BT phone landlines changing to IP technology

My landline wasn’t working about a year back so called Virgin ( my land-line provider) …came the next day and I told him problem …he had a little bit of plastic ( looked like to me) and said “ ah , good, a router” and u plugged my phone from wall , stuck this bit of plastic into router and other end into phone ….. I asked…and was told …as I’m curious and he told me the plans to change all over to routers! He carefully explained the only difference would be a slightly longer response time …he said about 4 seconds…it’s not that long!. Well it has got to go up to satellite and back….I did have move my phone into sitting room rather than hallway but not bothered. Apparently they’ll do it automatically now if you have a fault on line. Anyway no change at all, and phone works perfectly ….in fact better👏

Jaxjacky

MiniMoon

I'm wondering how I'll manage with the switch over. The main phone socket is in my bedroom upstairs where the line enters the house. That is where my router is. How will I plug in my phone to the router (assuming talktalk provide a new one)? I don't want the phone in my bedroom. I'd never make it upstairs fast enough to answer it, let alone hear it ringing!

You won’t need to plug your phone into the router, it’ll just be a mobile you carry in your pocket, bag or whatever is convenient. But, you will need a separate lead and the correct plug/usb convertor to charge the mobile phone from the mains.

We changed to BT Internet when we moved. We weren’t getting any incoming calls for nearly a week but took a few days to realise. We were then told to plug one of the phones into our router and it then worked.

What happens if you don’t have internet or a mobile phone, from choice or lack of money? . My cousin doesn’t.

yes, we were recently moved by EE to BT for internet. They wanted to take our home phone away we kicked off as wanted to keep it. We wanted same number we have had since 1977. The said they would try. We did get to keep number but soon realised that to keep home phone we were paying £5 a month just for folk to ring us---ie scam calls too. Any calls we made were charged extra. So we sent the new phones back. Now just have mobiles wasn't pleased about this but didn't have much choice.

I have tried to find out from my provider, BT, how this will all affect me and I get directed to various sites but I have failing eye sight and I do not want to read loads of stuff online so I have written the CEO a letter with my inquiry and requested a reply in like manner, i.e.a letter in a reasonably large font.

BT sends my bill in large print which includes payment for broadband so they know there are people like me. Maybe I dont fit in their algorithm.

I am 84 and my landline was changed to Digital Voice earlier this year, had no problems but I am used to using the internet.
Was able to still use my old phones by using an adapter BT sent me.

62Granny yes it will work over Wi-Fi/broadband connection so it’s all electric and you will need batteries as a standby if we lose power🙃

Bea65

Visgirl hope you still kept your 1950s GPO phone… am bit sentimental about old phones😀

Still there.

I heard about this recently too, I was told , not sure if it true, but you will have to have an internet connection and the line will be via that connection.

Visgirl hope you still kept your 1950s GPO phone… am bit sentimental about old phones😀

I had heard of the change and for once in my life I was putting my head in the sand, hoping it would go away or I had!

I have no living relatives but I do have a very helpful electrician who will sort it all out for me. He has dragged me into this century and introduced me to Whatsapp.

o;d Old

We're very rural. Our landline has difficulties, as is, in this o;d stone home, I doubt new technology will be better, as mobiles don't work within these walls - have to walk off a distance.

We had the switch over last year.
No problems, and didn't hear of any.

Only snag I had was I had a repro Black 1950s GPO telephone in my Hall as a feature which was directly plugged into the socket not via the electrics. I lost connection with that. Shame really , I phoned BT to ask was there anything we could do but sadly not.

BlueBelle neither have i received any communication from my provider...referring to newspaper articles from few years ago is not a real help Teacheranne but am now considering changing provider both for landline and mobile EE as the wifi drops off all the time in my area and I'm not rural...so just don't understand how this will be improved? Vulnerable people will need to be considered as we don't all have family members in our immediate locations to help out...

Well I didn’t know Teacheranne and none of my friends have mentioned it so pretty sure they don’t either or it would have certainly been a topic of conversation
One friend lives in an area with virtually no signal so she ll be pooped
I ve had no letters from EE
I m not too bothered I only keep my landline for emergency use or very odd incoming calls but I do have a couple of older friends who will have problems
Like everything in life I m sure after teething problems it will heal over and in a few years we ll forget what ‘old-fashioned’ landlines were ever like

I was already thinking of getting rid of my landline as I never use it to make calls and rarely receive any so it sounds like that time has come!

I currently get my internet and landline through Virgin so can just change my package. My mobile is through Plusnet which I think is changing soon and I think it might be wise to keep it with a different supplier so if Virgin go down and I lose my Wi-Fi, then hopefully my mobile will still work.

I assume that Virgin will also be changing although they use cables rather than telephone connections - I’ll have to wait and see!

I’m surprised though that so many people are unaware of the changes as there have been articles about the potential issues for a few years, I’ve read quite a few newspaper articles about it which often focus on the impact on elderly people.

Pittcity

There seems to be a lot of worry on this thread.
I think of it like when the TV signal switched from analogue to digital. There was worry and teething problems but now we take it for granted.

It’s the last paragraph of nandalot’s post that is the worrying bit.

There seems to be a lot of worry on this thread.
I think of it like when the TV signal switched from analogue to digital. There was worry and teething problems but now we take it for granted.

This is the main body of the email we received from BT. It might help those who have not been contacted from their supplier yet.


Hello,

The time has come for the UK’s entire home phone network to undergo a major revamp. The landline, as we know it, has served us well, but it can’t keep up with the demands of modern life.

But the good news is we’ve got something much better to replace it.

We’ll be moving you over to Digital Voice – BT’s new home phone service. It’s already used by almost 2 million customers and makes keeping in touch clearer and more secure than ever.


Why we’re making the change


The existing landline network has become old and outdated. This is why it’s being retired across the UK, by all providers, and upgraded to a digital service.

Digital Voice runs on a broadband connection, which means we can continue to give you the best service now and in the future.


When will I be moved over to Digital Voice?


We’ll be starting to move customers over to Digital Voice within the next few months, but it may take longer – 12 months or more - before everyone is switched over.


Will I get a new phone and will my number change?


You’ll still be able to use your own phone, keep your number and the price will stay the same when you move over to Digital Voice.


Is Digital Voice easy to set up?


If you have a broadband internet connection already, you’ll need to plug your phone into your broadband router instead of the wall socket.

Don’t worry if your broadband router is in an awkward location - we can provide an adaptor to help keep your phone in easy reach.

If you don’t have a broadband connection and only use a landline, we’ll be in touch with details about which service you’ll be switching to. In the meantime, your service won’t change.


What do I need to do now?


Absolutely nothing. We’ll be back in touch when it’s time to switch you over to Digital Voice and advise you on the next steps.

If you don’t use your home phone much and want to switch to a Broadband Only plan, head over to bt.com to see all your options.


Does Digital Voice work with telecare and burglar alarms?


Some telecare and burglar alarms might not work with Digital Voice. If you use these services, we recommend getting in touch with your provider to check your equipment will still work properly after the switch.


What happens to my Digital Voice service if there’s a power outage?


If there’s a power cut or your broadband’s down, you won’t be able to make calls using Digital Voice, including 999 calls. You could still use a mobile, which you should always keep charged. But, if you don’t have a mobile or are in an area with no mobile signal, rest assured our team are here to support you and can help provide a solution that’s right for you.

MiniMoon, when you switch to the new landline, you should be provided with either a digital-to-analogue voice adaptor to plug into your new router (which will work with your existing handset, presumably downstairs) or a VoIP handset and cradle that you will 'pair' with the router (hold the phone by the router and press button on the handset and router so they recognise each other) then plug in the handset cradle where your existing landline phone was. I don't think you will have to move your phone to the bedroom or carry it round the house with you. Try not to worry.

OMG we don’t have a great signal here, sometimes I have to go across the road or climb on the gate.
I have an old phone as Missedout mentioned to use during an outage.
I can’t see the point of keeping a landline if it depends on Wi-Fi connectivity.

MiniMoon

I'm wondering how I'll manage with the switch over. The main phone socket is in my bedroom upstairs where the line enters the house. That is where my router is. How will I plug in my phone to the router (assuming talktalk provide a new one)? I don't want the phone in my bedroom. I'd never make it upstairs fast enough to answer it, let alone hear it ringing!

You won’t need to plug your phone into the router, it’ll just be a mobile you carry in your pocket, bag or whatever is convenient. But, you will need a separate lead and the correct plug/usb convertor to charge the mobile phone from the mains.

I’m sure life used to be less complicated … 🤦‍♀️

I'm wondering how I'll manage with the switch over. The main phone socket is in my bedroom upstairs where the line enters the house. That is where my router is. How will I plug in my phone to the router (assuming talktalk provide a new one)? I don't want the phone in my bedroom. I'd never make it upstairs fast enough to answer it, let alone hear it ringing!

For those who plan to rely on having an older, 'more simple' mobile phone in the event of emergencies, please be aware that both 2G and 3G networks are also due to be switched off soon (timetable for switch-off according to your mobile phone provider).