Home > Consumer Reviews > Panasonic 5.8 Ghz 4-Line FHSS Expandable Cordless Phone System with Call Waiting Caller Id and Answering System (KX-TG4500B)

I have had the previous generation of this phone for 5 years and have just replaced it.

Pros:
1) If you need 4 lines, this is the only game in town. They used to make a 2 line one, but no longer.
2) There is a headset jack on the base unit, which is very rare, and which is the reason I was willing to pay for this unit. And you can switch among headset, handest and speaker phone with no switching noise - very unusual.
3) Excellent sound, and it's perfectly quiet going from one line to another - no transition noise.
4) Unlike some, there is no cross-talk between the 2 lines. If you have one person on hold and are talking to another, the first party won't hear the other conversation.
5) Obvious quality build.
6) Battery backup good for a while.

Cons:
1) Cordless range only so-so for a high-end unit.
2) BIG CON: The number pads on the cordless units are somewhat delicate and after a couple of years start being a bit harder to press or stop responding at all. The authorized repair place I used said that this isn't uncommon with these phones. Repair (including shipping) was going to be enough that I just bought a new/extra cordless unit to use with it.

There are 2 new features, the ablility to MUTE a call and the ability to record a call. The lack of a MUTE button on the base unit of the previous generation was strange in a unit of this type.

I have had this phone for about a month and I can't find anything to complain about. It addresses all of the problems of the previous model including:
More volume settings
Music on hold (provided or your own)
Mute
More ringers (7)
You can join a call in progress
Headsets can be named
Call Waiting ID
Indefinite hold (doesn't send to voicemail right away)
The ringer can be muted.
You can record a phone call.

I have not used the attendant. The range is fine for me and there is no interference with WiFI A/B, microwave, or other radio devices.

So far, so good. I reccomend it.

We used a previous version of this system for years. This much improved system handles even the tiny wishes we had from the old system. Music on hold, speaker phones, great range, etc. I actually bought multiple systems and tried them in my offices. I returned them all except the Panasonic.

With a few drawbacks, this is a well-designed 4-line telephone. On the plus side, the base and remote handsets work well. In particular, the remote handset buttons are much more sturdy than they were in earlier Panasonic design. Corded-handset and speakerphone quality are excellent. The major drawback is that the ring volume is the same for all 4 lines. Previous Panasonic designs had individual-line volume settings, but not this phone. This is important to me because only one of the 4 lines is for incoming calls, the others are for outgoing calls, and telemarketers call all lines indiscriminately. My solution was to turn off the overall ring volume and use in parallel a separate cheap phone on the one line I use for incoming calls. I do not use the answering system because I have voice mail, so I cannot comment on that feature.

Overall this 4-line phone system does most things that any small business would require with multiple options for messaging. Extreme clarity w/ no buzzes or popping noises that you might experience on other systems. A fully charged handset can last for days out of the cradle. I had a Siemans system before and with it's drawbacks I DO miss two features that it had that this system lacks: A) When you "register" the handsets to the system your phonebook entries in the base do not transmit to the handset(s). You have to enter each contact separately in the base and/or handset(s). Kind of a drag. My other system was able to transfer data from base to handsets & vise versa. This system does not do that and for the life of me, I don't know why. Seems such an obvious time saver & simple thing to have included. Go figure.
B) Although this is a very "messaging savvy" system, it is not built with a separate LED indicator to let you know that your providers voice mail has a message waiting. Not a big deal if you plan to use only the self contained voice mail features. (there IS, of course, an indicator for internal messages waiting) If you use, say, AT&T voice mail on any of the lines, you'll have to open the line to hear the stuttering dial tone as indicator. Not a big deal for most people, but I got used to the external light indicator on my other system. Overall I'm pleased with the purchase and would recommend it as a solid system with a couple of missing niceties.