The manual actually says, now that I read it (DUH), to keep the phone on the charger when not in use. I was always leaving it off the charger. Okay, now this is really weird... after I posted my dilemma, I decided to put the old batteries back in the phone to see if I could still use it for more than a couple seconds, maybe a minute here & there until I got new batteries. I left it on the charger before using it today, just in case. I just ended an approximately hour-long phone call with my sister!!! And when I hung up it still showed a full charge!!! So now I don't understand what was going wrong with it to begin with; why the phone would tell me there was no charge when not even a minute before I picked it up it was fully charged. ???

We currently have a GE cordless phone with an extension. Coincidentally, both Caller ID displays went within two weeks. We managed to live with it for a while, but the batteries are starting to go, and it's just not worth replacing them. I'd like something similar: a main phone with an answering machine, a single extension, and caller ID, but the most important feature we like about it is "Do Not Disturb" mode. With the push of a button, it not only silences the ringer, but silences the answering machine as well. My wife works late, so she doesn't want calls in the morning. Can anyone recommend something with those features and tell me where I can find it? Thanks! Greg

I trust you've already located the base station as centrally as possible to where the wireless handsets are used. Such a location should be a spot where the signal needs to pass through the fewest number of walls to get to the areas of use. One alternative would be to use two different cordless systems (with different broadcast frequencies) to get one base stations located closer to each of two separated areas of use. Another would be to use Google phone and forward your landline calls to your cell phone. Another alternative would be to get something like an Ooma system that transmits calls over Wifi to their proprietary cordless phones. This post was edited by snidely on Mon, Nov 18, 13 at 13:19

If you want a phone that's not complicated, get one that doesn't have a bunch of other things built into it, such as an answering machine and speakerphone. Those things make it harder to figure out how to use. There are a lot of good cordless phones on the market. A lot of people say they like the ones made by Panasonic.