Why bother with a handset

  • call

    It sits on your shoulder

    Wedged between your ear and your shoulder, so your hands go back to the washing up.

  • cable

    A real coiled cord

    It stretches across the kitchen and springs back. Nothing to charge, nothing to pair.

  • palette

    Three colours, two plugs

    Ivory, topaz yellow and aubergine. USB-C or 3.5 mm, whichever your phone takes.

  • favorite

    The one she had

    Light ivory was a standard colour on the phone that sat in half the hallways in Britain.

    How it works

    • Plugging the handset's cord into a phone

      Plug it in

      The cord ends in a plug that goes into the socket on the bottom of your phone. No batteries, no pairing, no app to install.

    • Lifting the handset off the worktop

      Pick it up

      It rings, you lift it, you talk. The cord stretches out across the room and springs back when you put it down.

    • Cooking with the handset cradled on a shoulder

      Get your hands back

      Wedge it on your shoulder and carry on. Chop, wash up, find your keys, and keep talking the whole time.

      Which plug do I need?

      • The oval USB-C socket on the bottom edge of a phone

        USB-C

        Turn your phone over and look at the socket on the bottom edge. If it is a small flattened oval, you want USB-C. It is the socket on most phones sold in the last few years.

      • The round 3.5 mm headphone socket on a phone

        3.5 mm

        If instead you find a small round hole, the size of a headphone jack, you want 3.5 mm. It is usually on the bottom edge, sometimes on the top.
        The handset cradled between shoulder and ear

        Forty minutes is a long time to hold a sheet of glass

        By the end of a proper catch-up your arm has gone dead and there is a crick in your neck. A handset sits where it is meant to sit, and your hands go back to the kettle.

        Shop the handset

        What people say

        • Customer photo of the handset on a kitchen worktop

          Took three weeks

          Worth saying it was not quick, closer to three weeks than one. The handset itself is solid and heavier than I pictured, which I liked. Order early if it is a gift.

          Nadia K.

        • Customer photo of a woman on a call

          The yellow one is a menace

          Got the topaz for my brother and now everyone who comes round picks it up. It is a very loud yellow in the best way and it does not look cheap.

          Ryan P.

        • Customer photo of the yellow handset on a desk

          Heavier than I expected

          It has a proper weight to it, which I was not expecting. It feels like the one that was screwed to the wall at my grandparents' house.

          Grace H.

        • My mum actually uses it

          Bought it as a joke present and she has not put it down. She says it is the first phone she has been able to hear properly in years. That was not the plan but I will take it.

          Rosie K.

        • The cord is the best bit

          I did not expect to care about the cord. You stretch it across the kitchen and it pings back and something in your brain from 1994 lights up. My kids think it is a toy.

          Danielle S.

        • Neck ache gone

          I am on calls for work most of the day and used to end up holding my phone with my shoulder anyway, badly. This does the job properly. I have stopped noticing my neck.

          Amara T.

        • Lovely, ivory marks a bit

          No complaints about how it works. The ivory does pick up marks from hands more than I expected, though it wipes off. I would still pick ivory again over the darker ones.

          Tom B.

        • Nan cried, genuinely

          She had the exact same colour in her hallway growing up. She held it for a good minute before she said anything. Best twenty five quid I have spent on a present.

          Sophie L.

        • Washing up and talking

          The whole point of it. Both hands in the sink, phone on the worktop, still having a conversation. I do not know why I put up with the alternative for so long.

          Marcus D.

          Questions, answered

          cable

          Which plug do I need?

          Turn your phone over and look at the socket on the bottom edge. An oval slot means you want the USB-C. A small round hole means you want the 3.5 mm. Pick the matching one on the product page.

          battery_full

          Does it need charging?

          No. There is no battery to run flat and no app to install. It hangs on the end of a cord, which is the whole idea.

          straighten

          How big is it?

          It is the size of a handset off an old house phone, and it has the weight to match. The cord is coiled, so it sits short and pulls out when you need it to.

          palette

          What is the difference between the colours?

          Only the colour. Ivory is the one that sat in half the hallways in Britain. Topaz yellow and aubergine are for people who want it to look like 1986 on purpose. The cord always matches the handset.

          local_shipping

          When will it arrive?

          Free delivery on every order. We take 2 to 5 days to pack, then 5 to 21 days in transit, so allow 1 to 4 weeks. Order by 1 December for Christmas.

          support_agent

          What if something is wrong with mine?

          Email greyfoxcommerce@outlook.com with your order number and a photo and we will sort it, with a replacement or a refund.