Cordless phone on a table

Cordless Phones Buying Guide

Cordless phones are adapting to a world increasingly crowded with wireless and Internet-based devices. New phones can happily coexist with home networks or let you place calls over your cell phone service or the Internet. Some can even switch from regular landline service to Internet phone service to help you save on long-distance charges.
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Types

A main distinction among types of cordless phones is the way they transmit their signals.

Analog phones

Cordless analog phone
Analog phones
These are the least expensive type and tend to have better voice quality than digital models, though their range is somewhat shorter. They are also unlikely to interfere with other wireless products. But analog transmission isn't very secure; anyone with an RF scanner or comparable wireless device might be able to listen in. Analog phones are also more likely than digital phones to suffer occasional static and RF interference from other wireless products. Also, multiple-handset-capable phones can't conference handsets with an outside party, and the number of handsets that can be supported by the base unit is typically limited to two.
 

Digital phones

Cordless digital phone
Digital phones

These provide an added measure of security and are more immune to RF interference. Their range might be slightly better than that of analog phones. Note that some phones—usually the 2.4-GHz or the multiple-handset capable phones with handset conferencing capabilities—use such a wide swath of the spectrum even in standby mode that they might interfere with wireless LAN, baby monitors, and other wireless products operating in the same frequency band. The latest phones use a technology called Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunication, which addresses the interference problem by using the 1.9-GHz frequency band that was recently reserved by the FCC for voice-only applications. DECT phones also tend to have the longest talk time. Some digital models support up to 12 handsets from one base and allow conferencing of handsets.

To be sure you're actually getting a digital model, check the packaging carefully. Look for wording such as "digital phone," "digital spread spectrum or DSS," "frequency-hopping spread spectrum or FHSS," or digital enhanced cordless telecommunication or telephone or DECT. Phrases such as "phone with digital security code," "phone with all-digital answerer," or "spread spectrum technology" (not digital spread spectrum) all denote phones that are less secure. Phones that use dual-band transmission might indicate the higher frequency in a larger print on the packaging. If you want a true 5.8- or 2.4-GHz phone, check the fine print. If only the frequency is prominently shown on the package, it's probably analog.

 
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