Home > Consumer Reviews > AT&T 5840 5.8 GHz DSS Expandable Cordless Speakerphone with Digital Answering System

I bought the base unit and a couple of extra handsets a few days ago. I have to say overall I'm pleased. This phone has some quirks, but I've never used one that didn't. Weaknesses, well, its a bit pricey by the time you add extra handsets. As a single source solution for my 3000sq ft 5 bedroom home, 3 kids, and a wife running a home business, there really wasn't another choice offering the full range of features this unit has. I'd buy it again.

My requirements list:

1. Work with 802.11b wireless LAN. This phone is doing fine sharing airspace with my home wlan, it does use 2.4 as well as 5.8 spectrum. At first I felt a little misled when I read the manual, as did others, I'm sure. No interference so far, and from what I understand the use of additional frequencies is how this phone works its magic. Clear connection, good distance, and multiple handsets all on the same call simultaneously. How frustrating must it be to buy a multi-set phone and not be able to use all of the handsets at the same time? With this setup, they all work, all the time!

2. Good digital answering, with multiple mailbox. Press button 2 to leave a message for X, 3 for Y, all others speak at the beep. .. A godsend when the business calls start rolling in. Remotely accessible with security code, toll saver, the usual bases are covered. . .

3. Work in a poweroutage. With an extra optional battery, this system keeps working when the lights go out, up to 2.5 hours of talking in the dark. There is nothing more frustrating than trying to call the power company to report an outage when the phones are all dead!

4. Wall mountable. The base and the handsets all come with adapters to hang them verticle. Simple necessity for me, amazing how many phones have to sit on the desk. Not this one!

5. Caller ID, Call waiting ID, and call screening. This phone system does it all, and what it lacks in speed dial, it makes up for with a slick redial interface integrated into the call log. A couple of button presses and you can redial any number. The LCDs on the base and handset light up nice at night, and are easily readable from a few feet away. The handsets sync time to the phone company via caller id. On the base you must set clock manually if you want your messages time stamped upon arrival. The analog and digital clock display on the handsets add to the sophisticated, upscale look.

6. Use optional headsets for handsfree operation. All of the handsets include the necessary jacks, belt clips included in the box(es).

7. Independent phone books. Each handset has its own memory and call log. While some argue an annoyance that this isn't globally controlled by the base, in my instance I prefer the home office handset and the unit my kids use not share the same number listings.

One of the nice things I didn't know I was missing is the speaker phone integrated into each handset as well as the base unit. Navigating touch tone menus is so much easier when you aren't alternating listening through the ear piece and punching the key pad! The bright neon blue "in use" light on the base, and the LCD icons on the handsets all alert users that the phone line is busy. Again, better than the old lift-the-receiver to see if the line is free. All of the phones (handsets and base) have volume controls for speaker and ringer. Selection of ringers, even "tone control" if you want to EQ the voice on the other end. Key Beeps can be shut off, and the ringer can be killed all together. Vibrate is an option if you still want notified of an incoming call, but quietly.

If you can afford this unit with extra handsets, I don't think there is a better single line home phone system out there right now. Shortcomings are few, and easily worked around in my house.
Battey life is good, thank goodness. The phone is in use several hours a day in my home. A sign of a good system, it is already taken for granted at my house, and it was easily installed in a matter of minutes. Only tough part, waiting for the batteries to charge 12 hours before first use!

Okay, I went in search of a 5.8GHz phone because of interference my old 900MHz phones "discovered" in a new condo. I was really tempted to go with Uniden's 5.8GHz phone that is roughly equal to this one, but in the end there was just enough good qualities about the AT&T phone that I went with it.

***Good Things***
1.) A speakerphone with mute!!! For those of us that telecommute--even ocassionally--this is a MUST! There is nothing worse than sitting at the house on a conference call, and not being able to mute the darn phone when you have to sneeze, cough, or make some other unsightly bodily noise.
2.) Volume controls on everything. The base station has a volume control. The expansion handsets have volume controls. And not just the earpiece volume, the ringer volume as well. I happen to go to bed at 8 o'clock at night, and nothing spins me up faster than a 9 o'clock call from a telemarketer. Need I say more?
3.) Small footprint for everything...enough said.
4.) Illuminated displays. My computer room is my dungeon. I have little lighting in here. I hate lights, but I hated having to turn on the lights just to dial a phone number or pull one out of memory on my old phone. No problem with this phone.
5.) Speakerphone on the handsets. I can't tell you how many times I have been folding laundry, washing dishes, cooking dinner, or any number of other things where it just is not convenient to have to hold the handset up against your ear.
***Bad Things***
1.) Having to manually set up each & every handset. I can see the logic in each phone having a seperate phone book, but not giving me the choice on whether to copy the phone book from the base station, if nothing else, is just kind of stupid. And worst yet, forcing me to change the time on every damned handset is just stupid!!
2.) The digital answering machine will be your enemy as much as your friend. First off, if you happen to get a message, this little bastard will beep INCESSANTLY until you play the message!! (Go back & re-read good point #2)
3.) Secondly (for the digital answering machine), it has the nerve to pick up about 1 in ever 10 hang-ups, and record them as messages!! Do you have any idea how irritating it is to avoid answering the phone, as called ID is showing Out of Area (trademark telemarketer), and then your machine records the hang-up for you?!? (Go back & re-read good point #2, and then re-read bad point #2)

I got a great deal on this phone and two extra handsets and have been enormously pleased with with its performance and versatility. I don't believe there is a more rounded phone package available at a better price, and believe me, I've looked.

Since it's a 5.8GHz DSS system, I have had absolutely no interference with anything else in my home. And because each handset can be programmed independently of the others, my entire call list is installed on my handset, while my kids have their friends programmed into each of their phones. None of us has to look through long lists of people we don't know to find the people we want to call. When looking for a new phone system, I wanted to get one that had both a built-in speaker phone and an answering machine with separate mail boxes. This not only delivered, but I got a very useful bonus as well: each handset can be used as a speaker phone. Now I'm not tied to the base unit when I need to use the speaker phone.

The only gripe I have is with the answering machine. It works fine and has three mailboxes, which I wanted. However, it records a "message" every time it answers, even on hang-ups or when the caller does not actually leave a message. It's a pain to have to wade through six or seven blank messages on mail box 1 just to hear the two or three real ones. That's the reason I am giving this four stars instead of five. Other than that one quirk, it is a great phone system, and I highly recommend it for its versatility and performance.

I bought this phone thinking it was all 5.8 GHz to avoid possible interference with an 802.11b wireless network at home. When I got home, I found that it uses 5.8 and 2.4 GHz frequencies (one in each direction).

The other issues are that there is not a keypad to dial out from the base. This is a problem if the handset is not in the base when you want to call.

I also found the menu button to be flaky - sometimes didn't register a press.

This phone has myriad excellent features included. Of them, the main ones that deserve special recognition include:
- the look: this phone simply is cool to have as a piece of furniture, adding just the right "tech" look to any home
- the light: although they didn't have to, they did; the blue light lets you know when the phone is in use, when someone is online, or when its ringing
- the speakerphone: for those of you who always are annoyed by having to hold the phone to your ear, this is for you. Not only does the base of this phone have a speakerphone, but SO DOES THE HANDSET. You can be sitting anywhere in your home and be able to talk with a speakerphone.
- time: You have a nice clock available on the back of the phone - crucial, when you aren't wearing a watch.
- answering machine: the sound quality of this is phenomenal compared to other brands.