Landlines being phased out

Our information from BT said that we can plug our landline into the router instead of the phone socket. Adapters are available for extension lines. We can have one free adapter, further adapters are £20. We will still be able to use the landline but will have to input the area code for all calls, even local calls.
If there is a power cut we will not be able to use the landline.
So not as bad as at first appears, but of no forseeable benefit to the customer that I can see.

Landlines are not veins phased out.
They are changing over to VoIP.
VoIP is a type of phone system that uses an internet connection to make and receive calls. Given this, you'll need an at-home internet connection to use the new landline digital system.

Once you've moved to the new digital system, your landline will mainly work as it always has, although there'll be some differences – for example, it won't work if there's a power cut unless you have a battery backup.

The changeover has started, and some people have already been moved to the digital system.

For almost all networks, the changeover will have happened by December 2025.

What have veins to do with it? Being.

I haven’t used a landline for a long time

I moved over to full fibre broadband in January with a new company that I had never heard of when new lines were put in around the area. The new line to my home was installed and my phone now plugs into the router. I've still got the same number. My internet is now superfast. Another bonus is that I'm now paying just £3 a month more than the price for internet and it includes all my calls. At the moment I am a very satisfied customer.

What happens to those homes that don’t have internet?

We have been voiped.

It is like everything else, not all its is sung up as being. Our landline came ino the house in the hall, and, despite having a long thin house we could hear and answer the phone anywhere in the house.

The VOIP phone comes in via the internet in our study, the room at one end of the house and in the centre of our long thin, and very old house is a stonking great big chimney stack. The result is once we go into our living room, which is the other side of the chimney stack, the phone reception peters out, and there is now no way we can get what was landline reception in our bedroom, which previously was not a problem.

Well I’m confused because we were definitely not given the option of having any sort of landline facility. We are technically with JohnLewis Broadband and even though it’s in reality operated by Plusnet we were told via email and on the phone this morning that we had to end the contract with JL and start a new one with PN. They did say we could continue with a landline with other suppliers but not them, so maybe it’s because it’s a new contract. Anyway I think we’ll go with the flow now!

M0nica you atre not alone!
Most annoying.

Virgin Media are sending me a part which I need to attach to my router in order to be able to have a landline. It may mean the phone is not where I want it to be.

In the event that Wifi access is lost, the phone line is lost as well which means I will need a mobile as back up.

What is the point in this?

The point is that the old landlines need maintenance ! Doesn’t matter if it doesn’t work in your house !
My chum accross the road has had this system for a while and it’s useless , , she has the kitchen in the basement, phone won’t work there !
I ring her , she puffs and pants up the stairs and isn’t fit to talk by the time she answered it , if she moves she is cut off ! Grrrr

If you lose signal in certain rooms your provider should be able to provide WiFi extenders that plug into electrical sockets.

pitticity I can't even move my thermostat from next to my boiler to 4 feet away.

I have given up on extenders for my wi-fi.
We now just accept that some rooms are "out of bounds" and have a wired connection into another.

we cancelled ours as it was costing a fortune with BT

Abit barmy, John Lewis not done phone and broadband since June, they sent e nails out every month prior,msaying that and with the option of moving to Plusnet, I left it until May and went over to Plusnet, but they ad asked to decide befor end of May, after that date the old contract was finished. Check what you are paying with Plusnet.

We have gone over to VOIP landlines. The router is tucked out of the way in the living room. We have one phone in the kitchen and another upstairs in our bedroom.

We just bring the handset from the kitchen into the living room. So far it works perfectly. We also have our mobile phones which we use much more than the landline but keep it for FIL who will not call mobiles due to scammers

My mother-in-law has only ever had "scammers" call her on her landline Keeper - never on her mobile.

I live in the countryside and use the landline phone because I have very poor reception on the mobile. If I lose the landline I'll really struggle. Have tried 2 or 3 different mobile companies over the years but none work well here.

I have literally just had a call from the council to ask me if I can get hold of a vulnerable lady I visit who they can't get hold of to do safety work. She is not online and doesn't have a mobile and the phone system has been changed so I expect there is no phone at the moment.

Like many other people we already receive our "landline" through our router, so it isn't a landline at all. If you don't have a mobile you are in trouble if there is a power cut.
In our area there is only one fibre option, the whole estate is cabled by one supplier. Many people here still use the BT landline or other providers which use the same BT wires.
I don't honestly believe that all areas of the UK will be cabled any time soon, some places are just too isolated or have too few people living there to make it worthwhile, rather like those who can't have natural gas because infrastructure provision just isn't economic.

Some background. With an "land line" power at 50vdc comes from the exchange (very very much less at the handset!) This means the phones are actually powered remotely. Recent changes in fibre technology (mostly reduced cost) but also improvements in capacity means that an internet connection can now carry digital voice calls. We have recently gone to OpenReach and have VOIP which actually means we can now have two simultaneous calls within the house. The OpenReach router has a connection for landlines type phones and I have just plugged our phoneless cord into that and they work as they always did. As has been pointed out, as the landline is now powered from your house (not the exchange) you either need a Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS) to supply the router on a power loss or else you need a mobile to make calls.

Pittcity

If you lose signal in certain rooms your provider should be able to provide WiFi extenders that plug into electrical sockets.

Our router is attached to the incoming cable in our living room and the main phone plugs directly into it and is also plugged into the electrical circuit close by. The extensions sit in bases plugged into sockets throughout the house and the phone signal is transmitted through the electrical wiring so it will work anywhere in the house, unless you have an unusual wiring system on different phases.
I gather that some older BT phone systems which work in this way might have problems, but more modern sets of phones should be fine.

They’ve done the same here in AUS All phone lines now go thro router/modem
So worrying as often power/broadband cuts out during bush fire season & no land line to call for help !

We have a business line as well as our home ‘landline’ and both have been changed over by BT without any issues, it may be more difficult for people who don’t have the internet at home.