Portable Handsets/Uniden XDECT8155

REVIEW DECT 8155+1 (2 handpiece + repeater)

Exceptional performance despite Menu issues

Positives.
1. Range meets and exceeds specifications without the repeater. So good that I have not bothered to test the repeater. Typical range with base inside house to outdoors location 50m before the signal deteriorates; 60m at dropout.
2. Sound quality is exceptional either with or without HD Sound, which does not seem to make any difference. I'm 66 years old and hearing in one ear is bad, the other weaker but unlike my older SSE15 and the SSE35 sound from this model is clear and can be very loud depending on user volume settings.
3. Bluetooth link to phone is a great idea; only limited by bluetooth range which is approx 10m. Therefore, to use bluetooth the cellular and base unit must be in close proximity.
4. USB charge for cellular is a novel and useful addition.
5. Handsets are a convenient size. Talk time is claimed as 10h and it seems this claim is met. Eco mode rarely activates so seems pointless.
6. Handset hands-free is the best I have used.
Negatives.
1. *UI is non-intuitive and has been mentioned by others in separate reviews. For example the base has navigation keys with [Play] in middle which should be defined as [Enter/Menu] and same on handpiece which has a press button in navigation keys which is unused. Both base and handset user constantly is flicking from navigation to Menu button which is counter-productive. Most phones have [End] on right and [Call] on left; this model gets only one of these right. IMHO the HOME and MENU buttons should be switched.
2. T9/Predictive Text phonebook search seems to work partially but it often needs multi tap on keys to make it standard to find entries.
3. Phone book select needs unnecessary cursor movement eg if using book 2 you always have to cursor move and select. When selecting phone book there should be a default option to avoid inconvenience. EG to get to my book I need to have 4 keypress which is kind of ridiculous. There should be no dangerous 'Delete All' entry in open book menu; this should be in phone settings.
4. When using phone book there is no option to edit number before call.
5. Bluetooth: Due to some telecos not supporting international phone format from landline eg +64 there should be a filter option in settings to fix this problem when importing numbers from mobile. EG all 200 of my mobile numbers have country prefix which does not work with Vodafone landline. Although they can be edited on the handpiece, Uniden should have a Global Option Filter which when a landline call and + sign is detected the + and first 2 numbers are removed and replaced by a 0; unless the call is routed to the mobile.
6. Handpiece lacks non-slip area on back of handpiece.
7. Extreme slow charging due to trickle charger. My tip: fully charge then keep handset off charger till it goes flat can extend battery life.

Summary: Handset and base firmware seems to have been designed by someone who likes to annoy the user. However, this set has exceptional performance and despite the issues, when you consider the main needs of a portable phone which are range/sound quality/versatility. In these the 8115 abounds, and I recommend this model.

*UI=User Interface. *DECT=Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications

ageorge

ageorge