FAQ

Communications

Analogue Cordless Phone

Q1. I have just purchased a new cordless telephone and after plugging in the power adaptor and switching on, the power does not come on. Why is this so?
A1.
You need to charge the cordless telephone for 10 hours before you can use it. For some new models, only 3 hours is needed, for others 15 hours may be required.

Q2. I have just purchased a new cordless telephone and after plugging in the power adaptor and switching on, smoke comes out from the set. What's wrong?
A2.
There are basically 2 categories of telephones sold in shops. The first is IDA-approved models which come with a 220V adaptor. The second is non IDA-approved models which come with either a 220V or 120V adaptor. Non IDA-approved models are meant for export. If you purchased an export model with the 120V adaptor and plugged the adaptor into Singapore's 230V power supply, you may have damaged your set and/or the adaptor. You might like to note that it is against IDA regulations to use non IDA-approved models in Singapore.

Q3. What is the range of my cordless telephone?
A3.
Unfortunately, no exact range can be quoted. It depends on your locality. Normally, for a 46 to 49MHz cordless telephone, the range should satisfy the use of the phone within the house. Make sure that the base antenna is fully extended and you might want to try to move the base unit to a location in the house that would give you the best range. Avoid putting the base unit near electrical appliances which may generate interference and hence shorten the range.

Q4. How long does a cordless phone battery last?
A4.
The average battery life of a cordless telephone is about 1 to 2 years. For some cases it may not be able to charge up within a year. This is likely because the battery has been charged before and left to discharge to too low a voltage. You would then not be able to charge up the battery using the normal charging method.
For models which come with a spare battery; make sure that the handset batteries and the spare batteries are fully charged, do not place the handset back to charge but interchange the current batteries with the spare batteries when the battery indicator blinks.
For models that come with only one battery; if your talk time is not too long, you can charge the handset at night and use it through the day. If your talk time is long for each call, then it would be best that you put the phone back to charge after every one or two calls. Otherwise, the handset may be discharged and another 10 hours will be needed to charge up the phone.
When your batteries have been used for more than a year, look out for any chemical corrosion that might appear at the battery plug. If such corrosion occurs, change the battery immediately to avoid the chemical corrosion from damaging the PCB. Once the PCB is damaged, it cannot be repaired.

Q5. Why does the phone take so long to dial before I get through?
A5.
You may have accidentally set the dialling mode to pulse instead of tone mode.

Q6. Why doesn't the charge indicator light up when I place the handset back to charge?
A6.
Check that the adaptor and handset battery are intact. Also, clean both the handset & base unit charging pins.

Q7. My handset and base unit cannot link. What can I do?
A7.
You can try to re-program your handset and base unit code setting or place your handset onto the base unit for transfer of code. (Ability to do this depends on the model that you own.)