AT&T EP5962 5.8 GHz 2-Line Corded/Cordless Phone with Answering System

The designers of this phone obviously weren't thinking of how a 2-line phone system actually gets used.

Cons:
* Corded base unit always picks up line 1, no matter if someone else is already using it. Even if line 2 is ringing, it STILL picks up line 1. Useless.

* Cordless handsets do not pick up the ringing line when lifted off the charger base. I have yet to own a cordless phone (single line or multi-line) that can't handle this small task. At least the cordless units hang up the line when putting them back in the charger base.

* Call volume is neither "sticky" nor stable on the cordless handsets. The volume you set will eventually revert to the previous volume setting, or else change to a different setting altogether.

* No customer service. Calling the customer support phone number included in BIG NUMBERS on a separate yellow sheet so you are sure to see it gets you . . . nowhere. The automated support system doesn't...Read more

Pros:
Compact, all in one
Corded has reasonably good sound;
Range of cordless is adequate - sound quality is also in the middle.
Answering machine is fairly easy to setup, but lacks features of many of the higher end stand alone answering machines.
No phone cord needed for cordless extensions - just an electrical outlet for the charger.
Two lines one one corded/cordless is a convenience.
When I setup a conference, the quality is better than my old stand alone two line corded phone.

Cons:
The default pickup when making a call is always line one; my prior phones were always the last button you had pressed. Minor problem - almost all my calls are on line two.
Answering machine is a bit combersome, and remote access is not as flexible as stand alone machines.
Caller ID is from the front menu so you have to scroll - last incoming call not on screen until you press a couple of buttons.
Also, last number redial...Read more

I have just started using this phone today, and while it mostly lives up to my expectations, I have run into a major problem with the answering system: when I record the outgoing message on either line, the audio quality is extremely poor. I did just as the manual described - spoke at normal volume 9 in. from the unit - with poor results every time. I was also amazed that one is forced to record the announcement through the speakerphone, not the handset, making it sound as if it were recorded... well, over a speakerphone (but with an extra dose of poor audio quality). One worksaround is to record from the cordless handset, which allows you to use a headset. Still, bad quality even with the cordless handset.

Finally, I was able to get results that are very marginally acceptable by recording the greeting as a wave file on my PC, and then hooking up the audio output on my PC to the headphone jack on the wireless headset and playing it back while recording the greeting...Read more