I can't get a dial tone. It says connecting and

I gather you have the setting for tone and pulse set to tone? Also are you aware the ringing tone is generated by the phone company? When you dial a number and it connects, the phone provider sends the ring signal to the dial phone and the ringing signal to the dialing phone. Do you get a dial tone before dialing?

Some units if the battery is not fully charged or any ac adaptor for another phone also connected is not plugged in you will now have no dial tone.

I would think the phone is defective, do you have a dial tone with other phones?

Most cordless phones will say connecting when the handset is out of range, the base has no power or the base does not have a dial tone.

I start my tests at the base and make sure that another phone (preferably an old corded phone) gets a dial tone at that jack. Try a new phone cord to check if the cable is bad. Check if the power brick for the base is warm and that the outlet has power. For some phones, you can reset them by unplugging the base and removing the battery from the handset. Then reconnect the battery and plug in the base. Check if the handset and base can communicate (try the Find Handset option). If needed re-register the handset.

If the test phone doesn't get a dial tone, then you need to find where you have a wiring problem. Try the test phone at another phone jack. If there is still no dial tone, find the telephone service box (where the phone line comes in). If you have a fairly new service, you will find an RJ-11 jack in the box. Plug in your test phone and check for a dial tone. If you have no dial tone, contact your phone company. They will come and fix the line for free. (If you can't use an RJ-11 cord at the service box, your phone company will test this outside connection.)

If there is a dial tone at the service box or at one jack and not another, it's an inside wiring problem. Look at any open wires (perhaps in the basement) for obvious damage. Open the jack and check for loose wires. (There are two types of jacks - one wraps the wire around a screw, the other requires a punch down tool to secure the conductors in the keystone. The conductors should be connected to the terminals in the correct order. To see a picture of the terminal connections that are used, see http://www.lanshack.com/wire_phone_jack.aspx . The punchdown tool is available at many home improvement stores in the wiring aisle.)

If your test phone had dial tone at the original jack and resetting the phone by disconnecting the power did not help, then the phone needs service. If it is under warranty, contact V-tech. Otherwise, you may be better off replacing the unit. These phones are not meant to be user serviced.

I hope this helps.

Cindy Wells
(if you add a comment with the model, then I will check if I can provide more details in my solution.)

Resetting the voice message waiting indicator
When you receive a new voice mail message, the new message LED on the top of the handset flashes. In the event your message waiting light gets out of sync with your phone company's
voice messaging system, you can manually reset it back to the "No messages waiting" state.
1. Press and hold FiND on the base for five seconds.
Note: The handsets connected to the base will start to beep, however, keep pressing for five seconds.
2. A beep sounds and the message alert tone is reset.
Changing the dial mode
Your phone can communicate with the telephone network in two different ways: tone dialing or pulse dialing. These days, most base networks use a method called tone dialing, so your phone comes programmed for tone dialing. If your phone company uses pulse dialing, you will need to change your phone's dial mode. If you don't get a dial tone or can't connect to the telephone network, please follow the steps below to modify your phone's settings:
1. Press MENU/SELECT.
2. Select the Global Setup menu, and then the Dial Mode submenu.
3. Scroll to highlight Pulse.
4. Press MENU/SELECT. You will hear a confirmation tone.
If you ever need to change the dial mode back to tone dialing, follow the same procedure, but select Tone in step 3.

Finally for future ease of use, here is a link to the user manual were I copied the above information from:

http://www.uniden.com/content/ebiz/uniden/resources/ownersmanuals/DECT1580-3om.pdf

For this type of problem, you need to isolate the issue. It could be the phone, the inside wiring, or the outside wiring. I like to use an old rotary phone for testing but any basic corded phone should work. Get a new RJ-11 phone cable as well.

Unplug the base unit and plug in the test phone to that jack. Check if you get a dial tone. (Try a new cable if the initial one doesn't work.) If your test phone has a dial tone, then the problem is isolated to the cordless phone. (If the test phone works with the new cable, do check if Uniden works with that cable.) Modern phones are not designed to be fixed by the consumer. If the phone is under warranty, contact Uniden Customer Service. (Otherwise decide if the costs are worthwhile for you; there will be a significant delay before the phone is returned/replaced.)

If you do not get the dial tone, you need to track down the wiring issue. Next move to another jack on the phone line and check if there is a dial tone on your test phone. If there is a dial tone, you have isolated the problem to the jack or the wiring to the jack.

If there is still no dial tone, find where your telephone service comes in to your building. If you can, open the box. Determine the type of connection used there. If you are lucky, you will find a RJ-11 jack for your phone line. Plug in your test phone and check for a dial tone. If there is no dial tone, contact your telephone provider. They will fix this outside problem for free.

If the connection is not a RJ-11 jack, you will need to call the telephone company so that they can determine if the problem is inside or outside.

If you do have a dial tone, then the problem is with the inside wiring. Inspect the visible wires for damage. Open the faceplates for the jacks and check for loose wires. There are two types of connectors. Screw type connectors need the wire stripped back a little then wrap around the screw and tighten. The other type is a punchdown jack. To repair a loose wire in this, you will need a punchdown tool. These are often available in hardware/home improvement stores in the wiring section. http://www.lanshack.com/wire_phone_jack.aspx has clear pictures of the wire color to pin pattern.

You may want a professional to check the wires inside the walls. Your telephone provider will do this for a fee.

I hope this helps.

Cindy Wells

Here's what the manual says: Changing the Dial Mode (Tone or Pulse Dialing) (HS1 only) Your phone can communicate with the telephone network in two different ways: tone dialing or pulse dialing. These days, most phone networks use a method called tone dialing, so your phone comes programmed for tone dialing. If your phone company uses pulse dialing, you need to change your phone's dial mode. If you don't get a dial tone or can't connect to the telephone network, follow the steps below to modify your phone?s settings: With the phone in standby, press and hold [cid/menu]. Press [vol/ / ] to move the pointer to select DIAL. Press [select/channel] to set the phone to pulse dialing. Press [end]. Return the handset to the base. The handset communicates the new setting to the base, and the base activates the setting on any other handsets. Hope this helps out. K

dial tone but mobiles ahve no dial tone when making or receiving calls.....

1) When the phone is in standby mode, press and hold the caller id/menu key.
2) Press the vol/ / key three times to select Dial.
3) Press the select key to toggle between Tone and Pulse.
4) Press the end key or return the handset to the base unit to complete the setting. The handset returns to standby mode.

This phone also has a feature that allows you to use Pulse dialing to make calls, but allows you to switch to tone dialing for automated systems (like “Please Press 1 for English) here are the steps for that:

Initially make your call with the pulse dialing mode. Once your call connects, press
the */tone key. Enter the desired number. These digits will be sent as tone dialing.
Once the call ends, the tone mode is canceled and pulse dialing mode resumes.