Binatone Style 1280 Cordless Phone

P_Walters

Bought Binatone Style 1820 phone with answering machine in the base. First one we bought only rang on some incoming calls and stayed silent with no indication of an incoming call on others. Took it back to Argos, straight swap. Second one doesn't ring at all (tones are switched on and volume up). Is there a general fault on these phones as this is 2 we have had now and ringtone fault in both? Throwing it out of the window seems a tempting option at the moment.
Thanks.

macman

I think getting a refund and buying a decent brand might be a better option.
Panasonic or Siemens tend to come out on to in a lot of tests.
How many phones/extensions do you have on the network?

david39

Macman may well have offered you the explanation for the problem. If you have too many items plugged into your phone system, then one or more of them may not work properly.

Someone with more technical knowledge will be along shortly, no doubt, but I think there is a maximum for the number of items you can plug in to your phone system - and it's not just phones but includes such items as Sky boxes, fax machines, alarms, non-broadband modems etc. Each item has a unit value and, I think the maximum is 4 units. Some items are classed as 2 units, so it doesn't take much to reach the maximum.

If you have a number of items plugged in throughout the house, try unplugging one or more and see if that improves things. If the phone you have just bought is an additional phone and not just a replacement, you might have gone over the limit.

macman

REN (Ringer Equivalence Number) on a domestic system is a maximum of 4. Most phones are around 1.
But I don't think this applies to DECT phones, as they don't use the circuit power to ring the phone-they take their power from the mains.
But worth re-testing your suspect new phone with everything else disconnected just to rule this out.

P_Walters

Thanks guys. Tried and tested as advised and it seems it is a faulty phone. I think your decent brand advice may be worth heeding macman, cheers.