Top pick
This phone sounds better, has a wider operational range, and offers more useful features than similarly priced models. It doesn’t connect to cell phones, though.
The Panasonic KX-TGD832M is the best cordless phone for most people because it excels at what matters most—sound quality, range, and ease of use—and has more handy features (except for cell phone connectivity) than competing models at this price.
It has excellent sound quality. Our panelists noted that the voicemails we made with the KX-TGD832M were clearer and louder than the ones from other models we tested, with the exception of our upgrade pick, the Panasonic KX-TGF973B. Incoming calls also sounded great, on and off the speakerphone.
It has a long range. In our tests, the phone kept a call connection for about 360 feet from its base—about seven houses down the street in a suburban Queens, New York, neighborhood. Although the recorded message we listened to broke up at that distance, this was still a substantially longer range than most other models. (If you need connectivity more than a football field’s length away or have many obstructions in a large home, such as thick walls and several floors, consider our upgrade pick instead.)
It’s straightforward to use (for a cordless phone). Navigating a cordless phone’s menus might not be as intuitive as using a smartphone, but the KX-TGD832M balances a generous number of features and settings with simple ways to get to them. Two dedicated buttons at the top of the phone help you go forward and back through the system menus, and the central four-way directional button gives you easy access to your phone book, last number redial, recent callers, and volume adjustments.
Other phones, like the AT&T DLP72212, have a more limited (two-directional) and less clearly labeled central operating button. We found the answering machine buttons on the KX-TGD832M’s base more intuitive to use than competing models as well.
Little conveniences add up to a lot. Unlike models from other manufacturers, this phone lets you assign numbers to speed dial with a long press of the 1 through 9 numbers. You can set “silent hours” for when the phone should not ring. And the phone can record calls to the answering machine for playing back later.
There are neat call-blocking features, too. You can quickly block numbers from the caller ID list using the Call Block button, instead of having to navigate through different menus, as with competing phones. And this phone also has an automated call block feature you can turn on that will prompt unknown callers (those not in your phone book) to enter an access code before the call will be let through.
Battery life is very good. The KX-TGD832M handset lasted three days off of its charger before the battery got down to one bar And unlike other models, the handset verbally nudged us to return it to its charger.
We appreciate that the phone uses rechargeable AAA batteries, too, which are more readily available than the specific NiMH battery packs used by other phones.
It’s expandable. This is the two-handset model; other variants are a single option or a three-handset system, and you can add on more handsets for up to a total of six.
Flaws but not dealbreakers
The main thing this model is lacking is connectivity to cell phones. If you want one home system that covers both landline and mobile calls, the AT&T DLP72212 is the better option.
The speakerphone’s sound quality isn’t the best. When using the speakerphone, we noticed a slight echo when the handset was lying on a table. Holding the phone fixed that issue for us.
You can’t erase voicemails from the handset. Finally, although you can play messages from the handset, to erase them you need to use the answering machine buttons on the base.
