not tilted.

The speaker phone quality of the base and handsets are perfect. I was able to drive around the block with my handset without any breakup of signal while talking. The base is the only thing that needs a phone jack so you don't need umpteen phone jacks in your home or office for the same phone line. This phone is perfect for someone who relies on cordless phone durability and good battery life. I have never had one of the hand sets run out of juice. I have had this item for over 6 months now.

I used to have the newest and greatest Panasonic. I tried Panasonic 3 different times. Dealing with warranties got old real fast. The features were great but the durability was nil.

These VTech phones are awesome. They are light years better than any competing cordless phone.

I've owned several cordless phones, but everyone of them has had a deal-killing flaw. Either the battery life was too short, the range was limited, too much interference, etc. I was very happy with a 2.4 ghz phone I purchased recently, but it interfered with my wireless computer network. If someone was using our laptop to connect to the Internet via the wireless network, and someone wanted to use the phone, either the wireless LAN went down or the phone had too much interference to have a conversation. This phone, which operates at 5.8 ghz rather than 802.11b's 2.4 ghz, doesn't interfere. That alone makes this phone a winner for me.

On other issues, sound quality is terrific. Range seems as good, if not better, than any other phone I've used, and battery life is satisfactory. The phone is packed with useful features and is pretty intuitive to operate. I couldn't be happier with the phone.