Life
Landlines Still Exist & These 4 Could Be Total Lifesavers
Landline phones might not be the biggest craze, but there are plenty of reasons to have one or more of them handy in your home. The best landline phones can improve the sound quality of your cell calls and protect you during an emergency when cell service cuts out, giving you the security and peace of mind that you'd still able to make a call. Some corded models can even work during power outages.
If you have a home office, landlines can provide you with an additional line to easily separate your business calls from your personal ones; the sound quality with a landline is also typically better than with a cell, according to tests conducted by Consumer Reports. For those reasons, if you have an important meeting or bad reception at home, they are wise to have.
Cordless landlines allow you plenty of freedom, too. Some models allow you to set up multiple handsets so you can have them across your house, while DECT 6.0 (Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications) models work well at 300 feet from the phone's base. For those with bad cell reception, Bluetooth landlines will even let you take cellphone calls through your handset and improve sound quality in the process.
Below, find the best landline phones depending on your needs — whether that's a corded phone for when the power goes out or a home office unit with call-blocking to stop telemarketers.
1The Best Overall Landline Phone (Especially For Bad Home Cell Reception)
If you have spotty reception at home or trouble hearing during cell conversations, AT&T's DECT 6.0 cordless phone is a great choice and well worth the money. This phone allows you to make and receive calls from up to two cell numbers through Bluetooth. You can even set the handsets to beep and alert you when you get texts and it allows for different ringtones so you know when a cell is calling.
With its DECT 6.0, you can talk hundreds of feet away from the phone's base with clarity. The handset can store up to 6,000 contacts, has a speakerphone, and has quiet mode, making it a good pick for home offices, too. Since 2018, this model even has call blocking. While it is the most expensive unit in this roundup, it includes two handsets with the option to add more.
2The Best Home Office Landline Phone
The Panasonic expandable cordless phone system includes convenient office features like call blocking for telemarketers and an off-hours timer — perfect for home offices when you don't want to be bothered or just need a moment of silence to focus on your work.
This sleek black cordless design allows you to save up to 150 contacts, and for meetings and conference calls, it has a speakerphone. You can even program different ringtones for your contacts to create your own priority system. There's a bilingual caller ID (English or Spanish) and while it come with one handset, you can add up to six total. With DECT 6.0, you can walk hundreds of feet away from the base and still have crystal clear audio.
3The Best Budget-Friendly Landline Phone
The VTech CS6719 cordless phone is a great budget-friendly option with most of the features you'd need for a home office. It has speakerphone, caller ID, and call waiting for conferences and busy days, as well as DECT 6.0 so you can take your handset hundreds of feet from the base. If you want to expand to more handsets, you have the option to add up to five total. Plus, it’s available in silver, red, and blue to match your home office decor. This inexpensive phone is also Energy Star-certified, saving you even more money down the line.
The convenient features and low price make it a great choice for those who prefer to chat over a cordless phone rather than a cellphone.
4The Best Corded Landline Phone For Emergencies
For emergencies, the AT&T 210 Trimline corded phone is an inexpensive, basic unit that can even make calls when the power or cell towers go out (but the phone lines don't). That's because it doesn’t require AC power and connects only to the phone jack.
Wall-mountable, you can attach it out of the way until you need it. It even features three one-touch memory buttons to save emergency contacts. And of course, you get volume controls for the ringer and handset. With its low price, it's a great backup phone to have in case of emergencies.
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