BT
4600 single
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If you need a replacement cordless phone for your home, you'll want to buy the best you can get for your budget. Buy the wrong one and you’ll be left struggling to understand friends and family – that’s if you even hear them call.
We test everything from the built-in answering machine to its nuisance call-blocking capabilities, so you can be confident you'll find a phone that suits your needs.
See our expert pick of models below and keep scrolling to read our expert advice on how you can find the best cordless phone, whatever your budget.
Sometimes you just want a good all-rounder – and, fortunately, we have some great contenders that don’t cost the earth.
Dialling is a doddle with this cordless phone, due to its extra-large, tactile buttons and sizeable screen, which has a good contrast between the black text and orange background. It’s simple to set up, the ring volume is loud and this home phone is compatible with digital hearing aids. Calls sound clear, but it also has an amplify button to boost the volume when you need it.
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This top-of-the-range phone is packed with features, from Bluetooth connectivity so you can easily add your mobile contacts, to fantastic call-blocking options. It does the basics well too. Calls are clear and the ringers, in both the base unit and the handset, are very loud. The phone’s signal strength is among the best we've seen, so you're unlikely to be cut off if you wander around the house while you're speaking.
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This well-equipped Best Buy phone has sophisticated call-blocking features that can put a stop to nuisance calls. You can save up to 200 numbers in the phonebook – these will be put straight through to you – and block up to 1,000 that you don't want to hear from. The phone's range is excellent and the handset will sound an alarm if you start to wander too far, giving you the chance to return to an area of stronger coverage before you're cut off.
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Not found the product for you? Browse all our cordless phone reviews.
Manufacturers often claim that their phones will work over long distances, typically 50 metres indoors and up to 300 metres outdoors.
That may be true in perfect conditions, but it’s unlikely you’ll manage those distances in your home as walls and other obstacles block the signal.
If you live in a large house, you should give yourself the best chance of getting cordless coverage by choosing one of the three models highlighted below.
This top-of-the-range phone is packed with features, from Bluetooth connectivity so you can easily add your mobile contacts, to fantastic call-blocking options. It does the basics well too. Calls are clear and the ringers, in both the base unit and the handset, are very loud. The phone’s signal strength is among the best we've seen, so you're unlikely to be cut off if you wander around the house while you're speaking.
Sign up to revealFull Access first month £2.99, then £9.99 per month, cancel at any time
This well-equipped Best Buy phone has sophisticated call-blocking features that can put a stop to nuisance calls. You can save up to 200 numbers in the phonebook – these will be put straight through to you – and block up to 1,000 that you don't want to hear from. The phone's range is excellent and the handset will sound an alarm if you start to wander too far, giving you the chance to return to an area of stronger coverage before you're cut off.
Sign up to revealFull Access first month £2.99, then £9.99 per month, cancel at any time
Many of us use our home phones every day, chatting to friends or picking up messages left while we’re out of the house. Something that gets so much daily usage needs to be simple to operate, especially if you have dexterity issues or problems with your sight or hearing.
The three cordless phones we've highlighted below have a number of useful and practical features that make them particularly easy to use, including high-quality LCD screens, good size buttons and extra-loud ringtones.
Dialling is a doddle with this cordless phone, due to its extra-large, tactile buttons and sizeable screen, which has a good contrast between the black text and orange background. It’s simple to set up, the ring volume is loud and this home phone is compatible with digital hearing aids. Calls sound clear, but it also has an amplify button to boost the volume when you need it.
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This is a great Best Buy cordless phone. It's easy to use thanks to a well-lit colour screen, loud ringtone and easy-to-press buttons. There's also brilliant call-blocking features to get rid of nuisance calls. Sound quality is good, as is the answering machine.
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Our testing has shown that price and brand are no indicators of whether a cordless phone is going to be excellent or not. Almost every brand with a top-scoring cordless phone also has the odd dud, whether it's a big brand such as BT, Panasonic, Philips or Gigaset, or a smaller manufacturer like Binatone or iDect.
Make sure you steer clear of the models below. You can pick a much better cordless phone that will last for years, rather than something you'll soon want to replace.
It may be cheap, but this home phone didn't impress in our tests. Sadly, it isn't that easy to use. It’s very quiet when it rings and lacks even the most basic features, such as call blocking options, an answering machine or a speakerphone.
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We've tested phones that cost around £15, but also multiple phone packages that run into the hundreds. Fortunately, you don't necessarily have to spend this much to get a phone that ticks the right boxes.
A number of single and multiple phone bundles costing under £50 are good enough to be rated as Best Buys in our tests. Some of these even include features more commonly found on advanced phones, such as a colour display, call-blocking options and a stylish design.
In short, spending more is no guarantee that a phone will perform its core functions well, so doing your research before you buy is a must.
Manufacturers claim that their phones will work over long distances, typically up to 50 metres indoors and up to 300 metres outdoors. However, in reality, obstructions will significantly reduce the range – thick walls especially so.
If you suffer from poor reception, it can be a good idea to buy a separate booster (also known as a repeater). Simply place this small box as far away as possible from your base unit, but still within range, and it will boost the signal back to the original level, in effect doubling the range. But not all phones are compatible with signal boosters. Check our phone reviews to find out if the model you’re interested in can be used with one.
Some of the latest cordless phones are more like mobiles than traditional phones. They come packed with features but can be trickier to use than basic handsets, so think carefully about which features you really need before you buy.
If you or a loved one struggles to use a standard home phone because of hearing or sight problems, look out for models that offer the following useful features.
Many of us pay little attention to our home phone bills, but you can save a decent amount by taking a few simple steps.
First of all, match your home phone deal to your needs. Check whether you’ve got the best call package by studying your last few bills to see what type of calls you make, and then confirm whether they’re included in your current contract. Many people opt for pure pay-as-you-go options, but it can be better value to add in a cheap bundle of monthly inclusive minutes. And if you pay your line rental upfront, your provider may offer you a discount, especially if you pay for a full year in advance.
If you’re struggling financially, you may qualify for a special low-cost tariff, such as BT Basic. These aren’t typically advertised and are not available to most people, but it can be worth contacting your provider to see if one is available.
Finally, if you use your home phone a lot – especially to make pricey international calls – then you might save money by embracing new technologies. Some cordless phones can wirelessly connect to your broadband using ‘voice over internet protocol’ (VoIP) technology, enabling you to make free or very low-cost phone calls over the internet.
Alternatively, consider whether to use your mobile to make calls over wi-fi using downloadable free apps such as Facebook Messenger, Skype and WhatsApp.
Now find the perfect cordless phone for you by checking out our cordless phone reviews.
At first glance, most cordless phones look the same. But our years of testing has shown huge differences between the best and worst.
To uncover which you should buy, we put every phone we review through a wide variety of tough lab tests. We make a series of calls from each phone while an expert checks the sound quality at both ends of the line before going on to rate the clarity of messages left on the answering machine.
We measure the cordless range by checking call quality on different floors within our laboratory and through steel and brick walls. Plus, ergonomic experts assess how easy it is to set up the phone and answering machine and to use them every day, looking at everything from adding new contacts to reading the display in a dimly lit room.
And because we know that nuisance calls are a massive problem, we also check how effective each phone is at blocking them.
To find out more about our tough lab tests, head over to our guide explaining how we test cordless phones.