VTech i5871 Cordless Phone

By Kathy  Aug 9, 2007

Back to the drawing board

By Kenneth  Mar 13, 2007 | 2 out of 2 found this VTech i5871 review helpful

Pros: Full featured, excellent sound quality (wnen working)

Cons: Phone systems should be reliable and dependable

VTech 5871 base unit/phone and 5808 remote handsets

The capabilities of this phone system are apparently advanced beyond its design integrity. The system does everything we would like and more, except it is exceedingly trouble prone. Over the last 1 ½ yrs we have accumulated the base and four remote handsets, as well as many trouble calls and emails with VTech. The base unit is sensitive to noise on the power line, and Vtech cautions about this. They do not caution against static, but walking across a carpet and putting the base phone back in the cradle on a moderately dry day will reset the date and time on the base unit, and normally its operation. In addition, once or twice a month during a phone conversation, or when picking up a ringing phone, the outgoing side of the phone quits working and the receiving party thinks the phone is dead. The solution is to hang up, remove batteries, power, and phone line, reinstall them, call the party back, then reset the day on the base unit. To add to this poor performance, in the last month two of the handsets can no longer find the base unit when powered back up no matter how long they were powered down.

For a top of the line phone system this is the most unreliable cordless phone system we have ever owned or heard of. It has interrupted so many phone calls, and caused so much frustration, that we have made the expensive decision to discard/recycle the entire system. I would not want to see anyone else suffer with this system or we would have donated it.

While it has the basis to be a great phone system, it needs to go back into Engineering to ruggedize its firmware.

As a note, this is written by a BSEE with 40yrs of complex troubleshooting experience.

By michael peterson  Oct 11, 2006

DON'T DO IT

By KristenH  Sep 29, 2006 | 4 out of 4 found this VTech i5871 review helpful

Pros: To mad to think of any.

Cons: You name it - it goes wrong

If you are thinking of purchasing a Vtech phone think again and again. These have to be one of the most problematic phones ever created. I have gon through three sets now and my parents have gone through at least four. Your phones are great for about three to six months and then something happens - they just don't work anymore. Of course this is after your allowed 30 days. Then you think that Vtech will help you. THINK AGAIN! Yes they will replace your phone - only after you package them up, pay for the shipping, send them out, they process them, check them, and find you another set and then send it out to you. Meanwhile you are left with no phone and feel screwed - to top it off they don't care. Spend your money on a company that values its customers and stands behind its product. There support is useless - they read and say exactly what they are suppose to. Why bother! DON'T DO IT!!!!