Future Call FC-8888 Big Button Phone for Seniors | Large Button Phones for Seniors | Phone for Visually Impaired and Telephones for Hearing Impaired | 40db Handset | Best Landline Phones for Seniors

This is a great phone for our mom. The cell phone she had been using, even though it was simplified for seniors, just got to be too complicated. She would accidentally turn it off and think it was broken. She wouldn't remember how to select a name from the phone book directory. She wouldn't remember how to charge it, etc. When in quarantine at her semi-independent living facility, we couldn't run over and help her with it. With this Future Call phone, however, all she has to do is pick up the receiver and talk. To make a call, all she has to do is "poke us in the face" (=push the button that has our picture on it). True, now she actually has to walk to the phone, and that can take a while (even in her tiny apartment), but the phone rings many times before it would cut off, giving her lots of time to get to it. The phone was easy enough to set up that a "non-techy" staff member at her living facility could handle all the programming and setup (although I re-wrote the instructions for her along with the phone numbers to program, since the ones included with the phone, although simple, were obviously written by a non-native speaker of English. Also, we had the phone sent to our house so that I could print out our pictures and insert them under the plastic for each button, first. They go in easily if you are patient. Use a paring knife to pop off the plastic from each button).

Second Review: Just found out these things are DANGEROUS! I was wondering why my dad wasn't calling me anymore. When I got around to asking him (hisemory is pretty bad, so I didn't want to embarrass him) he told me he tried buty.line was always busy. I dialed his phone from my cel (in the same room as this phone) and the phone DID ring. HOWEVER, when I tried to call MY phone from this phone, I kept getting a busy signal. I called every phone number we set up for him and it still rang busy...EVERY PHONE! What if my dad needed to talk to me urgently? This phone is dangerous! I want my money back, but threw the box away already. I was too confident this Phone would work. I'm pretty disappointed with this purchase. I bought this for my dad, who suffers from dementia, to use so we could all stay in touch and he could call us whenever he wanted to. Well, my brother got it all set up then informed me that my dad needed to REMEMBER to press the "memory" button BEFORE he presses the picture of the person he wants to talk to. HELLO? I was trying to explain this to my dad and he just could not "get it". I lost him at remember. Really? For folks with memory issues having to remember to push a button beforehand is NOT feasible. If I would have known this I DEFINITELY would not have bought this. They need to make this phone so it can be used without having to remember a thing...just pick up the receiver and push ONE button. That's why we bought this phone to replace his old complicated one. Sound quality was fine. Ease of use was a one star...and because that is WHY I bought this and it was NOT easy for my dad to use, it was NOT a good value.

After contracting COVID, our 94 year old dad suffered a stroke that severely affected his right side (his dominant side). In particular, he lost the effective use of his right hand and even had manual dexterity problems with his left hand. His dexterity declined to the point that he could no longer easily dial a regular phone. After a search on Amazon, and as a result of the good ratings here, we purchased this "picture buttons" phone. In short, this is an excellent product that does exactly what it says. We first added pictures of all the kids and their spouses to each picture button (there are 10 available picture buttons). You'll need an X-ACTO type knife for this, first so that you can pry the plastic protector covers and sample pictures from their buttons and then to cut your own pictures to fit (we just used one of the sample pictures as a template around which to cut). Programming the phone could not be simpler. Simply press the "Store" button, enter the number, press "Store" again, and then press the picture button to which you wish to assign the number. Made a mistake? Just do it again. Beautifully simple. In our case, the facility where our dad is staying requires that you first enter "81" to get an outside line. That was no problem, we just programmed the phone numbers all starting with 81 and it worked fine. Just a point of clarification regarding VOIP. The description here goes to pains to point out that this phone won't work on SIP. That's a special protocol for business use. This phone works absolutely fine with the regular VOIP service provided by your cable company or telephone company. We just plugged the phone into the modem phone jack and that is all that is required to provide a phone signal AND power (just like the old POTS line phones - this phone does not need to be plugged into a power outlet; it gets its power through the phone line). We programmed this phone at home via our cable VOIP and then took it to the care facility where our dad is, plugged it into the wall jack, and we were up and running with no problems. He is now easily able to call each of us by just pressing a picture button. The only thing we wanted to be careful of was the 911 call button. This isn't something he needs in the facility where he is staying and we did not want him (or anyone else) to accidentally press that button so we taped some plastic over that button and the other five special use buttons (store, memory, mute, flash, redial). If I could suggest one thing for this phone, it'd be a switch to disable those special feature buttons which really aren't going to be of use to the target audience who may be living in a care facility. Overall, this product does exactly what it says. Volume is loud and voices are clear. Absolutely perfect for any person who may be suffering from physical or memory impediments.

Easy setup, no batteries required, simple landline phone for seniors that needs a visual aid (flashing ringing light) and large buttons. Less one star because I felt the ring volume and handset volume could have used another level of loudness since this phone is catered to seniors that will in most probability have some haring loss.

This is the best phone that I could find for my 91 year-old mother who doesn't know how to use a regular phone anymore. She can push a picture and call us with this phone. She has it in her assisted living center. It could be just a little bit louder, but as long as she gets it to her ear, it works!

Arrived late. Instructions were not very good. Info missing. Followed the instrn sheet to the letter and could not get it to work. Called daughter for help. She did same. One of the picture buttons would not hold the number. Followed the instrn process REPEADLY and after sometime the number went into memory. Geting this phone set up is a real challenge. Once set up it works. My wife has ALZ and she was able to call me by pushing the buttion. It is a good item when you can get it to work. Be prepared to use a lot of patience if you buy it.

Finally, a dementia phone that works! We went through 2 “senior” phones then an Easytrac phone designed for dementia patients (please do not waste your money on that piece of junk). My mom has moderate heading to advanced dementia and this works perfectly. We had an additional problem in that they do not allow landlines at her memory care unit because the residents kept calling 911. We used a cell2jack device and linked it through Bluetooth to her old flip phone then hid all that under her bed. Phone works perfectly. 911 button can be programmed to call another number or no number at all. It was easy to set up, easy to program numbers into and the calls are clear as a bell. Another review said you have to push a separate button before pushing the photo button. I think they set it up wrong. All mom has to do is push the large photo button and it dials. This phone is a winner!

This is not an inexpensive product, but would be great if it worked. The big buttons only make contact if you press directly in the center. Press anywhere up/down or left/right of center and they just flex without making contact. Programming the speed dials is impossible. After 30 minutes I got one working (sort of). When I press the programmed speed dial it will only call the programmed number 1 out of 5-6 times. The other times it sounds like it is "dialing" too few or too many digits. The instructions and labels are completely wrong. For example, it has a "lock" feature to prevent accidental reprogramming of speed dial buttons. Instructions say this must be "off" to program. It actually must be in the "on" position to even attempt to program speed dials. If the label said "Program" instead of "Lock" and the manual was updated that would make sense. But regardless, programming is hit and miss, mostly miss. Worst of all is the "disable 911" feature. A great idea, you can disable the 911 button to prevent accidental calls. I gave up after 5 tries to disable 911, because following the Instructions to disable, it actually calls 911 every time (and does not disable it)! The entire phone only weighs a few ounces, so even if it did work, I suspect it would fail quickly. Super cheap and flimsy. It always amazes me how a product that fails to perform even it's basic function can be offered for sale.