The VTech LS6425-3 is a great cordless phone and answering system while the IS6100 wireless headset adds the hands free feature that long calls and work require.
Ease of Use, Performance: 21/25 Look & Feel: 23/25 Features 24/25 How much I enjoy 23/25 Total: 91/100
Buying a home phone can be confusing these days with all the choices like cordless frequencies, answering systems and even headsets but add new terms and consumers can be lost. I found just picking out one phone to ask for review pretty confusing but with a little help things can go much smoother.
The VTech Three Handset Cordless Answering System with Caller ID/Call Waiting and the extra cordless headset makes a great home phone for use with your landline. I still use a landline and I know many that still do as the cell phones just do not offer all the benefits of a good old phone at home especially if you live outside of town.
With new technologies landline phones have now become a major purchase decision and the cheaper phones you can find at local stores just do not cut it for clear communication. You can buy phones with all kinds of features but we now have digital technology to add to the confusion, but this one feature makes listening and talking much better.
DECT is the newer digital technology used for cordless phones around the world while DECT 6.0 is the United States and Canadian version. The system has been widely used in Europe and is the exclusive cordless phone technology but in the United States there are still phones available with the 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz variety.
The DECT 6.0 is simply a different frequency than previous systems that allows for less interference and much less of a chance of eavesdropping using a similar phone nearby or even the neighbors baby monitor. The new technology used in the VTech phones called DECT 6.0 is becoming the standard and should really be your only choice nowadays.
After figuring out what DECT 6.0 was and the other features like the cordless headset and voice announce I decided to ask for the LS6425-3 with the included IS6100 headset. The model numbers of the VTech phones are not that confusing, the model is for the base unit of the phone while the number after the dash is how many handsets are included with the base model.
The headset is a cordless headset that uses a small ear and headband set that connects to the base unit for talking hands free using the base unit phone. The headset can be answered with the simple push of a button and is very handy for those lengthy conversations like business and work related talks or the relatives who are, well, gabby.
The base model I received, LS6425-3, has the base unit with answering system and the two additional handsets with the charging bases for a total of three handsets. The package also contains the appropriate power adapters, cords and batteries for all the handsets you need as well as the headset parts.
The headset may come as a separate package as it did with my review sample but from what I saw online the VTech store may be the only place to purchase both of these as a complete set. The cordless headset is available as a separate purchase from internet sites like Amazon.
The IS6100 is the only VTech headset the company sells and should be compatible with all their DECT 6.0 cordless phones and it sells for about $55 separately. The VTech LS6425-3 sells for about $130 on their website but can be found for less on other sites or in stores.
The VTech LS6425 phone has a voice announce caller id, push to talk communication between handsets, digital answering system, missed call indicator, stored phone numbers and much more. Some of the features are dependent on you having the services with your phone line like caller ID but the answering services and push to talk is standard for the model.
The answering system is the best I have used on the five or six phones I have used over the years and has all the features I have wished for. You can easily set up your voice message to play when you’re sitting comfortably on your sofa or at your desk instead of hunched over the phone.
You can receive messages, set up the answering message and all the other features from any handset that is linked to the phone, no more standing at my front door listening to the answering machine while people are still hanging up their coats. This is the one feature I really like and makes for a real improvement over previous models, setup and listening to messages from the handset.
You listen to messages, erase and record them from the handset using the back speaker on any of the handsets instead of holding the phone to your ear like you do for normal conversations. You can also use the back speaker for a speakerphone feature while making phone calls from any of the handsets.
The answering system allows for up to 90 seconds of your message and has space for up to 14 minutes of recording time and lists messages with caller ID n on any handset as well as the base unit. The VTech phone can also be used for voicemail that your phone service provider uses if you have this feature which is not a part of the phones answering system.
Features like Caller ID need to also have the feature from your phone service provider and allows for voice announced caller ID and the storing of numbers for later use. Voice Announce Caller ID means the base unit and handsets will announce who is calling according to the caller ID while the phone is ringing.
When this feature is turned on the base unit and handsets will announce while the phone is ringing who is calling according to the caller ID feature of your telephone service provider. Like Caller ID itself this is a hit and miss feature, my cell phone call to my home phone will announce that “Cell Phone ND” is calling me.
You can also store these caller ID numbers in the systems directory and even have the callers of people in the directory change how they are announced. If for instance my mother calls the phones caller ID announces her last name then first name as it appears on the caller ID of the handset.
If I add her to the directory just as her first name and then her full phone number any phone calls that match her phone number will announce her just as the name appears in the directory. The directory is a bit of a pain to add numbers and names as the phone uses the keypad for names but it only has to be done once.
You have the unusual features like finding the handset when its buried under the sofa cushions, expandable up to twelve handsets, encrypted calls using the DECT 6.0 system and audio equalizer for best call quality. The handsets are easy to setup with the base unit by setting them in the base unit if they have not been registered with the base unit already.
My telephone system did come preregistered so it found all three handsets when I first plugged each one in, they did come partially charged but took a little time to fully charge. I tried a little experiment and left one handset on my desk without being in a charger for a week and a half and it took that long to drain the batteries to where it showed low battery warnings.
Range is great and I had no problems carrying a handset with me to my garage some forty feet from my house as well as outside while painting and still be able to clearly receive and send calls. The range is rather impressive when you take into account the plaster and lathe walls the signal had to go through when I was in my garage.
Some of that old plaster, cement like in hardness, has been known to dull drill bits while trying to hang simple picture hooks. I also had no problems getting the units spaced around my house with the base unit on my main floor by my front door and the other ones across the house in the kitchen and upstairs in the back work room.
The answering system and general phone use for the VTech LS6425 has been excellent with great call quality for calls I receive from all over the world. The reason I have bought and got rid of several phones over the last few years is the call quality of many of the systems I have tried which were generally terrible.
The VTech LS6425-3 with the better HD quality and DECT 6.0 system has been excellent and I have talked with people from Taiwan, China and Europe with very good call quality. General features aside the call quality alone is one that I would recommend with the VTech phones when looking at purchasing land line phones in the future.
The Is6100 headset also available for this phone worked pretty well but I did have a few problems getting it to work with the LS6425 system. I had to deregister the headset from whatever it had been connected to before I got it, which took a phone call to the company to get done.
The headset does not have any buttons on it other than a power, volume “+” and “-” and a mute on it so there is not a lot of options for setup. You are supposed to follow a register process where the unit is not currently registered with a base unit but mine was already registered to something.
I called VTech support and after telling them my problems with trying to get the headset registered with the base unit they told me the sequence of button presses to clear out the registration. Once I hit the right buttons in order the headset was deregistered and connected quickly to the base unit following the manuals instructions.
Once this was done it worked perfectly and I can now answer the phone using either a handset or with the headset, you can answer calls but you cannot make calls with only the headset. To make a call using both a headset and a handset you simply dial the number and connect to the call using the handset and then turn on the headset to transfer to the hands free headset.
You can then hang up the handset and only use the headset for the phone call, you can also connect with other handsets or the headset at any time. The headset has three different ear pieces for varying ear sizes along with three different sized ear hooks.
You can also use the head band for a better more secure fit if you want while using the headset but it fits a little awkwardly on the base for charging with the headband snapped onto the headset. The headset is a nice addition if you want to add the hands free talking that so many people are using out in the world with those small cell phone headsets.
The VTech LS6425-3 and the additional IS6100 headset make a great home phone system with answering machine that is truly a worthwhile purchase for clear phone quality and the real convenience of handset setup. I highly recommend the VTech LS6425-3 and the IS6100 headset for a fantastic home phone or even for a small business system.
VTech Website