telecomman's Full Review: Avaya 6221 1-Line Corded Phone
The Avaya 6221 single line telephone is designed to work in conjunction with AT&T/Lucent/Avaya telephone systems. While the outward appearance closely resembles phones used with the Definity platform, it will work quite well with the Partner and Merlin Legend & Magix platforms (An analog module is needed to connect the telephone to Legend or Magix telephone systems). Being an analog unit, it can also be used with a standard telephone line.
At first glance, the 6221 looks like a throwback to the 80s (before Caller ID service became popular). There is no LCD to be found. What you see is a standard touch tone keypad, Pause, Program, Hold, Flash, Mute, Speaker, Volume, Ringer Volume and Personalized Ringer buttons. Also included is an LED to alert of new messages in a voicemail box and a data jack to allow an external device (fax machine, modem or answering machine) to share the same line without having to swap line cords.
The base of the telephone is designed to allow wall mounting or placement on a flat surface.
Most of the telephone's buttons are located on the face of the unit. The data jack, ringer volume control and ring pattern selector switch are located along the unit's edges. The telephone can be either gray or white in color (with gray being the more common of the two).
3 red LEDs adorn the telephone's face. 1 oval shaped flickers when the phone is ringing and flashes when there is a new voicemail waiting to be listened to. Another red (though smaller) LED illuminates when the hands free speaker phone is being used. The third LED indicates when the telephone is being muted. The fourth LED illuminates when the HOLD button has been pressed.
A Flash button allows you to take advantage of features like Call Waiting and the Pause button inserts a 1.5 second delay in a dialing string. Pause can be used manually or in conjunction with a 1 touch speed dial.
SET UP
Make no mistake about it, the 6221 is a basic corded telephone. As such, there is very little assembly required. It is pretty much plug & play. You plug a standard telephone cable into the RJ-11 jack on the base of the unit and feed the cable up and out the back as directed in the instruction guide.
The base slides onto the bottom and can be adjusted to allow for either wall or desktop mounting. Remember to rotate the tab underneath the receiver so it stays in place when the telephone is wall mounted.
USAGE
Assembling the 6221 was pretty straightforward. I thought I could program the 1 touch speed dial telephone memories without looking at the manual. While the procedure is similar to consumer telephones, a tone that sounds to remind you that the telephone is in programming mode kept throwing me off. Once I reviewed the manual, I was able to set my selections up without further complications. There is enough space on the carded directory to write in names. It should be noted that copies of the desi can be made and used as needed. There are online companies that sell desis so obtaining spares or replacements is never a problem.
Dialing out is simple. You pick up the receiver (or press the Speaker button) press a memory button or dial a telephone number. When finished, hang up or press the Speaker button again. Is the telephone number you wish to call busy? No problem! Press the Redial button and let the telephone do the dialing for you.
The ringer has 3 volume levels to select from. I found the choices good for just about any setting. The 2 ringers sound somewhat alike. One ringer sounds a bit deeper than the other. I sure miss the old double brass gongs used by Western Electric.
Setting the volume for the handset, speaker is also easy. Simply pick up the handset (or push the Speaker button) and toggle the volume control to the desired level.
I did not try out the data jack, but it stands to reason that one could plug in an answering machine, modem, fax machine or card reader and allow multiple device to share a single telephone line or extension.
OBSERVATIONS
The 6221's gray color and overall desgin closely mimics the Lucent/Avaya 6400 telephones. This would indicate that the 6200 series telephones are meant to be used with a Definity telephone system (Avaya's largest telephone system). The 6200s can be used with the Partner & Merlin platforms as well. One advantage that the 6200 series phones have over consumer telephones is that the Message Waiting lamp functions with any AT&T/Lucent/Avaya voicemail product. When I connected an AT&T 962 and Lucent 965 telephone to a Merlin Magix and left a message, their Message Waiting Lamps did not illuminate. The MWL on the 6221 did.
While connected to analog ports on a Merlin Magix telephone system, it took a second or two for the speaker phone to "wake up" once the Speaker button was pressed. This does not appear to be an issue when connecting the telephone to a regular telephone line.
The gray coiled handset cord is fairly short and I can't seem to find a direct match at any of the big electronics stores. I may have to try a few electronics supply houses or just go with a close match.
FINAL THOUGHTS
All in all the 6221 is a pleasant telephone to use. The reminder tone can seem a bit much, but it is nice to have the telephone remind you that it is in programming mode. You can never have too many speed dials and the 6221 offers space for 10 telephone numbers that contain up to 24 elements (numbers and pauses).
Compared to consumer telephones, the 6221 is expensive. It really isn't aimed at the consumer market. It is, (after all) a business telephone. I am fond of the oval shaped buttons and the handset is easy on the shoulders.
If you are in need of an analog telephone to connect with a Lucent/Avaya Partner, Merlin or Definity telephone system, look no further than the 6221 (or any of the other telephones in the 6200 series).
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