Walmart Landline Phones For Seniors

Best Panasonic: Panasonic Kx

• Bluetooth to link to your phone

• Works without a landline

• Pricey

If you want to buy a cordless phone from a manufacturer that seems to know where things are headed, look no further than Panasonic. The KX-TGE475S is a cordless phone system that doesn’t even require a landline to use.

It’s a five-handset system that can connect to your smartphone via Bluetooth and transmits phone calls from your smartphone. You can even use a handset to locate your smartphone if you need to.

The key feature of this Panasonic model is that it includes a 12-hour battery backup. So if your power goes out and your landline is still working, so will your smartphone. Keep in mind, though, you are paying dearly for that battery backup.

Answering System: Yes | Speakerphone: Yes | Bluetooth: Yes | Yes | Yes

Dont Forget The Prepaid Carriers

If youre new to mobile phones, you might think that a monthly plan is an obvious way to go.

However, unless you need unlimited minutes, lots of data or international calling features, theres a good chanceprepaid carriers will save you money and make billing simpler.

Most carriers can tell you if your phone is compatible with their network with a quick phone call.

Choosing A Good Plan For Your Needs

When youre picking a plan to go with your phone, theres a good chance the salesperson will try to convince you to take a package much larger than you need.

Finding a good plan for your needs might seem tricky at first. However, mostpostpaid andprepaid plans today offer fairly generous allotments for voice calls and texting.

Where the big price differences lie is data.

Its important to have enough data because overage fees add up fast. However, if youre paying for data each month that you dont use, youre paying more than you should.

Our guide on finding the amount of data you need will make this step simple.

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Budget Pick: Vtech Cs6114

If you just want to have a phone around for emergencies, or if you dont care about anything other than being able to pick up and dial, we recommend the VTech CS6114. Its as simple as can be, but it has a long range, totally passable voice quality, and an exceptionally low priceroughly the same as that of an iPhone charging cable. Even though youre giving up plenty of features compared with choosing our top pick, youre paying next to nothing for the peace of mind a home phone can bring.

We were impressed with the CS6114s range, which extended farther than that of some much more expensive models. The incoming voice on our call didnt start to break up until about 310 feet awayjust over a football fields length. Even before it broke up, the voice quality wasnt particularly strong compared with what you get from higher-end phones, but that shouldnt come as a huge surprise. This sounds pinched, but you get the consonants better than with the VTech IS8151-4 or an iPhone XR on Wi-Fi calling, said Wirecutter senior staff writer Lauren Dragan. It is a narrow, reedy sound, but its easy to understand the words. In evaluating the four phone messages she listened to, Lauren still ranked this phones voice quality the lowest. But again, its not shocking that a $15 phone performed worse than handsets that cost several times more.

Vtech Sn5: Best Cordless Phone For Seniors

While many cordless phones have features that are aimed at seniors, the VTech SN5127 is built from the ground up with seniors in mind. Itâs easy to use thanks to its large LED display, along with oversized buttons that make dialing easier. It has caller ID and a smart call blocking feature that can automatically filter out unwanted spam calls, with storage for up to 1,000 numbers for you to manually block out too.

Our favorite feature is the photo dial options though. There are four large buttons on the front that can be programmed to automatically dial someoneâs phone number, with space for you to attach a photo of the person to each button. This means youâll never forget whose number is whose, and youâll be able to dial your closest friends and family with ease.

The ringer goes up to 90dB to help those who are hard of hearing know when the phone is ringing, and there is an audio assist built into the handset to help you hear and be heard when youâre talking on the phone.

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Community Phone: The Best Landline Phone Service For Seniors

Almost 77% of seniors in the United States reported that they need assistance to use a smart phone or tablet. At Community Phone, the majority of our residential customers are seniors. Therefore, we have experienced all the problems that they currently face with cell phones.

That is why we built our landline service specifically for seniors. Help your loved ones communicate freely through Community Phone: the best landline phone service for seniors. With Community Phoneâs revolutionary wireless phone service, you can stay in touch with your loved ones at all times: at home and on-the-go.

Ringer Volumes For The Hard

If your loved one lives in housing where neighbors can potentially hear through the walls, but your friend or family member is severely hearing impaired or deaf, you will need to make the decision about ringer volume. Will the ringer volume need to be loud? Can it be turned off entirely and give clear instructions for your loved one to check regularly for a voicemail-waiting or incoming call light?

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A Great Amplified Phone: Panasonic Kx

*At the time of publishing, the price was $93.

For those with mild to moderate hearing loss looking for an amplified phone, we recommend starting with Panasonics KX-TGM420W. It has all the features a great phone should have, amplified or not, and when retired audiologist Lisa Devlin tested our amplified finalists, it was her favoritethe one she would tell her clients to get. The volume adjustments should be suitable for many people who need boosted voice levels, and the six levels of tone adjustment plus custom tones provide a greater range of voice qualities than you can find on phones from any other company. The phone meets the TIA-1083 standard, so it offers compatibility with hearing aids without causing interference, and it works with headsets and neck loops. And like all of our picks, the KX-TGM420W has good range and outgoing voice quality.

Panasonic says that the KX-TGM420W can reach up to 40 dB and that the ringer can go up to 100 dB. We didnt measure the volume to confirm those numbers, but Devlin found that with her level of hearing loss, she didnt need to turn the phone up all the way to reach a useful, comfortable listening level. That would disqualify any product for me, if I always had to go to the maximum volume, she said.

Best Mobile Phone Option

• Listed-based menu makes it easy to navigate

• Has typical smartphone features, but with seniors specifically in mind

• Long-lasting battery life

Cons

• If the monthly allowance for a talk-and-text plan exceeds $0.35/minute or $0.10/text, overage fees will be charged

• Runs only on the Verizon Wireless network

Lively Direct, which makes the Lively Jitterbug Smart3, is a family of brands that focuses on empowering senior consumers to age gracefully and happily. The smartphone has several features designed specifically with senior care in mind, including a simple menu, powerful speaker and voice typing options. In addition, users can keep their loved ones updated on their health by adding them to their emergency contacts list, so their loved ones can be notified by Urgent Response in case of an emergency. With health and safety packages, the smartphone stands out because it is beneficial to seniors who wish to live independently and have the assurance that help can be summoned quickly if needed.

We found the bright light and large font to be ideal for seniors since most smartphones have much smaller fonts. The buttons are also big and bold, making them easy for seniors to identify. Seniors who are easily confused by the typical smartphone would definitely benefit from Lively Smartphone 3s simplicity and ease of use.

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Telephones For Elderly Conditions

If there are particular health conditions in your situation, and you are purchasing a phone for someone suffering from something like dementia or Alzheimers disease, think about every possible scenario they might encounter. Ask yourself if they will accidentally call emergency numbers if the phone is programmed to dial 911.

With some devices such as the VTech model, there are occasionally special requirements. For example, if you have DSL, you may need a DSL filter.

If an illness as such is new to your family, you can look into the stages of things such as Alzheimers and decide along with their physician how quickly symptoms are progressing. If your loved one is in an early stage, they might be quite capable of handling a more typical home phone.

Best Motorola: Motorola Cd5011 Dect 60 Cordless Phone

Amazon

• No backlight on the keys

• Expensive

If you simply must have a Motorola cordless phone, the CD5011 ticks all the boxes: answering machine, spam button to tell the phone not to accept a call from the number that just called, volume boost for those hard of hearing, and itll announce whos calling before you answer it. The handset keys are not backlit, so dialing at night can be difficult.

Answering System: Yes | Speakerphone: Yes | Bluetooth: No | Yes | Yes

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Dont Forget The Accessories

• Astylus pen is a great way to improve accuracy and make it easier to use your screen. Not to mention there are fewer smudges and fingerprints to clean up later. Ourstylus pen summariesoffer advice on finding the perfect option to suit your preferences!
• You might also consider aprotective case. While theyll make your phone a little bigger and heavier, a good case can be the difference between a shattered screen or no scratches at all should you drop your phone.
• Lastly, if youre always on the go, asmartphone car mount makes it easier to use navigation, hands-free calling and other features without distracting yourself or forcing you to dig under the seat for your phone when you get home.

Who Should Get This

Home phones are nowhere near as ubiquitous as they once were. A 2019 study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that 61.3% of adults and 70.3% of children live in a home that doesnt have a landline but does have a wireless phone. That means tens of millions of American households still have landlines, however.

As a childless man who rarely makes voice calls of any kind and lives in an apartment that has decent cell phone reception, I was surprised to discover just how many of my Wirecutter co-workers own and regularly use cordless phones. Some of my colleagues want a phone for emergencies: something thats always in the same place , doesnt have to be unlocked with a password, is simple enough for even a young child to use, and can even work in a blackout. Other colleagues have poor cell reception in their homes and simply need something that can reliably make and receive calls. Finally, many cable companies offer a Voice over Internet Protocol phone service in discounted bundles with internet service or cable TV, so having a phone line can often be cheaper than not having one. If you have a line anyway, why not get a phone to use with it?

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Best Overall: At& t Dl72210 Two Handset Answering System

BestBuy

• Get notifications from your smartphone

• Extra handsets not wall mountable

• Only 22 minutes of voicemail

Sure the DL72210 works as a landline phone, but it also pairs with your cell phone so you can take calls without having to fiddle with your cell phone or try to find it.

You can even use the DL72210 to interact with your digital assistant. This is a modest system with slightly more than modest features, and is probably exactly what you’re looking for without even knowing it.

Answering System: Yes | Speakerphone: Yes | Bluetooth: Yes | Yes | Yes

Why You Should Trust Me

Ive been reviewing phones and mobile accessories since 2011 and covering them for Wirecutter since 2015. This includes researching hundreds of cordless phones and testing dozens over the past five years. To better understand the technology that makes these phones work, I sought out experts including Ruth Wilson, marketing chair of the , the semiconductor group behind DECT technology, the wireless communication standard that all modern cordless phones use.

Retired audiologist Lisa Devlin tested the amplified phones in this guide. Devlin has non-syndromic, bilateral, congenital, mild-to-moderate sensorineural hearing loss. She uses two Oticon Opn S hearing aids and has prior experience with amplified phones. In the past, I would rely on amplified phones with volume control, she told me, although she now uses her iPhone and a Bluetooth connection to her hearing aids.

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Best Home Phones For The Elderly

We may receive a commission if you click certain product links below. This helps support our independent testing and research to provide free, unbiased product and service reviews for our readers.about our ad policies.

When purchasing a new phone for yourself, an older parent or grandparent, there are a few simple features to keep in mind. If they have trouble with vision, there are accessibility options for sight-impaired individuals. There are also options for customers who may have trouble hearing.

You might even be a customer who simply doesnt want to deal with the hassle of the tricky technology of smartphones. So, weve picked our favorite home phones of 2022 to help you find the best traditional landline phone for you.

About Our Trusted Experts

Patrick Hyde lives in Seattle where he works as a digital marketer and freelance copywriter in addition to writing about technology for Lifewire. His areas of expertise include Android devices and consumer technology, such as cordless phones for your home.

Adam Doud has been writing in the technology space for almost a decade. When he’s not hosting the Benefit of the Doud podcast, he’s playing with the latest phones, tablets, and laptops. When not working, he’s a cyclist, geocacher, and spends as much time outside as he can.

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Still Unsure About Which Landline To Buy

If youve covered these questions are just want a general telephone for essential use, the ability to dial, and also the benefits of programmable buttons, amplified sound, and an incoming call light we love the Clarity telephone.

It has dialable buttons so you can call numbers other than the programmed people. So, it can be used as a regular phone. Yet it also has the perks of large buttons, a ringer light, amplified sound, and auto-call programming for a handful of people of your choosing.

AgingInPlace.org keeps our resources free by working as an affiliate partnerwith some companies mentioned on our site. We may earn a commission when you click on certain product links.

Flaws But Not Dealbreakers

The DL72210s range was not as long as that of many other phones we tested it began to break up at around 260 feet, compared with the 450 feet we got from the VTech IS8151-4 and the 445 feet we got from the highest-performing similarly priced phone, the AT& T CL82219. If you know you need extra range and are willing to give up the Bluetooth connection, consider going with the CL82219.

The phones hardware and software are relatively refined compared with those of other cordless phones, although next to a touchscreen smartphone, they feel dated and clunky. The 2-inch screen is monochrome, and the white backlighting glows for only a few seconds after you stop pressing buttons. The labyrinthine menu system made us long for the swiping and tapping of our smartphones. However, we appreciated that the number keys glowed a soft blue, making them easy to see in the dark.

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Motorola Cd501: Best Cordless Phone For Hard Of Hearing

The Motorola CD5011 is an ideal option for anyone that is either hearing or visually impaired. Thanks to a combination of loud ringer options, large and bright lit display and an LED alert light this works well for grabbing attention. Support for hearing aids is also included with easy one button access and the ability to listen to the recorded answering machine messages through that headset connection.

The base ringer may be a little loud for some but there are few other gripes. This remains affordable yet offers a solid build quality and can be paired with up to four handsets if you need. The ability to block numbers using the phone is another nice option on this well priced cordless phone.

Telephone Location For The Elderly

Its also important to think about where the phone will be located. If it will be near a bedside, will a bright backlit display be a benefit for dialing in the dark, or will it be a detriment to sleep? Ask yourself these questions and consider you or your loved ones specific situation. Then you will be much more informed about finding the right home phone for you or an elderly member of the family who needs a phone for emergencies.

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