Home > Consumer Reviews > AT&T 958 Corded Speakerphone with Caller ID (White)

The AT&T 958 Speakerphone with Caller ID and Call waiting is a replacement for the AT&T 957 model. The design has been updated. More importantly, the alleged problem with not being able to store numbers over 11 digits in the old 957 model has been fixed. I bought the AT&T 958 although I personally preferred the more traditional style of the 957 model.
I was able to easily set up the phone using the quick guide in less than 10 minutes. It is important to follow the quick setup instructions. The phone came set up to lay flat (and level) on a desk/table. It can also be adjusted to mount on the wall. In addition, the base on the bottom of the phone can be reversed to allow you to tilt the phone at an angle towards you (when on a flat surface). It also has "feet" on the bottom rear that can be flipped up so the phone will increase its angle of tilt towards you. Tilting the phone makes the caller ID much display easier to read. Even with overhead room lights and a nearby sunny window, I found the display easy to read, even though it does not come with a backlit display. The display has easy to use contrast controls to adjust the darkness of the letters/numbers on the display. The layout of the buttons are logical, simple, and well marked as to their function. The sound quality of the phone is excellent! You can also adjust the volume of the handset, speaker, and the loudness of the ring. I have caller ID service and this phone displays information perfectly. I do not have call waiting, although this phone has a button which allows you to easily change callers. There is also a mute button, hold button, and an "line in use" LED light. The latter can tell you if someone else is already on the telephone which is a nice feature if you have multiple phones with multiple family members all using a single phone line. This phone also has a data port, which allows you to attach a fax or external modem directly to this phone.
This also phone comes with an AC power cord and does not require batteries. 2 different line cords and handset cords are included. In fact, everything you need to set up and use this phone is included. It is interesting that no batteries are required and yet this phone has Memory Loss Protection in the event of a power failure. It will save all of your Caller ID history and your programmed directory of up to 99 names and numbers you enter even if it is unplugged or your electricity goes out!
I have a moderate-severe hearing problem and I have attached an Ameriphone model HA-4 volume booster to this phone. They work great together! I bought this phone because of the history of high quality superior sound from AT&T products. They did not let me down. Voices are crystal clear and the built-in volume adjustment is a bonus! Some speaker phones have poor quality sounding speakers. Not so with this phone. The speaker sound is very good.
For those who like a longer then standard length handset cord, I also bought a 25 foot white handset cord (made by Sprint, model number 89116V) which is a very close color match to the white tone of this phone. I highly recommend this product.

Why people have rated this phone somewhat low is beyond me! Usually I won't endorse anything without the big check in hand but I found myself impelled to tell you about this phone!
Great! Took under 3 minutes to program and have completly set up! Has redial, flash for two lines, hold, mute, volume control not just for the outstandingly clear speakerphone but also the pleasent ringer! I don't know about you but I cringe if the ringer sounds loud and shrill especially after a long night pleasing the masses! I hear enough loud noises on stage! This phone is like from....heaven! Date, Time you name it it's got it and under $25.00? Come on...would I lie to you or waste both our time? Get this you won't go wrong belive me..It's a 5 star phone!

The AT&T 958 is a very good phone. One of the great features of this phone is the line status indicator, which is very useful when this phone is plugged into a shared line. As for the reviewer who was complaining about setting the date and clock, it is part of caller id. I have yet to see a caller id display / box that allows the user to set his own time and date. The display has a contrast setting that is adjustable up to four levels. The base has four rubber pads that really grip, even on a desk that has just been dusted with Pledge. However, there are several annoyances: the handset cord is a bit on the short side, the mute button does not go off automatically when you switch from speaker mode to handset mode, and the handset design would definitely not win any awards for comfort. Even with these minor shortcomings, it still deserves four stars for its features, ease of setup and price.

I bought this phone a year ago to replace another aging AT&T speaker phone for home use (speaker phone is a must if you do a lot of phone conference, or talk to customer service which will put you on hold for half an hour). Overall I am satisfied with the phone's quality, function and relability.

The phone is retively easy to setup, even without manuals. All plugs and holes can be easily matched. It needs a power adapter for the LCD display and speaker phone to work, but if electricity is out, the phone still works, just without these functions. It is a good design decision (but I hope speaker phone could still work since my previous AT&T phone does that).

It has four illuminate indicators (new call, line status, mute, speaker). They provide good feedback and I like them very much. Every button you press will generate a beep which is also a good indicator of what you are doing. Good design.

Caller id function works reasonably well. Dial back is a breeze. It even append "1" ahead of area code if caller id phone number does not have that. It is a breeze calling back.

Phone quality is very good as you can expect from a land phone. It is loud too so you complain about not hearing clearly.

There is a phone jack outlet which could be used for modem connection (you don't need to plug your modem in another phone jack). You just use a short phone line from this phone to your computer. This is convenient if you use a computer modem on the same desktop.

Reliability? Have used this for roughly a year and no problem so far. The very reason I bought this one is my previous AT&T speaker phone is very reliable - I bought that one second hand and used that for another 5 years.

It does have some shortcomings though. One thing I found the handset feels too light and sometime I wonder if I place the handset correctly in the base. Another thing is the LCD screen may be tilted more toward user - currently if your desk is high or you don't sit high, the screen may be too flat to view clearly.

Caller ID readout is easy to see while seated if you set this up as a desk phone. As pointed out by other reviewers, it comes out of the box ready to mount on a wall. (This has been standard on the last three phones I have purchased.) Changing the position of the bracket for use as a desk phone is easy. LCD readout has adjustable clarity levels. This phone is full-featured and attractively priced. Exceptional value for anyone who can follow simple directions.