Do you still have a landline phone?

[disneysteve]

I have LOTS of contacts, mostly from LinkedIn, but also from other Google sources. If I get a call from an unknown number, I'll divert to voicemail. Over 99% of the time, no message is left by the caller, and I don't get an immediate call back. That indicates the call was from a scammer. And if they leave a message, which is rare, it is a wrong number.

Understood. That just isn't how it works for me. Not answering a call from an unknown number could mean not getting info about a patient in a timely manner. It could mean missing out on an opportunity to earn extra money from a professional survey. Or it could just be someone I know but don't happen to have in my contacts trying to reach me. Lots of totally legit callers don't leave messages when they get no answer. And they may or may not call back.

[disneysteve]

Someone I work with just came in and said that the cell tower near her house has been out of service for a week. She hasn't been able to use her cell phone at home that whole time. If they want to make a call, they need to drive a couple of towns over. Of course, she has no land line anymore.

Not a common occurrence but at least enough reason to get a VoIP service like MagicJack if you decide to eliminate your land line. For $40/year, it's a cheap insurance policy. Either that or through Comcast or Verizon since it is often cheaper to have it than to not have it.

Nothing wrong with not having a land line but I think having a cheap back up option is still a good idea. That's our plan ultimately to drop the land line and just use Comcast.

[msomnipotent]

Is this thread about actual land lines that do not go through your internet service, or just home phones, or both?


We have something like Magic Jack at our cottage, but it doesn't go through internet service since we don't have internet there. I forgot what it is called, but it kind of sucks. Not great call quality and the line goes fuzzy every time a pontoon boat drives by, which is quite often in the summer. I consider it expensive at $20 per month, but my father will not use a cell phone.

[disneysteve]

Is this thread about actual land lines that do not go through your internet service, or just home phones, or both?

I thought it was about land lines, but there is some confusion about that. Never before this thread have I seen anyone consider VoIP service to be a land line, but apparently some people do.

When I say land line, I do NOT mean VoIP service.

[Thrif-t]

I think the confusion is because generally VoIP rings a "home" phone usually. I know I have to stop and think oh ya at&t isn't my provider anymore its my cable company.

[HundredK]

I guess I consider a land line to be any phone that is not mobile. My comcast home phone, I can't use that outside my house (I mean, I suppose I could forward it to my mobile, but it doesn't replace my mobile).

Considering it doesn't cost us anything more to have it (might even save us $$), and that we use it for work, and that the line is so much more clear, it's well worth having. We did try Ooma and MagicJack for a while; hated them both.

[disneysteve]

I guess I consider a land line to be any phone that is not mobile. My comcast home phone, I can't use that outside my house

Sure you can.

https://www.xfinity.com/support/phone/voice-2go-faqs/

Voice2go is a feature of XFINITY Voice that provides the ability to make and receive calls with your home phone number using the XFINITY Connect app.

Use your home or personal phone number to make nationwide calls from your iPad®, iPhone®, iPod touch® or Android device.

[HundredK]

Sure you can.

https://www.xfinity.com/support/phone/voice-2go-faqs/

Voice2go is a feature of XFINITY Voice that provides the ability to make and receive calls with your home phone number using the XFINITY Connect app.

Use your home or personal phone number to make nationwide calls from your iPad®, iPhone®, iPod touch® or Android device.

But I believe that relies on a wifi signal. That is quite different than cell service.

[AJSimon]

I read some where that about half of the households no longer have a landline phone. Do you still have a landline? About 7 years ago I cancelled my AT & T landline phone at $40 a month. 7 years x 12 months a year x $40 = $3360 saved.

Haven't had one in about ten years. Ditched it when I got my first cell phone and ported the number over.

[alexander grey]

Not anymore, so useless in my opinion, I wouldn't use it anyway.

[GrimJack]

I have a landline; will have one as long as I can. No one but family has my cell # and I let it go a couple months ago but I still use it for the internet from home and the various places I hang out.

Keep in mind that your phone # is the equivalent of your ss# - everyone you do business with has your phone # and there is a business somewhere tracking all your transactions, building up a profile. Person of Interest really drove home the point of your cell phone being used as a trojan horse. But then I turn off tracking on my phone unless I need Car-2-Go or something. Generally, you landline will continue to work even when all the power goes out in your neighborhood - but only if you have one of the old brick phones from back in the day.

[disneysteve]

Generally, you landline will continue to work even when all the power goes out in your neighborhood

This is increasingly not true as Verizon updates its network. Ours was replaced about 2 years ago. We now have a battery backup but the hard wired, always on phones are a thing of the past. And it was not something we had any choice about.

[FLA]

We actually have Comcast phone service on our account. We got it when we upgraded last year because it actually lowered our bill to have it thanks to the promotion at the time. .

This. For years I've been trying to get a lower deal without a landline but it is always cheaper with it. We have a contract until 10/18 but then we have to switch from our Time Warner plan to a Spectrum plan, all my friends' bills have gone up with Spectrum. Ugh

[GrimJack]

This is increasingly not true as Verizon updates its network. Ours was replaced about 2 years ago. We now have a battery backup but the hard wired, always on phones are a thing of the past. And it was not something we had any choice about.

SIGH! Yeah, I suppose they really want to get out from under the upkeep on all that copper - I bet it is the upgrades to fiber optic that stops the continuous power.

[Gailete]

Yes, we still have a landline. I gave up my cellphone after paying $170+ to get out of my contract almost 15 years ago when I could no longer go to work. Then it was almost a necessity as I traveled a lot and did overnights so needed to be able to have my sons contact me. One was out of HS at the time and worked in our office and the other was finishing HS and stayed with his dad still part of the week, but I wanted to be handy. When we realized, I wouldn't be returning to work, paying out the contract was cheaper than paying the monthly fees. Then for a while we had two landlines. One for the computer and one for calls and the ability to switch the computer to the other one when critters chewed the wires. No cable line gets to our house yet, but we now have satellite for the internet and got rid of one landline.

Fast forward to a couple a weeks ago. Amazon in its wisdom decided that they needed two-step authorization for sellers to sign in with. Every other place that switched to this has made it reasonable to sign up for it without a cell phone. Not so with Amazon. If you don't have a cell phone or some other system which try as I might I didn't understand, you can't sign up for this and so as of June 30 my selling days at Amazon would be over. So, I now have a no contract cell phone for that and when I must go out on my own and I hope to be able to check prices as well on it when thrifting. I still must take some time to figure the phone out as I don't understand it at all. I do not intend to use it as our main phone, but either hubby and I can take when needed - at times he tunes all the pianos at a university and he has to do it at night to avoid the students practicing so he has to call the security team to let him into the building. Obviously, there are all sorts of benefits for using it, but other than an emergency, I see no reason to replace the landline with it.