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easy to use mobile phone

(51 Posts)
ordinarygirl Fri 17-Jan-25 09:50:44

my husband does not "do technology" and we are going to lose our landline. Is there a simple to use phone which is under £100 which will be mainly left in the house that you can recommend?
thanks

Cressida Mon 20-Jan-25 09:55:31

CariadAgain you need a cordless phone. The cradle for the phone is plugged into into any mains socket with its phone wire plugged into the wall socket or hub.
www.argos.co.uk/product/1172638?clickPR=plp:7:45

www.argos.co.uk/product/1172652?clickPR=plp:9:45

You can use the phone like a mobile and carry it with you or get one with extra handsets. Any extra phones come with a slightly different cradle which can be plugged into any mains socket.

mistymitts Mon 20-Jan-25 00:34:37

Landlines are NOT disappearing, if you have the internet, which if you are posting on here you probably do, all that happens is that the phone(landline) is plugged into the back of the hub instead of the wall. You will not notice any difference. The only drawback is if there is a power cut, then you may be with out your land line and if your mobile is not fully charged you will have no means of communication EXCEPT that you will, because you will also be provided with a back up battery for the hub and phone. I have just had mine done two weeks ago, landline is plugged into the hub, it’s now called digital voice. Do not notice any difference. So, just saying, in case some people are fearing that they will be without a landline, you won’t be.

wibblywobblywobblebottom Sun 19-Jan-25 23:01:00

I've got a Doro mobile(I forget which model) which cost £38 from my local Tesco' It does connect to the internet, but would cost a fortune to use it, So I don't. I just needed it to make phone calls. I have a pay as you go account with Vodafone. It has a camera which is very good, it sends and receives texts. It also has an alarm clock setting, which is what I use the phone most for.

Trisha99 Sun 19-Jan-25 22:16:55

EmilyHarburn

If you have a Tesco store near you that does phones they are very helpful. We took the hones they advised with the contract that suited us. We just drop in and ask them when we have a difficulty with our phones and they help us sort it out. There is always parking and you can sort out food shopping at the same time. This means the phone is not a problem.

Yes I’d second this - we both have older Samsung smartphones, mine on a pay monthly with Tesco, DH’s Tesco phone contract ended 6 months ago and rather than upgrade he just pays £5 a month for a SIM.
Tesco phone team in our local store are very helpful (and patient!) plus as you say EH there’s always parking.

crazyH Sun 19-Jan-25 22:10:24

Thanks Petra

petra Sun 19-Jan-25 22:04:17

crazyH

Petra - I don’t understand this. Don’t you need a landline for your wi-fi ?

They all tell you that.
Our internet for which we get all our streaming services is from 3. That ^signal comes from a mast near us. The cost is £23 per month.
When we left virgin we had an aerial fitted and bought a receiver box to receive Freeview.
Aerial, fitting, and receiver box one off payment of £160.
Our mobiles are with other companies.
There are other companies out there that supply this service.

Jaxjacky Sun 19-Jan-25 21:37:24

Perhaps whoever sorts out your computer could help and reassure you with your phones(s) Cariad, it would be easier than explaining here.

loopylyn2 Sun 19-Jan-25 21:32:36

I still have an old Nokia and have bought another for emergency use only. We have pay as you go Sim cards on which we don't lose our balanaces if not used at the end of the month.

CariadAgain Sun 19-Jan-25 21:11:03

dalrymple23

This changeover from land lines to mobiles is so wrong. We have just moved and the existing landline was taken away. There is no choice in the matter. I have a l ittle Samsung flip top. Now about 12 years old. Fairly easy to use. However, reception is abysmal. People cannot get through; crackly line, making it impossible to hear what is being said; it cuts out half way through a call; also, I can never remember to take the damned thing with me wherever I go in the house (we used to have extensions everywhere). The poor reception has nothing to do with the phone - it is the provider. Have changed, but the problems are the same. A penalty for living in rural Norfolk?!!!

I'm worried about that aspect as well- ie using my landline phone elsewhere in my house if/when they manage to inflict a change of phoneline on me against my will. My main phone, I gather, will be connected up with my computer. But - what happens about my 2nd phone (ie the one I have in my sitting room). How does that keep working - when it's just plugged into a current style phone socket and nowhere near my computer? (It does need to keep working - as I don't hear my main phone from as far as the sitting room and would miss knowing I'd got a phonecall needing to be answered).

CariadAgain Sun 19-Jan-25 21:07:29

janestheone

Just curious: a number of people here are saying they "don't do technology". So how are they posting on here?

In my case - I have a computer. It's set up to do the basics only and, if it needs settings changing, I get someone else to do it for me.

LadyStardust Sun 19-Jan-25 20:24:02

crazyH - I haven't had a landline for about 8 years now. My fibre broadband doesn't need one. Fibre broadband comes from a fibre-optic cable network that connects your home to a broadband exchange!

crazyH Sun 19-Jan-25 18:10:34

Petra - I don’t understand this. Don’t you need a landline for your wi-fi ?

Eirlys Sun 19-Jan-25 18:04:47

When my 12 year old Doro phone, a competition win, had to be replaced, I chose the DORO 1380 from Argos. It's SIM free and has an emergency button, torch, camera, radio. Dialling numbers and typing texts on the large and widely spaced buttons is a breeze.Priced at £34.99 I can recommend it. Only drawback It does need a case for protection if you need to carry it everywhere you go. Charges quickly. Love mine and I'm 94.

crazyH Sun 19-Jan-25 17:57:55

I have loads of photos on it.

crazyH Sun 19-Jan-25 17:56:27

I love my iPhone 7 - i bought it second hand from EBay - paid under £100 for it. I use WhatsApp mostly, but I do have a Payasyougo deal with Tescomobile - it works out at about £8/- per month.

petra Sun 19-Jan-25 17:49:09

Frenchgirlinspain
I havnt had a landline for 25 years. I have Amazon prime, Netflix, Apple TV and Disney+

Dizzyribs Sun 19-Jan-25 17:39:52

But in answer to the op. The Doro range of phones are easy to use and only do the basics. They’re not expensive at all. There’s almost certainly one that will be perfect for your needs.

Dizzyribs Sun 19-Jan-25 17:37:32

Why have a land line? Why not embrace the new internet phone technology?
a) mobile signal is not reliable here. I often need to hang out of a bedroom window to get a signal, or trot five minutes down the road.
b) what about power cuts? The charging banks will only charge one phone, once as far as I know. Power cuts here have lasted longer than a day. Floods can cause power cuts for a few weeks (and have done so in recent years).
c) our “high speed” internet, the most reliable in the area, goes down for at between 15 minutes and two hour around four times a day (some days it’s only five minutes in each hour to be fair)
We’re in a small town. Everyone has the same problem, it’s not just the technologically challenged.
What do we do in an emergency?

sunglow12 Sun 19-Jan-25 16:51:30

I had a Doro flip phone till my husband gave me his old I phone and I liked it . Nice and easy to use

dalrymple23 Sun 19-Jan-25 16:41:02

This changeover from land lines to mobiles is so wrong. We have just moved and the existing landline was taken away. There is no choice in the matter. I have a l ittle Samsung flip top. Now about 12 years old. Fairly easy to use. However, reception is abysmal. People cannot get through; crackly line, making it impossible to hear what is being said; it cuts out half way through a call; also, I can never remember to take the damned thing with me wherever I go in the house (we used to have extensions everywhere). The poor reception has nothing to do with the phone - it is the provider. Have changed, but the problems are the same. A penalty for living in rural Norfolk?!!!

Jaxjacky Sun 19-Jan-25 15:05:23

Our redundant copper phone line has been replaced by fibre, we haven’t had a ‘home phone’ for 18 years or so, mobile only over wifi.

Gillr Sun 19-Jan-25 14:47:16

Check out Dora, my non tec man manages his well x

keepingquiet Sun 19-Jan-25 14:35:27

Why not keep the landline?

I think £100 for a phone is a lot anyway.

Greciangirl Sun 19-Jan-25 14:30:33

We have had to have our landline changed over to Wi-Fi as the old BT. Cables are becoming obsolete.
We have to have it because we are with Virgin t.v.

Still find it useful though.

I get what you all mean about mobiles though.

petra Sun 19-Jan-25 14:27:25

Every phone is basic until you want to use the apps, which you don’t have to.
I know several older people who have a reasonable new phone and just use it as you would a phone without the apps.
Just ignore them 😂