Cordless Phone Not Working Well... Why?

Reader Kathy Zee writes: I have two AT&T cordless phones model 2230. Incoming calls are fine, but  when I attempt to make a call on either phone I cannot be heard by the person I'm calling. I've tried the "reset" fix at the AT&T site, tried unplugging... I've taken out the battery. It's as though the mute button somehow goes on when I try to call out. Can you possibly think of anything I haven't tried?

Cordless phone troubleshooting is one of the trickiest things in tech. One day they'll work fine, the next they'll drop out. No warning.

My hunch is that you are experiencing some interference issues. The 2230 is a 2.4GHz model phone, which just about every limited-area networking technology uses, from baby monitors to Wi-Fi. I suspect it's the latter that's causing you trouble. If it's not a Wi-Fi network in your house, then it may be next door, or around the corner. From my living room I can see 10 to 12 Wi-Fi networks, depending on the time of day. It's interference madness.

My first step would be to try the "CH" button on the handset liberally, if the phone has one. Try hitting it a few times to go through a few channels to see if this helps the problem.

If the Wi-Fi network is in your house, try turning off all your Wi-Fi devices to see if that's the problem. If so, you can essentially do the same thing as your cordless phone and change the channel of your router manually. All routers let you do this in the management utility: On my Belkin it's under "Channel and SSID." Try channel 1 and channel 11 and see if either helps. Remember to restart the router between tries. Alas, if it's a neighbor's Wi-Fi network that's interfering, you'll have to knock on the door and see if you can't encourage them to change channels the social way. Try a freshly baked pie.

Why would this problem only crop up for outgoing calls? I suspect it's more random than that in reality, and that it only seems to be an issue with outgoing calls because that's where you experience it the most. I could be wrong, of course. You'll have to experiment to see if you can repeat the problem consistently and reliably. If it turns out that interference isn't the issue and the phones really don't work for outgoing calls, you might have to upgrade your cordless phones. (If you do, try a 5.8GHz model. They are clearer, have better range, and are far less susceptible to interference problems. I can suggest a great system if you drop me a line.)

As a side note, you might also try a corded phone (you can get one at a drug store for about $3) and try to replicate the problem. It might be something unrelated to your home altogether, and a visit from Ma Bell might be in order.