I have been shopping Amazon for several years and this is the first time I found myself reviewing a product before being asked after the purchase.

I LOVE THIS PRODUCT! In spite of of the negative reviews which I will admit were discouraging I nevertheless took the plunge. I have used AT & T and RCA 4-line phones for about 15 years and was never fully pleased, but there were so few to choose from. The features on this phone are unsurpassed. For the money, it first seemed too good to be true. I have a small, business office with 4 employees and no one employee is greater than maybe 200 ft from each other. Many of the reviews were about the system failing [not communicating with each other] because of distance between phones.

I didn't have this problem. The system is a true winner for me! And, with music-on-hold, how can you beat it. The sound quality is VERY, VERY good. Setup is rather easy, but once completed all changes effect the other lines. Install the batteries as a power out backup and you won't lose your settings. Some of the reviewers complained about this but probably because they didn't install the batteries. Invest in 4 AA batteries for the main console and you won't have that problem.

I am still learning about all of the features as time goes on but so far I have had no issues and am still quite impressed overall. The product build is not cheap looking, very well engineered, and instructions are easy to follow.

I also purchased the cordless headset. It is very attractive and extremely lightweight. You can't even tell you have had it on for hours. The sound quality is very nice too. It is not tinny, voice quality is crisp, and unlike other headsets on the market there is no time delay. All of the units both handset and headset are duplex. No need for the other party to finish speaking.

I could go on but I cannot think of any negative or shortcomings about this system. For a little more than $200. you get a base station, extension deskset, AND a cordless phone. For most 4-line phones you would have to pay $150-200 just for the one deskset. Need I say more! You won't be disappointed.

In conclusion, as I did my research, read the bad reviews and determine if those situations match yours. If not, then don't hesitate. Buy it!

IMHO It is the best 4-line business SYSTEM in the market!

We bought the whole VTech office phone system- console, 2 base sets, handset phone and a headset as used equipment from Amazon's warehouse deals. So far its a neat phone system with a lot of features for a great price. The only system design flaw I see is the "hold" line problem others have mentioned. If you pick up the receiver to call out and then decide to switch to another line, it put the original line on hold and does not hang it up while you use the other line. To avoid this, you have to learn to hang up the phone if you selected the wrong line to call out on, THEN select the other line you want to use and continue with your outgoing call.
My other comment is for those that purchased used equipment and are doing the initial system set up. You first have to "unregistered" all of these orphaned "used" components before you can registered them to the main console desk phone you have.
If you bought a "used" main console like I did, you first have to unregistered all of the devices connected to your main console so you can start fresh. Then, register (connect) your "cordless" desk phone set(s) to the main console desk phone as shown in the manual. If you bought a used cordless accessory handset phone, when you plug in the battery and set it on the charger base, you'll probably see the screen say " phone out of range OR no power at CL or base." That means your handset phone is an "orphan" and still registered to another main console. You have to delete this prior registration before you can register it to your main console. Manual says zip on how to do this. You do it by picking the phone off the charger, enter *331734# (while you're doing this, nothing is displayed on the phone screen) After pressing this sequence of keys, the phone beeps twice, reboots and then you'll see the message saying it is ready to be register to your console. Follow the procedure n the manual to connect/register the handset phone to the main console. If you have an orphan headset, you need to first unregistered it. I called VTech's customer service and got the procedure. First put the headset on the charger base- the light on the disconnect button should be a solid blue. Then in a fast manner, push the volume control to the + side, release it and push the disconnect button on the side of microphone arm, push the volume control to the - side, release it and push the disconnect button, push the volume control to the + side and then to the - side, release it and push the disconnect button. If done in a quick enough manner, you should see the light now change from a solid blue to an alternating red and blue meaning the headset is un-registered. Follow the directions in the manual for registering to your main desk set.
I gave 4 instead of 5 stars due to this "hold" line operating issue and for having no procedures or where to go for programing orphan equipment in their "trouble shooting" section. Their technical customer service was great when I called then for help. Aside from these quirks, the phone system is great and I am hoping it will last like the other VTech phones we've owned.

Got this little gem for my VOIP set up in the office. Use this along with the Grandstream box. The calls are clear and easy to use, especially like the paging function. Very happy with it.

Pro: Easy setup, good sound quality, many features
Con: Missing backup battery. No provision for second language. Auto attendant does not accommodate weekend hours.

This is the base station unit, which is physically connected to all phone lines and serving all terminals by radio. Options for answering system are somewhat limited. There is no clear way to provide a separate recording for a second language. If you use the auto attendant option, you can specify day and night separate messages, but this will apply to weekends as well as weekdays. If you use the auto attendant, callers must press the star key twice to leave a message. This seems overly complex, especially if callers don't speak the language of the recorded message. To have a more conventional "leave a message at the tone", one is limited to a single recording and a single mailbox. Using the company directory option with separate mailboxes for each person/department requires the caller to use the pound key and complicates the information included in messages, but it can be done.

Customer Service: Both my extension units came with batteries for backup during power outages. This Main Console unit did not. Email customer service suggested the remedy would be to return the unit. Since I need the phone to run my office, this was not a practical solution. To explore options for second language speakers, I called customer service. Sound quality was poor, making it hard to hear the reps and hard to understand their heavily accented English. My first call ended when the rep could no longer hear me. When I call a phone manufacturer and they have poor phone connections, I think someone is not paying attention to quality control. Further, the reps worked clearly with scripts and did not understand well what I was asking.

User interface: It's a bit tricky using several lines because if you pick up the phone when line 1 is on hold, you will be connected to line 2. If you wanted to pick up line 1 and press the line 1 button, line 2 will be put on hold, even though there is no one connected. Other aspects of the interface are fairly straightforward, but the menus are opened and activated with arrow keys that can be a little awkward.

Overall: Setup was quite simple. The message and directory features work well. Sound quality is quite good in my small office despite several walls and a lot of cabinets between the base station and the terminals. It provides an excellent value for a small business if one is willing to live with some definite limitations.

I did not want to pay the high prices for digital phones. I was happy with my landline system but it was a complicated system and was too old to get parts. This is a simple and inexpensive system. No monthly fee for each phone. Easy to set up and use.