At 16 hours of talktime and 200hr on standby, the battery life is standard; and the range of 100m should be big enough for most homes. And therein lies a problem. The instruction manual for the Big Button isn’t great. It seems to have been written for people who are more well-versed in technology than this phone’s target audience. In addition, some features of the phone aren’t mentioned in the instructions at all, forcing users to go online to find out how to do certain things. One of the first things that became apparent was that the call quality – the sound you get through the earpiece – is essentially identical. So I looked elsewhere for points of difference: design, functionality and ease of use.

The handset itself is a nice size and light, so it feels good in the hand during long phonecalls. The buttons are big enough for those with viewing difficulties to be able to see what they’re doing. And the design is reasonably sleek: handset and base station slot together in a nice, ergonomic fashion. As you may have noticed, none of the landline phones I tested come with a telephone cord. That’s because, basically, it’s really hard to find corded landline phones anymore. Of the major brands I reached out to, only BT offers corded phones as a matter of course. Even then, they are considered outdated technology. Comparing the quality of these cordless phones with my desk phone which has a cord, I didn’t notice any real difference. Some BT phones also offer a screening feature, which asks unknown callers to give their name before you accept their call, giving you more control over who you talk to. Just be aware that all these features rely on your having a caller ID service from your home phone provider. Are DECT phones compatible with new IP-based landlines? If you’re going to be upgrading an existing landline from a traditional old-school style handset that just lets you answer an incoming call and that’s about it then the BT Premium Phone is a revelation. We’ve ignored the old phone in our house, actually purloined from an office, simply because it hardly ever gets used. As nuisance calls have grown however, having a quality landline has become an essential bit of kit.

The best cordless phones you can buy in 2023

I’m going to cover these as one because they’re basically exactly the same (except for a few little bits that I’ll go over at the end of this review) and are both really good phones. Replacement parts, including batteries, line cords, additional handsets, etc, are available from the product helpdesk. Troubleshooting tips All in all, Panasonic seem to have covered all bases with this one. Those looking for a solid phone to sit in their kitchen will find it simple enough, and those who want something a little more elaborate will find plenty to dig into. It might feel to you like the traditional home phone is a thing of the past, replaced by the mobile – but there are still good reasons to buy a handset for your landline, not least because they’re actually quite cheap. The truth is that no home phone is ever going to be mega exciting – we’re not talking cutting edge 4K TVs here; the design has hardly changed in the past ten years – so you’re looking for something that does the job at a friendly price. To my eyes, that product is the Panasonic KX-TGD622 (catchy name, isn’t it?).

I marginally preferred the look and functions of the Panasonic, which is why the BT models come second in my list – but we’re talking degrees of difference rather than a gulf. A worthy runner up. It’s not the only problem, either. This is the only phone I reviewed that doesn’t have an answering machine. A baffling exclusion if you ask me. Older people are the very generation who still use answering machine messages!Why we like it: At a bargain price point this phone offers tonnes of functionality in a sleek handset This is where owning something like the BT Premium Phone definitely works in your favour. Its bulging set of features primed us for a nightmarish setup, but the wizard gets you through most of the basics and some of the more advanced aspects too. There’s a chunky manual included by the way. With some numbers on board we gave the unit a whirl after first charging it for the recommended 16 (!) hours. Beyond that, there are some practical upgrades that might be worth investing in, such as longer battery life, extended wireless range or water resistance for use outdoors. More superficial extras might include a wide selection of ringtones or a colour screen. In the past internet service providers needed a landline to transfer data to and from your router. However, with fibre optic broadband becoming much more commonplace, even that necessity is dying out. Fibre optic broadband is an entirely separate kind of cabling, thus making it unnecessary to have a landline to use the internet.

The most compelling reason to buy a landline, as mentioned above, is to call the emergency services during a powercut when your mobile phone is dead or out of signal but unless you’re literally a character in a horror movie, that seems like a pretty specific and unlikely set of circumstances to be in. Making outgoing calls is a cinch, with nothing untoward to report. The phone’s clarity is excellent, either through the earpiece or on speakerphone. The coverage seems great too, allowing you to walk around downstairs unhindered by cables. There’s a handsfree speaker, while the volume control offers plenty of adjustment depending on your hearing capability. As a phone specifically designed for older people, this one gets a lot of stuff right. It certainly lives up to its name with nice big buttons that should be easy to read for those with visual impairments. The text on the screen is also large enough to be easily legible and the few menu buttons are self-explanatory enough. The handset is nice and chunky but probably slightly heavier than most of the other devices on this list.