silent telephone needed

August 17, 2009 2:25 PM

New baby in the house, easily awoken by telephone ringing, so I am after a phone that can be muted, with visual ring indicator, and preferably a multi hand set dect type if possible. I am in the UK.
posted by spyke23 to Home & Garden (5 answers total)

All phones that I know of have a silent mode, and Radio Shack (or the like) sells flashing ringers that you can plug into your line in between the phone and the wall. Not sure what the UK's retail electronics sitaution is these days, but if you can't find it easily you can try stores that sell supplies to the Deaf.
posted by rhizome at 2:31 PM on August 17, 2009

I don't know if they're available in the UK but the Uniden brand of cordless phones (sold at Costco among other places) have been excellent for me. They work well, are reliable, come in multi-handset variety with intercom functionality, can be muted with visual signal, and their setup menus are good. I've had several in different places over the past ten years. I've found Sony and AT&T brands wanting.
posted by anadem at 3:01 PM on August 17, 2009

I bought the Panasonic KX-TG5453 a few years ago from Costco and it's been a flawless performer. I hate hearing the phone ring at all, so I just keep it muted 24/7 and put one handset in each room in case someone calls. The light flashes bright orange so it's very easy to see, even if the phone is just in your peripheral vision.
posted by LuckySeven~ at 3:51 PM on August 17, 2009

Seconding Uniden multi-handset phones. We have one of our handsets in the bedroom with the ringer turned off, and the light on it flashes rapidly when a call is coming in. It's really easy to turn the ringer on and off too. The model we have is phased out, but I think others would be just as good.
posted by cabingirl at 5:14 PM on August 17, 2009

I've heard as general advice that you're supposed to go about your normal daily routine, so as to train the baby to sleep through noises like the phone, doorbell, vacuum, etc. That said, if you're really desperate for a nap yourself and don't want the phone waking the kid for that reason, a silent phone is a good idea.

Also, seconding Rhizome. I haven't encountered a modern cordless phone (since you mentioned DECT) that doesn't have a "mute ringer" option. So unless you *need* the light built into the handset itself, what you're after is a flasher you can plug into the phone line.
posted by IndigoRain at 7:21 PM on August 17, 2009