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

After owning this phone for only a week, I'm returning it. It cost way to much for the quality it provides.

Main reasons for return:
1. Handset.
a. When using the handset speaker phone, every time the person I was talking to paused and started talking again, the first few words weren't audible.
b. Seemed like I received more squelch than I should have. Squelch was there whether using the handset speaker phone or just the handset. Pressing the sound button did nothing to improve quality.
c. The volume control is only adjustable in increments. The highest was too loud and the next one down was too low.

2. Answering Machine.
a. The quality of the outgoing message is not great; although after trying out a panasonic and reading these reviews, I'm beginning to think all digital answering machines aren't great.
b. Due to static and cutting in and out, I could never make out the first incoming message of the day. The rest of my messages were understandable but once again, the quality of digital just wasn't up to what I expected.
c. The handset can't access the answering machine features. i.e. playback messages, etc.

2. Other dislikes I could have lived with except for the above.
a. No "real" speed dial.
b. No base dialing.
c. Handset wasn't that comfortable to hold.
d. Wall mount looked ridiculous - caused phone to protrude from wall a bit too much for my taste.

Overall, I wanted to like this phone (especially since it's from an American company) but just couldn't given the price and poor (digital) quality. It's just hard to believe that the quality of these top of the line digital phones aren't better than what they are.

I found most of the reviews accurate, but they did not address the features that I needed. First, I wanted NIMH batteries so that I could leave the phone on the base. Most phones have NICD which have memory problems. Second, the phone has a spare battery in the base so that you can switch batteries with the handset if you need to. Be aware that you will lose the handset settings (i.e., the handset clock) if you do so. Third, the base is wall mountable and looks good there. Finally, you can adjust the handset bass, treble, etc (4 settings). It is not needed, but fun. I found the range terrific. The one feature that I can't believe they left out is one button speed dial. It also would have been nice to share address books between phones like the Siemens.

...

This phone has all the features that I was looking for, minus a keypad on the base, which is why it only gets 4 stars. Doing research and reading other reviews people stated there is no speed dial on the phone and this is not true. You can program up to 50 numbers into the phone and retrieve them by simply pressing the memory button, selecting the number you saved and press talk. The handset and base both have volume controls that allow for easy listening to messages or incoming calls. Sound is much better than my old phone, I had trouble hearing people through the handset, the volume was very weak.

Another feature that I found out about after I got the phone was that there is space in the base to charge an additional battery. I was thrilled to learn this because the battery on my old phone would die all the time unless I always left it on the base. All these new cordless phones with their lighted displays and fancy features all seem to have really bad battery life. You do have to purchase the second battery which is slightly annoying. But, it also powers the base for a couple of hours if the power goes out. Nice feature.

Navigation on the handset and the base were fairly intuitive to me, but I'm a gadget freak. For the stuff I couldn't figure out the manual was pretty straightforward. I like that the answering machine is in the base, I found having to use the handset with my old phone to be annoying at times. I actually used to have an AT&T digital answering machine with 3 mailboxes, so this one is very similar. I would definitely recommend this phone, even though it is pricey.

We've been using this system for about 2 months now and have been thoroughly satisfied with the quality and features (speakerphone, intercom etc...)However, potential buyers should be aware that the setup procedures for this phone is similar to a cell phone. For instance, there is no "page" button for the handset because you can always ring any handset from the base. There is no speed dial because the Memory Dial feature works very much like for a cell phone. If you haven't had any problem programming your cell phone, you should very comfortable with this phone. On the other hand, if you are used to the traditional setup for a cordless landline phone, you may be put off by this. Otherwise, it's a great product.

I've used this phone for about a week before returning it. It is the worst phone I've ever bought...

This phone is advertised as a 5.8GHz phone. The only reason to operate a phone at 5.8GHz is to avoid interference from microwaves and 802.11b/g. This phone operates at both 2.4GHz AND 5.8GHz, allowing you to transmit and receive interference on two bands instead of the usual one. The phone boasts 5.8GHz operation but indicates 2.4GHz in the fine print, despite the superior range of 2.4GHz.

Buttons are terrible: Seperate buttons for On and Off, and you must press two buttons to access CID. These buttons are tiny and have a fair amount of play. Answering machine "joystick" pad feels cheap and is hard to control.

Other features: CID lacks name support (you gotta memorize everyone's phone numbers). Insufficient voice feedback; (makes phone seem dead, and makes you talk too loud... maybe that's on purpose, because callers complain they can't hear me anyway due to noisy connection). Handset is uncomfortabely narrow. Uses proprietery, low-capacity (600mAh) dual-AA battery pack (quality phones let you pop in three standard 2500mAh NiMH AAs). Overpriced.