My wife and I have owned no less the 10 different sets of phones (cored and cordless) since we got married just under fiver years ago, in a seemingly fruitless search for the perfect phone. For a moment we thought our search had ended with the AT&T 5840 5.8/2.4GHz Cordless Phone; we were wrong!

A Tale of Wireless Phones & WiFi…

We have had a 2.4GHz Wi-Fi network in our home since we had it built over three years ago, and this factor more then any other informs our phone buying decisions. The AT&T 5840 5.8/2.4GHz Cordless Phone was bought to replace an aging and static prone Uniden 900MHz cordless setup downstairs in the master bedroom and living room, and a Sony 900MHz cordless upstairs in the loft that was getting increasingly hard to hear.

It was important to me as I was looking for a replacement for the 900MHz phones, that the new phone not step on the same frequency as my 2.4GHz WI-Fi network, so I sought a 5.8GHz cordless phone that was expandable in order to add a total of three handsets. I initially looked at the Panasonic KX-TG5100M, but the reviews on that phone were not promising. Not promising as well were the reviews of the Uniden 5885-2, and it did not have all of the other features I was looking for in a cordless phone; i.e. voice caller ID (announces the name of the caller), digital answering system, call waiting, and separate answering machine mail boxes. So I finally settled on AT&T 5840 5.8/2.4GHz Cordless Phone and three AT&T 5800 Series handsets, which were on sale at my local BestBuy.

Note: While doing the research for this phone I discovered that the AT&T 5840 is not truly at 5.8GHz setup as advertised. While the base unit transmits to the handsets at 5.8GHz, the handsets transmit to the base at 2.4GHz but in a spread spectrum frequency scheme, that may or may not interfere with 2.4GHz Wi-Fi networks. This setup is supposed to allow the base unit to transmit with more power, and the handsets with greater efficiency (longer range) at 2.4GHz. Also, supposedly, the separate (duplex) transmission frequencies prevent the incoming and outgoing signals from interfering with each other.

I will report that by-and-large there has been no cross-talk between the AT&T 5840 and my Wi-Fi network, which consist of a Linksys Wireless Access Point and Linksys Wireless Network Interface Cards.

Base Unit & Phone Features
Make no mistake the AT&T 5840base unit has enough design embellishments to stand out in a crowd; both me and my spouse like the sleek brushed silver and matt black design. The phone has bright blue lights on the handset earpiece and the base unit that blink rapidly when the phone rings. The handset earpiece light also illuminates when another handset is in use. In addition to 7 ring tones, the handsets can also be set to vibrate. Both the handset and base can store up to 50 names and numbers each and works with your caller ID service to remember the last 50 callers. However, the names stored in the address books can not be shared between the base unit and handsets. A spare-battery charging system in the base (battery not included) enables the telephone to work even in a power outage. Within each phone you can choose from eight ringer melodies.
The answering machine mail box lights also light when there's a message waiting. The AT&T 5840 base unit also sports a blue-tinted, backlit keypad, illuminated caller-ID displays in both the handset and the base however, both can be hard to read under normal lighting conditions. LCDs on both the base unit and the handset provide caller ID/call waiting information displayed in three lines, and both units display the time in either analog or digital formats. While some reviewers deride the 5840's nublike antenna, I found it workable and it seems to work well enough.

AT&T includes a handset in the box, with the base unit and AT&T 5840 has the ability to handle up to five additional handsets with only one phone jack. Speakerphones are included in both the handset and base. Setting up the AT&T 5840, one needs only a single phone jack and one power outlet. Once the base unit is set up, the handsets can be plugged into an available power outlet, and charged via its cradle. Once charged the handsets need to be set up to “speak” to the base unit, via a unique number/ID on the bottom of the unit. Once set up calls can be transferred from one handset to another, and the base units’ speaker phone can be muted. Also, you can make intercom calls from the base unit to the individual handsets, but you cannot share phone books.

Other useful features include the ability to monitor battery life and range from the LCD display, adjust sound with a side volume-adjustment keys. The integrated digital integrated digital answering machine provides three mailboxes and 15 minutes of recording time, and the recorded outgoing message can be tailored as such.

And Then the Problems Began…

At first all was well with our new purchase, the phone worked like a charm for almost two months before the static started distorting both incoming and outgoing calls. At first I thought this might be attributable to interference with my Wi-Fi network, so I shut the system down; the static remained. And it came and went, building and ebbing with no discernable pattern. I moved the base unit, the handsets, as suggested by the website that provides technical support for the phones (http://telephones.att.com/attui/support/index.cfm?NavID=2.0).

All of this availed me naught, and static continued to plague the phones. Finally it got so bad that the phone and base unit were rendered practically useless, so I returned the base unit to the manufacture; it was still under warranty. And now I await its return.

Conclusion…

What started out as promising relationship has ended, and our search for the perfect phone continues apace. Although the AT&T 5840 incorporates all the features I wanted in a cordless 5.8GHz phone, in the end it failed to deliver the reliability we sought so long to obtain. And so the search continues, this time we have chosen the Motorola MD681 5.8 GHz Digital Expandable Cordless Speakerphone with Answering System and Caller ID

AT&T 5840 Features & Specifications

• 5.8 GHz Cordless Phone
• Single Line Operation
• Expandable Up To 6 Cordless Handsets
• 15 Minute Digital Answering Machine
• 3 Individual Mailboxes
• Caller ID / Call Waiting
• Base Caller ID
• Handset Speakerphone
• Vibrating Ringer
• 50 Name / Number Caller ID Memory
• Digital Spread Spectrum Frequency Hopping Technology
• Lighted Ringing Indicator
• Page / Intercom
• Handset To Handset Paging
• Wall Mountable
• Color: Silver/Black

Digital Answering System Features:

• 15 Minutes of Digital Recording Time
• 3 Individual Voice Mailboxes
• Call Screening
• Remote Access

Caller ID/Call Waiting Features:

• Caller ID/Call Waiting Capable
• 50 Name/Number Caller ID History
• Lighted Caller ID Displays in Handset and Base


Recommended: No

Write a Review