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15 of 16 found the following review helpful:
 Great SOHO Phone!Sep 01, 2008
By D. Lloyd
RCA ViSYS DECT 6.0 TWO LINE CORDLESS PHONE SYSTEM
MODEL: 25210RE1-A with H5250RE1-A HANDSETS
We are using this product in a SOHO (Small Office Home Office) installation, audio clarity is great, range is excellent and most features make it great to support a business.
The base and the handsets display line status, date/time, and caller ID. The displays also functions as a menu when programming the base or handset making the phone user friendly and easy to use.
FAVORITE FEATURES,
CALLER ID, each handset hold its own CID List, this is a little maddening! When you edit or delete CID history you must do it from EACH handset AND the base separately. This is very inconvenient and irritating when dumping "UNKOWN CALLER" or "BLOCKED CALL" entries so as to keep the 99 entry CID list holding the most useable reference data. In my opinion the CID database should reside only in the base unit and sent to the handset for viewing upon demand!
SPEED DIALS, same situation, all separate lists with no ability for a master central list! Usually Office phone systems have a MASTER SPEED DIAL LIST available to all AND a personal extension list. If I had to choose one or the other I would choose a MASTER LIST.
SYSTEM TIME, (Hooray), is done correctly; all time originates from the Base Unit and is displayed on all the handsets. The time does not automatically set from the CO or LEC (Telephone Company) you have to manually set the clock on the base but it keeps relatively good time and does not drift significantly.
INTERCOM, Very nice and works well just like most but does not have hands free paging to the called extension, it just rings the extension and you have to wait for an answer so you do not have "selective Paging".
PAGING, there is no paging function and is a serious feature that should be incorporated into future models. This system has the ability to have 9 handsets assigned (registered), system wide paging is an obvious addition since all handsets have speaker phone functions.
CALL TRANSFER, OK but again a little non standard. When you transfer a call, it results in the system AUTOMATICALY placing the inbound call on hold and initiating an intercom call from the person transferring to the extension you are transferring to. You MUST talk to the person at the extension and tell them to pick up "Line 1" or "Line 2" after you hang up. This is usually an option of decision, on regular office systems you can elect to manually place the call on hold and call the extension on the intercom if you want or need to announce or discuss the inbound call. In my opinion the "CALL TRANSFER" should just FORWARD the call and ring the extension directly.
BATTERY LIFE, we have been using these phones for several weeks now and I can say we have never experienced a dead battery even during days of huge "Off Hook" time. The handsets are out of the chargers for 16 hours a day usually.
WISH LIST:
1) An Optional Flip Phone as a handset selection, Buttons are too easy to bump on regular handsets when moving around with the phone clipped to your side.
2) Larger "SOFT BUTTONS" under the display, the current thin bars have caused more than one dropped call due to hitting the second row of buttons.
3) Last row of buttons need to be located further from the bottom of the handset, single handed operation of the buttons as they exist results in risk of dropping the handset.
OVERALL:
The RCA/Thompson ViSYS DECT 6.0 Model 25210RE1-A and its handsets are one of the best products I have seen in a long time. It operates well and is very secure; the DECT (Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications) with version 6.0 firmware has significant security and encryption.
The range has been superior, as with all installations range varies with the location of the base. We have this base installed in the communications room slightly elevated. We have experienced repeatable reliable ranges of 800 yards, or 4 tenths of a mile! The handset also informs you when you travel outside of the coverage area.
I would recommend this phone to anyone that needs a 2 line phone for both private and business use. The phone has enough robust features to make it great as a SOHO phone system. As for interference, this system uses 1.92 to 1.93 Gigahertz, completely avoiding the Wi-Fi, Blue-Tooth, and Microwave oven 2.4 GHz band! It presents zero impact to our office wireless networks, nor have not experienced any interference presented to this phone system.
Respectfully, Dennis Lloyd
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
Great Home Office PhoneSep 15, 2008
By Chip H.
I have had the phone for several weeks now and it has been terrific. The speaker phone works incredibly well and the base also has a headphone jack (the cordless handset has a headphone jack as well). I haven't had to use a headset with the base as the sound quality on the speaker phone has been superb. The base has a lot of configurable options and even has a DND (do not disturb) function where you can set a DND duration and the base will not ring while you are on another call. The cordless handset has the same option. Very nice!
No issues so far on the cordless handset not connecting (as others have reported). The cordless handset has been working like a champ.
One great thing that I immediately noticed is that my Blackberry does not cause any interference for the handset or base. My old speaker phone would make horrible sounds if my Blackberry was even in the same room while I was on a call. This phone shows no signs of interference whatsoever.
The phone has too many options to review, all of which seem fairly easy to use. I do keep the manual handy for things like programming the speed dial. To date, I do not have any cons for this product.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 This RCA telephone and the manufacturer were horrible!Apr 21, 2012
By Unhappy RCA customer
My experience with this telephone and the manufacturer was HORRIBLE. The handset volume was so low you could barely hear anything right out of the box. and as a phone call progressed, it diminished even more. The company gave me a very hard time about exchanging it, requiring me to try it at another location, saying maybe the wiring was interfering with it. Of course it was not the wiring. All other phones worked fine. After going to the trouble of taking it to another location it still did not work right. Then I had to try it our office, bypassing the office wiring, going right to the connection to the telephone line. They made me go to a lot of trouble before they would take it in return. And then they made US pay for the return postage and say they will not reimburse us - cost almost $10 plus a lot of trouble to return it. The phone they replaced it with was shoddily packed, was missing the two sets of connecting wires. So beware of the lack of quality control of this telephone and the terrible customer service of this company. I would never buy another RCA phone for my business or for my home. The very least they could do is reimburse us for the postage!!
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 Surprisingly good base, but not so good with the handset.Nov 02, 2009
By Schuylercat
"Schuylercat"
This was bought to serve as a home office setup, with 2 lines from Phonepower. I liked the price and the features mimicked an office system. I don't need an answering system, which made the price all the more attractive.
The base - plenty of buttons for the features, but hard to read text, black on silvery-gray - my eyes aren't perfect and I've had to memorize where the mute and exit buttons are. I am still known to hit the wrong one occasionally. Still, a button for any feature you want, and I am okay with this. Features are standard for this kind of application: the phone is intended as a small business phone, and it works well in that capacity, especially for the price.
Note that knowing what I know, I would have paid a little more for it, warts and all.
Base:
- Dialpad on the base is big and springy and easy to use for fast dialers - I hate phones with buttons that force you to slow down. This thing flies as fast as I do.
- Display is big and easy to read, although I think blue as a horrible choice of color.
- I know the user manual is around here somewhere, but damned if I've had to open it. It's a phone, not a space shuttle, and it's like a Honda: everything does what it says and works as it should. Speed dial buttons for instance, a frequent oddball thing to program, just set up like one might expect them to, whether you've read the instructions or not.
- Speakerphone is pretty good - not full-duplex-Polycom good, but better than a lot I've used. People I call, one on one or conference lines, have no problem hearing me, and on more than one occasion expressed surprise that I was on speaker, rather than a handset. Better actually than the Nortel unit on my desk in the office I never go into any more. Bad thing: the volume adjusts from window-rattling loud to too-loud-to-leave-the-speaker-on-while-on-another-phone loud. There is no "really really quiet" setting for the speaker volume. Bums me a little.
- Key feature: 1.4MM headset plug on the right side of the base, and a headset button on the phone - why every phone doesn't have this I will never know. I do 4-7 hours a day on the phone, and this is critical. A+ thinking right there, and you can tell Thompson designed this unit, rather than RCA.
- Switching from headset to hands free and handset and back is seamless and I've never disconnected anyone. Nice to know whan I need to get a cup of coffee or feel like pacing as I talk.
- Hold button...uh, I think there's a problem here. When I place any in-progress call on line 1 on hold to get the other line, it disconnects line 1 unless I pick up the second call on the handset. Weird, and not a good thing. I need to test to see if this is my provider or the phone, but this issue is close to deal breaking.
- Ring tones...uh...you know, they...um, ring. I imagine they could be more boring, but this is my office, not a day spa.
Handset:
- is comfy, has fast buttons, battery seems good, screen works, nothing exciting, but this is DECT 6.0, and the interference from my desktop PC is unbelievable. I've had to relocate the base 3-4 times to find a place that doesn't introduce crackle and drop outs. Not good at all. If the PC is powered down, handset sounds great, works great, and I can take it across the street and call from my neighbor's house with no issues.
Also: this thing is a little bit of an oddball in style - chrome and shiny black and dull greenish potmetal gray and a weird clear plasticky base stand. Uniden meets the AMC Pacer, I think. This is both good and bad - it seems unique in it's freakiness, and I actually like it. Don't know what else to say - makes me think of "Fargo:" it's "...just kinda funny looking in a general way."
Still, I would, and have, recommended this to a friend. I used to have one of the Panasonic 2 line cordless systems, and wrote it up four or five years ago - hated it. This thing is WAY better.
UPDATE 9/15/2010 - I think I will take away 1 star. Issues have made themselves apparent over time:
Dialpad: main unit dialpad consistently dials double digits or misses a digit. I am very cognizant of this fact, and have tried stabbing the keys quickly (no digit dialed, even though I get a beep from the phone) and pressing slowly (double digits with a single beep), rolling my fingers over the keys, using only my pinkie on my right hand, waving a dead chicken over it - no avail. This dials like junk. This is a major issue.
No Message Waiting Lamp Cancel: after retrieving messages, the message waiting lamp still blinks. There is no stutter dialtone, I am assuming the VOIP I use is faulty. That said, there is no "cancel message waiting" code. I want that. My Nortel phones all had it. At times, to cancel I have to leave myself a message and delete it and hope the thing goes out. This is a minor issue.
Lights are BRIGHT! At night, I can direct aircraft onto the deck of a carrier in bad weather with the freaking lights on this phone - they're bright enough to read by. This is also a minor issue.
In hindsight, I don't think I would buy one of these again.
Instruction Manual NightmareMay 11, 2012
By Alfonse
I purchased this particular phone from Amazon only because it has speed dial buttons on the base unit like the obsolete phone it is replacing. A little about myself: I am a State licensed Quality Engineer having written, reviewed and trained others utilizing instruction manuals for military weapons products. The "User's Guide" for this phone represents nothing more than an amateur first draft attempt that I would professionally mark across the front page "Requires Complete Rewrite". The use of this convoluted, inaccurate, poorly written manual only serves to confuse any individual with minimal time to waste trying to get their new phone to just work. Example: References are made to Base Station, Handset, Phone, and Speakerphone. There are only two separate pieces - a handset and a base station. Constantly changing reference terminology for the same thing just shows that someone totally unqualified wrote this manual. Page 17 tells about "Registration" of the handset to the base station and warns that the whole system won't work until this is accomplished. Do you think that information should have been discussed a little earlier in the process than pg. 17? Then, when one spends a fair amount of time trying to achieve this rather important function, it doesn't work. Why, because it looks like "RCA" may have received too many returns because of this process so they now send the phone out to the consumer with this critical function already accomplished. The screen statement on the base unit only offers the option of "unregistering" the handset from the base station (why would you ever want to do that?). One other important feature to me is the ability to mount the base unit to the wall - which the "User's Guide" says can be done but offers no instructions whatsoever on how to do it. With only one upper mounting hole on the back of the base, the unit the flops and trys to pull itself off the wall (which it will do within about a minute of use) without having another hole on the bottom for stabilization. That however is impossible due to the curved nature of the base. The base actually fits into another plastic piece just for table use (which is the only way to use the phone - it won't go on the wall as they claim) for which there are no detailed instructions. Then,there are two press fit clips that must be pushed into the base in order for the base to set firmly on a flat surface within the clear plastic mounting frame. But,there is no instruction for doing that in the "User's Guide". You just have to figure that out for yourself. The clip on the plastic piece you put on the handset so you can carry it in your waistband was made wrong. I almost broke the handset trying to get the clip onto it. I eventually tried to file, then used my grinder to shave a fair amount of plastic off of the piece that fits to the phone in order to enable the clip to be mounted. Notice, I haven't even talked about the phone's performance. It's been on the charger for the 18 hours it says it must be before use. I'm sure the usage part of this adventure won't be without it's surprises. One other thing before I finish Don't for a minute think that you are buying a quality RCA product made by the old reliable and respected Radio Corporation of America Company. This "phone" was built by "license" by an outfit called Telefield in Beaverton, Oregon. The phone itself comes from wherelse - China (so does the "user's guide").
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based on 14 reviews