Md 481 cardless phone

Here's some suggestions from the Vtech site:

If the battery(s) has been in service for more than one year....
As a rechargeable battery gets older, its ability to hold a charge decreases. If your battery has been in service for more than twelve months, it may be a good idea to replace it.

If you are replacing the battery and you need assistance, visit our Battery Finder link. If a battery for your model is unavailable, you can search the Internet using the key words cordless phone batteries for an on-line supplier. If you prefer to purchase locally, you can look for a replacement battery at your area consumer electronics retailers. It is recommended that you take your present battery with you to insure your replacement is the correct size and has the correct plug (where applicable) and specifications (for example - 3.6v 400mAh Ni-Cd). Caution when replacing batteries
If your model takes individual cells, do not use non-rechargeable batteries. Use only the recommended rechargeable batteries as prescribed in your User's Manual.

If the battery(s) has been in service for less than one year....
If the handset shows any sign of life (any lights; characters on the display screen; sounds when keys are pressed), your handset is not dead, making it unlikely that a new battery will fix the problem. Consider the following:

Is the base unit getting power?
If your base unit is not getting power, your handset is not charging. Tip: Do not plug your Base Power Adaptor into an electrical outlet controlled by a switch (for example, a light switch on the wall or a power strip with an On/Off switch).

If your battery pack is the plug-in type, is it securely plugged into the handset?
Disconnect, and then reconnect the battery plug to ensure a good connection. In addition, make sure the battery cover is on securely.

Do you see any charge indicators on the base or handset?
Depending on your model, the handset and/or base will have indicators to let you know when the battery is charging. Check your User's Manual for details.

Remember, if the handset shows any sign of life (any lights; characters on the display screen; sounds when keys are pressed), then is not dead, making it unlikely that a new battery will fix the problem. Try the following reset procedure:

Reset your Phone
If your telephone is not operating normally, disconnect the battery(s) from the handset and disconnect power from the base. After a few minutes, connect power to the base, install the battery(s) and cradle the handset in the base to allow it to establish a link. You can now try using your phone again.

the handset is not registered on the main base. check on the manual or give me some more info like witch model you have

Bring the handset that says searching into the same room as the base and see if the handset stops searching. Next unplug the handset batteries (yes from all handsets) and the base power cord (from both the base and the wall outlet). Wait a few minutes and then reconnect the batteries and base power cord. Next try to de-register and then re-register the handsets. (If you add a comment with the phone model, I'll help you with this step. Uniden has the manuals for their phones on their site: http://www.uniden.com/bin/venda?ex=co_disp-view&bsref=uniden&scat=dectphones_mnl .)

If this doesn't help, next try a new battery (and make sure that the battery is fully charged) for the phone. (If the phone is under warranty, contact Uniden. Note: batteries lose their ability to hold a charge over time. This includes the time on the shelf in the package.)

If a new battery doesn't help, then there is something wrong with the handset. Decide if it is worth having the unit fixed if the phone is out of warranty.

I hope this helps.

Cindy Wells
(I'm assuming that both handsets are cordless. If you have a corded/cordless model, then check that the base has power before you go farther with the above diagnostics. The power brick should be warm. We had a cordless phone on a power strip (UPS) that got turned off. The handset was searching for a signal that wasn't being sent. If you have power to the base, try sending the Find Handset message. The problem could be either the base or the handset not sending and receiving the signals between them.)

I've had this happen before with an older Panasonic, and also a V-tech. On both the problem came and went, and was easily correctable by simply placing the handset on the base (not a remote charging base) for a few seconds. Over time it became a more frequent issue, and eventually both phones got to the state you are in now, where it seems that there is nothing that make it aquire a signal. You can try removing the battery from the handset, and replacing it. You may want to check the voltage of the battery with a multimeter while you have it out to see if one of the cells is dead.
The cells in the battery pack of your cordless phone each produce 1.5v, so the number of cells x 1.5 is the voltage you should read with your multimeter. If you have a 3 cell battery pack, and it is only putting out 3 volts, you have one dead cell. Often the highest voltage required by the device is the unregulated output of the pack. Because the device has no provision for stepping the power up from 3 to 4.5 volts, some of it's electronics will not function properly with a dead cell in the pack.
Handset battery packs are fairly standardized these days, so you should b able to find one to test your handset with without actually buying a replacement battery pack.

well, it is possible it has a bad cell in the battery, never reaching full voltage. check the battery with a volt meter if possible for 3.6 volts. otherwise trial and error may solve it, but batterys are getting to cost as much as phones nowdays.

This fixed mine:

1/15/10

To fix this issue:

1. Unplug the Unit
2. Unplug the Phone Cord
3. Disconnect the Battery from the Handset
4. Wait 10-15 minutes… and put back together in Reverse Order
5. Connect the Handset Battery
6. Plug-in the Phone Cord
7. Plug-in the Unit

1. Delete or listen to all voice mail messages, if necessary, to clear the IN USE/Voice Mail light indicator.
Note: Skip this step if it does not apply to your MD Series cordless telephone model.
2. Press OFF on the base station and each handset.
3. Press and hold down PAGE on the base station until the IN USE light flashes slowly, then release.
4. Press and hold down PAGE again until the IN USE light begins to flash quickly, then release PAGE.
5. Quickly and fully press and release PAGE again.
6. Please register handset displays. Press OK to begin the registration process, or press EXIT.

This exact thing happened to me. Same model number. No matter what I did, the new handsets would not register.

The solution? Reset the entire system:
1. On the BASE - Unplug from wall both power and phone line. Unplug battery from base handset.
2. ON the Extension phone - unplug from wall and unplug battery from handset.
3. Wait AT LEAST 5 minutes.
4. Plug back in BASE power.
5. Plug back in BASE phone line.
6. Plug back in EXTENSION handset battery. Don't plug in BASE handset yet.
7. Follow steps to program EXTENSION. When successful:
8. Plug back in BASE handset battery.

To deregister ALL handsets:
Step 1: Press and hold FIND HANDSET on the main telephone base for 10 seconds.

Step 2: When the IN USE light starts to flash, release the FIND HANDSET button.

Step 3: Press and release FIND HANDSET again. The IN USE light will turn off and in a few seconds, all handsets will be de-registered.

Step 4: All handsets will show NOT REGISTERED.

To register a handset (register 1 handset at a time):
Step 1: Place the handset in the base unit or a charger that is connected to a power outlet. If PRESS FIND HNDST 4 SEC ON BASE does not appear on the screen after a few seconds, lift up handset and place in base or charger again.

Step 2: On the telephone base, press and hold FIND HANDSET for four seconds. Release FIND HANDSET once the IN USE light comes on.

After a while the handset will emit a series of tones, the newly registered handset will be assigned the lowest extension number not previously assigned to another system handset (1-4) when successfully registered. Repeat Steps 1 and 2 if the handset does not successfully register to the telephone base within two minutes.

REPEAT THE REGISTRATION PROCEDURE FOR EACH SYSTEM HANDSET.

Make sure the handsets are not receiving interference from other appliances, cell phones, etc.

IF deregistering does not work .. you will need to reset the entire system
Step 1: Disconnect the power to the telephone base.

Step 2: Disconnect the handset battery.

Step 3: Wait a few minutes and then reconnect the power to the telephone base.

Step 4: Reconnect the handset battery

Step 5: Wait about one minute for the handset to re-establish a link with the telephone base and then test the phone again.
You will need to set the time and date again after resetting the entire system.

This model of phone have serious problem regarding the battery. This phone use a lot of juice out of the battery. I'm pretty sure that when your battery is foul charge it doesn't do it. So the problem is in the handset. When your battery starting to get to low you loose your connection. Why?...Because the detection to LOW_BATT in your handset is not calibrate adequately. So it thinks that the batt is weak, to weak to make a conversation.

The other problem could be that your handset doesn't really foul charge your battery. So when you are to far from the base or talking for to long . There's not enough power in the battery to raise the output signal level(db) to your base.