Ooma HD2 Handset

I see a lot of bad reviews on this device. I actually like the device very much. I have four of these devices and I think they work great. It allows for all the options of Ooma premier to be used. I like the fact that you can manage them and move them from number to number online within the website. There are a couple of things I do not like about the handset. The main thing is the rocker switch/button in the middle as others have mentioned. It is difficult to navigate using it. It takes some getting used to as to where to put your thumb when using it. I find myself hitting other buttons when using it to navigate. It is definitely not a showstopper for me so other than that the rest of the features are nice. I like the option to use it as a night clock while on the cradle. You can dim it to four levels. Off, Low, Medium, High. So if you don't like it as a night clock or light you can completely turn it off. I personally don't like it on, but other people in my household do so it's nice to have that option. Also a nice feature is that the same settings are available when off the cradle as well. Basically it has a docked/undocked profile for the brightness and screen timeout.One thing I have read is the manual has no information. This is true. There are a lot of cryptic settings in the menu on the phone that are not straightforward. But I have found that if I search online for "Ooma HD2 " + the setting name, you will find what you need. So again that isn't a big deal. My HD2's are fairly new so I cannot attest to the battery life. The one thing I do like about the batteries is that you can just go to the store to pick up any brand of NiMH AA batteries you would like and replace them. No fancy specialty batteries. This is one thing I really like. The ability to replace the batteries by just going to any store if needed.I like being able to customize the ringtones, I like being able to screen voicemails straight from the handset, and I like the picture display. The price on these isn't too bad on Amazon. They are far cheaper than from Ooma direct. This is a plus because for ~45.00 I feel they are worth it. The only drawback is that if they are purchased, and not used, they offer no purpose on any other phone system. I have had Ooma for a while now so it has been a long time that I was just using a set of Uniden 5.8Ghz phones. This still feels like a regular phone. Nothing fancy about it, but the color display is a plus and the screen is more informative than what I had. The call quality and signal strength to the Telo is better than my Uniden cordless.The overall quality is okay. It doesn't have weight to it. That may be a good or bad thing. I personally like some heft to products, but some people like light and nothingness feel. This is more of the latter. My devices are pretty new, so I may update this after a few months use and see how they hold up. However to make calls and check who is calling me I do like the screen. I saw in a review that you cannot preview the ringtones on the device. That is true. You can preview them and set them on Oomas website though. I do find the lack of that feature strange. Everything else is good, you can call other specific handsets, you can set voicemail to play straight to speakerphone, earpiece, or headset which is nice. The only other thing is that for the speakerphone, if you max the volume, the speaker is not the best quality. It seems too loud and the sound quality sufferers on max. Still a bit better than my Unidens, but not nearly as good as my actual cell phones. The thing to keep in mind is that these are just phones. Not smart phones. They are only to make and receive calls and have the novelty of a nicer screen than that of most corded/cordless phones. To me that so far is the main reason I bought these. I got tired of looking at the old orange dot matrix screens of my Uniden system.Screen and voicemail screening are the biggest pluses for me. Call quality is good on them, which is obviously important, but bad quality may or may not be the handsets fault. I also had T-Mobile @home / LineLink service. When I tried these handsets they sounded better than my Uniden on @home. However if I put my Unidens on the Ooma Telo, the quality improves. I still think these HD2's are better though. Other reviews a lot of the "cons" are true. However as to call quality I don't have an issue with it on any of the handsets. I am using these devices, I am using the features, the handsets work, so other than the navigation button, I really don't have anything negative to say about them.

This is a very interesting cordless telephone hand set, and it takes a bit of getting used to, as it is tightly integrated into the Ooma system.Other reviews have commented negatively on the shape of the H2, as it slides off the shoulder, etc. This is correct, but I don't find it to be such a problem. Attaching a headset to the H2 resolves the shoulder-slide problem. As to shape, I relate to the shape if the H2 as a smart 'talking potato', in a very positive way.The simple button-press convenience of arranging a 'phone book' in a handset of most cordless phones, has been replaced by a different method that exploits the user's computer and a web-based interface where you can precisely edit and arrange your 'phone book'.. This is less convenient than other cordless phones I have used in the past, but much more powerful.Regarding battery life, the H2 uses 2 NiMH AA cells, and the battery life is typical for a cordless phone. I assume that AA cells, rather AAA cells, are required to supply enough power to support the screen.Regarding the voice quality, Ooma definitely advertises superior voice quality of the H2. That is the primary reason I bought the handset. I am greatly surprised that the clarity of this phone on 'speaker-phone' is much better than when I listen through the internal ear-piece. I have found that if you attach a headset, the advertised ‘superior quality’ is definitely there. So, I would lay the blame on the integrated ear piece in the phone. The high frequencies are too attenuated in the ear-piece which degrades intelligibility. This may be possible to remedy through a firmware fix. In other reviews I have seen critical remarks on the bad design of putting the speaker on the back of the hand set., I think that the designed placement is being misjudged. If you set the phone on a flat surface, face up, the shape of the phone itself, on the surface, creates a shape that is very favorable to sound formation. If you put the phone face up on a soft surface, like a bed, not so good.In my opinion, I would like to see more levels than four. why not seven? However, I am very positively impressed that you can individually adjust the levels of the internal ear-piece, the speaker phone, and an external ear-piece... very smart.I have not been able to implement the Picture caller-ID feature. It should be very intuitive, but I have not yet gotten it to work.The “Favorite List” in the phone book is a real winner!So, Ooma, get your act together and deliver on the superior sound quality of the H2, and make the Picture ID absolutely simple, and you will have total winner on your hands.[* EDIT: I have used this phone for a while now, and my list of dissatisfactions are growing... The firmware in the HD2 Handset is not very mature, and if you give it's tiny 'brain' too much to handle, it will freeze up, and nothing but removing the batteries and waiting a while... sometimes a long while, before reinstalling the batteries, will fix it. I am also having troubles with it going into a 'white screen stupor'. The reasons for this are not understood, but the only fix is to remove the batteries, as described above. I think that the promise of this handset is considerable, and when it is functioning, it is very useful. All in all, it is not up to the standards of the Ooma Telo, and the rest of the Ooma system, which I think is just wonderful. Ooma, please give us a better handset, with the clarity and features that you advertised.. I'll buy it, really I will. *]

The Ooma Telo 3 handset, the replacement to this product, has moved DND off the main window to a submenu, requiring activating the handset and navigating three layers to turn this feature on & off. This older handset, the Telo 2, still has the primary soft button assigned to DND, so you can turn this feature on & off with one touch.While the Telo 3 has a nicer screen, a more intuitive button layout, longer battery life, and an easier to grip shape, I'm not willing to forgo a feature I use twice a day.Maybe someday Ooma will allow me to set a Do Not Disturb schedule, but until then, you'll have to pry the Telo 2 from my cold dead hands.

They feel like a quality build. The screen is nice and clear, and doesn't hurt my eyes when it is dark. The buttons are tactile feeling and have a good click to them. I did not find the sound quality to be any different from my existing cordless phone to be honest but that is a good thing in my situation. The battery is fine, I do not have any trouble charging the handset and I have not yet run into a situation where it is dead when I want it. I know others have complained about this but I don't have any of those problems.But is it worth the money? Well, thats for you to decide, considering there are great cordless phones out there, and considering most people use cell phones any many homes are going off of the phone lines, they should come down in price.

All of a sudden I started having a problem where the battery would say its full and after talking on it for ten minutes it would just die. This seemed to happen after a software update was pushed from Ooma -- however when going through their support their only answer was "The handset is no longer under warranty, we can't help you".I even replaced the rechargeable batteries in the handset with new ones, and the same behaviour. It's software related, but customer support (on the hardware side at least) with OOma is atrocious. They make Comcast technicians look like helpful church ladies.

It does not have all the fancy feature like the Apple iphone (or Samsung Smartphone), but it is like oxygen, it you are deprived (eg wireless signal drop) of the phone service, you will reall miss it. It just keeps on working day in day out. If you are looking for reliabilty and backup, this is the one to get.

If you're off-grid, this handset is not for you. The battery in it allows the unit to continually search for the wifi signal, even when you've turned off the internet. Batteries go dead in days this way. I guess I didn't think this one out. Bought an old traditional phone at the second-hand store & it works great.

While the handset itself has a great build quality and works better than advertised, the included charging cradle has serious issues.After purchasing 2 of these handsets I have returned 1 because it would not charge in the cradle because the mini USB port on the cradle had loose connection.The other has a loose connection as well but if you apply constant upward pressure to the AC adapter where it plugs into the cradle it works fine.The replacement unit that was received had other issues, the phone handset does not rest properly in the cradle and won't charge. If I force the handset into the cradle it makes the connection and charges fine.Handset would get 5 stars if the cradle was of better build quality.