Landlines being phased out

Gundy Mobile phones are uncomfortable to hold because of their shape. This makes them very uncomfortable if you have arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome and a number of other hand problems.

The screens are too small and the tiny 'buttons' and icons very difficult to use if you have dyspraxia or other problems that come under the heading 'neural diversity.

i was an early adopter of smart phones, Until I discovered all the problems I have with them. A land line phone with its rounder narrower shape and clear depressable keys is physically more comfortable to hold and easier to operate and for everythingI use a tablet or computer with a sensibly sized screen.

This discussion is just like the one we had a few years back when the TV signal changed from analogue to digital.
I think most people sorted that out eventually.
Companies won't be allowed to leave you without means of communication and will invest money in the new tech rather than maintaining the old system.
There is help out there for those who need it, such as the Age UK link in an earlier post.

Found this out the other day - my mum isn't at all good with a mobile phone, and needed a new landline phone as her current one isn't taking messages.

One important thing for her is that her 'careline' is connected to the landline, so am waiting to hear from the Estate Manager what is being done - no point in getting a new full fibre contract if we cannot use the care line!

Anyone any recommendations for elderly friendly mobiles?

I hung on to my landline far longer than my friends. Don’t miss it at all! Should have done it sooner!!

Landlines will become obsolete in time. As people dump them more and more, the cost of maintaining yours will go up. Finally, in time, they may yank it.

If you don’t have an easy to use, far more controllable mobile device, you’ll be left without any means of communication.

It’s the older people who are resistant and don’t want the change.

Have a friend or family member ease you into a new era. May be a lot cheaper too!
USA Gundy

If you are experiencing a drop in internet service in certain rooms but have a strong signal in the room with the router, then you need a "MESH" system. For those who have used WIFI extenders, MESH is a completely different system. WIFI extenders do transmit the signal forward but that signal degrades so by the time it gets to the final destination, it can be quite weak. MESH systems (also plugged into different areas of the house) do not degrade the signal so it is still strong when it reaches the room you want.
We have a MESH point plugged directly into the router and another upstairs so in the bedrooms we now have a strong system. You can buy sets of these so in a large house, you can have them in different areas to have excellent WIFI everywhere. They are also very easy to set up.

When I asked my provider about a booster for the WiFi, the young man I spoke with said it would be cheaper to go and buy one from Argos, as the provider would bill me more to supply one itself.
It was easy to install and works fine. I'm not on VOIP yet but it will come and I feel less worried.

MiniMoon

*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.

So it the internet goes down you’re stuffed.

We’ve not have a landline for about 6 years but it’s my understanding that they’re not being “phased out” just changing

That could be a problem for people in areas where there is virtually no signal. When there are power cuts & no charge in your phone. I keep an old plug in phone for those times. Recently 02 were working on local mast and no mobile signal for 5 days. This has happened before. In emergencies there could be problems.

At the moment we still have a BT landline, installed May this year. I hate using mobiles, I never can get my mobile out in time to answer a call. We have a sky router because the BT one kept dropping out.

Like PamelaJ1 I'd like to know what people without broadband are expected to do, like one of my dementia suffering elderly relatives.
Will she be without any way of communicating by phone?
Is she expected to buy a mobile phone, and remember to keep it charged?
She will she be virtually isolated.

We live in a rural area with a poor and unreliable mobile signal (we've tried various networks!) - so we do use our landline quite a lot. We are a mile outside the village and fibre broadband hasn't reached us yet and although we have a BT router & broadband included in our landline contract it is so slow as to be unusable. We get our internet from a small local company that uses microwave transmitters on surrounding hilltops. It doesn't work if we have a powercut - and powercuts in winter are not unusual here. I am very concerned about what will happen with VoiP as it will potentially leave us with no phone service at all. We have had little information from BT beyond a generic email; I responded to this with questions about my specific issues and have had no reply. I then heard on R4's You and Yours programme that in my region everyone's landline will be switched off by the end of this year! I hope that is incorrect. I don't think BT has taken into account the needs of people without fast broadband and/or with poor mobile coverage.

Main use for our landline is finding my iPhone by ringing it! One of my daughters rings me on it but I don’t answer any other calls because they are always spam. I tried to get rid of it when we upgraded our internet speed but they said we may as well keep it because it costs almost nothing.

The only problem is if their is a power cut you wont be able to use the phone plugged into your router. Most people have mobiles now, and I suppose those without will have to get one or use the mail to contact people.

Best to ask provider for an engineer's visit if you are truly stuck. Or go to BT EE shops to talk to someone.

Jus spent hours on the phone with BT then Plusnet because my internet was suddenly too slow to be of any use, so what happens in future if the internet is down?

Froglady

I have a landline and a mobile. I find the landline phone so much easier to hold than my mobile so would want to keep using it.

I use the same old landline phone that I have used for a few years with the new system.

I have a landline and a mobile. I find the landline phone so much easier to hold than my mobile so would want to keep using it.

Eirlys

We pay for Line Rental now. Will this still be charged even though we pay for a Broadband connection?

Before we got the new lines here at the beginning of the year we used to pay one bill a month to plusnet that included our line rental, broadband and calls.

With the new fibre optic line we still pay one bill a month for everything just to a different company now. The new line and modem was installed for free.

We pay for Line Rental now. Will this still be charged even though we pay for a Broadband connection?

I have a landline which I much prefer using to my so called smartphone - which is much smarter than me.
I haven't yet heard from EE about when my landline will be changed, but what really worries me is whether I will be able too continue to use my 2 landline phones.( One upstairs and one down)
Both are BT handsets which intercept unknown callers , ask for their name and then let me listen to what has been said and then decide whether to accept or reject the call. It's great - a perfect way to avoid cold callers.

Does anyone know the answer? Or will there be a Smartphone alternative?

www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/money-legal/consumer-issues/changes-to-landline-telephones/

I found lots of useful information here.

Ours has already been moved to digital voice IE plugged into the router. There is no need to put in area codes - simply pick up the phone and dial as usual. The ring tone is a bit weird, but it works. What has annoyed me is that we are still paying the same,

The only calls we ever get on our landline are from scammers so I for one will not mourn its demise.

so who will do this for us non technological or disabled or whatever people, who simply donot understand what needs to be done!