Home > Consumer Reviews > AT&T E5965C 5.8 GHz DSS Expandable Cordless Phone with Answering System

My son and sister have a E5965C and have had no problems so I purchased one on Sept 20,2006 from Amazon. I received it on Sept 26th - waited the required time for the battery to charge - then set up the phone. Had a terrible echo in the handset - could hear my voice in the ear piece on every call - very annoying. After 48 hrs the spare batteries were not charged. Sent to AT&T after only having the phone for 4 days. Three weeks later I received a refurbished E5965C which did not have the belt clip or owners manual. I had returned a complete system. The replacement wasn't much better and the handset became VERY hot while charging. I called AT&T and was told that it's normal for rechargable batteries to be warm. These weren't warm - they were hot - hot enough that I unpluged the power supply because I was concerned about a fire danger. I told them I wanted a new phone not a refurbished one since I had only had the original one for 4 days. I could understand a refurbished phone if mine had been close to the end of the warranty period. I sent the refurbished phone back with a letter explaining everything. Three weeks later I got a new phone in a damaged box. But this one works. Still have a slight echo but only when I talk to my son. Don't have this problem when talking to my sister. The announce caller id is a great feature - especially when I hear my son's number and know I have to run to the other room to pick up another phone. The base unit still says the spare batteries are charging even though I installed fully charged rechargable batteries - who knows what's up with this. I really do love this unit - great reception over long distances, speaker phone in base and handset - plus during power outages can use the phone with the spare batteries. The big fault I have is that it is set up like a cell phone. Can't just hit the Memory button and a number key to make calls - must scroll through the directory and unfortunately the people I call most are near the bottom of the list. And lastly - you must be sure to plug in the power supply correctly or the answering machine will not function - you'd think they would make one blade larger on the plug.
Like I said - love the phone - not crazy about the company that makes it.
January 10, 2007
Phone just died tonight - Handset displays " searching for base unit" - after trying to get the code from the base unit - it died - now have numbers increasing in the message display. I've had it - 3 units and none have worked - I'll eat the purchase price before I send it back for another lemon. Tomorrow I'm dropping a big rock on it and then it's going in the trash. Buyer beware!

I'm sorry but I just don't get the problems people are having with this phone. The reason I gave it 4 instead of 5 stars is that I still prefer the Vtech i5867. But guess what? Vtech had to have made this phone. The menu is the same, the ringers are the same, and the sound options/quality is the SAME. I did read something about Vtech and AT&T being linked somehow, well this is practically a Vtech phone. With the i5867 you can record your own ringers and put your own pictures on it, that's what I like better than this phone. That being said, this is still a good quality phone. I like the earpiece VOLUME, I can hear people! EVERY Panasonic I've EVER talked on was horribly LOW!! This phone has also already survived me dropping it (something that tends to happen in my house a lot). So in summary : Like the phone, would recommend it, planning on buying an additional handset.

Other than the bizarre day, time and "year" announcement, rather than the usual day and time timestamp on the answering machine, this phone is just about perfect for my household. (Who would need to know the year on their answering machine?)

First and foremost, the sound quality and clairity is exceptional. I have been all over the house and have not experienced any loss of sound quality or reception. I especially like the fact that you can adjust the type of sound (i.e. higher mid-tones, treble or bass) on each handset, in addition to the volume.

The build of both the phone base and handsets seems very solid. I also like the styling and layout of the buttons - it reminds me of my cell phone; it is inuitive and familiar. And, I LOVE the choice of all the different ringtones - I set mine to Bethoveen (sp.). (The songs aren't on the base unit though - just the tones, so I just turned off the base ringer and let the handset ring instead.)

Yes, the directory is not shared amongst all the handsets, and the color walpapers are a bit on the "cutesy" side - but if you want solid construction, excellent sound and intuitive menus, this certainly has it!

Excellent range, very good sound quality, long feature list... Two things I would say that could be improved on this product are the speed dial list and battery compartments. The speed dial lists are not shared between the phone/s and base station, this makes maintaining a multi phone setup a bit more of a problem than it should be. The battery compartments seem a bit tight for any other NiMH batteries available today. The phone comes with 900 mA rechargables that fit perfectly. Today, it is tough to find batteries less than 1,500 mA, which tend to be just ever so slightly larger in diameter and make battery replacement a bit more of a problem than it should be. Other than those two problems (minor IMHO), the phone is great. I would recommend it to anyone and will buy more in the future as I add more portable units for my growing family.

I've owned Uniden (great technical support), Panasonic and other brands of cordless phones. The AT&T E5965C is the BEST cordless I've owned since my old AT&T cordless from 1991. Quality, quality, quality. Absolutely no interference with my wireless network, great sound quality and volume control. Also, AT&T is the only brand I could find that has DSS technology for more security. Uniden no longer makes 5.8 GHz phones with DSS. I need the 5.8 GHZ because of my wireless network, and I want the DSS for privacy. Each handset has volume control (a necessity for us older folks), and I can retrieve messages from any handset. Also, each handset has intercom. This is a great feature if you fall down and can't get up, etc. You can page anyone in the house for help.

I really did not want to pay for color when I bought this phone. I'll never send or view photos. But now that I have the color, I SEE that color helps me view the screen. It's much easier to read than the old green or grey screens.

If you want a really good phone, don't buy the cheap ones. Buy the AT&T E5965C. Bargains are not always a bargain. Search the internet. I found this phone with 2 extra handsets/chargers for $239, brand new, for all.