Cortelco 255415-VBA-20M Single Line White Wall Telephone

We have a vintage kitchen & wanted an old wall phone to hide the ugly wall mount phone jack. We also need a corded landline for the frequent power outages. (Because in the boon docks, cell phone reception is merely a rumor... The stuff legends are made of!) I digress, this phone is perfect ... So it's not a 1950's robin's egg blue rotary phone, but it works! It's quite sturdy and I'm not sure what issue people are having with volume control. I'm guessing they either upgraded the phone or people couldn't figure out how to adjust the volume. (Call and ask your mom or grandma she'll explain it!!) My phone works exactly like the wall phone that hung in my parents house growing up. It has the ring volume that ranges from fire alarm loud to completely silent. The handset volume ranges from obnoxiously loud to whisper quiet. There has been no issues with crackling on the line, etc. It mounted on to the old wall jack perfectly. The cord was a bit short, but I have mad skills. I went to the local big box store and bought a long, white cord for about $3. All in all, if you're looking for a sturdy, wall mounted, corded phone with all the latest technology of 1983, this is the one for you!!

I have been looking for sometime for a replacement wall phone to match the mid century modern look of this Cliff May style house. This particular model fit the bill perfectly and now even my mother who is a bit hard of hearing at age 99 is able to use this phone. The volume control works very well and the sound clarity is excellent.

I purchased the ITT 255415-vba-20m Wall W/ Volume when my slim line phone hanging in the kitchen finally developed a short in the plug and was constantly cracking and popping static during a conversation. This ITT 255415-vba-20m Wall W/ Volume is much easier to hold because the handset hearkens back to the day when phone handset fit into your hand solidly and comfortably. Mainly because the "buttons" aren't on the receiver handle, but rather, on the phone. i thought it might be a hassle to have to always go over to the phone to dial a new call after talking comfortably in my chair....but then I can use the excersize. Plus the clarity is so much better, it's well worth the trade off. My new phone does not have a very loud ringer to say the least. I don't know if that is the way they all are or just mine. but I have other phones around the house that can do the ringing, and my wifr thinks the real bell inside the phone is my cuter sounding that the electronic beepers of today. So this phone is kind of "retro" in that respect. One CAUTION: It may take a little wiggling around on the connector to get it into the wall jack. I thought mine wasn't going to go in and it even snapped off the back of the phone twice, but it's easy to put back on. With a little work, it got connected and works great. One other note. It has a short cord and so I've ordered a longer one from a different supplier. problem is the color white is different than other company's white. So much so that I am going to try to find another company that makes a phone cord that the color matches. Even with the few cautions, i highly recommend this phone. It just feels good to use and makes conversation more enjoyable.

My uncle wanted a phone for the bathroom. It needed to ring and answer when picked up. We went to BestBuy and they had essentially no corded or wall mount phones I found this and figured it would be perfect. Looks like the phone from his 40's except for the volume control on the handset. Even has a real bell. Liked it so much I'm buying him another for the second bathroom. If you want a wall phone that looks and feels like it was made in 1970, this is perfect. Feels just like the Western Electric dial phone I keep on display. Plugs right into the wall plate, no silly 6" cord to have to keep from getting in the way. Put your head against the wall so you can see the plug go into the jack, then very gently lift the phone straight up till it stops, push it all the way against the wall and slowly let it down till it catches on the wall mount's studs, then push down till it's secure or set a 10lb bag of flour on it, that's about how much pressure it takes. No caller ID, no memory, just 12 buttons and a hook switch, just like phones use to be.

If you're tired of wasting money on cheap plastic wall phones, this is the one for you! It's made in the U.S.A. It is solidly built with a metal base and sturdy handset. It has a built-in sliding plug connector so no short line cord is needed to attach it to the standard wall plate. The coiled handset cord that comes with it can easily stretch to about 5 or 6 feet away without kinking. It rings (bells) - similar to older phones but not as loud - nice! The ringer is adjustable down to off in case there are other phones you would rather hear. The handset has a convenient thumbwheel to adjust the volume of the voice receiver. It was just delivered, so I cannot comment on its longevity. But if the internals are anything like the quality outside, I expect to get many years of service from it.

Purchased this phone for elderly parent who needed a wall phone in the kitchen. Volume of bell and amplification of handset were my primary needs, as well as that the handset was secure on the wall. This phone does score high marks for wall mount, it has a steel backer and an older style handset and cradle that works well for wall mounting. Previously I had a slim line phone there and the receiver kept falling off a eventually broke. Where this phone didn't meet expectation was on volume for both the bell and the handset. Both are adjustable, but at max volume still not very loud. My parent uses a hearing aid so these are important attributes. The bell is an old style real steel bell ringer, so I t has a different tone then the electronic tones we are used to, but is not loud enough. The handset has a dial to control volume, but at max it seems more like "normal" volume, that is you can reduce but not increase the volume. So this phone does provide a ringer in the kitchen, but I don't think it will work well for my parent as a phone. If you don't have hearing problems, and are looking for an older style phone with a real bell, this would be a great fit.

I ordered this phone twice because I am ever the optimist. When the first one came I THOUGHT it was exactly what I was looking for.......however, it only rang on occasion when a call was incoming.......mostly it didn't. I knew I was getting a call because I could hear the other phones in the house ring. I returned the first one thinking perhaps it was just defective. When the second one came, it also did not ring to let me know of an incoming call, except on a rare occasion. IF it did ring it would either just make one small ding or a strange kind of jangle......not a full ring, maybe a half ring. I used it for a few days and found that often the sound was so bad I could not understand what the caller was saying. Then, it started cutting off calls in the middle of a conversation. It is really too bad these people cannot seem to solve this problem as this is exactly the type phone I was looking for. But we need a reliable phone and this is not that at all.

I've lost track of how many cordless phone sets we've gone through over the years. The batteries don't last. Reception is terrible. Kids (or husband) don't return the phone to the base and you're left searching for the handset. The list goes on. So we went old-school. There's truth to the saying that older is better. I love it. Calls are clear, handset and ringer volumes are adjustable. Don't want calls or work a midnight shift and need shut eye? Just slide the ringer volume lever conveniently located on the right side of the wall mounted phone base all the way down. A word of advice for those using VOIP/Magic Jack/Net Talk. I am using this with Magic Jack service. With VOIP, the voltage (also called REN in telephony terms) traveling through your household telephone wiring is significantly lower than a good old fashioned land line. Calls were still clear, but with an incoming call, the voltage was only enough to muster 3 weak rings. That's because the ringer is an old-school mechanical bell. There just wasn't enough juice in the line to fully power the ringer. After some internet research, I found the Viking RG-10A Ring Booster. It has a small transformer that plugs into an outlet and a telephone line in & out. You run the 'out' from the magic jack to the 'in' on the ring booster, and the 'out' on the ring booster to your household phone wiring. Voila. Problem solved. My phone now works just as good as my old Ma-Bell land line. Another word of advice: shop around on the internet for the ring booster...prices vary greatly for the same exact model.