Those in the know - is there any chance in hell Panasonic might address this issue with a FW update? Or are they focusing on the new systems at the expense of the still new 848 system?

TIA

I read somewhere that a dealer had spoken to a Panasonic person and was assured that it would be resolved.

I personally will not make that claim.

We were also told that this is in the process of being addressed by Panasonic.

I am in agreement with Fred, neither one of us are announcing anything from an official standpoint. Just passing along information...

We were encouraged to document the issues in e-mails to kxtsupport < at > us.panasonic.com

I spoke to the Panasonic reps at CEDIA Expo and EHX in So. Cal.

They said it is still in the works and you will know it is coming when they release it first for the commercial version of the 848.

I guess the TAW848 is largely based on a more regulated commercial version. They will release the software for it first then port it to the 848.

I'll believe it when I see it and see how it actually works. Their track record is terrible in this area...

We are definetely doing way fewer phone systems until something decent comes out and is proven. (and I hope it has the multi-cell capability - very nice in the larger homes).

George P.

What I want to know is how did a system that is such sh*t ever come to dominate the market. I am happy to say we will never install another Panasonic phone system again. And I will never again have a customer ask me why their $10,000 (pick a number) phone system can't correctly log caller ID like their $30 phone from Best Buy. The other added benefit you get from Panasonic is that if you actually need tech support, you get to wait on hold for 1 hour so you can talk to the rudest fuc*king tech support people on the face of the earth. I haven't talked with them literally in years, but I hear they are still the same.

I'll never forget the time I waited on hold for over one hour, and when the tech came on the line after trying to talk me through the problem for 5 minutes, wanted to modem into the system and when I told him I didn't have a modem on the system he told me I had just wasted 5 minutes of his time and why was I calling if I didn't have a modem on the system - that was real fun to hear after having wasted an hour holding for him.

And then there were the defective voice mail systems they sold that liked to respond to female voices as if they were DTMF signals and tech support insisted that I was the only one that reported this and send me on wild goose chases trying to fix it, even swapping it out, only to later find out that they were lying through their teeth and it was a known issue.

Hmmm.....don't know why this particular thread started me ranting but it's just fuc*ing hilarious that after 10 years of requests Panasonic STILL has phone systems with caller ID issues.

KXTDA50 is the model in the commercial division that was being alluded to. No, it has not been updated yet.

848 can support single line caller id device. Purchase an slt card, an slt caller id, and park that $14 att box on the extension. Voila, functionality.

Q's beef has been heard before, and should be heard again and again by Panasonic. Makes you kind of want to do business with a supplier (maybe a distributor) that has certified tech support, with operational systems, pleasent people, the ability to ship up until 6 PM central, and more.

QQQ is dead nuts on.

Panasonic phone support is still the same rude experience. Useless if you are on site.

We did switch our purchases to the company Fred is alluding too. It is a much better experience than A*AD. Actually got some nice cheat sheets at one of their trainings at CEDIA.

The caller ID box is a good work around but they should be able to get it right since their consumer division has had it figured out for YEARS!

If the real need for a phone system exists in a job, I will likely sub it out to a local commercial phone install firm in the future. The profit you make is not worth the pain and unhappy customer.

George P.

Thanks for the kind words, George.

Do take a look at the kxta824. It programs like a dream using real software; it supports slt cid without buying cards above and beyond; it supports telco voice mail. Sadly, it does not use the cell repeaters for cordless performance. It behaves much like the -5 version of the 624 in other respects.

Which is another cause of unhappiness with Panasonic systems because the performance of the cordless phones suck. They retail for $500 or whatever the number is and don't perform as well as a $75 cordless phone from Best Buy. They are also unreliable. So the one system that sounds like it addresses all of the caller ID complaints doe not integrate with the cell repeaters!

Speaking or reliability, I begrudgingly have to say that is one thing you cannot criticize Panasonic for, apart from their cordless phone, I have never sold anything as reliable as a Panasonic phone system.

Anyhow, I also think highly of Fred’s company but why not purchase Avaya through them instead. My 2 cents.

p.s. Fred, does Panasonic dare to support anything as "advanced" these days as automatically adjusting for daylight savings? So we don’t have to get calls from our customers every time there is a time change? Or is that coming in 2020?

Yes, the 848 does support daylight savings time changeovers.

I agree, they blew it on the 824 by not supporting the wireless stations. The other model cordless phones are way too expensive with very limited range.

And guess what else? The software between the 848 and 824 is totally different. Nothing like learning a whole new method with each new system.

The only thing we dislike about the new 848 cordless phones is that there is no locator feature if you lose the phone. If the ringer is set to "vibrate" your clients will have no way of locating it. Since these are in LARGE homes, this has been a real issue.

George P.

Thanks for the info guys. My fingers are still crossed for the upgrade. Too bad you cant get the cell feature with the other systems mentioned here.