Home > Consumer Reviews > Plantronics CT12 2.4 GHz DSS Cordless Headset Phone with Caller ID

When in my home office, I am on the phone 5-7 hours a day. I have tried many combinations of phones and headsets and have never been satisfied with the voice quality. I also run a wireless network and have had problems in the past with 2.4 Ghz phones causing interference. The Plantronics CT12 is the answer to all my problems:

* portable - small belt unit is light, offers great battery life and includes all the features I need
* great headset - sound quality is equal to that of a handset (people do not know you are on a headset); comfortable with two fit options, Firefly function is nice bonus
* Caller-ID - included on belt unit, works as expected
* 2.4 Ghz - range is good, does not cause interference with my wireless network (previous phones from Panasonic and others have)

Only negative is that you cannot answer or otherwise use the phone while it is charging (must remove the belt unit from the charger). All in all, highly recommended.

Big improvement over the predecessor model CT10 since Plantronics has added a caller ID feature and an in-use indicator light to this one. If you are looking for a single-line cordless telephone for your home or small office, and if you don't mind not having the option of a traditional cordless handset receiver to hold up to your ear, you will like this model. Be aware that you have to use the headset for every call (no handset), so if several members of a family use the same phone, get yourself some spare ear cushions for hygeine. The only negative is that the dial pad buttons are very, very small, so maybe I would not recommend this for some elderly users, visually impaired users or anyone who feels more comfortable with larger buttons to press.

I got this headset phone after using a Plantronics headset with my standard office phone for years. I didn't get it as a replacement, only as an option to allow me to move around while on tedious conference calls but without holding a brick up to my ear or carrying one on my belt.

In any case, the bottom line is that this phone is the only game in town for an inexpensive, super-compact phone with decent range - but it is completely incompatible with wireless networks.

I did my original review after using the unit for a few days. What follows are some comments after using the phone on and off for nearly 3 years...

Wireless Networks:
I originally believed I had found the secret code to not having this phone knock out my wireless network. In summary, since my wireless network was on channel 6, I switched the channel on my network to 11, rebooted all of the computers that use the wireless network and then hit the "channel" button on the phone a couple of times. At the time, that did the trick, the phone was completely compatible with my wireless network.

Sometime in the last year or so, maybe with a router firmware update or something, the phone now reliably and completely knocks out my wireless network to the point of needing a router reboot. For this reason, my rating is now 1 star (or less), down from 3 stars - except that I can't change the star-rating in the Amazon review editor interface.

Audio Quality:
Both the incoming and outgoing (as heard on the other end of the phone line) are very good. In fact, my own tests found that the audio quality on the other end of the phone line is better than with my wired Plantronics headset (and, amazingly, with the handset for that phone). However, the volume on the incoming audio needs to be jacked up to maximum most of the time in order to be generally audible. This also amplifies my own voice as heard in the headset when I talk. The audio quality of my own voice in the headset is miserable (I'm curious if others have noticed this too). It sounds fuzzy and over-amplified (which I guess it is) and is distracting, though I'm hoping I get used to it. Fortunately, this fuzziness is not sent to the other end of the phone line.

Comfort:
My unit came with both a "hook on the ear" configuration and an over-the-head configuration. I have to say that the earpiece that hooks onto your ear could be a *lot* more comfortable and easier to adjust. I have a Motorola HS810 earpiece that I use with my cell phone and it is reasonably comfortable for something that is hanging on your ear. The Plantronics "hook on the ear" earpiece needs some softening to make it more comfortable and a little reconfiguration to make it easier to slip on.

The net-net is that I finally gave up on the hook-on-the-ear earpiece because it was so uncomfortable. Switching to the over the head configuration is great. The earpiece is comfortable and the audio is louder, so I don't have to crank the volume up to maximum.

In summary, while I like this phone because it is compact, has good range and provides good outgoing and incoming sound quality, the wireless network incompatibility makes it a non-starter. I also don't like the volume situation, how my own voice sounds to me or the comfort of the hook-on-the-ear earpiece. Would I buy again? Likely not.

I purchased this phone with high hopes of using it as my primary home office phone. The phone directly interferes around 50% of the time with my 802.11.B wireless network. Since the phone channel can not be fixed, the Plantronics CT12 will randomly knock me completely off the network. No amount of calls to Plantronics or fiddling with my wireless channels improves this problem. Thier answer is that the channels are choosen by the phone and there's nothing they can do. I've returned the phone for a refund.

The other problem is that the phone can not be used while it's in the charging base, so you'll need to have another office phone for when the battery runs low.

If it weren't for these two major issues, it's a nice phone with clear sound and the little red light on the mic boom is cute.

While performance of this phone is great - fantastic, in fact, I think the functionality of the phone is a bit clumsy for women.

The range is great. Audio is crystal clear. No interrupts on our wireless-g network, save one small glitch with the laptop, resolved by changing channels.

The belt clip is for belts, not slacks or skirts. Women don't always wear belts. It needs more tension or a tighter grip to be able to hold on to the thinner materials women wear. I tried using the clip to hook it to a long key lanyard, worn around the neck, but it was too heavy/clunky to be worn that way comfortably.

Problem 2 - headset or over the ear? Again, a "woman" issue - small ears prevent me from comfortably using the over the ear ear/mic. Using the headset is great with the exception of a little too much tension on the ear causing a sore spot, earpiece cover isn't soft enough to accommodate even small earrings (conforming foam would have been better).

Recommendations to the manufacturer - it would be *great* if, after you fix the tension issues w/ the beltclip, you could fix it so the belt clip would mount in either direction. What I mean is wearing the unit upside down would allow you to read/see display & buttons when looking down at it.