VTech VTSN5147 Amplified Corded/Cordless Answering System with Big Buttons & Display

I purchased this for my elderly Mother with memory challenges that was struggling to use a cell phone. I connected this phone to her Cell phone via a separate (not included) blue tooth interface device and now she can call who she wants with just a push the picture button. Also, phone has great sound volume and adjustment. Overall, it has given her the ability to call people and use the phone again.

The set up is tedious, but the result was what I was hoping for. You input a call list of permitted numbers with names. Only those numbers get through. The input uses the 12 button key pad so warm up your old school texting fingers. As far as I know it does the job, just be sure you put in ALL the numbers you want through. My mother is 93 and the spam calls were NONSTOP! My big worry was someone selling her something expensive. She had even gotten a few of the scam calls of grandkids in jail and needing money.

The cordlees phone only lasted a year. Afterwards it stopped working. I purchased new batteries to no avail. The phone base barely works. You get a 5 seconds pause after every number dialed as a result you have to keep constantly dialing the number until the call goes through. This phone is not sensior citizens friendly not worth buying.

Too many buttons making it hard for elderly to learn how to use it.

Being extremely hard of hearing and having trouble understanding people on the phone even with my new and greatly improved hearing aids, I had high hopes for this phone. I could not find another one with the same features, so it was not a matter of choosing - but of trying the only one I could find at a decent price.As other reviewers have noted, it is easy to set up. The manual is one of the best I've seen for products like this. I do not use a lot of the features (caller block, set SOS, Reminder, etc.) but it is nice that they are there for those who do want to use them. I only use 2 of the 8 speed dial buttons so that feature is neutral for me but I can see how it might help people who have a lot of trouble dialing correctly.It is loud. That is a fact. If I am in the same room (my office where I spend a lot of time), I jump when it rings or when the machine announces the caller name. This is with or without the hearing aids. The volume control slide on the side of both the desk top and the hand set does work and I can turn the volume down. The problem is that when I answer the phone I sometimes don't realize that the volume has been lowered and I go back to not hearing very well.For me, the audio assist function is totally useless. I have to use speaker phone and it speaker phone is often way too loud, even when turned down.Loud: One evening I had a phone conversation with a friend and had forgotten to put in my hearing aids and I actually could hear about as well using just the phone. That is a plus!Another good thing is the ability to slow down the speech for voice mail messages, using the button on the desk top phone, and that is helpful also.The most frustrating thing is that the speaker phone does not provide crisp and clear sound, so I'm still having to ask people to repeat words or part sentences - sometimes as many as three or four times. This is a major problem with the customer service reps from the middle east because most of them have no concept of what Please speak slowly means.Please note that I realize that no phone can make words sound clear when people slur their words and/or have heavy accents. At least this one makes them louder, for whatever good that does. I try to always be polite when I ask these folks to please, please slow down and speak distinctly. These words are meaningless to the majority of them.The above paragraph may sound like completely off topic and not a review of the phone itself, but it is crucial information for all of us who are hard of hearing and desperately need to understand what is being said on the other end of the line!Negative comments: The phone is big, bright white and really ugly. The handsets are fat compared to standard hand sets and it took me quite a while to figure how to hold the things and not have them slip out of my hands. There really is no reason they can't make this phone in black.Quite often I hear cracks, crackles and clangs during phone conversations. When this happens, the person on the other end gets a very distracting echo. I have no idea why this happens, but we have to hang up and try again - sometimes 3 times, before we get a useable connection.All things considered, I'm giving this product a 4 star rating even though the sound quality leaves much to be desired. At least It is Loud!

This phone replaced one I bought 2 years ago that stopped charging. Phone is good for 94 year old hard of hearing.