Cobra PhoneLynx Bluetooth Cell to Home Phone Connection System (BT 215)

The one thing that has always kept me from discontinuing my landline and using my cell phone alone has been the fact that I didn't want to have to hunt all over the house for my ringing cell phone, which is usually in the charger, and then try to unplug it from the charger, swipe the screen to open the pad, and answer the phone - by then my caller would have long gone to voicemail. I guess I'm part of an older generation that likes to pick up when friends and family call, if I can.The new Cobra Phonelynx effortlessly connected to the Bluetooth on my cell phone, a first-generation Droid. I had just purchased a new Panasonic 6.0 phone system with four wireless handsets when I heard about the PhoneLynx. I have my cell phone charging right next to the Cobra unit, and have found call clarity to be excellent on all four handsets. When I am away from home, I turn off the Bluetooth on my cell phone to save the battery; later, coming in from the garage, I turn on the Bluetooth again and within 30 to 45 seconds, the PhoneLynx has automatically reconnected, and all my home phones are ready to both make and receive calls. Caller ID works too. When you make a call from one of your home phones, you press talk and get a dialtone, then after you dial there is a short delay and then a beep which signals your cell phone is dialing the number. The only thing I have not mastered is switching between calls when Call Waiting is activated. I press the flash button on my handset and it goes to the second caller, but I haven't figured out how to go back to the first - a minor wrinkle as far as I am concerned. I've also been careful to alert my daughter when she comes into the house that she needs to use her cell phone to make a call if I'm gone, since the house phones will be dead. I offered to pair her cell phone to my house phone using the Cobra unit, but she didn't want her personal calls from her friends coming through the house phone where I might pick them up - huh, go figure, I thought kids liked new technology ;)Most of the problems I have seen mentioned in the reviews here seem to be related to having an older phone system or having the cell phone too far away from the Cobra base unit. Having my cell phone charging right next to the the Cobra base unit, and having new phones, has allowed for excellent call quality. There are units that sell for more (> $100), but they seem to have poorer reviews and a much more complicated set up - it doesn't seem worth the trouble or expense. The Cobra Phonelynx can pair with two cell phones, which is plenty for my household. The other thing I have discovered when I was looking for a product that would do this is electronics stores such as Best Buy and RadioShack, and even my carrier Verizon, had never heard of the technology - odd, huh?I have contacted my provider, Verizon, and increased my minutes. This has cost me about $20; since my regular landline phone bill with AT&T is about $45 (A bare-bones connection; I use my cell phone for long-distance calls. If you make long-distance calls on your landline, your savings will be greater than mine), my savings will be about $25 a month. Given my usage, I probably could've gotten away without increasing my minutes, but I didn't want to have to think about my usage every time I picked up the phone. I have now had the Cobra Phonelynx for about two weeks; I plan to use it for another two weeks before disconnecting my landline permanently, just to be sure.One last thing I might add, is that rather than giving out my cell phone or home phone numbers, I have been using a Google Voice number (now available to everyone without invitation at [...]) that provided me a new local phone number which rings both my cell phone and my home number. Google Voice gives me a lot more privacy and control over who is calling me, since I can send certain callers straight to voicemail (my pharmacy reminder calls), screen other calls (well-meaning, but long-winded friends), and allow other calls through immediately (my kids!) I also like that when I'm in a meeting, I could read Google's written transcription of any voice mails I receive, just in case there is an emergency. I had to have this kind of gatekeeping in place before eliminating the landline, since I did not want to be available 24/7.Seldom have I written such a long review, but I purchased this thinking, "Oh well, if it doesn't work, I have only wasted $35," but have ended up so pleasantly surprised to have gotten such a great piece of technology I had been looking for, and at such a low price!

Connect your Blue Tooth capable cell phone to your home phone system; a dream come true!1. Does it work? Yes, you almost can't tell it's not a land line. When you pick up your phone, there's a dial tone, you dial the number, there's a pause, two beeps and then it starts ringing. From that point on it's smooth sailing as the call quality is superb.2. Is it easy to set up? You betcha, 5 minutes tops and that's only if you read the instructions.3. What's the Blue tooth range? Well, that will vary, but for me, the cell phone can be up to 30 feet (through one wall) from phonelnyx and it still works. The closer the better though, so plan on setting it within 10 feet for the best results.4. Does it auto connect? Yes, it does if you tell your cell phone to do so. Once you pair the phonelynx with your phone, set your phone to autoconnect to the lynx whenever it detects it. That's it, you leave with your phone, the calls come through your cell phone. You get home, the lynx syncs up automatically and all the phones in your house ring when the cell rings.5. Can I send faxes with a fax machine? NOPE! That's not the Lynx's fault though...the cell companies are the ones blocking you from sending faxes with your cell phone.6. How many phones can it sync with? Two7. Can I plug it into any phone jack? Yes, once you isolate your phone system from the outside world, you can plug the lynx into any phone outlet and all your in house phones will ring.8. What if I have DSL? You will need to run a line dedicated line from the outside world to your DSL modem; you can't use the phone lines in your house because the lynx needs sole control over them9. What if I don't want to or can't run a dedicated DSL line? Then I would just plug a cordelss phone(s) system directly into the lynx and use that.Obsevations:A. The lynx runs a little hot, but I guess that's normal.B. Be sure to completely disconnect your home phone system from the outside world. Even if you don't have a landline, the incoming line will still have a high DC voltage from the phone company so you've got to be sure you isolate your home phone system by disconnecting it's link to the outside line.C. For incoming calls, wait about 2 seconds before you say hello to allow everything to sync up; then talk as usual.This is a great device! Buy it, you'll love it!