Uniden XDECT 81xx Series

Uniden has done it again. One of the best I have bought – Hello. I have been using our Uniden XDECT 8155+2 with a Range Extender for around one year now and it works really well. I have waited for a year before doing this review so I can give an honest opinion about it. I can take one of the handsets with me when I go over the road and one house down to have a cupper. When I do this I can make a phone… Read more

call or receive a phone call and it is as clear as if I was standing next to the base station and this is without using the range extender.

I have only one very small problem, I do not know exactly how to use the Range Extender so it sits in a draw and is not plugged into a power socket. I don't know if it is actually worth using unless someone can tell me where to plug it into and how much further away I can use the hand set.

I have no idea why people are writing and whinging about the quality of this unit. I found that when I am talking and listening to someone is no problem even over the road.

When the phone rings the base station tells you who is calling (Caller ID) and so long as you do not put a friends name in along with either "Home or Mobile after the name" because the base station

I understand that some people do/can have a problem with their phones but the ones who rubbish the 8155's sound quality etc do so having only owned the unit for a short time. I think some of these people just connect the phone up and expect it to work correctly. Maybe it is time for them to read the manual so they can set the phone up correctly.

I am not trying to upset anyone as I know how they feel because I have owned/used many Uniden phones starting back in the 90's and I found that a couple of the older ones were total rubbish. We would repack it and give it to one of our son's for Xmas or their birthday.

I hope that people read this and give the phone a go, if it doesn't work correctly then contact Uniden as most retailers wouldn't know what was wrong with it. You can buy them from The Good Guys and Harvey Normal, don't forget the extended warranty. My last cordless Uniden phones started to die but I did have then for nearly yen years.

I found that the Panasonic and other big named cordless phones were hard to use and these companies are hard to deal with even when they are in still in the warranty period.

I hope this helps anyone who is after a good new cordless phone.

Cheers to all. Bill.

P.S. I forgot to say, if you have a problem with the base station or the answering machine just go into the setup and reset the phone back to the factory settings.

Rubbish, do not buy – The phone picks up interference very easily from everything else, including the neighbours' phones and other radio frequency appliances in the house. The phone has a design flaw in that it is overly sensitive and has no facility or switch to alter frequency on which it talks to the base thus straddling other frequencies and it has no means to… Read more

filter them out. The interference manifests itself as white noise similar to crumpling of paper or rubbing with sandpaper or indeed an electrical storm effect such you'd get over an old AM radio. The scratching white noise sound is loud enough to drown out the other party on the phone. The problem with this phone is exactly as the previous model XDect 6135BTU+1. These devices are made in Vietnam. I don't know how they were able to obtain a permit to plug into phone networks in Australia. I would advise anyone looking to buy a phone for the home is don't buy a Uniden, even though they predominate at JB Hi Fi, Dick Smith and Harvey Norman with a mind boggling plethora of models which are pretty much identical underneath. The extra features are pointless if the phone does not do what it is supposed to do in its main role. Siemens and Panasonic are alternatives, Telstra may be a Uniden rebrand as they make nothing themselves so beware.

Great phone - don't understand the other reviews here – Bought this to replace our old Panasonic (which had some handsets stop working properly). I liked the look of all the features this phone has, such as bluetooth connectivity to my mobile, and the included range extender, and have had good Uniden phones before so thought I'd try it out. I noticed some other reviews here when I was researching this… Read more

seemed to think that the clarity was lacking or a bit quiet - I have not had that experience myself, the phones have been quite clear (there's also a feature you can switch on to supposedly enhance clarity - though I can't say I've done a comparison with and without this on yet), and its easy to turn the volume up on the handset so maybe those reviewers hadn't fully explored all the handset options yet?

I think that sort of performance also might be quite dependant on the quality an individuals phone line. I have found that the bluetooth performance is mostly good but can vary a bit the further the phone base is from the mobile connected to it - however the nature of bluetooth technology is it's limited range so if you're going to use that feature make sure you have the phone base in fairly close proximity with your mobile (which is why they included a USB charging port on the side I guess). I like being able to answer a mobile call from the cordless handset, and you even see the caller ID sent from the mobile. The speakerphone on each handset also works well, which is one feature we use often. I also noticed it can be used during a blackout by powering the base unit with the battery of one of the handsets - nice idea, though haven't tried that yet. Overall very happy with it.

Edit: upgraded this to 5 stars - been using it for a couple of months now since originally posting the review and have seriously found nothing wrong with it. Lots of features, easy to use, bluetooth connectivity, range extender, can be used during blackout No problems yet

Great phone – I use this phone at my office and it is great. Clear quality, never had a problem. I don't use the bluetooth option on it for mobile phones and wonder how well that would work, but the quality is totally clear, the phone is very dependable and I've never had a problem with the battery.

Great range within our caravan park – Bought the 3 handset option set, achieves great range around our caravan park, but two of the handsets just stopped working, they were not dropped or abused in any way. The third one well I have to confess I dropped it down a toilet I was cleaning & that was the end of our three handsets! have had to go back to an older Uniden that was here at the park, but will give the 8155 model another try.  Show reply

great phone – I looked at this site and saw all of the negative reviews and got a little worried after I bought it. The phone works perfectly and I have asked people that I have called and they have said that it is loud and clear. The only compliant that I would have is that I like to the time on display in a large size and to be on at all times. It isn't. If it lasts and performs as well as my last Uniden (10yrs) I will be very happy

Menu System is dYsFunCtiONaL – Haven't had any problem with base station or handset (family uses mobile phones most of time). Apart from taking and making calls I don't use any other features. Why ? Because the menu system, the buttons on the base station and the manual that tries to explain it all are simply dYsFunCtiONaL. What sane person would come up with this menu interface let alone pass it as acceptable for release to market .. far out.  Show details

LOTS OF BACKGROUND NOISE – got this phone 6 months ago lots of white noise interference, which don,t get on other cordless phones, thought it would be better with VOIP, noise reduced, but still bad. Would not recommend, My other old uniden ss e25 Had lots of noise with on the old ADSL, now have NBN with phone on VOIP this has improved immensely  Show details

Another disappointing digital device – I am so disappointed with this phone. I have read many of the blogs here and agree 100 percent with those that are unhappy with it. We are in our 50's and not yet deaf but acknowledge that our hearing isn't perfect and I have tried everything to maximise the speaker volume and it is still lousy. Callers also comment how terrible the sound is and yes, they sometimes can't get thru and get some stupid music instead. Worst purchase ever.

It is a good phone – We purchased our XDECT from HN a few years ago. It replaced a previous cordless which replaced another cordless which replaced an analogue phone. We did not expect anything like the NBN at the time as we were just coming to terms with a digital phone line. It has served us well. The yellow water resistant handset has been used more than the other… Read more ·  1

handsets and up to 200m from the base and amplifier. We also use the intercom function. The Bluetooth connection to our mobile phones was uneventful and it provides an alternative to answering our mobile phones which are normally on charge when we are at home and they are out of reach. With the onset of NBN we have remained with Telstra. The NBN modem was connected to the existing Telstra Smart Modem and the XDECT has remained daisy chained via our Brother printer as we like to have the fax capability on the printer.

Pairing mobiles – Can I receive landline calls on my mobile phone which is paired to the base? Would we be able to have the same incoming ring go through to the mobile? Would it have to be set for a period of time, or would it work permanently? If possible how would this be done? As the mobile is paired to the base we can receive mobile calls on the landline… Read more

phones. Also why can we not get anything sent to the Answering machine? What is voice mail and is that blocking messages from being left.? Do the number of rings make a difference as we have maximum rings set to not miss calls because we never have a message left.

Average – Call clarity was average and varied among handsets I had 3 with mine 2 were ok 1 not so. The menu's as written by another DySfuNCtiOnAL NOT intuitive at all. And to do anything required the manual and then having to translate into something that sence any of made. (If you get the picture) I persevered for just under a year. I am now using &… Read more

recommend Panasonic KX-TG7892 Good Clarity & its intuitive to use. the manual is still a Chinese conversion but dont really need it after set up.

Worst Phone Ever! – Bought this 8155 to replace and upgrade a previous Uniden that I had for years. One of my worst decisions. I've only had it a few months and one of the handsets has stopped working. And the sound OMG. Can't understand a word anyone is saying to me and the recorded messages are impossible to understand so I have stopped using the phone altogether and now only use my mobile. This phone is absolute rubbish!

Have to be the worst cordless I've ever bought – Volume goes down by itself all the time, whenever we answer calls you either get nothing or the caller goes on hold and the get some ridiculous little jingle. Caller ids are incorrect. As far as the menu goes on the phone it is so far from user friendly so complicated. I would throw them in the bin if I could. Product doesn't even deserve 1 star.

Disappointing – The sound is definitely tinny and the caller sounds like they are in a hollow cave. Definitely inferior sound to previous Uniden. Also this phone does not enable adjustment of the ring time from about 20 seconds; no mentiom of this in the manual or online.Would not recommend this model. Won't buy Uniden again.

Not at all impressed – We had a Uniden DSS2465 for exactly 10 years and it was wonderful. Not one problem. Almost cheaper to buy a new phone than buy new batteries so I replaced it in July 2015 with a 8155+1. I am very, very disappointed. Echoing, static, couldn't hear the caller. I returned it to the store and they replaced with a new unit. Much better than the first… Read more

8155+1 but still nowhere as clear or as user friendly as the DSS2465. The hand held is awkward and fingers slide across the numbers. They are not individually spaced numbers. Ring volume is definitely not loud enough if outside and I am having trouble extending the ring time. I actually rang Uniden and expressed my concerns re this product to a sales rep but I did not feel much interest in my list. Anyway one of the hand helds is now not working and I will have to return it to the store again. 2nd return in 5 months.

Great little cordless smart phone – I bought this so I can link it to my iPhone via bluetooth and charge my iPhone, my iPad and my Apple Watch via the USB Charging Port so I don't need any wall chargers also I can import my Phonebook from my iPhone as well so I am very happy with it. Show details

Don't Buy – Uniden do not respond to emails in regards to poor quality phone, 1 week old and cannot get service. I have moved the extender, I have removed the 2nd phone and disabled it, we cannot hear the other side of the conversation even though they can hear us, I also disabled the Wifi. Caller ID does not work. Bought from Dick Smith and because… Read more

I was happy with previous Uniden phones, I just put it together and threw the box. My bad and my loss but beware of this particular phone for $130 it is a waste of money when it cannot be returned.

Icon and ring length issues – The message icon will not display in spite of following all of the instructions of the voice mail provider. I also cannot extend the length of time the phone rings and rarely get to answer it. Uniden has been unsupportive and insists there is no fault with my unit. A shame because I am happy with everything else about the phone.

Top cordless phones – So pleased with this phone that I'm puzzled by the adverse criticism of other users. The phone is so superior to my latest disaster, ( purchased the top of the range Motorola from Telstra that proved absolutely worthless ) that I'm overjoyed with our 8155. This model covers the entire 1/2 acre block with the range extender and does everything… Read more

we've asked of it so far. Only had it for about 3 weeks but feel that it's adequately engineered for longevity. Volume is adequate for our old 83 year old ears. Just wish it would recognise and connect to my bluetooth hearing device in the same manner as it does to my mobile phone.

Love my old Uniden but not this one – Just bought this one from Harvey Norman and thought I couldn't go wrong after my old Uniden Wdect 3355 + 2 had been a great cordless phone for years with great sound and range, however this one I have at full volume and it still sounds like the caller is a million miles away and as others have said it's an extremely tinny sound coming through Am… Read more

going to return it to Harvey Norman and see what I can do

Sadly the cordless that got the highest ranking that I found after research ( Panasonic KX-TGE274S) isn't available in Australia or I probably would have gone with it

Disappointing – The biggest failing of this phone is the earpiece audio quality. It is very tinny. Perhaps it's an age thing - might be better suited to people much younger than me. I know Uniden can make a decent phone - I had a bottom of the line Uniden cordless (freebie from Optus), and its earpiece audio was much better than the 81xx. Not sure what Uniden… Read more

have done here.

Otherwise the phone is fine. Range is good (haven't had to use the extender yet). Has all the features I need.

Faulty product, awful service – Initially I liked this unit - unlike others I found sound to be ok, range excellent (to point of not needing extender), and features/ accessories good. However it doesn't always reconnect on Bluetooth and recently unit started to lock up after some days so nothing would work and I would miss incoming calls. I sent it to Uniden and they took a… Read more

cursory look at it and sent back as no fault found. The product wasn't fixed. They only tested for 1 hour despite being aware the lock up would only occur after some time and made no effort to contact me to clarify fault (despite being told I had video of the failure). Now I still have a faulty product and will seek a refund and get a quality brand (maybe Panasonic)

Fantastic Phone, The Best Uniden Yet – The features on this phone are amazing, with easy to understand instruction book and simple to set up phone menu. The range of the phone is outstanding, even without using the provided range extender. Audio is perfect without turning on the high definition sound option, and people receiving calls report the audio is 10 out of 10. I think the… Read more

negative reports about these phones come from people that just plug the phone in and expect perfect results. Spend a few minutes setting up the various options within this phone to suit you and your environment.

NOT the quality of older phones from Uniden – Just purchased the XDECT 8155 +1 set to replace an older XDECT set. Most noticeable is that the sound quality is NOWHERE near as good as my old set. Even with the High Definition sound 'enabled'. They have a weak and 'tinny' sound and if you turn the volume up they become distorted. Also, the CALL and END buttons are diagonally placed from… Read more

each other resulting in calls being placed on HOLD instead of ending the call. The units have a larger (20% maybe?) screen in height allowing a bit more information to be displayed such as answering machine status etc. Am considering using the new batteries out of this set in my old set and going back to them (expensive battery upgrade I know...but am disappointed with these phones).

rubbish do not touch – I've been using Uniden phones for years and they are slowly becoming crap. I returned my latest phone and paid a bit more for a better phone, got the 8155+1 and I can't hear the other person talking and the phone is up as high as you can get it. this was the reason for returning the 1635+1 So now I have to start looking around for a phone that works, Does anybody have any suggestions? it would make life easier.

Base stopped working and lost receipt on Purchase heap of junk now – Base stopped working and lost receipt on Purchase heap of junk now, Paid just over $150 plus for it worked for short time then stopped completely would not power on when plugged in to power

Volume Range Pathetic – I have a Uniden DSS 7855 + 1 and are very happy with it all around. So when my brother wanted to upgrade a system he had for 10 years, I talked him into getting the latest Uniden Dect 8155+1. It has 2 hand pieces and a repeater which is great around the farm. But he is very disappointed with the range of the volume, at present the highest… Read more

volume is where I would like to think 75% should be, in my opinion it requires the ability of another 25% of volume.

I made a poor choice this time.

Exceptional performance despite Menu issues – *DECT 8155+1 (2 handpiece + repeater) Refer to the other reviews which have poor reports on this phone. Theirs are either defective or they have not located the base unit in a position clear of interference objects which is clearly stated in the handbook. I upgraded our old Uniden SSE15 due to its aerial being broken and needing more range… Read more ·  1

between 2 houses.

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

Pathetic sound quality – We also upgraded from Uniden prev model to this one. The sound from any ear piece is distorted and tinny. I rang customer service at Uniden and he told me that they had lots of complaints recently and he thought it was due to Telstra doing line work. Total rubbish as I replugged in my old phone and it worked fine. He sent me a factory reset… Read more

code that I used but it had no effect. I emailed him back for anything else I could do and have no reply from [name and contact details removed]. My main problem is also that my wife is 75% deaf and can now barely hear a conversation. I am very disappointed in UNIDEN and I hope they can still help us out.

Dave B

Good Quality & Performance – Like "buddha" I cant agree with the negative comments on this phone. I purchased the phone from Dick Smith recently. Sound quality is good. Range is good - from one end of the house to the other (>20m) with the signal strength falling only from 4 bar to 3 bar and you can use the handsets as intercoms. Bluetooth connection was easy and my mobile… Read more

phonebook was downloaded (no keying in numbers again - hurrah!). CID is matched to the phonebook so that when calls are received the number and name of the caller can be seen and you can assign one of many ring tones or melodies to each caller. You can set speed dial for common numbers called. Also any updates made to phonebooks or numbers etc from one handset are available from other handsets however you can still customise each handset with a unique name and ring volume. Overall I am quite satisified with the phone.

Quality – After reading some of the negative reviews i am doubtful about their authenticity. I am qualified in electronics and have tested and used numerous xdect phones! The 8155 series does not disappoint with testing and using it under different scearios! Distance, bluetooth connect and distance from the iphone to the hand piece ( 40 meters away without… Read more

any problems what so ever )

Friends have commented on the quality of sound via hand piece or speaker phone ect.

I am a disabled person who needs something that i can rely on as i can't always get tot the base at times or at other times hold the phone!

In my opinion this phone has not disappointed me in any way what so ever as it does what is supposed to do!

If people are experiencing problems i would be checking if it's close to internal wiring in the walls, where its mounted and even though it meets the standards for some alarm system interference, i would still check! The easy way is just unplug your telephone cable from the alarms main and see if that makes a difference. I have found a friend who was having trouble and it turned out to be a mobile phone tower close by! It does what it states in its desciption and is very reliable to someone who is now disabled!

I quite like this phone – I don't know what all the other negative comments are about, but I find this phone quite exceptional. You can pair it up with ur smartphone, and add the 8105WP waterproof handset, which is quite a nice robust phone and a real plus to include in your handsets. The design is elegant and practical, and I don't have issues with the sound quality nor… Read more

loudness. The signal is at maximum in my flat so I did not even have to use the repeater. elegant and simple design full of features. can add waterproof handset and more standard ones. can add mobile phones with bluetooth probably the mobile/bluetooth needs to be closer to the phone.

Great phone – I'm suprised the number of negative reviews. This is much better than the cheaper uniden I had for the past 2 years mainly because the button response time is so much faster. The bluetooth phone book integration is pretty simple. I noticed a couple of comments where people can't hear the other party. i've had that issue but it was due to the… Read more

bluetooth pairing and getting confused which handset rang.

The audio quality seems good to me. Speaker is good. I don't really talk back on the speak phone, mainly just listen on speaker and then go to handset to talk.

Seems to charge fine. Handset feels good in my hand. Wall mount included, bluetooth phone book, button response time

Absolute rubbish – This phone is garbage. Sound quality is pathetic. Do not buy this phone. Am going to put it back in its box and stick it in the cupboard. Maybe re gift it to someone i dont like. I repeat, do not buy this phone. Last time i buy a product from this company. Cant hear people talking. They cant hear me. Ringtones aren't really good.